Experimental Study Of Polyformaldehyde Propellants Seeded With Micron-Scale Aluminum Powder For Laser Propulsion
- Laser Propulsion Lab, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026 (China)
The propulsion performance of polyoxymethylene (POM) seeded with micron-scale aluminum (muAl) powder has been studied experimentally with CO{sub 2} lasers. The results show that the momentum coupling coefficient (C{sub m}) and specific impulse (I{sub sp}) of POM seeded with muAl powder is almost the same as pure POM at lower power density (<1centre dot7x10{sup 6} W/cm{sup 2}). At higher power density (>1centre dot7xl0{sup 6} W/cm{sup 2}), C{sub m} of POM seeded with muAl powder decreases significantly while I{sub sp} increases significantly. When this material is put into a cylindrical nozzle, the measured maximum C{sub m} and I{sub sp} can raise to 40.1 dyne/W and 1361 s, respectively. The energy usage ratio is over 100%, which indicates that the aluminum powder may react chemically with the air under the constraint condition. This conclusion was verified experimentally both in atmosphere and vacuum conditions.
- OSTI ID:
- 21367293
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1230, Issue 1; Conference: 6. international symposium on beamed energy propulsion, Scottsdale, AZ (United States), 1-5 Nov 2009; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3435434; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Laser Propulsion with Liquid Propellants Part I: an Overview
Survey Of CO{sub 2} Laser Ablation Propulsion With Polyoxymethylene Propellant
Related Subjects
ABLATION
AIR
ALUMINIUM
CARBON DIOXIDE LASERS
IRRADIATION
LASER RADIATION
NOZZLES
PERFORMANCE
POLYOXYMETHYLENES
POWDERS
POWER DENSITY
PROPULSION
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
PULSES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
GAS LASERS
GASES
LASERS
METALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
POLYACETALS
POLYMERS
RADIATIONS