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Article #6662Re: Aluminum as rocket fuel?
From: Bruce Dunn
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 03:00
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 03:00
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> Nick Janow writes:
>
> What are the problems with using molten aluminum sprayed into the reaction
> area? Keeping the aluminum molten in a vacuum should be relatively easy.
This I like! Molten aluminum (melting point 660 C) can be kept in
steel tanks. Using molten aluminum will give a higher Isp than aluminum
metal. Major problems will be pumping, and how to keep the aluminum from
freezing in pipes and injectors when the motor is shut off. The idea is not
as crazy as it sounds. Liquid lithium (melting point 181 C) has already been
fired in motors (use liquid fluorine as an oxidant, with and without the
addition of hydrogen to raise the specific impulse).
--
Bruce Dunn Vancouver, Canada Bruce_Dunn@mindlink.bc.ca
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Newsgroups: sci.space Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!spool.mu.edu!agate!rsoft!mindlink!a752 From: Bruce_Dunn@mindlink.bc.ca (Bruce Dunn) Subject: Re: Aluminum as rocket fuel? Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 03:00:52 GMT Message-ID: <19043@mindlink.bc.ca> Sender: news@deep.rsoft.bc.ca (Usenet) Lines: 18