Safety and Performance Evaluation of a New High-Performance Monopropellant Based on a Microencapsulated Hydrocarbon Fuel in Combination with Hydrogen Peroxide using a Strand Burner Setup

Abstract

Conventional monopropellants only offer a limited specific impulse and often exhibit toxic properties. Therefore, our group developed a new microencapsulated hydrocarbon monopropellant combined with hydrogen peroxide, offering a non-toxic, environmentally friendly alternative with a high specific impulse. This study presents the results of the first combustion tests of this new monopropellant, which were conducted using a strand burner setup to investigate the influence of different encapsulated fuels on the burn rate. Additionally, BAM Fallhammer tests were conducted to evaluate the impact sensitivity of the monopropellant in relation to capsule size and burn rate, in order to assess its safety characteristics.