DC electrical ignition characteristic of multimode ionic liquid propellant

DC electrical ignition is expected to replace the traditional catalytic combustion for achieving a non-catalytic quick start of ionic liquid propellant due to its capability of rapid ignition. Direct current ignition experiments under atmospheric conditions were carried out for a new multimode hydroxylamine nitrate (HAN) based ionic liquid propellant. First, the electrical response characteristic of sacrificial electrodes (copper and aluminum) and inert electrodes (stainless steel, platinum, silver, tungsten, molybdenum, and graphite) were tested under different input voltages. The corresponding minimum ignition voltages for different electrode materials were also obtained. Among them, molybdenum and copper electrodes can employ an input voltage of 80V to ignite the propellant, with a critical electrical response time of less than 1s. Furthermore, the mechanism of electrochemical reactions was demonstrated when copper was used as a sacrificial electrode by testing various combinations of anode and cathode materials. Finally, high-speed photography was employed to capture the formation and evolution of bubbles during the electrical ignition. It is found that more bubbles were generated on the surface of the anode. After testing the ignition of imidazole-based ionic liquid propellants using eight electrode materials, it can be concluded that the gaseous products were mainly generated near the anode, providing theoretical support for the design of ignition of ionic liquid.