The addition of metal hydride improves the combustion performance of hybrid rocket fuels due to increased combustion temperature and hydrogen addition. However, the flame zone structure sensitivity to the addition of metal hydride has not been directly studied. This paper examines visible solid fuel flame height measurements and confirms these results with CH* chemiluminescence in an optically accessible combustor. In addition, the fuel combustion performance is considered using a traditional hybrid rocket combustor as a comparison to the optical chamber results. This paper investigates dicyclopentadiene as the primary fuel binder in gaseous oxygen flow. NaBH4 is studied as a fuel additive and is compared to aluminum and mechanically activated aluminum-polytetrafluoroethylene. Twenty-five wt % NaBH4 increases the regression rate of dicyclopentadiene by 19% due to increased hydrogen release into the flame zone. Enhanced blowing from the 25 wt % NaBH4 decomposition increases the dicyclopentadiene flame height by 44%. NaBH4 decomposition is rapid with respect to dicyclopentadiene pyrolysis, and as a result particle size reduction from 100–200 to 10–20  μm has no appreciable effect on the fuel regression or flame height. The addition of aluminum and aluminum-polytetrafluoroethylene increases the regression rate due to enhanced heat release but does not impact the flame height like NaBH4.


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    Title :

    Performance and Flame Visualization of Dicyclopentadiene Rocket Propellants with Metal Hydride Additives



    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2016




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English



    Classification :

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





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