Photo-ignition of Liquid Fuel Spray and Solid Rocket Fuel by Carbon Nanotube Utilizing a Camera Flash

Abstract

We have studied the ignition of fuel sprays and solid rocket fuels by the photo-ignition of single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) with an ordinary camera flash. Our investigation includes the effects of O2 concentration and the presence of solid oxidizers such as ammonium perchlorate (AP) on the minimum ignition energy (MIE) as well as the duration and temperature of the reaction. We have shown that by mixing CNT with other nanoparticles and powdered material, the ignition parameters such as ignition delay, burn temperature, and burn duration can be adjusted. We believe this approach in photo-ignition of fuel spray and solid fuel provides a suitable method for ignition of liquid rocket engines and solid rocket motors. Among the advantages of this approach are a very low weight and a robust ignition method, and it enables volumetric distributed ignition of fuel sprays and solid fuels. The proposed method is scalable for applications in very small as well as large liquid rocket engines and solid rocket motors.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA571235

Entities

People

  • Alireza Badakhshan
  • David Wirth
  • Laurent Pilon
  • Stephen Danczyk

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Carbon Nanotubes
  • Combustion
  • Fuel Sprays
  • Fullerenes
  • Ignition
  • Ignition Lag
  • Ignition Systems
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Processing
  • Metallic Nanoparticles
  • Nanoparticles
  • Rocket Engines
  • Rocket Fuels
  • Solid Fuels
  • Solid Rocket Fuels

Readers

  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Rocket Propulsion.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology