Gelled fuels: Luminal-A, Alumizin, etc

[JetPropulsion]

Michel Van:
"One Moment Luminal-A ?
was Glusko also in Alumizine propellant ?!"
Right, luminal-a is soviet analog of american alumizine.
Some theoretical works was conducted at OKB-456 (chief designer V. P. Glushko; today NPO "Energomash"), then conducted some static fire tests. OKB-456 has concluded that it is unreasonable to use this fuel (we'll get back to that question).
At USSR was conducted a lot of works with luminal-a at OKB-2 (chief designer Isaev; today KBHM - design bureau of chemical machine building), SKB-385 (today State rocket center), etc.

"Idea was to increase combustion temperature by aluminum oxide"
So... You are right: combustion temperature is increace if you are using fuel with metal. But if you compare specific impulse of "standard pair" (soviet termin, means nitrogen tetraoxide+UDMH) with nitrogen tetraoxide+luminal-a, you see, that difference is a few second.
All idea is in very high dencity of this propellant. So, USSR want to use it in sea-launched ballistic missile (need to reduce the size of the missiles to reduce the submarine size, noize and cost). USA want to use alumizine in Titan-IIA: more propellant in the same volume limited by the silo.

 

[Michel Van]

Eugen Sänger work on "Kerosol" mixture of aluminum + kerosin

at USA they work on Alumizine a mixture 46% aluminum with hydrazine and gelling agent.
USAF study it for ICBM propellant begin 1960s
End in 1960s were allot study to use this in pressure fed booster, mostly for NASA Space Shuttle
however Alumizine has issue with storage, so far know one Alumizine storage tank even exploded.

i reformulate the Question:
What Propellants has V. P. Glushko not tested?

 

[JetPropulsion]

so far know one Alumizine storage tank even exploded.

Interesting! Where we can read the details?

 

[JetPropulsion]

at USA they work on Alumizine a mixture 46% aluminum with hydrazine and gelling agent.

Variant of alumizine (book "ROCKET PROPELLANTS ACCORDING TO FOREIGN PRESS MATERIALS", Edited by Ya. M. Paushkin, A. Z. Chulkov. publishing house “Mir”: Moscow, 1975.)
One of the first hydrazine-based heterogeneous fuels, known as aluminizine, contains 66.5% hydrazine, 33% aluminum, and 0.5% modified polyacrylic acid. ... Some properties of this fuel are summarized in Table 2.

 

[JetPropulsion]

The stability of alumizine is maintained for about 5 years. It burned steadily in a serial liquid propellant rocket engine; no abrasion of fuel valve seats by the solid phase was observed during engine operation [38].
38. Space Aeronautics, 1964, 42, No. 4, pp. 39-43.

(book "ROCKET PROPELLANTS ACCORDING TO FOREIGN PRESS MATERIALS", Edited by Ya. M. Paushkin, A. Z. Chulkov. publishing house “Mir”: Moscow, 1975.)
It would be interesting to find this journal and read what it says. Based on similar notes in other sources, it appears that LR87 is what is meant in this case.

 

[Scott Kenny]

i reformulate the Question:
What Propellants has V. P. Glushko not tested?

Probably pentaborane and that one nasty thing with mercury and fluorine... (Due to chemical engineers being too sane to to want to touch those!)

 

[southwestforests]

If I was an author I'd want history to let me write a book or at least an article titled, "The Felled Jewels of Gelled Fuels."

 

[Michel Van]

Probably pentaborane and that one nasty thing with mercury and fluorine

He tested pentaborane with UDMH and Fluorine with Ammonia...

 

[Scott Kenny]

He tested pentaborane with UDMH and Fluorine with Ammonia...

Was not expecting anyone to have tested pentaborane, Ignition! says the prep to make it is a dog, even they skipped making it.

But the other one was some hideous tripropellant that gave you an exhaust of nice toxic mercury fluoride vapors, IIRC with a side order of hydrofluoric acid.

 

[Nik]

As said of mega-thrust earth-quakes, tsunamis and Plinian volcanic eruptions, 'BE NOT THERE'...

Is said you can identify volcanologists and tsunami specialists by the way they always park facing exit: No need to 'back & fill', just throw into gear and floor the gas...

 

[publiusr]

Gelled propellants easier on valves?

I wonder if there are double valves...where turning one turns the other--the space between pressurized by nitrogen--maybe a balloon angioplasty deal.

An X-prize for valve design would be perfect for the MAKE movement--more their scale.

An X-prize for LVs made no sense...in that you either had money for spaceflight, or you don't.

 

[JetPropulsion]

Was not expecting anyone to have tested pentaborane

Ohhhh!.. It is very long history. OKB-456 was developing and test engine, that utilasing highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide + pentaborane for second stage of 15A15 missile.
engine of 15A15 was use of UDMH+AT as a result of

 

[JetPropulsion]

Gelled propellants easier on valves?

More density. For the military, that's important. For example, to place a missile with more energy in the same silo.

 

[sferrin]

More density. For the military, that's important. For example, to place a missile with more energy in the same silo.

Has there ever been a missile, anywhere, that has made it into production with gel fuel? Seems the hype train never got to its destination.

 

[JetPropulsion]

Has there ever been a missile, anywhere, that has made it into production with gel fuel?

The project on the use of metallized propellants in the USSR on ballistic missiles did not find application. As a result, it was the longest research work - 20 years.

 

[Michel Van]

Has there ever been a missile, anywhere, that has made it into production with gel fuel?

So far i know
the US abandon research into gel fuel around 1970
no flight hardware, only test stand firing

 

[TomS]

So far i know
the US abandon research into gel fuel around 1970
no flight hardware, only test stand firing

Oh, much later than that. Future Missile Technology Integration (FMTI) tested gelled propellants for missiles in the late 1990s and did reach flight test in a missile that was nominally a TOW successor. It was also planned for insertion into an improved Hellfire (JAWS, now JAGM, minus the gelled fuel):

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/testbed-missile-featuring-unique-gel-rocket-engine-makes-first-flight.24896/

Gel Fuel Boosts Interceptor

Redondo Beach - June 15, 2000 - A TRW-built, energy-managed gel propulsion system demonstrated its capabilities during its second flight test conducted by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida recently.

www.spacedaily.com

 

[sferrin]

Oh, much later than that. Future Missile Technology Integration (FMTI) tested gelled propellants for missiles in the late 1990s and did reach flight test in a missile that was nominally a TOW successor. It was also planned for insertion into an improved Hellfire (JAWS, now JAGM, minus the gelled fuel):

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/testbed-missile-featuring-unique-gel-rocket-engine-makes-first-flight.24896/

Gel Fuel Boosts Interceptor

Redondo Beach - June 15, 2000 - A TRW-built, energy-managed gel propulsion system demonstrated its capabilities during its second flight test conducted by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida recently.

www.spacedaily.com

I used to have an old flyer that laid out AIM-120 "future improvements". It was from the 80s. Was supposed to get gel fuel at some point and then ramjet after that. Gel fuel seems to have fallen out of favor.

 

[JetPropulsion]

Was not expecting anyone to have tested pentaborane

"
11D11 (RD-502) engine. Highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide (98%), modified pentaborane. Parameters:
- vacuum thrust, tf: 10;
- specific impulse, seconds: 375;
- combustion chamber pressure, kg-force/square cm: 150;
- dry mass, kg; 132;
- wet mass, kg: 140;
- high, mm: 2510;
- diameter, mm; 1360;
...
The works on the RD-502 engine subject covered the following main directions: design and calculation development of the main units and assemblies; experimental studies in GNIIHTTEOS and GIPKh of the combustion processes of Highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide pentaborane propellant on model combustion chambers and further - on full-size experimental chambers on a stand specially created in the Primorsky branch of KBEM (about 130 tests were conducted, of which 22 tests on pentaborane); development of a solid catalyst for Highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide decomposition, development of a thermocatalytic gas generator; carrying out a set of prospecting studies in related organizations according to KBEM's technical specifications. These technical specifications included studies of cooling properties of Highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide and pentaborane, studies of compatibility of used construction materials with fuel components, studies of stability of Highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide during long-term storage, development of heat-resistant materials and solders resistant to Highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide, development of lubricants, rubber grades, etc."
Путь в ракетной технике. Под ред. Б. И. Каторгина. М.: Машиностроение, 2004.