Flame speed enhancement of a nitrocellulose monopropellant using graphene microstructures

Abstract

The control and enhancement of the combustion wave propagation velocities of solid monopropellants are very important for the development of low cost and efficient micro power systems such as microthrusters and thermal-to-electrical energy conversion devices. In this work, the flame speed enhancement of a nitrocellulose (NC) solid monopropellant using highly conductive graphene structures was demonstrated. Two different graphene structures, namely, graphene foam (GF) and graphene nano-pellets (GNPs), were studied. For the GNP-doped NC films, fuel layers 500 ± 30 μm thick were deposited and the doping concentrations were varied from 1% to 5% by mass. For the GF, the fuel loading ratio (%) and the foam density were varied to study their effect on the flame speed propagation behavior. Self-propagating combustion waves were observed, with average flame speed enhancements up to 8 times the bulk value. The flame speed enhancement, for both the GNPs and the GF, showed a parabolic trend as a function of their concentrations, and an optimum value for each case was determined. However, the flame speed enhancement, as a function of the GF density (for a fixed fuel loading ratio), showed a monotonic decreasing trend. Moreover, the reusability of the GF structures was also tested by re-depositing them with fuel after combustion. Similar flame speed enhancement was obtained using the fresh and the re-used GF structures.