Development of catalytic thruster using pre-mixed propellants

• Grant number: 06/06632-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: November 01, 2007
• End date: May 31, 2008
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Aerospace Engineering - Aerospace Propulsion
• Principal Investigator: Jose Miraglia
• Grantee: Jose Miraglia
• Company: Guatifer Usinagem e Ferramentaria Ltda (Guatifer)
• City: São Paulo
• Associated researchers: José Nivaldo Hinckel ; Luciano Fratin

Abstract

Brazil needs urgently to qualify in the technology of liquid propellant rocket engine, so much for use in satellites as in Launch vehicles. The liquid propellants now used by Brazil they are restricted to the use in the control of attitude of satellites and injection orbital, and they are the hidrazina and the nitrogen tetroxide, both imported, extremely expensive and highly toxicant. The propellants pre-mixed to the base hydrogen peroxide and ethanol are revealed an innovative and quite promising solution being taken into account the following factors: - the hydrogen peroxide and the ethanol are produced in wide scale in Brazil to at a low cost. - the results of termochemical simultionms show us that the pre-mixed propellants has superior performance to. the hidrazine. - the combustion of the pre-mixed propellants uses catalysts of low cost, besides they could already use the same catalysts developed for hidrazine. - the mixture hydrogen peroxide / ethanol in the proportion adapted for use as propellant is safe of the point of view of its explosive mixture. - the pre-mixed propellants behaves as a monopropellant, simplifying whole propulsion system. - the toxicological characteristics of the pre-mixed propellant show very tolerable and with much more manipulation it is held compared with the hidrazine. We can characterize the propellant pre-mixed as an innovative propellant and 100% national, that uses substances produced in Brazil in wide scale and low cost could substitute with great advantage the hydrazine… (AU)