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Criteria for Ignition in Monopropellant Engines.

ADA158792

Publication Date	1985
Personal Author	Benziger, J. B.; Strong, J. E.
Page Count	4
Abstract	Hydrazine-based monopropellants are a mature technology. Because of suspected carcenogenity of hydrazine the feasibility of nitromethane-based monopropellants has been studied. Nitromethane-based systems can deliver high specific impulse; but the high adiabatic decomposition temperature limits the choice of catalyst material to metal oxides that exhibit significant activation barriers for reaction, necessitating a catalyst bed preheat to function. For two of the best catalysts, NiO and Cr2O3, a minimum catalyst bed preheat temperature for ignition was observed. Furthermore, the response time of the pressure exhaust time of the pressure exhaust from the catalyst bed was optimal at intermediate values of fuel flow and catalyst bed preheat. In this Note we present a model that can account for those observations and provide guidelines for operation of nitromethane-based monopropellant systems. The monopropellant reactor is a packed bed catalytic reactor. The system is adequately described as an adiabatic, plug flow, two phase reactor. The two performance criterion we were interested in were (1) the operating conditions for lightoff and sustained operation, and (2) the operating parameters to optimize the response time. Reactor performance was examined for three design and control parameters: fuel feed rate, feed temperature, and bed pre-heat temperature.
Keywords	Liquid propellant rocket engines Ignition Monopropellants Nitromethane Catalysts Test reactors Temperature Reaction kinetics Reprints
Source Agency	Air Force Non Paid Reprints
NTIS Subject Category	81H - Rocket Propellants 99F - Physical & Theoretical Chemistry 79A - Ammunition, Explosives, & Pyrotechnics
Corporate Authors	Princeton Univ., NJ.; Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Bolling AFB, DC.
Supplemental Notes	Pub. in Jnl. of Spacecraft and Rockets, v22 n2 p217-218 Mar-Apr 85.
Document Type	Journal Article
NTIS Issue Number	198525

Criteria for Ignition in Monopropellant Engines.

Criteria for Ignition in Monopropellant Engines.
ADA158792

Publication Date	1985
Personal Author	Benziger, J. B.; Strong, J. E.
Page Count	4
Abstract	Hydrazine-based monopropellants are a mature technology. Because of suspected carcenogenity of hydrazine the feasibility of nitromethane-based monopropellants has been studied. Nitromethane-based systems can deliver high specific impulse; but the high adiabatic decomposition temperature limits the choice of catalyst material to metal oxides that exhibit significant activation barriers for reaction, necessitating a catalyst bed preheat to function. For two of the best catalysts, NiO and Cr2O3, a minimum catalyst bed preheat temperature for ignition was observed. Furthermore, the response time of the pressure exhaust time of the pressure exhaust from the catalyst bed was optimal at intermediate values of fuel flow and catalyst bed preheat. In this Note we present a model that can account for those observations and provide guidelines for operation of nitromethane-based monopropellant systems. The monopropellant reactor is a packed bed catalytic reactor. The system is adequately described as an adiabatic, plug flow, two phase reactor. The two performance criterion we were interested in were (1) the operating conditions for lightoff and sustained operation, and (2) the operating parameters to optimize the response time. Reactor performance was examined for three design and control parameters: fuel feed rate, feed temperature, and bed pre-heat temperature.
Keywords	Liquid propellant rocket engines Ignition Monopropellants Nitromethane Catalysts Test reactors Temperature Reaction kinetics Reprints
Source Agency	Air Force Non Paid Reprints
NTIS Subject Category	81H - Rocket Propellants 99F - Physical & Theoretical Chemistry 79A - Ammunition, Explosives, & Pyrotechnics
Corporate Authors	Princeton Univ., NJ.; Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Bolling AFB, DC.
Supplemental Notes	Pub. in Jnl. of Spacecraft and Rockets, v22 n2 p217-218 Mar-Apr 85.
Document Type	Journal Article
NTIS Issue Number	198525