Category:Compositions

A pyrotechnic composition is a substance or mixture of substances designed to produce an effect by heat, light, sound, gas/smoke or a combination of these, as a result of non-detonative self-sustaining exothermic chemical reactions. Pyrotechnic substances do not rely on oxygen from external sources to sustain the reaction.

Basic types of pyrotechnic compositions are:

• flash powder – burns very fast, produces explosions and/or bright flashes of light
• gunpowder/black powder – burns slower than flash powder, produces large amount of gases
• solid propellants – produce large amount of hot gases, used as sources of kinetic energy for rockets and projectiles
• pyrotechnic initiators – produce large amount of heat, flames, and/or hot sparks, used to ignite other compositions
• gas generators – produce large amount of gas, either high volume at short time (for actuators and ejection charges, often using solid propellants) or controlled flow rate (e.g. chemical oxygen generators, often using thermite-like compositions)
• ejection charges – burn fast, produce large amount of gas at short time, used to eject payloads from containers
• burst charges – burn fast, produce large amount of gas at short time, used to fragment a container and eject its content
• smoke compositions – burn slowly, produce smoke, plain or colored
• delay compositions – burn at constant slow speed, used to introduce delays into the firing train
• pyrotechnic heat sources – produce large amount of heat and little to no gases, slow-burning, often thermite-like compositions
• sparklers – producing white or colored sparks
• flares – burn slowly, produce high amount of light, used for illumination or signaling
• coloured fireworks compositions – produce light, white or colored