Energetics of hydrogen atom recombination

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:5330877

Filpus, J W

The dissociation-recombination cycle of hydrogen is likely to be important in the operation of a proposed microwave-plasma electrothermal rocket for deep-space propulsion and maneuvering. A series of preliminary experiments on a small-scale microwave-plasma electrothermal rocket system and two modeling studies, one involving vibrational and rotational molecular excitation and one on more macroscopic phenomena downstream from the plasma, are described. Plasmas at pressures less that 100 Torr were studied in hydrogen, nitrogen, and argon at the flow rates up to 2 mg-mol per second, and incident microwave power between 300 and 600 W. The influence of vibrational and rotational energy of the recombined molecules on the rate of recombination and release of the energy of recombination is studied. The relaxation times for vibrational excitation are on the order of hundred of times shorter than the residence time for the recombination reaction over a range of conditions that cover the range of practical designs. Molecular internal energy is found to be negligible for a practical electrothermal rocket system. The development of computer models of the recombination reaction zone, downstream of the plasma, is described, and the models are compared with the experimental results. The models confirm the suggested improvements for the experimental arrangement.

• Research Organization: Michigan State Univ., East Lansing (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5330877
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640302* -- Atomic
Molecular & Chemical Physics-- Atomic & Molecular Properties & Theory
640410 -- Fluid Physics-- General Fluid Dynamics
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ARGON
ATOMS
DISSOCIATION
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
GASES
HEATING
HYDROGEN
MICROWAVE HEATING
MOLECULES
NITROGEN
NONMETALS
PLASMA
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
RARE GASES
RECOMBINATION
ROCKETS