Modeling studies of the effect of thermal and electrical conductivities and relative density of field-activated self-propagating combustion synthesis

The role of the electrical conductivity of the product and of the thermal c onductivities of the reactants on self-propagating combustion synthesis was investigated through modeling studies, Similar studies were made to invest igate the role of the relative density of the reactants. The effect of an i mposed electric field on the results of the modeling analysis was considere d. For any given imposed field, the wave velocity exhibited a maximum at a given normalized thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and relativ e density. The results are discussed in terms of the Joule heat contributio n of the field and are compared with experimental observations.