A review of the compatibility of structural materials with oxygen

M oxygen is used than all other atmospheric gases combined. About 300 billion cubic feet of oxygen was produced in the U.S. in 1971 and nearly all of it was shipped either as liquid or high pressure gas. During its production, transport, and use, oxygen is in contact with many different materials, virtually all of which will burn. The problem of choosing properly safe, or compatible, materials initiated this review which has the objective of presenting a brief survey of the compatibility of structural materials with oxygen. A compatible material can be defined as one that will maintain its desirable properties in the presence of oxygen. The oxidation process with bulk materials is either very slow and controllable or violently fast and destructive; incompatibility is usually analogous to the latter. Compatibility with oxygen is, then, a relative quality determined by how readily and to what degree a material will react with oxygen. Included in this survey is a review of the historical development of compatibility problems and research, a discussion of compatibility testing methods, a summarization of the ignition and combustion research reported in the literature, a discussion of common materials for their relative oxygen compatibility, and an effort to elucidate research areas which would enhance our understanding of the compatibility of bulk materials.