Decomposing Solid Micropropulsion Nozzle Performance Issues

Micropropulsion technology is essential to the success of miniaturized spacecraft and can provide ultra-precise propulsion for small spacecraft. NASA Glenn Research Center has envisioned a micropropulsion concept that utilizes decomposing solid propellants for a valveless, leak-free propulsion system. Among the technical challenges of this decomposing solid micropropulsion concept is optimization of miniature, rectangular nozzles. A number of flat micronozzles were tested with ambient-temperature nitrogen and helium gas in a vacuum facility. The thrusters were etched out of silicon and had throat widths on the order of 350 microns and throat depths on the order of 250 microns. While these were half-sections of thrusters (two would be bonded together before firing), testing provided the performance trend for nozzles of this scale and geometry. Area ratios from 1 to 25 were tested, with thrust measured using an inverted pendulum thrust stand for nitrogen flows and a torsional thrust stand for helium. In the nitrogen testing, peak nozzle performance was achieved around area ratio of 5. In the helium series, nozzle performance peaked for the smallest nozzle tested area ratio 1.5. For both gases, there was a secondary performance peak above area ratio 15. At low chamber pressures (< 1.6 atm), nitrogen provided higher nozzle performance than helium. The performance curve for helium was steeper, however, and it appeared that helium would provide better performance than nitrogen at higher chamber pressures.