Performance Evaluation of Ammonium Dinitramide-Based Monopropellant in a 1N Thruster

Abstract

The development of propulsion systems based on green propellants, as an alternative to hydrazines, has been gaining interest within the space community. The study of Ammonium Dinitramide (ADN)-based liquid monopropellant, which is low-toxic and can deliver high performance, is the focal point of interest for Space Solutions Co., Ltd., Daejeon, Republic of Korea. A 1N ADN-based propulsion system was designed to evaluate the performance of the propellant. By combining a thermal and catalytic bed in a reactor, the performance of the propellant was examined in a designed thruster (chamber pressure of 11 bar). A total of 16 tests, with pulse mode experiments, were conducted; the accumulated firing time was 285 s. The preheating temperatures were maintained between 350 and 400 °C to achieve steady-state combustion. Notably, the maximum combustion efficiency was 91%. Test 9 recorded the highest decomposition temperature of propellant in the catalyst bed (1422 °C). Interestingly, the combustion instability observed throughout this study was ≤0.5%. This study could assist in the further development of ADN-based propulsion systems.

Keywords

• Ammonium Dinitramide
• monopropellant
• thruster
• green propellants