Soon Muscovites will be able to see New Year's fireworks on Red Square and in 15 other places in the city. Not many people know that the pyrotechnic products themselves are designed and manufactured at the plant of the Rostec state corporation in Sergiev Posad, near Moscow. Read about how fireworks are made for the New Year's holiday in the report of the Moscow 24 portal.
From drawing to fireworks
The beginning of the production of the most spectacular performance for the New Year does not begin at all with the factory, but with the institute. The designers of the Research Institute of Applied Chemistry are the first to start working, they come up with the final result - it is just seen by the audience during the fireworks. Specialists think over the form of fireworks, its color, sound effects and other parameters.
Leading researcher of the Research Institute of Applied Chemistry Viktor Plakunov with a model of a 310-caliber product. Photo: portal Moscow 24 / Ekaterina Shumeeva
Moreover, according to the leading researcher of the institute Viktor Plakunov, in order for the salute to be the way the designer intended it, everything must be clearly calculated to a fraction of a second.
"For this, the salute has a system of retarders that determine the time when the igniter-explosive charge will work: when it explodes, it scatters the rest of the elements in the air. There are also special elements that create an additional sparkling tail, sound and other effects. Together, a spectacular effect," he explained.
The charge gives the necessary initial speed to the main elements of the firework and ignites them simultaneously. If they go in one row, then simply spheres of stars are obtained, and when the "step-step" system is used, then several spheres gradually work, and a whole gamut of exploded balls is obtained.
"Like an artist, you can maneuver with colors and effects as you like. Fireworks can be different in height, shape, and duration. The final effect depends on human imagination. You can say that when designing fireworks, we dance on the border between art and engineering," Plakunov added.
Museum "Research Institute of Applied Chemistry". Photo: portal Moscow 24 / Ekaterina Shumeeva
By the way, the Research Institute of Applied Chemistry is also developing special rockets for dispersing clouds. They are also used to preserve the harvest of vineyards, protecting them from destructive hail, or for planned avalanches.
“It is expensive to disperse clouds over Moscow, because, firstly, there is a large territory, and, secondly, rockets contain such a component as silver iodide, which is expensive in itself,” the institute employee explained.
What does color depend on?
After creative imagination and cold calculation, all developments are sent to the factory so that fireworks can be brought to life and please numerous spectators. The most important magic happens in the workshop for the manufacture of the constituent parts of the future product. The so-called pyroelements are prepared here, which, burning in the air, emit everyone's favorite colored glow.
Factory shop. Photo: portal Moscow 24 / Ekaterina Shumeeva
Pyrotechnic elements (tablets) are made from several components, the main of which is saltpeter. The color of the future fireworks depends on it. The tablets themselves are made using the technology of continuous pressing. As a result of repeated passage through the shafts, a long cord is obtained, which is cut to certain sizes and ready-made pyroelements are obtained - they are then assembled into a ball.
"The pyroelements themselves are gray in color, but the color scheme can be white, red, yellow, purple. It all depends on the saltpeter: strontium - red, sodium - yellow, barium - green, and so on. Thanks to pressing, the colors are brighter and more saturated due to manufacturing technologies,” explained the chief engineer of the production site Vadim Chernyshov.
The burning temperature of these tablets is very high - reaches thousands of degrees Celsius. If the pyro element ignites in the hand of the assembler, it can burn through it. Therefore, the strictest security measures are observed in the workshop. Shop workers should not take watches, mobile phones and use ferrous metal items with them, as they need to insure themselves against any static electricity that can provoke a fire.
Factory floor specialist. Photo: portal Moscow 24 / Ekaterina Shumeeva
Then, in another workshop, the direct assembly of the finished product is carried out. First, all the tablets that determine the color of the spectacular effect are placed in a hemisphere. The workshop operator Svetlana Kutsenko explained that in this case the fireworks are called "red chrysanthemum", where tablets with a red component are used.
Pyroelements are laid out in several layers in a circle, gunpowder is poured into the middle, then everything is rammed so that they are evenly distributed, fit snugly and do not move. The second hemisphere fits in the same way. To make one salute, you need about a kilogram of gunpowder. It happens that gunpowder is mixed with tablets of a different color: the base is red, the middle is green, and so on. The result is a completely different firework.
Shop operator Svetlana Kutsenko. Photo: portal Moscow 24 / Ekaterina Shumeeva
According to the apparatchik, the saturation of the ball depends on the size of the tablets: the more layers, the more fluffy the “chrysanthemum” will be. Then the two halves of the product are connected into a ball, fastened with tape. This is necessary in order to bring it to the winding machine. And the machine itself winds the adhesive material around the ball and tightly fastens the two hemispheres. But after that, the balls are still very soft and they need six hours to wait in the dryer at a temperature of 28-30 degrees, and still stand for 24 hours until completely hardened.
Winding machine. Photo: portal Moscow 24 / Ekaterina Shumeeva
Tests
Ready-made fireworks are tested away from the city at closed ranges so as not to disturb or frighten local residents. To begin with, they choose a specific mortar (metal pipe) from which they will shoot into the air. In these tests, products with a caliber of 125 millimeters were tested. Then long wires are connected to the fireworks, and the launch operator is locked in a special metal house that protects him from a possible explosion of pyrotechnics in the mortar.
Test site. Photo: portal Moscow 24 / Ekaterina Shumeeva
The rest of the test witnesses need to move to a safe distance, approximately 200 meters from the launch site. Before firing, the operator checks the equipment several times to make sure everything works without punctures. The last minutes of preparation, the signal to launch - and a ten-kilogram projectile flies into the air 150 meters above the ground.
Firework test. Photo: portal Moscow 24 / Ekaterina Shumeeva
An explosion, a loud bang and dozens of green and yellow stars, which the employees of the plant worked hard on, break out in a split second, scattering like a flock of luminous birds. During these tests, five charges with different fillings were launched into the sky. And during the New Year's fireworks, there are several thousand such volleys, so that the residents of Moscow feel the real atmosphere of the holiday and get a positive charge for the whole next year.
Bengal candles
In addition to professional pyrotechnics, which are made for the New Year, the Victory Parade and other significant holidays, the familiar and beloved Bengal candles are made at the plant near Moscow. Moreover, one of the technologies is much better than that of Chinese manufacturers who have been making fireworks for more than two thousand years.
Workshop for the production of Bengal candles. Photo: portal Moscow 24 / Ekaterina Shumeeva
About 10 employees work in this workshop. They make Bengal candles using the latest technology. First, a paste-like combustible mixture is applied to the metal base in one layer. Then the candles are dried for a short time, after which the products are supplied with a special head that facilitates ignition, and finally, the candles are packed in cardboard boxes. Using this technology, they mainly make long products - up to 65 centimeters, which can burn up to 5 minutes.
Robotic hand. Photo: portal Moscow 24 / Ekaterina Shumeeva
Chinese technology is used to make small candles, from 15 centimeters long. Such products are made by dipping or immersion. For this, all the same metal rods are taken, but they need much more - up to two thousand pieces. A special robotic arm under the control of an operator takes trays with rods and immerses them in a combustible composition, but, unlike the first composition, it is liquid. Then the products covered with a thin layer of the composition are sent to the oven for drying, and then the operation is repeated.
Finished sparklers. Photo: portal Moscow 24 / Ekaterina Shumeeva
On small products, three or more layers are applied. It all depends on the components of the composition, since they have different viscosities: the thinner the composition, the thinner the layer, and it must be applied more times. The operation is repeated until the thickness of the mixture reaches 4-4.5 mm. Despite the fact that up to two thousand pieces can be made at a time, this is a very long process. Then, like large products, candles are packaged in a bright and eye-catching wrapper. And, finally, Bengal candles are already on the shelves of stores where you can buy them and please yourself and loved ones on New Year's holidays.
Happy New Year, and be careful when using holiday pyrotechnics!
A single salute is a tube, at the end of which there is a stand-stub. Inside are: a festival ball that creates the effect of fireworks, a charge and a wick that goes outside.
When the wick is ignited, a buoyancy charge is triggered, causing the ball to fly out of the tube. While the ball is gaining maximum height, the moderator burns out in it, and the main charge of the ball itself is already initiated in the sky. This creates a beautiful fireworks effect.
Fireworks Batteries
Salute batteries are pyrotechnic products that combine a certain number of single salutes. In one battery there can be various single salutes - with different calibers and different visual effects. Therefore, batteries are best suited for organizing festive fireworks. The internal structure of the battery is similar to that of a single salute, the only difference being the number of salutes. The main characteristics of the battery: caliber and number of volleys. Caliber is the diameter of the launch tube and is measured in inches. The larger it is, the more powerful the salute. The number of volleys is equal to the number of single salutes included in the battery.
Before launching a salute battery, be sure to carefully inspect its packaging. It must be intact, without stains, creases and traces of mechanical damage. Batteries in torn or dented packaging are not recommended. A damaged pyrotechnic product may either not work at all (at best), or it may work in an absolutely unpredictable way, which is fraught with serious consequences. It is safest to soak such a product for a day in water to neutralize the combustible mixture, and then dispose of it.
The salute battery is launched as follows:
Open the top cover and fold it back at least 180 degrees.
Place the battery on a horizontal surface (it must be flat and non-slip). If the base of the battery is smaller than its height, it is necessary to insure against tipping over. To do this, overlay it with snow, earth or bricks.
Light the wick with a sparkler or lighter. Do this with your arm outstretched and without bending over the product.
Run quickly to a safe distance (at least 20m). Only now can you turn to face the salute battery.
Roman candles
Roman candles (in pyrotechnic slang - Romans) at first glance seem to be quite simple products. In fact, the design of a Roman candle is quite complex. The Roman candle is a multi-layered launch tube designed for multiple volleys. There are 3 mandatory elements for each salvo. Consider this construction from top to bottom:
Charge with pyrotechnic effect (asterisk).
The propellant charge needed to eject and fire the sprocket.
A retarder that transfers the fuse to the next charge.
Lit Roman candles are dangerous to hold in your hands. They should always be buried in the ground or snow at half the height, or attached with tape to a strong stick or reinforcement. The most important thing is to securely fasten Roman candles.
pyrotechnic rockets
Despite the fact that all rockets have the same device, they are considered the most interesting type of fireworks. Each rocket has a stabilizer - an object with carefully calibrated weight and dimensions. The rocket body itself or a wooden stick, on which the charge and engine are installed, can serve as a stabilizer. The engine is understood as a dense sleeve with a nozzle, in which there is a pyrotechnic composition in the form of a concave cone, which increases the combustion area. Also, each rocket has a moderator and a charge. The moderator burns out as the rocket climbs, and then a charge is initiated, which creates the visual effect of a salute.
Remember that missiles with broken stabilizers cannot be used! The flight path of such missiles can be completely unpredictable.
Most of the holidays in Russia are traditionally accompanied by fireworks. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a wedding or Victory Day, which is celebrated at the state level, fireworks of varying complexity decorate the sky for any reason. But how does an explosion turn into art?
10 12 2015
00:56
A beautiful picture in the sky is created with the help of two components - directly shells and launchers.
The general scheme of the salute charge device is as follows: a shell, gunpowder, inclusion of elements for creating an image, a charge and a wick. Let's consider in more detail. I will make a reservation in advance that most, but by no means all fireworks are made in the manner described below, so the technology may change.
Making fireworks starts with the body. Recently, plastic has been most often used as a material for it. The main cord is glued to the bottom of the case, through which a spark will pass to the charge.
In the center of the future fireworks there is a compartment that is filled with powder explosives - it is this that will provide the first level of the explosion. After filling, the compartment is sealed so that its contents do not mix with the outer layer. The so-called stars are poured into the latter - explosives containing magnesium (gives a white flash), copper salts (blue), charcoal (orange) and other additives to create multi-colored sparks in the sky. For greater effect, so-called "comets" are added to fine explosives - small charges with a different visual effect. All this explosive mixture is filled with a strictly calculated amount of gunpowder.
If fireworks are conceived as complex, for example, a two-component show, then the number of compartments increases. Between them, a corrugated cardboard shock absorber is installed, which is necessary to create a delay between explosions. The second, as well as all subsequent compartments, are filled in the same way (in accordance with the wishes of the customer).
In one projectile there are several different compartments that separate different charge zones from each other. This is necessary in order to create stepped flashes. The result is a “bomb” elongated along one of the axes, to which a cover made of the same plastic as the rest of the case is glued on top.
The finished projectile is wrapped in paper, and is also supplemented with a small bag of gunpowder, which will serve as a lifting charge. A cord is attached to it, set on fire when fireworks are launched. The international color-coded label helps identify the size of the charge, and the labels on the label are the components used, defining the look of the explosion. Often, for the safety of transportation, the projectile is delivered immediately with a launch tube (if their size allows).
Work with gunpowder is carried out in compliance with the maximum safety precautions. To avoid static discharges, assembly line workers wear thin rubber gloves at all times to avoid detonating explosives.
This may seem like all it takes to paint the sky with different colors, but the salute will not take off into the air without the appropriate launcher. And if we divide the show into stages, then the first of the two claps is precisely the sound of a volley.
Launchers can be roughly divided into several types. The first of these is the simplest - the launch tube. As the name suggests, it is a hollow cylinder covered with multiple layers of insulation and protection for repeated use. Most often used to launch several small projectiles separated by a decelerator - most often a fuse that takes over the fuse, burns for a while, and only then sends the “start” command to the next charge. These fireworks usually fly low (at or slightly above the level of the house) and are sold in retail fireworks stores for the public due to the cheapness of manufacture.
Salute batteries are a more complex design. They are also found in stores, but they are somewhat more complicated - in them, individual charges are interconnected in a special way, which allows them to be combined to create certain effects in the sky.
This type of fireworks, like rockets, does not require special devices to launch. However, large charges need to be directed in the right direction. This is done with the help of two elements - stabilizers and the same launch tube. The more stable the rocket flies, the less likely it is to damage nearby objects.
The difference between professional devices and "household" ones is reliability and scale. Those fireworks that we see during major public holidays are launched using cannons. At the same time, their design may well be similar (but not identical, of course) to the same launch tubes and batteries, but at the same time steel or cast iron is used as a material for it. The size of such launchers is also impressive - they are more like anti-aircraft guns, or multiple rocket launchers (which, with some stretch, they are).
We have completed the journey inside the fireworks and now we know what the technology for creating bright and colorful sky paintings looks like from the inside. Happy New Year everyone!
Dmitry Potapkin, especially for Obzor.press.
The main chemical components of a pyrotechnic product are: combustible substances, oxidizers, cementing agents and phlegmatizers.
Pyrotechnics are made using a wide variety of combustible substances. Very often, organic carbonaceous materials are used, such as sugar (smoke grenades) or charcoal. Other commonly used fuels include sulfur, silicon and boron. The principle of operation of these metals is as follows: during the oxidation of boron and silicon, a huge amount of thermal energy is released, and a lot of gaseous products are also formed. Such substances are used to set fire to other compounds at a given time or in delayed fuses.
The oldest material used in pyrotechnics is powder. Classical gunpowder consists of saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur; modern samples have a much more complex composition. In fireworks, gunpowder is used as the main bursting element.
Oxidizers- These are substances that can give off oxygen at elevated temperatures: chlorates, perchlorates, nitrates, sulfates, permanganates, etc.
cementers used for sealing pyrotechnic compositions, as All sold in pressed form.
Phlegmatizers- impurities added to explosives to reduce their sensitivity to external influences, such as elevated temperature, shock, compressive loads, etc. Thus, fireworks are activated only in the conditions conceived by their creators (after lighting the wick).
Pyrotechnics also include reactive metals. The combustion of these metals occurs at very high temperatures, while they emit bright light. Reactive metals began to be used in the manufacture of fireworks only in the nineteenth century, and with their arrival the spectacle of fireworks increased. To create different colors of the glow of pyroelements, salts of various metals are used, for example, for yellow - sodium, for blue - copper, for orange - calcium, etc.
Shops offer a large selection of a wide variety of fireworks. However, such entertainment can easily be made at home. How to make fireworks at home, we will gladly share with you in this article. We present both detailed instructions and important precautions.
Method number 1
So, how to make homemade fireworks at home:
Method number 2
Want to learn how to make a powerful salute at home? Read the instructions:
Let's paint with flowers
Knowing how to make a salute with your own hands at home, you will probably want to see your creation in many colors. This will help the addition of the following substances that color the fireworks in a certain color.
Now let's move on to the most important point of our article.
Precautionary measures
You learned how to make fireworks at home. Both during its manufacture and when starting, do not forget about the following rules:
Now you know how to make a salute at home, paint it in different colors. Always remember to take precautions both when making fireworks and when setting them off. Try to protect not only yourself, but also the audience, the environment!
