Spectrally adapted red flare tracers with superior spectral performance

• Main Authors: Ramy Sadek, Mohamed Kassem, Mohamed Abdo, Sherif Elbasuney
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2017-12-01
• Series: Defence Technology
• Subjects: Pyrotechnics; Colored flames; Tracers; Luminous intensity; Molecular spectroscopy
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221491471730034X

The production of bright light, with vivid color, is the primary purpose of signaling, illuminating devices, and fire control purposes. This study, reports on the development of red flame compositions with enhanced performance in terms of luminous intensity, and color quality. The light intensity and the imprint spectra of developed red flame compositions to standard NATO red tracer (R-284 NATO) were measured using digital luxmeter, and UV–Vis. spectrometer. The main giving of this study is that the light intensity of standard NATO red tracer was increased by 72%, the color quality was also improved by 60% (over the red band from 650 to 780 nm). This enhanced spectral performance was achieved by means of deriving the combustion process to maximize the formation of red color emitting species in the combustion flame. Thanks to the optimum ratio of color source to color intensifier using aluminum metal fuel; this approach offered the highest intensity and color quality. Upon combustion, aluminum was found to maximize the formation SrCL (the main reactive red color emitting species) and to minimize the interfering incandescent emission resulted from MgO and SrO. Quantification of active red color emitting species in the combustion flame was conducted using chemical equilibrium thermodynamic code named ICT. The improvement in red flare performance, established the rule that the color intensifier should be in the range from 10 to 15 Wt % of the total composition.