Cold-Flow Testing of Various Injector Designs for a Novel Hypergolic and Green Propellant Combination Developed at DLR Lampoldshausen

Abstract

In the field of space propulsion, the Green Propellants topic is a renowned recurrent trend. Between the many options available, a combination recently developed at DLR Lampoldshausen appears particularly promising, possessing most of the correct features to lead the switch to greener compounds: storability, reduced toxicity, good performance and especially hypergolicity. The propellant combination is an ionic liquid fuel, coupled with highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide as oxidizer, the so called HIP_11. The present study describes various injection approaches, describing the multifaceted challenges encountered. The study is completed by a cold-flow test campaign that investigated the spray pattern of the various designs.