Pulsating combustion of magnesium particles in CO

Combustion of magnesium in carbon oxides is of great interest because of the prospects for CO2/metal propulsion on Mars. In this paper pulsating combustion of single magnesium particles in the atmosphere of carbon monoxide is experimentally studied, A closed chamber and a gas flow reactor are employed in this study. Thermocouple measurements of particle and gas temperature as well as microscopic observations throughout the entire ignition and combustion process are carried out. The pulsation frequency significantly increases with increasing the ambient temperature and decreases with increasing the gas velocity. The experimental results are discussed with consideration of thermodynamic peculiarities of Mg combustion in carbon oxides.