1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for preparing rocket propellants. More specifically, the present invention is a method for preparing a low-storage temperature bipropellant combination that provides for reduced power budgets devoted to propellant warming and offers significant improvements in safety operations combined with high performance. This enables, for example, missions to the outer planets on lower power budgets than is currently possible. This propellant technology also has applications in upper stage orbital maneuvering requiring high-performance, low temperature bi-propellants.
2. Description of Related Art
As a spacecraft moves farther from the sun, less radiant heat is absorbed and the temperature within insulated fuel tanks decreases. Thermal Control Systems (TCSs) are required to prevent fuel and oxidizer from freezing when they are not in use and to heat them to operating temperatures between 16 and 26° C. before use. For distances from the sun greater than 3 AU, the portion of the power budget consumed by heaters to prevent propellant freezing increases significantly.
With planned missions demanding more science for less money, the power budget necessary for propellant heating must be minimized to avoid limiting mission objectives. There is, therefore, a need for propellants having very low freezing and operating temperatures. Fuels and oxidizers having low freezing points such as Liquid Hydrogen (LH) and liquid Oxygen (LOX) are not suitable for use on planetary probes because they require cryogenic storage vessels capable of containing them within several AU of the sun. Propane is a gaseous hydrocarbon that readily liquefies by compression and cooling, melts at −189.9° C. and boils at −42.2° C. These physical properties make it a potential low-temperature propellant. MON (mixed oxides of nitrogen) is a solution of nitric oxide (NO) in dinitrogen tetroxide/nitrogen dioxide (NTO). MON propellants are used oxidizers on some military and commercial satellites. The freezing points of existing MONs are not low enough to be ideal candidates for use on deep space missions.
Gelling of rocket propellants has been accepted in the last decade as a method of improving performance and reducing environmental impact. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,143 (Thompson) discloses hypergolic fuel bipropellants containing inhibited red fuming nitric acid (IRFNA), nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl ammonium nitrate oxidizers and monomethyl hydrazine (MMH), dimethylaminoethylazide, pyrollidinylethylazide, bis(ethyl azide) methylamine fuels gelled with silicon dioxide, clay, carbon, or polymers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,293 (Allan) discloses a thixotropic IRFNA gel oxidizer for use in hypergolic fuel bipropellants. U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,682 (Fawls) discloses gelled bipropellants doped with nano-sized boron particles.
The above patents disclose gelled propellants having improved safety and reduced environmental hazards compared to non-gelled propellants. The gelling of propellants to lower freezing points, operating temperatures, vapor pressures, or tankage weights is not disclosed.
The present invention is a method for preparing a bi-propellant system comprising gelled liquid propane (GLP) fuel. The bi-propellant system is particularly well-suited for outer planet missions but also functions in near earth environments. Additives such as powders of boron, carbon, lithium, and/or aluminum can be added to the fuel component to improve performance or enhance hypergolicity. The gelling agent can be silicon dioxide, clay, carbon, or organic or inorganic polymers. The bi-propellant system may be, but need not be, hypergolic.
The present invention is a method for preparing a bipropellant formulation comprising a gelled liquid propane (GLP) fuel component. The bipropellant system provides a vacuum specific impulse (Isp,1000-vac) as high as 360 seconds. The energy density of the propulsion system can be further improved by adding an energetic additive, such as a sub-micron powder of boron, carbon, or aluminum to the fuel component. Increasing the density of the propellant through the addition of energetic powders also allows for higher thrust levels in volume-limited propulsion systems. Although applicable in many operational environments, the formulation is particularly useful for outer planetary missions because of the very low freezing points and operational temperatures of the fuel and oxidizer.
Liquid MON propellants of up to 25% NO (75% N2O4+25% NO) are sometimes used as oxidizers on military and commercial satellites. The non-gelled form of the invented oxidizer is MON-30 (70% N2O4+30% NO), which has a freezing point of −16.1° C., or 7.1° C. lower than MON-25. Gelling of MON-30, in addition to the well-known safety benefits, reduces the possibility of combustion instability, seen in some MON systems, where the nitric oxide (NO) can flash at the injector face. Most importantly, gelling MON-30 reduces the freezing point relative to the liquid and lowers operational temperatures as well.
Propane, CH3CH2CH3, is a gaseous hydrocarbon that readily liquefies by compression and cooling and melts at −189.9° C. and boils at −42.2° C. Gelling the propellant provides the advantage of higher volumetric efficiency.
To verify the ballistic properties of the gelled MON-30/GLP bi-propellant system, the vacuum specific impulse as a function of O/F ratio was computed and the results are plotted in
LP and MON-30 Gelling Apparatus and General Methods
MON-30 and GLP gelling/mixing can performed using a variety of devices, methods, and conditions. The following method and apparatus is provided as an example and it is understood by those skilled in the art that other methods of mixing may also be used. MON-30 and GLP are gelled using one-liter churn-mixers, each comprising a cylindrical vessel that is sealed by a piston-like closure-lid. A rod, attached externally to a pneumatic actuator, goes through the center of the closure-lid and attaches to a perforated churn-plate. The churn-plate has thirty-six, 6 mm diameter holes and is pneumatically cycled up and down, through the entire mixer volume, forcing the entire mass of liquid and gelling agents through the perforations with each half-cycle.
The mixing temperatures are around −20° C. for MON-30 and around −50° C. for LP. Gelling agents may include silicon dioxide, clay, carbon, organic or inorganic polymers, or combinations thereof. Generally, the % by weight of gelling agent used is the minimum required to achieve the desired physical properties. The amount of gallant used is preferably 1% to 12% by weight and most preferably 2% to 5% by weight. In one preferred embodiment, the gelling agent for MON-30 and LP is fumed silica. A small amount of polymeric agent, such as hydroxypropyl cellulose, may also be added to improve long-term storage characteristics. Surfactants may be used to improve the “wetting” of a gellant. Hypergolicity of the fuel may be increased including small amounts of Lithium metal, hydrogen gas, or MMH.
Synthesis and Gelling of MON-30
The oxidizer for the low-temperature propellant combination is MON-30. MONs are solutions of Nitric Oxide (NO) in Dinitrogen Tetroxide/Nitrogen Dioxide. The reaction that takes place as NO is added to NO2 is shown below. The reaction is exothermic and releases 6000 kcal/kg.
NO+NO2→N2O3
One type of apparatus that may be used to synthesize MON-30 is shown in
The MON-30 was gelled at around −25° C. with 3% fumed silica by weight using a plate churn mixer. The mixture was churned for approximately 2 minutes. The gelled MON-30 has a freezing point of −81° C.
Gelling Liquid Propane
Propane was gelled using a plate churn mixer shown in
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/292,442 filed Dec. 2, 2005. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/874,242. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/584,954, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,810,990, disclose related subject matter.
The U.S. Government may have certain rights in this invention pursuant to SBIR Contract No. NNM05AA56C awarded by NASA.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20120073713 A1 | Mar 2012 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11292442 | Dec 2005 | US |
Child | 13013762 | US |