Thermal properties and energetic characteristics of a combustion system

In this paper, the thermal decomposition characteristics and the energy characteristics were studied to select a suitable propellant formulation. The temperature distribution of micro-thruster array was calculated to study the effect of heat loss on the combustion chamber shell. The monopropellant micro motor model was established, and the effect of heat loss on the micro-thruster performance was studied. Results indicated that 5:5 Lead Styphnate (LS)/Nitrocellulose (NC) was suitable as micro-motor formulation, and the highest temperature appeared at the boundary of the combustion chamber, where the thermal stress and deformation were the maximum. Furthermore, the thermal stress and deformation of silicon material was smaller than steel and the thermal stress was the main reason for the destruction of micro-thruster stability. In addition, the heat loss had great effects on micro-thruster performance: the thrust decreased by 21.7%, and the specific impulse also decreased by 11.8%.