Steady‐state behavior of liquid fuel hydrazine decomposition in packed bed

Abstract

A general theoretical model is presented to analyze the steady‐state decomposition process of liquid monopropellants in packed beds for thruster systems. Additionally, an experiment studying the decomposition of liquid hydrazine in a packed bed is used to validate this model. The liquid droplet evaporation rate is determined through calculating the gas‐liquid mass transfer for the mixture temperatures lower than the liquid propellant boiling point and solving the gas‐liquid or liquid‐solid heat transfer equations at the temperature exceeding the boiling point. The process of liquid propellant decomposition in packed beds are simulated based on the Naive–Stokes equation for the mixture model integrated with the developed liquid evaporation rate, in which both the heterogeneous catalytic reaction coupled with the diffusion of reactants in the pore of catalyst, and the homogenous decomposition reactions are considered. The calculated results for the axial distribution of the temperature are in good agreement with the experimental data. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 1064–1080, 2015