Microwave Ignition of HAN-Based Monopropellants

This SBIR program will demonstrate the potential of microwaves to repeatedly and controllably ignite the USAF developed HAN-based monopropellants We will continue microwave ignition experiments in the S-band to determine precise time-to-ignition for the selected monopropellant at a given microwave power. We will carry out complex permittivity measurements on the selected HAN-based monopropellant in the X- and K-bands to explore the possibility of microwave ignition in these regions. Operating in X- or K-bands reduces the system size and weight. Microwave ignition experiments in the X- and/or K-bands will be performed to establish if time-to-ignition and/or microwave power requirements could be reduced using a more compact ignition system. A conceptual rocket engine design incorporating the proposed microwave ignition system will be presented.