Low-smoke pyrotechnic composition

Abstract

A low-smoke, pyrotechnic composition is provided. The composition may include Ceric Ammonium Nitrate as an oxidizer, a fuel source, stabilizer, and a binder. The use of Ceric Ammonium Nitrate as an oxidizing agent within the composition can result in reducing the amount of smoke generated during combustion of the composition, which may be beneficial for certain pyrotechnic applications. In certain constructions, the composition may include Ceric Ammonium Nitrate as an oxidizer, Nitrocellulose and Titanium as fuel sources, Cyanoguanidine as a stabilizer, Cupric Oxide as a burn rate catalyst, and any suitable binder agent. The amount of Ceric Ammonium Nitrate by percent weight of the composition may range between 20-80 percent, 30-40 percent, or 30.0-37.5 percent. In certain configurations, the amount of Ceric Ammonium Nitrate may be about 36.7 percent by weight.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62 / 832,003, filed on Apr. 10, 2019, to Lyle Salmi et al., entitled “Low-Smoke Pyrotechnic Composition,” currently pending, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to ingredients or components for use in pyrotechnics, and more specifically, as a low-smoke alternative to black powder used in pyrotechnics.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Black powder has been used in pyrotechnic devices for thousands of years. It is an intimate mixture of approximately 75% potassium nitrate, 15% charcoal, and 10% sulfur. While its initial development was geared towards using it as an explosive weapon, its uses quickly expanded into the civil engineering and entertainment sectors. Its historic beginnings should be of no surprise, as there are many positive characteristics that make blac...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is about a pyrotechnic composition that produces minimal smoke and other solid particles during combustion. The composition includes Ceric Ammonium Nitrate as an oxidizing agent which generates a lot of oxygen for combustion and nitrogen gas for propulsion. Compared to other common oxidizers, this composition produces significantly less smoke and other particulate matter during combustion.

Problems solved by technology

Firstly, black powder is readily ignitable due to the presence of sulfur and its low melting point.

Black powder used in current pyrotechnic devices is undesirable for certain applications due to the fact that it typically produces substantial solid by-products from the composition's combustion in the form of smoke and other solid particulate matter.

Current black powder replacements typically fail to reliably ignite secondary pyrotechnic compositions.