Project Title:

HEAT EXCHANGER/REACTOR FOR ENDOTHERMIC FUELS IN HYPERSONIC

Creare Incorporated
P.O. Box 71
Hanover, NH 03755

93-103.07   3800  __      AMOUNT REQUESTED $ 69,950

HEAT EXCHANGER/REACTOR FOR ENDOTHERMIC FUELS IN HYPERSONIC
PROPULSION SYSTEMS

Abstract:

Aircraft which travel at high Mach numbers require a very large
internal heat sink to protect the engine and airframe from high
heat loads. Endothermic fuels are attractive for hypersonic
propulsion systems because they increase the fuel heat sink
capacity. We propose to develop a compact and lightweight heat
exchanger/reactor in which cooling is provided by the catalyzed
decomposition of the endothermic fuel. The innovation is a heat
exchanger configuration which enables efficient decomposition of
the fuel within a very small volume, resulting in an order of
magnitude reduction in the size and a factor of three reduction in
weight of the reactor. There are three key advantages to the
proposed heat exchanger: small size and weight, increased
reliability due to a simplified internal configuration, and low
pressure drops for air cooling applications. Preheating of the fuel
occurs within the same compact unit. The objectives of Phase I are
to prove the feasibility by demonstrating fabrication and sealing
techniques and to assess the benefits to hypersonic propulsion
systems. In Phase II we will build and demonstrate a prototypical
reactor/heat exchanger and perform tests to provide data for design
and optimization of hypersonic propulsion systems.

The proposed reactor/heat exchanger enables flight at high Mach
numbers by providing cooling for high thermal loads in a small,
flight-weight unit. These reactor/heat exchangers can ultimately be
sold to NASA, the Air Force, or commercial aircraft integrators.
The heat exchanger can also operate as a compact gas-to-gas
recuperator with low pressure drops for aerospace applications,
cryogenics, and power generation.

thermal management, hypersonic aircraft, endothermic fuels