Investigation on Suppression of Hard-Start Phenomena in a Hypergolic Bipropellant Engine

What is it about?

In hypergolic bipropellant Engines, suppressing the ignition process that involves a sharp rise in pressure, known as a hard start, is crucial to prevent fatal damage to the engine and excessive load on the spacecraft where the engine is mounted. The aim of this study is to establish design guidelines for injectors capable of suppressing the occurrence of hard starts. By measuring the pressure in the injector-manifold and combustion chamber, it was found that the conditions for avoiding a hard start are closely related to the stability of the oxidizer jet. Furthermore, experimental guidelines were obtained for hard start suppression.

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