Observation of Condensed Combustion Product Formation during Combustion of Magnesium Plate in Water Vapor

Abstract

Magnesium has attracted widespread attention as fuel. Previous studies have suggested that the state of the residue oxide changes with the oxidizer. This study investigated the magnesium combustion plume by changing the oxidizer and its pressure. An ignition system was developed to observe the self-ignition of magnesium in a fixed position. We obtained the photographs of the field where the magnesium-based alloy plate, which was 5×5×0.5 mm³, was burnt. When the oxidizer was oxygen or air, most of the oxide dispersed, but in the case of water vapor, much of the oxide remained near the fuel. The mass differences before and after combustion also show that most of the oxide generated remained on the fuel setting prate. The residual oxide size was found to depend on the oxidizer pressure. As the pressure decreased, the size of the residual oxide that was generated became larger. The spectroscopic measurement of the combustion flame did not observe the MgO lines around 500 nm, suggesting that the gaseous magnesium oxide was not generated or immediately condensed.