Application of hydrogen peroxide in rocket propellant

Wang Wanjun

Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Current N for aerospace engine systems₂O₄Although hydrazine (partial dimethylhydrazine, monomethylhydrazine, hydrazine, etc.) fuels have good specific impulse performance and spontaneous combustion characteristics, they are highly toxic and cause serious harm to human health and the environment. At the same time, their production, storage, transportation, use and treatment are a complex process, and the cost of use is also high. With the continuous progress of society and the development of space technology and the increasing requirements of environmental protection and human health, the use of non-toxic and pollution-free propellants in space power systems is an inevitable trend in the future. This need is more urgent for long-term manned space station propulsion systems and requires propellant storage and spontaneous combustion. One of the basic objectives of the new generation of launch vehicles in China is to adopt non-toxic and pollution-free propellants.

Given that fuels and oxidants used in liquid-engine propellants are currently toxic for storage, such as N, in countries around the world₂O₄/ Propellants of the hydrazine class (metamethylhydrazine, monomethylhydrazine, hydrazine, etc.), nontoxic and non-storage (e.g. liquid hydrogen liquid oxygen propellants) or non-ignition (e.g. liquid oxygen / kerosene propellants). Therefore, the advantages of using hydrogen peroxide kerosene or alcohol propellants are that they are non-toxic and clean combustion products, which is conducive to solving environmental pollution problems and human health problems. As long as the key technology to solve their spontaneous combustion ignition, the oxidant and fuel properties of propellant can be organically combined, thus maintaining the function of propellant and obtaining great application value.

As early as World War II, Germany used hydrogen peroxide on V-2 rockets as the working fluid to drive the turbine. After the war, the P-1、P-2、P-5M rockets of the former Soviet Union, the Red Stone of the United States, the Chupit and the Vijin rockets also used hydrogen peroxide decomposition products to drive the turbine.

In the late 1950s, The UK has developed Gamma8 and Gamma2 rocket engines using hydrogen peroxide/kerosene as a propellant, Used in "arrowhead" launch vehicle. A AR series of rocket engines using hydrogen peroxide/kerosene as propellant has also been developed in the United States, Used to improve the performance of military aircraft. Especially in the late'60s, NASA the hypersonic engine research program, The fuel used is hydrogen peroxide and liquid ammonia, During X-15 flight speed of Mach 6, Become the fastest plane ever to fly..7

In recent years, Due to increasingly stringent environmental protection requirements, Hydrogen peroxide propulsion technology has gained further attention: X-37 is a reusable demonstration machine that is jointly invested by the NASA of the United States and Boeing to develop, conduct orbital and manned flights. For X-37 to provide orbital flight power, NASA and Boeing decided to reactivate the AR 2-3 engine developed in the 1960s with 90% hydrogen peroxide/kerosene propellant. A vacuum thrust of ibf ,6600 246 S. vacuum ratio Lockhartoine performed decomposition inspection, reassembly and testing of AR 2-3 engine components in stock, The engine heat test was carried out. As at 2 May 2000, 16 engine test runs have been successfully completed. In the last experiment, According to the state of X-37 work, 60 S. at 50% thrust and 6.8% mixing ratio In this series of experiments, Total AR 2-3 engine S .385.5

A H is being developed by Marquardt₂O₂/ JP-8 a propellant upper engine, For the NASA of the "upper flight experiment" program. The vacuum thrust of the engine is 10000 bf ,1 vacuum ratio 275 S. From late 1998 to early 2000, Two rounds of tests have been conducted. In the first round, Using hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of 85%, Experimental results show that the working time of ablative combustor has reached 300 S, combustion efficiency >0.97. In the second round, hydrogen peroxide at 90% concentration, The condition of injector / combustion chamber at higher working temperature is verified. By the beginning of 2000, In 125 trials, Cumulative working hours approximately 30 min. A single long working time of ablation combustor has reached 140 S.

The U.S. Navy's Air Warfare Center is developing a fuel capable of spontaneous combustion with hydrogen peroxide. they selected methanol mixed with catalyst as the fuel mixture for Block 0 series of tests. According to the test results of the injector, the ignition delay is about 17 ms. Butanol-based, higher-performance B lock 1 fuels are currently being used in naval air warfare centres.

Purdue university has carried out a lot of research work to find non-toxic binary propellants with better performance than NTO/MMH, and developed an experimental device called H ypertester, which can well measure the ignition delay of fuel and oxidant. The results show that when 1-butanol is combined with hydrogen peroxide, their specific impulse and density impulse are the highest among alcohol fuels. A compound called SSR is mixed with methanol and manganese catalyst to increase specific impulse and reduce ignition delay.

Russia carried out similar research in the 1990s. The ignition delay of 93~94% hydrogen peroxide and kerosene with additives was 17~24 ms. by open-cup method at Moscow Aviation Institute St. Petersburg Center for Applied Chemistry has developed a low-toxic TT-07A fuel that can spontaneously ignite with hydrogen peroxide, with a delay of about 15 ms. at the midpoint of 90% hydrogen peroxide ms. concentration

The DF-1 and DF-2 missile engines developed in China in the late 1950s ~ early 1960s used 78% hydrogen peroxide as the working medium to drive the turbine. In the early 1970s, hydrogen peroxide decomposition products were used as simulated working fluids to study the performance of truncated plug nozzle.

Hydrogen peroxide/kerosene (or alcohol) propellants will be mainly used in space attitude control engines and manned spacecraft, free from the previous use of toxic propellants to ensure the safety of manned spaceflight, can also be used in military satellites, launch vehicles and anti-ballistic missiles, and can even be used in civil automobile engines in the future. This product has been included in the catalogue of high-tech products in China.