Kinetics Studies of Radical-Radical Reactions (I): The NO2 + N2H3 System.

摘要

The state-of-the-art hypergol combination currently used in the US for many space propulsion applications consists of monomethyl hydrazine, as the fuel, and nitrogen tetroxide, as the oxidizer. The Air Force Research Laboratory is developing new hypergolic fuels which will provide enhanced performance capabilities as well as improved affordability and efficiency. Furthermore, handling of these new hypergolic fuels is also expected to have a much smaller logistical footprint due to the fact that they are being designed to be environmentally benign. However, practical realization of these hypergols in spacecraft propulsion systems will only come after attaining a satisfactory understanding of how to optimize their combustion characteristics in relevant operating environments. Here we report theoretical results obtained on the prototypical radical-radical reaction: NO2 + N2H3, and the progress made towards building an apparatus consisting of laser photolysis/fast flow-tube reactor coupled to a mass spectrometer for investigating the kinetics of this elementary reaction.