Experimental Study on the Catalytic Ignition Characteristics of a Dual-Mode Ionic Liquid Propellant in Model Thrusters

Jie Fang, Zun Wang, Hao Yan, He Gao, Zhaopu Yao () and Shuiqing Li
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Jie Fang: Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Beijing 100190, China
Zun Wang: Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Hao Yan: Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Beijing 100190, China
He Gao: Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Beijing 100190, China
Zhaopu Yao: Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Beijing 100190, China
Shuiqing Li: Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 22, 1-17

Abstract: An experimental study was carried out on the ignition characteristics of the HAN/(Emim)(EtSO 4 ) (hydroxylammonium nitrate and 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium ethyl sulfate) dual-mode ionic liquid monopropellant in chemical propulsion mode in model thrusters. Firstly, a model thruster with a detachable convergent nozzle was designed and fabricated. Secondly, catalytic ignition experiments at different flow rates were carried out in atmosphere and in high chamber pressure environment, respectively, using a model thruster, with and without the convergent nozzle. During the catalytic ignition process, measurement methods such as thermocouple, pressure sensor, and flue gas analyzer were employed to obtain the temperature at different depths of the catalytic bed, the pressure of the combustion chamber, and the concentration variations of gaseous products CO, CO 2 , CH 4 , SO 2 , NO, and NO 2 . Then the three characteristic stages of water evaporation, HAN decomposition, and (Emim)(EtSO 4 ) combustion were analyzed at the initiation time, and the reaction characteristics in the process of the catalytic ignition were analyzed. In addition, the composition and concentration of the combustion products at equilibrium were theoretically calculated. The effects of temperature and pressure on the concentrations of five main gaseous products were studied. Finally, the exhaust gas of the three groups of catalytic ignition experiments under different pressure environments was separately collected and measured with gas chromatography (GC) when the experiments approached equilibrium, the result of which roughly agrees with the theoretical calculations. These results are of great significance for exploring the chemical propulsion of the dual-mode ionic liquid propellant and understanding its physical catalytic combustion mechanisms.

Keywords: dual-mode propulsion; ionic liquid propellant; catalytic ignition; combustion; chemical propulsion; liquid space thruster (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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