Representing N.C. State at the international New Trends in Energetic Materials (NTREM) conference in April 2014 in Pardubice Czech Republic, Ed Mily, graduate research assistant in the Maria electronic thin films group, won second place for his research presentation on “Nanothermite Energy Release”. The highlighted work explored the feasibility of a nano-Kirkendall experiment using electron deposited platinum wire markers to track diffusion across a planar interface to better understand diffusion rate inequalities present in thermite constituents. Different initiation methods effect on energy release were also investigated that ranged from slow thermal anneals to rapid impact testing. In collaboration with the Dlott group at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the impact testing hits the thermite samples with laser driven flyer plates at speeds of several kilometers per second that produces characteristic optical light emission recorded with nanosecond precision. Probing the heat release behavior with the emission spectra allows for the understanding of the thermite behavior at fast time scales characteristic of the environments they are designed for.
