Date of Award
4-2016
Degree Name
Master of Science in Engineering
Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
First Advisor
Dr. Kristina M. Lemmer
Second Advisor
Dr. Bade Shrestha
Third Advisor
Dr. Ramakrishna Guda
Keywords
HAN, dual-mode, propulsion, decomposition, ALPE
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
This research investigates the decomposition of the ionic liquid: hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN), under vacuum conditions. All research was conducted at the Aerospace Laboratory for Plasma Experiments (ALPE) at Western Michigan University. Hydroxylammonium nitrate solution 24% wt. in H2O was used consistently throughout this research. A variety of temperatures and pressures ranging from 23°C to 645°C and 6E-3 Torr to 4 Torr, respectively, were used to decompose HAN. The primary gaseous species resulting from these decomposition conditions are N2O, NO, and trace amounts of NO2. The formation of H2O, and N2 is conditional on the experimental conditions, and the formation of HNO3 was also observed. A Residual Gas Analyzer with a range of 300 atomic mass units was used as the primary diagnostic for this research.
Recommended Citation
Neff, Gregory A., "The Decomposition of Hydroxylammonium Nitrate under Vacuum Conditions" (2016). Masters Theses. 695.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/695