First results of PRECISE—Development of a MEMS-based monopropellant micro chemical propulsion system

Gauer, Markus; Telitschkin, Dimitri; Gotzig, Ulrich; Batonneau, Yann; Johansson, Håkan; Ivanov, M. Ja.; Palmer, Phil; Wiegerink, Remco J.

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2013.06.010

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Among the most appealing of the propulsion technologies in development are propellant Microthruster [13] and the ESA-sponsored PRECISE project [35], which both use the catalyzed decomposition of a monopropellant to generate thrust. While these propulsion systems are currently in development, each has reported challenges associated with performance of the catalytic chamber due to scaling effects.…”

Section: Nanosatellite Propulsionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Plot of the adiabatic flame temperature verses the mass fraction of water in the mixture. When the mass fraction of water is above 0 35,. the reaction products are a mixture of liquid water and saturated steam, causing severe performance degradation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2014, several different microcatalyst designs were being considered. Through the variation of coatings and geometries inside the catalyst bed, researchers will try to develop a catalyst that is thermally and mechanically stable[35].At the University of Vermont, a thruster design relying on a MEMS-based catalyst bed was designed and tested. The catalyst bed used an etched diamond pillar geometry for the catalytic chamber design which was coated with high purity (>99.999%) silver.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Development of an Additively Manufactured Microthruster for Nanosatellite Applications

Gagne

2016

54th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Next generation small satellites, also known as nanosatellites, have masses significantly lower than traditional satellites. Including the propellant mass, the total mass of a nanosatellite is often in the range of 1 to 4 kg. These satellites are being developed for numerous applications related to research, defense, and industry. Since their popularity began in the early 2000's, limitations on the downscaling of propulsion systems has proven to be problematic. Due to this, the vast majority of nanosatellite missions have limited lifespans of 90-120 days in low Earth orbit before they reenter the Earth's atmosphere. Although satellites on this scale have little available space for instrumentation, the development in the fields of microsensors, microelectronics, micromachinery, and microfluidics has increased the capabilities of small satellites tremendously. With limited options for primary propulsion and attitude control, nanosatellites would benefit greatly from the development of an inexpensive and easily implemented propulsion system. This work focuses on the development of an additively manufactured chemical propulsion system suitable for nanosatellite primary propulsion and attitude control. The availability of such a propulsion system would allow for new nanosatellite mission concepts, such as deep space exploration, maneuvering in low gravity environments, and formation flying. Experimental methods were used to develop a dual mode microthruster design which can operate in either low impulse, pseudo-monopropellant mode, or high impulse, bipropellant mode. Through the use of a homogeneous catalysis scheme for gas generation, nontoxic propellants are used to produce varying levels of thrust suitable for application in nanosatellite propulsion. The use of relatively benign propellants results in a system which is safe and inexpensive to manufacture, store, transport, and handle. In addition to these advantages, the majority of the propulsion system, including propellant storage, piping, manifolding, reaction chambers, and nozzles can be 3D printed directly into the nanosatellite chassis, further reducing the overall cost of the system. This work highlights the selection process of propellants, catalysts, and nozzle geometry for the propulsion system. Experiments were performed to determine a viable catalyst solution, validate the gas generation scheme, and validate operation of the system.

show abstract

Section: Nanosatellite Propulsionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Development of an Additively Manufactured Microthruster for Nanosatellite Applications

Gagne

2016

54th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In rocket propulsion systems, hydrogen peroxide can be used as either a unitary or binary propellant. When used as a unit propellant, [1][2][3][4] highconcentration hydrogen peroxide (usually around 70~90%) decomposes into water and oxygen when passing through a decomposition chamber containing a catalyst bed [5]. This process is an exothermic reaction that produces a hot gas that is ejected after acceleration through the rocket nozzle, resulting in thrust [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and Microchannel Catalytic Bed Performance of Silver Thin Films Prepared by Electroplating

Yang,

Ye,

Shen

2024

Catalysts

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The morphology of catalysts in microchannels plays a crucial role in the orbital maneuvering and networking applications of micro/nano satellites using hydrogen peroxide as a unit propellant. In this paper, a microfluidic reaction chip was designed and fabricated to detect the reaction rate of the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide solution by a microchannel catalytic bed. In addition, a silver thin film prepared by constant-current electroplating was used as a substrate for the microchannel catalyst. The results show that the ratio of surface area to area of silver film and the average particle size of silver particles have a significant positive correlation on the reaction rate of catalytic decomposition, while the thickness, silver content, and surface roughness of the silver film have no significant effect on the reaction rate of catalytic decomposition. The catalytic performance of the microchannel catalytic bed of silver thin film is greatly influenced by the conditions of electroplating, namely, the electroplating temperature (T), time (t), and current (I). And when I = 0.3 mA, t = 180 s, and T = 60 °C, the microchannel catalytic bed of the silver film prepared by electroplating reaches the optimal reaction rate for the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide solution. This study has the best process parameters for the design and optimization of heterogeneous catalysts applied to microfluidic reactors.

show abstract

“…Among the most appealing of these technologies are chemical propulsion systems, owing to their combination of simplicity, reliability, and low power requirements. Liquid propulsion systems are of particular interest both as primary propulsion and attitude control thrusters, as demonstrated by recent efforts such as the University of Vermont Discrete Monopropellant Microthruster [ 10 ] and the ESA-sponsored PRECISE project [ 11 ], which both use the catalyzed decomposition of a monopropellant to generate thrust. Each of these thruster initiatives, however, has reported challenges associated with the performance of the catalytic chamber due to scaling effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Dual Mode Propulsion System for Small Satellite Applications

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study focused on the development of a chemical micropropulsion system suitable for primary propulsion and/or attitude control for a nanosatellite. Due to the limitations and expense of current micropropulsion technologies, few nanosatellites with propulsion have been launched to date; however, the availability of such a propulsion system would allow for new nanosatellite mission concepts, such as deep space exploration, maneuvering in low gravity environments and formation flying. This work describes the design of “dual mode” monopropellant/bipropellant microthruster prototype that employs a novel homogeneous catalysis scheme. Results from prototype testing are reported that validate the concept. The micropropulsion system is designed to be fabricated using a combination of additively-manufactured and commercial off the shelf (COTS) parts along with non-toxic fuels, thus making it a low-cost and environmentally-friendly option for future nanosatellite missions.

show abstract

First results of PRECISE—Development of a MEMS-based monopropellant micro chemical propulsion system

Cited by 12 publications

References 7 publications

Development of an Additively Manufactured Microthruster for Nanosatellite Applications

Development of an Additively Manufactured Microthruster for Nanosatellite Applications

Structure and Microchannel Catalytic Bed Performance of Silver Thin Films Prepared by Electroplating

A Dual Mode Propulsion System for Small Satellite Applications

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About