Green Propellant Catalytic Bed Modeling with EcosimPro/ESPSS

Kurzfassung

The development of green monopropellants aims to provide safer, environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional propellants like hydrazine. A key challenge lies in accurately modeling green propellant thruster systems during the design and testing phases. This study presents a simulation model for catalytic monopropellant thrusters implemented in EcosimPro based on the European Space Propulsion System Simulation (ESPSS) toolkit. The model extends the existing monopropellant combustion chamber by incorporating a catalytic bed component that accounts for pressure loss and ther- mal effects, and supports Arrhenius chemistry. Preliminary validation is performed using experimental data from the ESA GreenRAIM activity, focusing on hydrogen peroxide decomposition with a detailed reaction mechanism. The results show good agreement between simulated and experimental data for the pressure drop model.