Imidazole-based energetic ionic liquids capable of dual-mode chemical monopropellant or bipropellant and electric electrospray rocket propulsion are investigated. A literature review of ionic liquid physical properties is conducted to determine an initial set of ionic liquids that show favorable physical properties for both modes, followed by numerical and analytical performance simulations. Of the ionic liquids considered in this study, [Bmim][dca], [Bmim][NO 3 ], and [Emim][EtSO 4 ] meet or exceed the storability properties of hydrazine and their electrochemical properties are comparable to [Emim][Im], the current state-of-the-art electrospray propellant. Simulations show that these liquids do not perform well as chemical monopropellants, having 10-22% lower specific impulse due to their lack of oxidizing species. The ionic liquids show acceptable bipropellant performance when burned with standard oxidizers, having specific impulse 6-12% lower than monomethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide combination. Considering these ionic liquids as a fuel component in a binary monopropellant mixture with hydroxyl ammonium nitrate shows 1-3% improved specific impulse over some green monopropellants, while retaining a higher molecular weight, reducing the number of electrospray emitters required to produce a given thrust level. More generally, ionic liquids with oxidizing anions perform well as chemical monopropellants while retaining high molecular weight desirable for electrospray propulsion missions.
Nomenclature
E max= maximum electric field e = fundamental charge F = thrust g o = acceleration of gravity I d = density specific impulse I emit = current flow per emitter I i = output current associated with charged particle emission I sp = specific impulse K = electrical conductivity MW = molecular weight m i = mass of particle i emit m = mass flow rate per emitter tot m = total mass flow rate N emit = number of emitters P c = chamber pressure P e = nozzle exit pressure Q = volume flow rate q = particle charge R = gas constant R A = ion fraction T c = combustion temperature 2 T m = melting temperature V acc = electrostatic acceleration potential V e = exit velocity x i = mass fraction of species i ΔH 0 f = heat of formation δ av = average specific gravity ε = dielectric constant, or nozzle expansion ratio ε o = permittivity of free space γ = ratio of specific heats, or surface tension φ(ε) = proportionality coefficient ρ = density ρ i = density of species i ρ n = density of species n