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Nano-Catalytic Particle Synthesis for Heterogeneous Combustion in Compact High-Thrust to Weight Ratio Propulsion Systems

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Navy
Contract: N68335-04-C-0240
Agency Tracking Number: N041-135-1390
Amount: $99,908.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: N04-135
Solicitation Number: 2004.1
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2004
Award Year: 2004
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2004-07-28
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2005-01-28
Small Business Information
215 Wynn Dr., 5th Floor
Huntsville, AL 35805
United States
DUNS: 185169620
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Ashok Gidwani
 Project Engineer
 (256) 726-4800
 jls@cfdrc.com
Business Contact
 Ashok Singhal
Title: President & CEO
Phone: (256) 726-4800
Email: aks@cfdrc.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

This Phase I SBIR project is aimed toward the synthesis of nanoscale hybrid metallic fuel/catalyst particles and demonstration of the feasibility of catalytic combustion of conventional fuels using the synthesized nanocatalyst particles. In Phase I, nanoparticles of Al/Al2O3 and Al/Al2O3/Cu-CuO with controlled size and composition will be synthesized using a novel technique that employs expansion of a reactive thermal plasma. These nanoparticles will be injected along with the conventional fuel stream to enable catalysis without the use of a static porous support bed. The catalytic reactions will ultimately produce enough heat to disintegrate the outer coating of the nanoparticle to release an energetic nanometallic core, whose combustion will release high energy, making the technology suitable for high-thrust applications. Due to limited resources in Phase I, the feasibility of the combustion processes will be explored only through modeling and simulations. The commercial multiphysics computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software CFD-ACE+, after necessary modifications to account for nanoscale effects, will be used to perform the simulations. The Phase II study will involve design and construction of a prototype engine. Study of the characteristic properties of the synthesized nanocatalyst particles namely, oxidation chemistry, energy release rates, etc. will be undertaken to achieve this goal.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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