Simulation of multidimensional unsteady heat transfer with aluminothermic reaction and phase transition

Thermite reactions are self-sustained exothermic reactions commonly employed in welding processes of railway tracks, material synthesis and pyrotechnics, to mention a few applications. More recently, this reaction has been assessed to plug depleted oil wells. Motivated by the foregoing, this work numerically investigates a Fe2O3/Al thermite reaction. A two-dimensional axisymmetric domain with a thermite layer compressed between a PMMA lid and a stainless-steel disk is considered. A first-order kinetic is assumed and the reaction is controlled by the hematite consumption. A computational solver is developed based on the open-source OpenFOAM & REG; software. Numerical results showed good agreement with experimental data for temperature levels. Numerical results further indicated thermal losses next to the thermite-steel interface. These heat losses affected the melting of the species as a small portion of alumina remained entirely solid during the reaction. & COPY; 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Thermite reactions, commonly used in welding, material synthesis, and pyrotechnics, have recently been investigated for plugging depleted oil wells. This study numerically simulates a Fe2O3/Al thermite reaction using the open-source software OpenFOAM. The numerical results show good agreement with experimental data for temperature levels and indicate thermal losses near the thermite-steel interface, leading to incomplete melting of alumina during the reaction.