Particle-particle interactions in aluminum reduction of boron oxide

The Georgia Tech Research Institute has been studying the use of thermite reactions for the production of specialized compounds since the mid-1950's. One of the goals of the research at GTRI is to define the reaction mechanism in order to be ble to predict the resultant reaction behaviour and thus prevent hazardous conditions. Thermite processing advantages are discussed in this paper. A typical thermite type of reaction to produce a composite titanium diboride/alumina is shown. The reactions typically use three starting materials for the production of a specific compound. A preliminary experimental mechanistic model of the extremely exothermic oxidation-reduction reaction is being developed