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Laser Ignition of Different Aluminum Nanopowders for Solid Rocket Propulsion

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Chemical Rocket Propulsion

Part of the book series: Springer Aerospace Technology ((SAT))

Abstract

Aluminum nanopowders (nAl) coated with oleic acid (nAl@OA), perfluorotetradecanoic acid (nAl@PA) and nickel acetylacetonate (nAl@NA) were prepared. The ignition and combustion characteristics of different aluminum nanopowders were studied using the laser ignition system. And the combustion characteristics of hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB)-based composite solid propellants containing different coated aluminum nanopowders were also investigated. The results show that there is a critical power of laser heat flux density in the ignition process of the coated aluminum nanopowders. The ignition delay time of nAl@NA is shorter than that of nAl@PA and nAl@OA, because of the combustion catalysis of nickel acetylacetonate. The burning rate of the propellant sample containing nAl@NA is the highest among all the formulations at different pressure ranges, and the maximum burning rate is up to 26.13 mm·s−1 at 15 MPa. The burning rates of propellant samples containing nAl@OA and nAl@PA are almost the same at different pressures and higher than that of the propellant samples containing untreated aluminum nanopowders only at the pressure range of 10–15 MPa. The flame intensity of different propellants at different pressure is not the same. Moreover, the surface coated aluminum nanopowder has a little effect on the combustion flame temperature of solid propellant. The burning surface temperature of propellant increases with an increase in pressure.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21173163) and Science and Technology Foundation of Combustion and Explosion Laboratory in China (No. 9140C3503141006). The authors wish to express their gratitude to Ms. Ying Wang and Ms. Xueli Chen for their help in combustion experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Xi’an Modern Chemistry Research Institute, Xi’an, 710065, Shaanxi, China

    Fengqi Zhao, Ergang Yao, Siyu Xu, Huixiang Xu & Haixia Hao

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  1. Fengqi Zhao
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  2. Ergang Yao
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  3. Siyu Xu
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  4. Huixiang Xu
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  5. Haixia Hao
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Correspondence to Fengqi Zhao .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Space Propulsion Laboratory (SPLab) Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Luigi T. De Luca

  2. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Sagamihara, Japan

    Toru Shimada

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology, Moscow, Russia

    Valery P. Sinditskii

  4. The Inner Arch, Poissy, France

    Max Calabro

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Zhao, F., Yao, E., Xu, S., Xu, H., Hao, H. (2017). Laser Ignition of Different Aluminum Nanopowders for Solid Rocket Propulsion. In: De Luca, L., Shimada, T., Sinditskii, V., Calabro, M. (eds) Chemical Rocket Propulsion. Springer Aerospace Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27748-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27748-6_11

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