🚀 go-pugleaf

> Karl Dishaw writes:
> >Bruce Dunn writes:
> >When the
> >aluminum is melted in the tank, the fuel line, valve, and injector will
> all
> >be heated to above the melting point of aluminum.
>
> I'd hate to see the performance hit from carrying a heater that
> powerful.  Wouldn't it make more sense to pump the aluminum onto the
> rocket as a liquid and only have a heater powerful enough to offset
> cooling?
>


        Sorry for the sloppy wording.  I meant rather "when there is melted
aluminum in the tank".  I am envisioning a system in which aluminum is
premelted, possibly in a solar furnace, and poured into an insulated
tank/valve/combusion chamber unit.  The aluminum will bring the whole system
up to temperature, and melt any residual aluminum from the last firing.  I
expect that it won't be too hard to insulate the assembly well enough to keep
the temperature above the melting point of aluminum for days.  I don't think
that a heater will be required.  If heating is required for long term
operation, the logical thing would be to admit a small amount of oxygen into
the fuel tank to react with the aluminim and heat it.

--
Bruce Dunn    Vancouver, Canada   Bruce_Dunn@mindlink.bc.ca