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Minimum size for Al to ignite without oxidizer?


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Posted

So I do not have any screens that have mesh sizes listed on them, or fine screens at all for that matter. The best I have it a metal coffee filter.

 

I milled up some Al and was looking for a way to roughly measure its particle size. I have some 500 mesh 30 micron atomized powder and and it will not burn in a pile. My milled powder does burn in a clump however I have to light a piece of paper underneath it. So this leads me to believe it must be at least a tad smaller then 30 microns. Also the milled Al coats paper well.

 

So does anyone know how fine Al powder has to be in order to burn in a pile?

Posted

Flake aluminum will burn in a pile fairly coarse. I bet something as coarse as 150 microns would burn. Without a suitable screen or microscope with a scale it's hard to estimate mesh size.

Posted

The particle shape is at least as significant as the particle size. Spherical particles from a ball mill burn less easily, fine "flash" aluminium is not usually ball milled dry.

Posted

The particle shape is at least as significant as the particle size. Spherical particles from a ball mill burn less easily, fine "flash" aluminium is not usually ball milled dry.

I would have thought a ball mill would produce flake like partials since it more or less grinds it up?

Posted

It does. I'm not sure I follow either.

Posted

It does. I'm not sure I follow either.

I think he may think that I was milling pre atomized Al, like something you would buy, not turnings.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

the shape of aluminum depends on its runtime in a ballmill. it also depends if you use balls as grinding media or pieces of rod, you can get both sperical and flaky al from a ballmill and convert one into the other

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