Comparison of Cation-Anion Oxidizer Pairings in Electrically Controllable Solid Propellants

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dc.contributor.authorSellards, Emily Roseen
dc.contributor.committeechairYoung, Gregoryen
dc.contributor.committeememberLiu, Guoliangen
dc.contributor.committeememberJacques, Eric Jean-Yvesen
dc.contributor.departmentAerospace and Ocean Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2024-03-14T08:00:11Zen
dc.date.available2024-03-14T08:00:11Zen
dc.date.issued2024-02-13en
dc.description.abstractElectrically controllable solid propellants are an area of interest as a viable solution to the lack of throttle-ability in solid propellant rocket motors. Existing studies have focused on propellants compositions using hydroxyl-ammonium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, or lithium perchlorate as oxidizers. Additionally, the thermochemical and electrochemical reaction mechanisms have not yet been fully defined. The research in this thesis explores the nitrate and perchlorate oxidizer families to compare their cation-anion relationships. Using these oxidizers, pseudo electrically controllable solid propellant compositions were created with the addition of multi-wall carbon nanotubes to enhance ohmic heating capabilities. These additives were selected based on theory that with a non-complexing polymer, an oxidizer melt layer is required for ions to dissociate and electrically controlled ignition to occur. Using an applied voltage, ignition delay and current draw experiments were performed to expand on prior findings that ignition delay follows oxidizer melt temperature while mobility is associated with the size of the ionic radii. Additionally, neat oxidizer pellets were electrically decomposed to determine their linear regression rate. These results help to characterize the mechanism of reaction. This advances the knowledge of oxidizers in electrically controllable applications.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralSolid propellant rocket motors have been extensively studied and used in both space and military applications because they do not use air as the source of oxygen. Their main limitation is the lack of throttle-ability, or inability to control propellant burning. This is because solid propellants, which are generally composed of an ionic oxidizer salt, a polymer fuel, and additives, are pre-combined and stored within the rocket motor. An emerging viable solution to this limitation is electrically controllable solid propellants. With an applied voltage, the oxidizer is heated and melts, allowing ions to dissociate and current to flow between electrodes. This reaction can then be controlled by turning the power supply on and off. Cations, or ions which have a net positive charge, move to the negatively charged cathode while anions, which have a net negative charge, move to the negatively charged anode. The research in this thesis explores different cation-anion oxidizer pairings using both a propellant composition and as a pure oxidizer under an applied voltage. The results help to characterize the mechanism of reaction of each oxidizer in an electrically controllable context and determine their effectiveness in these propellant applications.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:39458en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/118411en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectRocket Propulsionen
dc.subjectIonic Saltsen
dc.subjectElectrically Controllable Solid Propellantsen
dc.titleComparison of Cation-Anion Oxidizer Pairings in Electrically Controllable Solid Propellantsen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineAerospace Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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