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The flame-speed-enhancement phenomenon of a solid monopropellant (nitrocellulose) using a highly conductive thermal base (graphite sheet) was demonstrated and studied both experimentally and theoretically. A propellant layer ranging from 20 μm to 170 μm was deposited on the top of a 20-μm thick graphite sheet. Self-propagating oscillatory combustion waves were observed, with average flame speed enhancements up to 14 times the bulk value. The ratio of the fuel-to-graphite layer thickness affects not only the average reaction front velocities but also the period and the amplitude of the combustion wave oscillations. To better understand the flame-speed enhancement and the oscillatory nature of the combustion waves, the coupled nitrocellulose-graphite system was modeled using one-dimensional energy conservation equations along with simple one-step chemistry. The period and the amplitude of the oscillatory combustion waves were predicted as a function of the ratio of the fuel-to-graphite thickness (R), the ratio of the graphite-to-fuel thermal diffusivity (α0), and the non-dimensional inverse adiabatic temperature rise (β). The predicted flame speeds and the characteristics of the oscillations agree well with the experimental data. The new concept of using a highly conductive thermal base such as carbon-based nano- and microstructures to enhance flame propagation speed or burning rate of propellants and fuels could lead to improved performance of solid and liquid rocket motors, as well as of the alternative energy conversion microelectromechanical devices.

Abstract. Converting blackbody thermal radiation to electricity via thermophotovoltaics (TPV) is inherently inefficient. Photon recycling using cold-side filters offers potentially improved performance but requires extremely close spacing between the thermal emitter and the receiver, namely a high view factor. Here, we propose an alternative approach for thermal energy conversion, the use of an integrated photonic crystal selective emitter (IPSE), which combines twodimensional photonic crystal selective emitters and filters into a single device. Finite difference time domain and current transport simulations show that IPSEs can significantly suppress sub-bandgap photons. This increases heat-to-electricity conversion for photonic crystal based emitters from 35.2 up to 41.8% at 1573 K for a GaSb photovoltaic (PV) diode with matched bandgaps of 0.7 eV. The physical basis of this enhancement is a shift from a perturbative to a nonperturbative regime, which maximized photon recycling. Furthermore, combining IPSEs with nonconductive optical waveguides eliminates a key difficulty associated with TPV: the need for precise alignment between the hot selective emitter and cool PV diode. The physical effects of both the IPSE and waveguide can be quantified in terms of an extension of the concept of an effective view factor.

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