Chemical, Physical and Hazards Properties of Quadricyclane

摘要

Theoretical predictions have identified quadricyclane, a liquid hydrocarbon, as apossible replacement for, or additive to, the current kerosene-based rocket propellant RP-1. Density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, heat capacity, flash point, purity, 90-day aging, high temperature decomposition, impact sensitivity, friction sensitivity and detonation sensitivity (card gap) have been studied. In-depth studies on the thermal decomposition and rapid compression heating were performed by NASA White Sands and are included in this report. Taken as a whole, the results indicate that quadricyclane can be easily handled as a liquid propellant fuel and should have performance advantages over RP-1. However, since the performance and physical properties of quadricyclane differ from RP-1, implementation of quadricyclane may require some modification of current propulsion hardware.