The direct synthesis of high temperature materials by combustion can proceed in different fashion depending upon the phases of the reactants. When one reactant is a gas and the other is a compact powder, the process is termed filtration combustion. Various analyses of solid-solid combustion and an initial analysis of the planar counter-flow mode (ie., the reactant gas velocity and the combustion wave move in opposite directions) have already been completed. The current research will extend this to include the co-flowing and diffusional modes of filtration combustion. Additionally, the following topics will be addressed: transient modes of propagation (stable and unstable), nonadiabatic effects, two-step kinetics, effects of melting of the reactant, densification during reaction, and application of adaptive pseudospectral methods to numerically modelling multi-dimensional flame propagation. Self-propagating high temperature synthesis is an innovative method for fabrication of ceramic and metallic materials. The theoretical study, to be performed in collaboration with the Chernogolovka Institute of Structural Macrokinetics as part of the US-USSR Cooperation in the Field of Basic Scientific Research Program, will yield insight into the complex phenomena involved. The results will aid in explaining past observed behavior and designing future experiments necessary to make the process competitive.
