In this paper, a nanocrystalline porous silicon-based propulsion system is designed, and its explosion impulse is tuned by varying the propulsion design parameters and etching duration. The porous silicon is ignited by an electrical current passed through 100-nm-thick aluminum film deposited on the unpolished side of the wafer and the ignited porous silicon caused strong explosion, which destroys the chip into tiny fragments. The explosion impulse in the system can reach about 0.14 N·s at optimal conditions, which is two orders stronger than the impulse produced by conventional propellants (ZakarE., "Technology Challenges in Solid Energetic Materials for Micro Propulsion Applications" U.S. Army Research Lab. Rept. ARL-TR-5035, Nov. 2009). It is also shown that, by varying the etching time, which is an important factor that determines the porous layer thickness and the volume of nanocrystallite, the strength of the impulse can be tuned. Furthermore, a linear increasing trend of the explosion impulse with etching time is observed, which can be explained as the results of heat trapping, materials confinement, and the increasing number of reaction centers.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Giant and Tunable Mechanical Impulse of Energetic Nanocrystalline Porous Silicon



    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2015




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English



    Classification :

    BKL:    55.50 Luftfahrzeugtechnik / 55.50
    Local classification TIB:    770/7040



    Giant and Tunable Mechanical Impulse of Energetic Nanocrystalline Porous Silicon

    Nguyen, Viet Cuong / Pita, K. / Kam, C. H. et al. | AIAA | 2015


    Combustion Performance of Porous Silicon-Based Energetic Composites

    Mason, B. / Son, Steven / Cho, Kevin et al. | AIAA | 2009


    Ignition analyses of porous energetic materials

    Telengator, Alexander / Williams, Forman / Margolis, Stephen | AIAA | 1999


    Tumbling Reduction by Mechanical Impulse

    Kitagawa, S. / Kawamoto, S. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2002