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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delay composition | 1/1 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay_composition | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T11:27:14.089348+00:00 | kb-cron |
Delay composition, also called delay charge or delay train, is a pyrotechnic composition, a sort of pyrotechnic initiator, a mixture of oxidizer and fuel that burns in a slow, constant rate that should not be significantly dependent on temperature and pressure. Delay compositions are used to introduce a delay into the firing train, e.g. to properly sequence firing of fireworks, to delay firing of ejection charges in e.g. model rockets, or to introduce a few seconds of time between triggering a hand grenade and its explosion. Typical delay times range between several milliseconds and several seconds. A popular delay charge is a tube of pressed black powder. The mechanical assembly prevents the outright detonation of the charge. While delay compositions are principally similar to other fuel-oxidizer compositions, larger grain sizes and less aggressively reacting chemicals are used. Many of the compositions generate little or no gas during burning. Typical materials used are:
Fuels: silicon, boron, manganese, tungsten, antimony, antimony trisulfide, zirconium, zirconium–nickel alloy, zinc, magnesium, etc. Oxidizers: lead dioxide, iron oxides, barium chromate, lead chromate, tin(IV) oxide, bismuth(III) oxide, barium sulfate (for high-temperature compositions), potassium perchlorate (usually used in small amount together with other oxidizers), etc. Additives to cool down the flame and slow down the reaction can be employed; inert materials or coolants like titanium dioxide, ground glass, chalk, sodium bicarbonate, etc. are common. The burn rates are dependent on: [1]
nature of fuel - fuels that release more heat burn faster nature of oxidizer - oxidizers that require less heat to decompose burn faster the composition ratio - stoichiometric mixtures burn the fastest, also slight excess of metallic fuel also increases burn rate, probably due to heat transfer particle sizes - smaller particles burn faster, but too small particles may lead to incomplete or interrupted burn due to too narrow heating zone mechanical assembly and housing - charge diameter and thermal conductivity of housing influence lateral heat losses ambient temperature - ideally this dependence is very low but extremely low or extremely high temperatures may have influence Examples of some compositions are: [2]
black powder with addition of inert material, e.g. chalk or sodium bicarbonate lead(II) oxide with silicon, burning at 1.5–2 cm/s red lead with silicon, burning at intermediate rate lead(IV) oxide with silicon, burning at 5–6 cm/s potassium permanganate with antimony, very slow Manganese Delay Composition: manganese with lead chromate and barium chromate (lead chromate is the principal oxidizer, barium chromate acts as burning rate modifier, the more of it the slower the reaction) [3] Archived 2008-06-02 at the Wayback Machine Tungsten Delay Composition: tungsten with barium chromate and potassium perchlorate [4] Zirconium Nickel Alloy Delay Composition: zirconium-nickel alloy with barium chromate and potassium perchlorate. boron with barium chromate [5]
== References ==