Multi‐Colored Smoke Signals Applying the Concept of Fuel Mixes

摘要

The concept of so‐called fuel mixes is discussed for novel sugar‐free multi‐colored smoke formulations.These simple mixtures of dye, potassium chlorate, 5‐aminotetrazole and a magnesium carbonatederivative are able to produce a variety of colored smoke by applying the same pyrotechnical system.The respective fuel mix is prepared by pre‐mixing all components except the dye; in a further step thismixture can be combined with the smoke dyes Disperse Red 9, Violet Dye Mix, Solvent Yellow 33 andSolvent Green 3. For big producers as well as consumers, the concept of fuel mixes is an effective way toreduce costs and provide a higher degree of safety by having smaller amounts of potentially explosivematerial in stock for a long time. Previous research on white smokes in our group indicated an overallhigher smoke performance, in terms of efficiency, and better persistence by using 5‐aminotetrazole asmain fuel instead of sugar. This strategy was applied to develop new 5‐aminotetrazole‐based coloredsmoke formulations.