Catalyst Active Material Derivation for Ethanol-blended Hydrogen Peroxide Monopropellant Thruster

摘要

Hydrazine has been used as a propellant of liquid monopropellant thruster, and researches on green monopropellant to replace toxic hydrazine have been progressing worldwide. In this study, green monopropellant by blending ethanol with hydrogen peroxide was proposed as an alternative of green monopropellant and derived a catalyst active material suitable for ethanol-blended hydrogen peroxide monopropellant thruster. The theoretical performance evaluation was progressed for the applicability of ethanol-blended hydrogen peroxide, and the reactivity of propellant and catalyst was evaluated through a batch reactor experiment. The performance of ethanol-blended hydrogen peroxide monopropellant thruster was evaluated by firing test of 10 N class monopropellant thruster and confirmed that the platinum catalyst active material is suitable for ethanol-blended hydrogen peroxide monopropellant thruster.