Texas Tech researchers develop ways to make fireworks’ aluminium fuel safer

Researchers at Texas Tech University in Lubbock have developed a method for stabilizing aluminium fuel powder used in fireworks that increases their shelf life and, as a result, makes them safer to use.

Aluminium powder is used as a fuel for both commercial-grade and professional-grade fireworks. Although it works well in that role, it also degrades quickly, sometimes becoming unstable and no longer fully combustible in as short as a few months.

These duds don’t always become completely inert however, and still can (and sometimes do) detonate and injure individuals who return to investigate why the firework has not yet gone off.

“The duds are usually the most dangerous fireworks,” said Michelle Pantoya, a professor and J.W. Wright Regents Chair in the department of mechanical engineering at Tech. Her department has developed a protective coating that prevents oxidation and, as a result, reducing the chances that the firework becomes a dangerous dud.

Another significant danger in the fireworks industry is inadvertent detonation due to static electricity.

“That energy, that just inherent energy that your body is building up, is enough to ignite these fireworks,” she explained. To combat this danger, researchers have devised methods for mixing carbon particles in with the aluminium fuel, which is meant to channel the electrical charge through and out of the firework, preventing ignition.

“It’s becoming more and more used,” she said. “I think most of the explosions that we’ve heard of in the past won’t happen in the future.”

Tech researchers have also developed ways to keep colors separated within the fireworks’ shell, making for color combinations and sequences that were not possible even a few short years ago.

Although fireworks have a significant entertainment value, but these innovations have crossover potential for use in the defense industry. Other applications include batteries, airbags, flares, welding, and transportation.

“A lot of people recognize the military applications, so it’s easier to talk about. But (metal fuel particles) are used everywhere,” she explained.

Completely utilizing the energy in metal fuel isn’t easy, she says, pointing out that such fuels aren’t fully consumed in most fireworks. Increasing the amount of metal fuel consumption is an area of ongoing research.

“There’s a lot we can do to figure out ways to get more energy,” Pantoya opined. “That’s what we do.”