Thermochemical Analysis of Hypergolic Propellants Based on Triethylaluminum/Nitrous Oxide

The vacuum specific impulse, density vacuum specific impulse, and solid exhaust products were examined for several propellant formulations based on the pyrophoric material triethylaluminum (TEA) using CEA thermodynamics code. Evaluation of TEA neat and mixed with hydrocarbon fuels with LOX, N2O, N2...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Stephen M. Davis, Nadir Yilmaz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2014-01-01
Series:International Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/269836
Description
Summary:The vacuum specific impulse, density vacuum specific impulse, and solid exhaust products were examined for several propellant formulations based on the pyrophoric material triethylaluminum (TEA) using CEA thermodynamics code. Evaluation of TEA neat and mixed with hydrocarbon fuels with LOX, N2O, N2O4, liquefied air, and HNO3 were performed at stoichiometry. The vacuum specific impulse of neat TEA with N2O is comparable to that of nitric acid with the same, but the N2O formulation will produce slightly less solid products during combustion. Additionally, N2O-TEA propellants have vacuum specific impulses and density vacuum specific impulses within 92.9% and 86.7% of traditional hydrazine propellant formulations under stoichiometric conditions.
ISSN:1687-5966
1687-5974