Specific Impulse and Ignition Delay Time Assessment for DMAZ with Liquid Oxidizers for an Upper Stage Rocket Engine

Abstract

<em>2-Dimethyl amino ethyl azide (DMAZ) has attracted much attention as a suitable liquid fuel replacement for monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) and unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine (UDMH) in propellant systems because, in contrast to these fuels, it is noncarcinogen. In this research, performance, and ignition delay time of DMAZ were studied with common liquid oxidizers such as inhibited red fuming nitric acid (IRFNA), dinitrogen tetroxide (N₂O₄), White Fuming Nitric Acid (WFNA). Calculation results from </em>rocket propulsion analysis<em> (RPA) software showed that combustion of DMAZ and </em><em>N₂O₄</em><em>yielded highest I_sp (352 s) compared to the other mentioned oxidizers. Moreover, DMAZ-N₂O₄ gave the highest density specific impulse (457.6­ s) at an optimum oxidizer-to-fuel ratio. Open cup tests were also performed to assess the ignition behavior of the DMAZ-N₂O₄ bipropellant and indicated that it is hypergolic (68 ms). Therefore, it seems that <br />the DMAZ-N₂O₄ bipropellant is suitable for upper stage space systems.</em>