Simulation study on optimization design of structural parameters of 150N-class hydroxylammonium nitrate(HAN)-based thruster

• Published in: Acta astronautica Vol. 191; pp. 346 - 358
• Main Authors: Guo, Tangsong, Li, Guoxiu, Li, Hongmeng, Zhang, Tao, Chen, Jun, Gu, Yongjin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elmsford Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: 150N-class hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thruster; Decomposition reactions; Design optimization; Design parameters; Flow rates; Hydrazines; Hydroxylammonium nitrate; Hydroxylammonium nitrate-based monopropellant; Ignition; Mass flow rate; Nitrates; Numerical simulation; Numerical simulations; Optimization; Porosity; Response surface methodology; Simulation; The structural parameters of the catalytic bed; Thrusters; The structural parameters of the catalytic bed; Numerical simulation; Hydroxylammonium nitrate-based monopropellant; 150N-class hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thruster; Optimization
• ISSN: 0094-5765; 1879-2030
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.11.019

Hydroxylammonium nitrate(HAN)-based thrusters have been continuously researched as a replacement for conventional hydrazine thrusters. At present, catalytic ignition starting is the most commonly used starting method for hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thrusters, and it is also the most reliable and effective starting method. During the catalytic ignition and start-up process of hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thruster, the catalytic decomposition reaction of hydroxylammonium nitrate always affects the state of the thruster. It is worth noting that the catalytic bed is the key structure of the hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thruster to achieve catalytic ignition. It is necessary to optimize the performance of the hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thruster by optimizing the structure of the catalytic bed. However, there are some limitations to study the working process of hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thruster by experiment. Therefore, the working process of 150N-class hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thruster by numerical simulation was studied in this paper. Then, under the condition that the inlet mass flow rate of the monopropellant was consistent, simulation calculations were carried out on hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thrusters with different catalytic bed structures based on the studied simulation method. Finally, with thrust as the evaluation parameter, the structural parameters of the catalytic bed of the hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thruster were optimized based on the response surface method. After optimized calculation, the hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thruster with a catalytic bed length of 72.43mm, a catalytic bed diameter of 74mm, and a catalytic bed porosity of 0.6 has better performance, which provides a reference for the design of hydroxylammonium nitrate-based thrusters. •The simulation method of the working process of 150N-class HAN-based thruster was studied.•The effect of catalytic bed structural parameters on the performance of HAN-based thrusters was studied.•The structural parameters of the catalytic bed of the 150N-class HAN-based thruster were optimized.•The optimization mechanism of the catalytic bed structural parameters of the HAN-based thruster was studied.