Hypergolic ignition induced by head-on collision of bi-propellant droplets: Monoethanolamine-based fuel and hydrogen peroxide
Open accessAbstract
Hypergolic ignition by the binary collision of H 2 O 2 and Monoethanolamine (MEA)-NaBH 4 droplets has been experimentally studied with an emphasis on droplet inter-mixing, heat transfer, droplet swelling, and flame propagation. The entire ignition is phenomenally categorized into five stages. The H 2 O 2 droplet penetrates the MEA- NaBH 4 droplet after the collision and coalesces with it. The H 2 O 2 fluid rapidly restores its sphericity inside the coalesced droplet, which is theoretically proved to be driven by interfacial tension. The average measured restoration time is 14.0 ms. Large-scaled bubbles are generated at the interfacial structure, leading to swelling of the coalesced droplet. The existence of apparent interface tension tends to limit the rate of droplet inflation at the beginning. As more bubbles are produced, the interface tension wanes, and the droplet swells rapidly. The droplet surface expansion rate is identified via the gray-level information in recorded images. A theoretical model quantifying the swelling rate was established based on the underlying mechanism for the swelling of the reacting droplet, which can be attributed to the flash boiling of the superheated H 2 O 2 fluid. As bubbles accumulate inside the coalesced droplet, a dual-bell-shaped droplet configuration is formed. A flame ring structure is observed when the ignition occurs. Luminant flame sustains more than 10 ms until the fuel vapor is depleted.
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The H2O2 droplet penetrating the MEA-NaBH4 droplet in Stage II is driven by interfacial tension.
“The distinct phenomenon of the H 2 O 2 droplet penetrating the MEA-NaBH 4 droplet shown in Stage II is proved to be driven by the interfacial tension based on the analysis of the development of the internal structure, as shown by the restored interfacial boundary in Figure 9b.”
From Droplet collision of hypergolic propellants (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
The curvature ratio decreases abruptly from a relatively high value to a minimum approaching 1.0 at R3, indicating that the rebounding process has been completed.
“It can be quantified by a curvature ratio of the initial colliding droplet to that of the interfacial boundary, R R (1/ )/(1/ ) od , in which the curvature ratio decreases abruptly from a relatively high value down to its minimum (approaching to 1.0) at R 3 , indicating that the rebounding process has been completed.”
From Droplet collision of hypergolic propellants (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
The average measured time for droplet internal restoration τ_m is about 13.0 ms, which agrees well with the theoretical value τ_c.
“For all collision cases, the average measured time for droplet internal restoration τ m is about 13.0 ms, which agrees well with the value of τ c .”
From Droplet collision of hypergolic propellants (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
The MEA-NaBH4/H2O2 ignition delay time is about 50.0 ms, considerably larger than that of TMEDA/WFNA droplets at about 30.6 ms.
“The bright kernel within the opaque area implies the occurrence of ignition, as shown in Figure 9a, and the IDT is about 50.0 ms, which is considerably larger than that of TMEDA/WFNA droplets (a faster reaction bipropellant system) at about 30.6 ms.”
From Droplet collision of hypergolic propellants (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
Internal restoration is independent of the colliding dynamical parameters.
“internal restoration is independent of the colliding dynamical parameters”
From Droplet collision of hypergolic propellants (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
Droplet internal restoration is insensitive to collision parameters such as We and Δ.
“On comparing the measured time τ m and the theoretical time τ c , the results show that the droplet internal restoration is insensitive to the collision parameters such as We and Δ.”
From Droplet collision of hypergolic propellants (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
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- Authors
- Zhang, D., Yu, D., Yuan, Y., Zhang, P., & Fan, X.
- Affiliations
- City University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Zhang, Dawei
- Yu, Dehai
- Venue
- Fuel
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-06
- Volume
- 342
- Pages
- 127788
- ISSN
- 0016-2361 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4320879062
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3
- FWCI
- 1.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Fuel (publishedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (publishedVersion)
- 中国科学院力学研究所 (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (CityU 15222421, 15218820)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (52006001, 52176134)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Rocket and propulsion systems research
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanics of Materials › Energetic Materials and Combustion
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Computational Mechanics › Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer
- Keywords
- hypergolic ignition, hydrogen peroxide, monoethanolamine, sodium borohydride, droplet coalescence, droplet swelling, interfacial tension, flash boiling, bubble formation, flame propagation, droplet mixing, heat transfer
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