Effect of Fuel-to-Oxidiser Ratio on Thrust Generation of a Hybrid Al + NaOH + H2O Propulsion System for CubeSat Applications

The effect of fuel to oxidiser ratio on the thrust performance of a novel CubeSat propulsion system is presented in this paper. This propulsion system uses aluminium wool as fuel and a mixture of water and sodium hydroxide as oxidiser. The goal of the experiment is to determine the effect of fuel to oxidiser ratio on the thrust profile of the device, as measured with a pendulum type thrust balance in a vacuum chamber facility. Experimental results show that a low fuel to oxidiser ratio reduces the propulsion efficiency and does not support multiple injections. A peak thrust value of 0.032 N was recorded with a specific impulse of 45 s. Based on this specific impulse the anticipated delta-V for a 1U CubeSat of 1.33 kg is 80 m/s, assuming a dry mass ratio of