Comparison of Ionic Liquid and Sodium Borohydride with Triglyme in Hypergolic Systems with Hydrogen Peroxide

Current environmental issues are placing hydrogen peroxide as a greener alternative to hydrazine and its derivatives for space propulsion, especially in hypergolic systems - ignition made by contact. In this paper, mixtures of triglyme and sodium borohydride on one side, and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate (EMIM [SCN]) – named HIP_11 – mixed with 2.5 wt. % copper thiocyanate ions (Cu [SCN]) on the other side were tested in hypergolic systems with highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide (HTP: High Test Peroxide). Drop tests are carried out and variations the impinging velocity are studied before conducting impinging jets experiments under controlled atmosphere for both fuels.