Continuous Hypergolic Monitor Network for Shipboard Applications

As the demand for high performance propellants rises, so does the demand for assurance of overall safety of personnel and equipment in the vicinity of such materials. Liquid propellants such as hypergolic fuels, although hazardous, have successfully been in use for decades. The demand for such propellants aboard a naval ship or other enclosed spaces is an emerging requirement that cannot be met without proper safety precautions. The number one priority in safety is detection. This effort would develop an automated, continuous hypergolic leak detection network that does not require calibration or routine maintenance for at least four years. The system must be able to detect to a few parts-per-billion (ppb) any of the common types of hypergolic fuels and oxidizers including monomethylhydrazine (MMH), unsymmetric dimethylhydrazine (UDMH), and nitrogen tetroxide (NTO). It should be readily integrateable with existing components such as missiles, missile canisters, shipboard electronics, passageways, and alarm systems. It should be easily modified or reconfigured for use in a wide range of environments such as manufacturing, storage, transport, shipboard, aircraft, etc.