Effect of duty cycle on catalytic thruster degradation

Hearn, H. C.

doi:10.2514/3.28056

Cited by 15 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…We conclude from our study with certainly two extreme cases of new and aged thrusters, that the contamination potential from monopropellant thrusters depends strongly on the the thruster operation history. The deterioration of the catalyst bed is known to be directly dependent on the duty cycle [7], and thus directly (particulates) and indirectly (gas species composition) affects the contamination potential.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Monopropellant plume-induced contamination testing for the Europa Lander mission concept

Grabe¹,

Buntrock²,

Soares

2023

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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The induced contamination from two hydrazine-propelled thrusters is studied in the high-vacuum plume test facility for chemical thrusters at DLR Göttingen, STG-CT. A number of representative material samples are exposed to the freely expanding pulsed thruster plume for subsequent in-depth analysis at JPL. The plume gas is monitored in-situ with a mass spectrometer and quartz crystal microbalances, while non-gaseous ejecta are recorded with a high-speed camera setup. With the detailed chemical analysis ongoing we report on the measurements obtained during the campaign and immediate post-test observations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is known that monopropellant hydrazine thruster catalyst beds degrade and fragment depending on the operating conditions and employed duty cycles [7]. Voiding and catalyst bed mass loss may occur as a thruster reaches the end of its life [8].…”

Section: Catalyst Bed Ejectamentioning

confidence: 99%

Monopropellant plume-induced contamination testing for the Europa Lander mission concept

Grabe¹,

Buntrock²,

Soares

2023

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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“…While catalysts by their nature are not consumed, the potentially harsh chemical and thermal environments that are characteristic of monopropellant decomposition and combustion can cause the destruction of the catalyst through a variety of mechanisms. 34 Since these new propellant systems will need to meet or exceed the performance of comparable hydrazine propulsion systems, a similar operational lifespan must be met and a similar range of duty cycles to the current performance of hydrazine on S-405 must be achieved. 28 Likewise, there cannot be a significant change in total system mass due to a heavier flow system and/or catalyst that is not compensated by the increased propellant performance.…”

Section: Performance and Materials Compatibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Recommended Figures of Merit for Green Monopropellants

Marshall

Deans

2013

49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference

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Hydrazine propellant has historically been used as a rocket thruster monopropellant since the mid-1960s. Mission managers are well aware of its characteristics and performance. However, it is a known toxic chemical and a wide effort is underway to reduce and/or eliminate its use worldwide. Several new propellant combinations have been developed in the last few years which tout or promise to provide same or better performance as hydrazine while being "non-toxic" or "green". Yet, there is no consistent definition for what constitutes "non-toxic" or "green", and thus no good figure of merit for which to compare. This paper seeks to review the three major categories of figures of merit, and discusses how they might be used to assess the viability of a propellant.

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“…The chamber in the jet motor is filled with catalyst granules which decompose propellant. As thruster are fired, the catalyst granules in the chamber are crushed into fine particles by many factors such as thermal cycle by firing, hydrazine fluid friction, and the pressure spike in the chamber [1]. The crushed fine particles are then flown downstream and some particles go out through the thruster nozzle and some are remained in the chamber and are accumulated between the catalyst granules.…”

Section: The Life Of Monopropellant Hydrazine Thrustersmentioning

confidence: 99%

The construction of the life prediction model of 1N and 4N monopropellant thrusters

Fujii

Goto

Kagawa

et al. 2013

49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference

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The monopropellant hydrazine thruster is widely used in many satellites and explorers propulsion system and launch vehicle RCS due to its simplicity, high reliability, and robustness. The life of monopropellant hydrazine thruster is mainly determined by the degradation of catalyst granules. The void of the catalyst bed causes the thruster performance degradation and this trend strongly depends on the firing mode. To collect the quantitative performance degradation trend, such as thrust, specific impulse, impulse bit, and centroid time delay, the endurance firing tests were conducted with 1N and 4N thrusters. From these collected data, the life prediction models of 1N and 4N thruster were constructed. The life endurance and the performance degradation trends of thrusters can be estimated from its firing mode using this model. I. The life of monopropellant hydrazine thrustersONOPROPELLANT hydrazine thrusters are widely used in many satellites and explorers propulsion system and launch vehicle RCS due to its simplicity, high reliability, and robustness. The thrust range is mainly 1-100N and the 1N and 4N thrusters are the work horses in the monopropellant thruster family, since they are suitable for attitude control or orbit control of the satellite. As 1N and 4N thrusters are relatively small range of monopropellant hydrazine thrusters, they are useful for delicate control of spacecraft.The life of the monopropellant hydrazine thruster is mainly determined by the degradation of catalyst granules. A monopropellant thruster consists of a propellant valve which controls the propellant flow, and a jet motor which decomposes the liquid propellant to high temperature gas. The chamber in the jet motor is filled with catalyst granules which decompose propellant. As thruster are fired, the catalyst granules in the chamber are crushed into fine particles by many factors such as thermal cycle by firing, hydrazine fluid friction, and the pressure spike in the chamber[1]. The crushed fine particles are then flown downstream and some particles go out through the thruster nozzle and some are remained in the chamber and are accumulated between the catalyst granules. These are the reasons why a void of the catalyst bed is generated after firing and why the degradation of thrust increases due to the pressure drop in the catalyst bed. The void of the catalyst bed causes the thruster performance degradation and the trend of it strongly depends on its firing mode. Previously, although it was known that the long cycle period and the long ON time of the firing mode had relatively severe effect to the catalyst granules, there were not enough quantitative data of the relationship between the firing mode and the catalyst degradation and performance degradation trend.After the firing modes of thrusters are designed by a satellite system manufacturer, endurance life firing tests are often conducted to evaluate the endurance capability of the thruster life. The firing mode requirement of the thruster loaded onto the satellite is different from...

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Effect of duty cycle on catalytic thruster degradation

Cited by 15 publications

References 4 publications

Monopropellant plume-induced contamination testing for the Europa Lander mission concept

Monopropellant plume-induced contamination testing for the Europa Lander mission concept

Recommended Figures of Merit for Green Monopropellants

The construction of the life prediction model of 1N and 4N monopropellant thrusters

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