Blue aluminum and kno3/S

[Niurone]

Hey. Can someone tell me if blue aluminum would be as good or better than german dark when used with kno3 and sulphur in the same ratio as normal kno3/s/gd-ai

 

The total amount will be around 50grams in a confined container on a rocket.

[LardmanAttack]

Probably not, I mean, it will probably work for rocket fuel just fine, but in most cases it's better to stick to good old german dark. This should also probably be in the rocketry forum.

Edited April 10, 2019 by LardmanAttack

[Niurone]

Ok. But everyone says it's the new best thing for flash powder

[Niurone]

It was for a salute rocket. For making the salute, not the fuel

[pyrojig]

Yes but in a nitrate formulation, it may not be reactivate enough.that is probably why dark al is suggested.

[pyrojig]

I'm sure he was claiming if you were attempting to use that mix ,it was not going to pop ,but rather burn like rocket fuel.

[WSM]

I learned from the folks who first researched blue aluminum, that it's designed to operate under pressure (it's pressure dependent!).

 

Mixed with potassium perchlorate and sealed in a tight container, it builds up pressure and then, BANG! Without the pressure, it just goes whoosh, or nothing at all.

 

I don't know if potassium nitrate will work properly to build the pressure required to reliably make a report.

 

Considering this discussion, I thought I'd weigh in and share what I learned.

 

WSM

Edited July 24, 2019 by WSM

[SharkWhisperer]

My opinion is that the stuff is bunk, apart from persons that have a financial interest in it.

 

Is that you, or your pals, on the "impartial" YouTube video launching half-kilo "blue aluminum" salutes? Do you have a financial interest in its promotion? Any other "potential" conflicts of interest?

 

Amazing stuff.

 

Not.

 

You've been around awhile and are no dummy. So your opinion is generally respected. Assuming there are no ethical irregularities or Non-Disclosure agreements in answering the question, what is your current, updated opinion and actual knowledge, on the specs, utility, composition, and basic personality of "blue" aluminum?

 

And: Are you required by legal writ to not discuss any knowledge of this "formulation/composition/substance", for fear of legal action against you, or are you an entirely impartial amateur pyro like most everybody else here, with zero fiscal connection to "blue" aluminum?

 

You garnered your knowledge "from the folks who first researched blue aluminum...", in your words. Please share more, including your personal involvement with the crew/clowns that developed this nonsense as a marketing gimmick ("safe" flash).

 

p.s. Never noted the "whoosh" that you cited; only the "nothing at all".

Edited January 25, 2020 by SharkWhisperer

[SharkWhisperer]

Ok. But everyone says it's the new best thing for flash powder

Horse Shit.

 

Amigo and fello pyro Niurone, I am not personally disrespecting you or your brainpower. I am not rippig you for sport. I am just using common sentiment to make a point: Blue Aluminum (where'd the "blue" come from?) is crap Al that doesn't even do 325 bright or 35-micron atomized proper consideration.

 

It's crap.

 

Sucka's beware. I spent my last whole big 10 frogskins on a batch; don't make the same mistake! Just lick my wounds every night (it's been 3 months now), hoping hard that I could recoup my magnamous $10 investment on blue Al. I'm resigned to the fact that I cannot. I can't even make a stankin' sparker with the stuff. Can you? If so, please send recipes!!!

 

Unless Nancy comes up with a proven valid use besides "large salutes", well, thanks for the chit-chat... Nancy, you're just a peach.

 

Thank you too much!!!

Edited January 25, 2020 by SharkWhisperer

[WSM]

Horse Shit.

Amigo and fello pyro Niurone, I am not personally disrespecting you or your brainpower. I am not rippig you for sport. I am just using common sentiment to make a point: Blue Aluminum (where'd the "blue" come from?) is crap Al that doesn't even do 325 bright or 35-micron atomized proper consideration.

It's crap.

Sucka's beware. I spent my last whole big 10 frogskins on a batch; don't make the same mistake! Just lick my wounds every night (it's been 3 months now), hoping hard that I could recoup my magnamous $10 investment on blue Al. I'm resigned to the fact that I cannot. I can't even make a stankin' sparker with the stuff. Can you? If so, please send recipes!!!

Unless Nancy comes up with a proven valid use besides "large salutes", well, thanks for the chit-chat... Nancy, you're just a peach.

Thank you too much!!!

 

 

The so called blue aluminum is a mixture of various particle sized, atomized aluminum. For it to function as a salute, it's pressure dependent; so it requires a strong casing plus a small booster to reliably perform.

 

A lot of tests were done to confirm this.

 

It also works well in glitter mixes, according to friends who've tested it.

 

It certainly doesn't work the same as dark flake aluminum, but properly prepared, it does work. Keep trying and see what you can get it to do.

 

WSM

[robbo]

WSM is correct.

 

I think it should be emphasized that all pyrotechnic/burning chemistry is pressure-dependent (this is what containment is for); some systems are more pressure-dependent than others... and especially so with Blue Aluminum 70/30. The augmented fusing/booster required in Blue Al shots jacks up the pressure faster so all the coarse aluminum gets lit and doesn't get blown blind before the casing bursts.

 

But for KNO3/S/Al flashpowders to work, conventional wisdom says one needs the finest ingredients possible, intimately mixed, as well as good containment.

 

Blue aluminum has the opposite (mostly) of required this fineness. It has a large proportion of fairly coarse aluminum and this results in the relative inertness of its 70/30 mix.

 

(But it'd be an interesting experiment, say a really big blob of a really hot prime on the fire-giving end of the fuse, into a BlueAl/S/KNO3 mix in a really stout container.)

[memo]

in my thoughts , its not bunk, you just need to be smarter than what you are using. it really works well.

[WSM]

Another thought; while going through some saved files, I found a write up about blue aluminum by some of the researchers of it. My impression is that it really shines where large salutes are concerned (I'm guessing 3" and up, or bottom shots in larger multi-break shells).

 

In smaller salutes, extreme measures would be required to get it to go. Other material would probably work better for you.

 

I have zero financial (or any other) stakes in blue aluminum. I'm just associated with some of the people involved with it. I do have a sample of it but haven't done anything with it yet (I've got too many irons in the fire at this point in time, but I hope to try it out later; at least in glitter mixes). I'm not much of a salute guy and rarely make any, but I appreciate the work of others.

 

WSM