Crossflow Decane Combustion Using Catalytically Decomposed High-Test Peroxide

Liquid fuel combustion with catalytically decomposed hydrogen peroxide hot stream for bipropellant thruster application was studied in a thruster-like combustion facility. Several throat cross sections were implemented at the outlet of an upstream catalytic decomposition chamber to control the decomposed gas velocity upon entrance in the combustion chamber. Several exit combustion chamber throats of various diameters were also implemented to assess the feasibility of fuel ignition for a range of equivalence ratios and combustion chamber pressures. The average residence time in the combustion chamber as well as both propellants velocities (of both the liquid fuel injected directly into the combustion chamber and of the catalytically decomposed hot oxidizer gases) were studied. The influence of these parameters on ignition and combustion processes was then examined, leading to the appearance of an experimental limit of ignition intrinsically dependent upon all three of them. When ignition successfully occurred, combustion stability and performance analyses showed that low decomposed gases velocity values and high average residence time allow certainty of ignition but fail to sustain high performance and stable combustion.