SOME FUNDAMENTAL VERSUS PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF SELF-PROPAGATING HIGH-TEMPERATURE SYNTHESIS

Earlier papers about self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (in s hort SHS) usually do not convey to non-specialists how to translate th e basic facts and fundamental concepts of SHS into the realization of this method in terms, for instance, of particle size of the reactants, of thermal conductivity and mode of heating up of beds of articulate reactants; these differ substantially from the ones used for synthesis of solid compounds by conventional furnace methods. Moreover, in cont rast to the energy saving features of SHS, less known is the fact that the specific mechanism of SHS reactions and the resulting nature of t he products enable a simplification of processing of primary SHS produ cts to materials. Knowledge of implications of the theory for the prac tice of SHS is important because the method has evolved into a techniq ue which is being applied to the production of a wide variety of ceram ic, intermetallic and composite materials. In order to illustrate thes e implications a number of examples, based mainly on investigations in to SHS in solid-solid reactive systems, is discussed in the present pa per.