Performance analysis of catalyst bed in hydrogen peroxide hybrid rocket

Hydrogen peroxide hybrid rockets utilize solid fuel with rocket-grade hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizer. Two main methods are used to ignite hydrogen peroxide hybrid rockets: (1) ignite the solid fuel by decomposing hydrogen peroxide via a catalyst and (2) use a hypergolic solid fuel that ignites upon contact. For decomposition-based ignition, the rocket should be equipped with a catalyst bed. The catalyst bed requires the minimum internal pressure drop while providing effective decomposition performance to enable sufficient decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide. The inlet pressure of the hydrogen peroxide hybrid rocket can become excessively high if the catalyst bed's pressure drop is higher than necessary. Predicting the performance of a catalyst bed can reduce the time and cost required for catalyst bed design. Therefore, this study sought to determine whether the performance of hydrogen peroxide hybrid rocket catalyst beds can be predicted via a one-dimensional model. The model prediction was consistent with the hot firing test results for a 250 N hybrid rocket using 95 wt.% hydrogen peroxide and polyethylene. Across the eight tests performed, the model predictions were consistent with the hot firing test results within 0.3 bar.