Tools for monopropellant catalyst development

Christofferson, Stacy; Wucherer, E.; Zube, Dieter M.

doi:10.2514/6.2001-3941

“…Our experiment is designed to provide quantitative measurements of ignition delay and pressure rise characteristics for monopropellants injected onto a heated surface or catalyst acting as the igniter. A variety of setups have been employed in other studies, 23 but a micro-reactor was selected because it provides the most robust analysis. This type of setup does not capture the actual ignition delay times and pressure rises that can be achieved through careful catalyst bed design in actual thrusters, nor does it determine if the decomposition results in selfsustained combustion.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposition of Ionic Liquid Ferrofluids for Multi-Mode Spacecraft Propulsion

Berg¹,

Coleman²,

Rovey³

2014

50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference

1

0

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Ionic liquid ferrofluids based on mixtures of [Emim][EtSO 4 ] and [Bmim][NO 3 ] fuels andhydroxylamonium nitrate oxidizer were synthesized by adding iron oxide nanoparticles. The resulting propellants were then tested for decomposition capability. Spot plate testing indicated that the temperature required to initiate rapid decomposition dropped from 115 o C to 75 o C with a 30% by weight addition of iron oxide for the [Bmim][NO 3 ] propellant. Adding more iron oxide resulted in an increase in onset temperature. The [Emim][EtSO 4 ]propellant had a much lower decrease in onset temperature, bottoming out at 90 o C. Batch reactor tests under vacuum showed that 10% addition of iron oxide results in the greatest increase in decomposition rate for both propellants. Since most ionic liquid ferrofluids do not exhibit the Rosensweig instability below 50% iron oxide by weight, it is unlikely this will be of use in a multi-mode system. However, adding a small amount of iron oxide to ionic liquid monopropellants could be beneficial as it will reduce power requirements, while only reducing specific impulse by roughly 2.5%.

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“…An experiment is designed to provide quantitative measurements of ignition delay and pressure rise characteristics for monopropellants injected onto a heated surface or catalyst acting as the igniter. A variety of setups have been employed in other studies, 30 but a micro-reactor is selected because it provides the most robust ignition analysis. This type of setup does not represent the actual ignition delay times and pressure rises that can be achieved through careful catalyst bed design in actual thrusters.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ignition Evaluation of Monopropellant Blends of HAN and Imidazole-Based Ionic Liquid Fuels

Berg

¹

,

Rovey

²

2012

50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition

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Potential dual-mode monopropellant/electrospray capable binary mixtures of hydroxyl ammonium nitrate with ionic liquid fuels [Bmim][NO 3 ] and [Emim][EtSO 4 ] are synthesized and tested for monopropellant ignition capability in a micro reactor setup. The setup is benchmarked using 30% hydrogen peroxide solution decomposed via silver catalyst. Results show similar trends, but variance in the quantitative data obtained in literature. A parametric study on the geometry of the sample holder that contains the catalyst material in the reactor shows a large variance leading to the conclusion that quantitative data may only be compared to the exact same geometry. Hydrazine decomposition was conducted on unsupported iridium catalyst. The same trends in terms of pressure rise rate during decomposition (~160 mbar/s) are obtained with unsupported catalyst, but at 100 o C instead of room temperature for tests conducted on supported catalysts in literature. Two catalyst materials were tested with the novel propellants: rhenium and iridium. For the [Bmim][NO 3 ]/HAN propellant, rhenium preheated to 160 o C yielded a pressure slope of 26 mbar/s, compared to 14 mbar/s for iridium and 12 mbar/s for no catalyst at the same temperature. [Emim][EtSO 4 ]/HAN propellant shows slightly less activity at 160 o C preheat temperature, yielding a pressure slope of 20 mbar/s, 4 mbar/s, and 2.5 mbar/s for injection onto rhenium, iridium, and the thermal plate, respectively. Final results indicate that desirable ignition performance may potentially be obtained by using a supported rhenium catalyst, since the pressure slopes obtained with the new propellants on unsupported catalyst lie between that of hydrazine on iridium at 50 o C and room temperature.

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“…The HAN-based aqueous blends were investigated mainly by US [149][150][151][152] and French groups [153,154]. Materials compatibility has also been followed with HAN − H 2 O [155] and [157], and have been studied extensively during the past 25 years.…”

Section: Thermal Decompositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…• a high-temperature Pino tester and a high temperature tube reactor [152] • a constant volume batch reactor: temperature and pressure determination, 20 to 250 • C [198] • a drop reactor for ignition delay determination: temperature versus time measurement, 20 to 200 • C • a dynamic flow reactor: in-situ analysis of the reaction products, 20 to 1200 • C [199].…”

Section: Development Of Tools For Catalyst Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catalytic Decomposition of Energetic Compounds: Gas Generators and Propulsion1A list of abbreviations/acronyms used in the text is provided at the end of the chpater

Batonneau

¹

,

Kappenstein

²

,

Keim

³

2008

Handbook of Heterogeneous Catalysis

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The sections in this article are Introduction Energetic Compounds Propellants Gas generators Explosive Materials Ignition systems Scope of the Chapter, and Literature Data Units Some Propulsion Elements A Short Introduction to Propulsion Theory Comparison of Propulsion Types and Propellants Propulsion System Types Propellants Advantages of Catalytic Propulsion A Brief History of Rocketry and Catalytic Propulsion The Current Supremacy of Hydrazine Introduction Catalysts Heterogeneous Catalysis: General Studies Mechanistic Considerations A Literature Overview B Thermodynamic Data C Isotope‐Related Studies D Single‐Crystal Studies E Catalytic Cycle Proposals Iridium‐Based Industrial Catalysts A Shell 405 Catalyst ( USA ) B K ali C hemie KC 12 GA Catalyst ( G ermany) C C nesro Catalyst ( F rance) D GIPKh Catalysts (former USSR ) New Hydrazine Decomposition Catalysts Homogeneous Catalysis and Coordination Chemistry of Hydrazine Applications of Hydrazine Catalytic Decomposition Gas Generators Use in Fuel Cells Corrosion Protection Drawbacks of Hydrazine “Green” Propellants as Hydrazine Replacements Introduction Energetic Aqueous Ionic Liquids Thermal Decomposition Catalytic Decomposition of HAN , ADN , and HNF A Hydroxyl Ammonium Nitrate ( HAN ) B Hydrazinium NitroFormate ( HNF ) C Ammonium DiNitramide ( ADN ) Development of Tools for Catalyst Evaluation The Comeback of Hydrogen Peroxide Introduction Thermal and Catalytic Decomposition Catalysts for Monopropellant Engines Kinetic Rate of Decomposition Hybrid Engine Hypergolic Bipropellant Engine Effect of Stabilizers on Catalytic Decomposition Nitrous Oxide (N 2 O) for Monopropellant Engines or Hybrid Engines Introduction Catalysts Use of N 2 O as a Monopropellant Use of N 2 O for Hybrid Engine Future Prospective Applications of Catalytic Propulsion New Energetic Liquids Catalysts for Air‐Breathing Supersonic or Hypersonic Jets Catalysts for Pulse Detonating Engine Ignition of Gaseous Hydrogen–Oxygen Mixtures Gas Generator to Power Micropumps through Small Turbines Conclusion: A Biological System using H 2 O 2 Decomposition for Tactical Defense Acknowledgement

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Tools for monopropellant catalyst development

Cited by 7 publications

References 2 publications

Decomposition of Ionic Liquid Ferrofluids for Multi-Mode Spacecraft Propulsion

Decomposition of Ionic Liquid Ferrofluids for Multi-Mode Spacecraft Propulsion

Ignition Evaluation of Monopropellant Blends of HAN and Imidazole-Based Ionic Liquid Fuels

Catalytic Decomposition of Energetic Compounds: Gas Generators and Propulsion1A list of abbreviations/acronyms used in the text is provided at the end of the chpater

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