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Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (17): 633343.doi: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.33343

• Special Topic: Metal Fuel Propellant Technology • Previous Articles    

Effect of iron oxide/polytetrafluoroethylene on combustion performance of aluminum-water propellant

Yao SHU1, Yiming ZHANG2, Qiu WU2, Peijin LIU1, Wen AO1()   

  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Solid Propulsion,Northwestern Polytechnical University,Xi’an  710072,China
    2.Institute of Xi’an Aerospace Propulsion Technology,Xi’an  710025,China
  • Received:2026-01-07 Revised:2026-02-02 Accepted:2026-03-30 Online:2026-04-27 Published:2026-04-27
  • Contact: Wen AO E-mail:aw@nwpu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(U2441284)

Abstract:

Compared with conventional solid propellants, aluminum-water propellant offers advantages such as low cost and environmentally friendly combustion products, positioning it as a new-generation green propellant. However, in practical applications, aluminum-water propellant suffers from a series of issues including low combustion efficiency and excessive product residues. The raw aluminum powder was modified by introducing iron (Ⅲ) oxide (Fe2O3) and the fluoropolymer Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as additives. The effects of these additives on the thermal decomposition behavior, combustion characteristics, and aluminum particle agglomeration of aluminum-water propellant were systematically investigated. The results demonstrate that both Fe2O3 and PTFE significantly enhance the heating rate, combustion intensity, burning rate, and combustion efficiency of the propellant, while effectively inhibiting aluminum particle agglomeration. Specifically, Fe2O3 exhibits the most pronounced promoting effect on burning rate, achieving an increase of up to 82%, along with a maximum reduction of 53.2% in the average diameter of combustion products and a 9.6% improvement in combustion efficiency. PTFE increases the burning rate by up to 63% and reduces the average combustion product diameter by a maximum of 46%. This study provides new insights and experimental evidence for the formulation optimization of advanced aluminum-water propellants.

Key words: aluminum water propellant, combustion performance, aluminum agglomeration, combustion products, thermal oxidation characteristic

CLC Number: