Properties of dust clouds of novel hydrogen-containing alloys

Novel hydrogen-containing alloys based on aluminum, boron, and magnesium hydride (MgH$_2$) are fabricated in a special process. The properties of their dust clouds (minimum ignition energy, minimum explosive concentration, and maximum explosion pressure) are studied. The results show that the minimum ignition energies of the novel hydrogen-containing alloys are 20–40 mJ, which is 50 mJ lower on the average than those of flake aluminum. The minimum explosive concentration values are between 20 and 30 g/m$^3$. The maximum explosion pressure of the novel hydrogen-containing alloys is up to 0.88 MPa at the dust cloud concentration of 750 g/m$^3$, which is obviously higher than that of flake aluminum (0.78 MPa). Magnesium hydride existing in the alloy can change the way of energy releasing and improve the efficiency.