Work

Investigation of Combustion Performance of Hypergolic Ionic Liquid Fuels Through Injector Design

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Hypergolic ionic liquid fuels are promising alternatives to toxic hydrazine-based propellants. This study investigates the combustion performance of a fuel composed of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate ([EMIM][SCN]) and copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) with 95 wt% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in a 50 N rocket engine. Two injector designs, DM1 (low pressure drop) and DM2 (high pressure drop), were tested at chamber pressures of 10 and 15 bar. The DM1 injector at 15 bar chamber pressure showed higher combustion efficiency but suffered from strong pressure oscillations (>10% instability). Switching to the DM2 injector reduced instability (< 5%) by increasing the pressure drop. Combustion stability was improved as the fuel injector orifice diameter/fuel jet velocity (D/V) decreased. FFT analysis showed a dominant instability frequency of 220 Hz with DM1, which was significantly reduced with DM2. Results highlight that injector design and pressure drop are key factors in improving combustion stability for green hypergolic propulsion systems.

Source: Aerospace

DOI: 10.3390/aerospace12090759

Authors: Vikas Khandu Bhosale, Keonwoong Lee, Vincent Mario Pierre Ugolini, Hosung Yoon

Institution: Space Solutions (South Korea)

Language: English

Topic: Rocket and propulsion systems research

Subfield: Aerospace Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896