Rheologische Eigenschaften von Gel-Treibstoffen in Abhängigkeit der Temperatur

Gel propellants provide rocket propulsion systems of high specific impulse, low sensitivity and low vulnerability in combination with the capability to control the thrust, i.e., variation of thrust and thrust cut off. The rheological characterisation is essential for the development of adequate gel propellant formulations and thus for the design of an applicable propulsion system. In this contribution, the rheological behaviour of a gel propellant consisting of nitromethane as fuel and nanoparticles of silicium dioxide as gelling agent was examined. The experiments were conducted under steady state shear flow. The nitromethane/silicium dioxide-gels exhibit non-Newtonian flow behaviour over the whole concentration range examined. No dependence of the rheological behaviour on the temperature could be found