Hydrogen Peroxide-Based Gas Generator Design and Performance Testing as an Aircraft Emergency Power Unit

Abstract

Hydrazine monopropellant is often used with a spontaneous catalyst a high-performance aircraft emergency power unit (EPU) and in aerospace propulsion; however, it is toxic and requires special handling. A hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-based gas generator, which is suitable for a new family of environmentally friendly monopropellants and is a substitute for toxic hydrazine in EPUs, is introduced in this study. A MnO2/Al2O3 catalyst for H2O2 decomposition, superior to silver catalysts at normal starting and reactivity capabilities, was selected and developed. The performance tests of coupling the gas generator with a turbocharger showed acceptable results for an aircraft EPU with decomposition above 90%, 37 kW maximum turbine output power, and a maximum starting delay of 1.2 s during normal starting operation. The gas generator also demonstrated satisfactory performance during repeated pulse operation at a pulse duration of 3 s and 60 s under various output conditions.

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

“…As research and development continues, the introduction of novel catalysts could make it possible for hydrogen peroxide-based propulsion systems to play an important role in future space exploration, providing sustainable and adaptive solutions for space missions [3,27].…”