Reduced Toxicity Liquid Fuel for Gel Bi-Propulsion Systems

Rocket propulsion systems are used by many branches throughout the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Current thrusts within the United States Army have led to increased interests in the use of gel bi-propulsion systems due to the performance, safety, and logistical advantages they present over liquid and solid propellant systems. In this Phase I SBIR program, Infoscitex Corporation, in collaboration with Molecular Knowledge Systems, Inc., proposes the development of a reduced toxicity liquid fuel for gel bi-propulsion systems to address toxicity and carcinogenicity concerns with monomethyl hydrazine. The Phase I effort will focus on the use of computational methods to generate candidate fuel alternatives and predict physical properties. Based on candidate rankings, preliminary property and toxicity characterization will be performed on selected materials. As a result of the Phase I program, the United States Army will be provided with a list of candidate materials supported both by mathematical predictions and preliminary laboratory evaluations.