Aerospace Testing InternationalAerospace Testing International
  • News
    • A-E
      • Acoustic & Vibration
      • Avionics
      • Data Acquisition
      • Defense
      • Drones & Air Taxis
      • Electric & Hybrid
      • EMC
      • Engine Testing
      • Environmental Testing
    • F-L
      • Fatigue Testing
      • Flight Testing
      • Helicopters & Rotorcraft
      • High Speed Imaging
      • Industry News
    • M-S
      • Materials Testing
      • NDT
      • Simulation & Training
      • Software
      • Space
      • Structural Testing
      • Supplier News
    • T-Z
      • Technology
      • Telemetry & Communications
      • Weapons Testing
      • Wind Tunnels
  • Features
  • Magazines
    • March 2025
    • Dec 2024/Jan 2025
    • Showcase 2025
    • September 2024
    • June 2024
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free!
  • Opinion
  • Webinars
  • Events
    • All Events
    • Aerospace Test & Development Show
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Suppliers
    • Supplier Spotlights
    • Press Releases
    • Technical Papers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job – It’s FREE!
    • Manage Jobs (Employers)
LinkedIn YouTube X (Twitter)
LinkedIn YouTube X (Twitter)
Subscribe to magazine Subscribe to email newsletter Media Pack
Aerospace Testing InternationalAerospace Testing International
  • News
      • Acoustic & Vibration
      • Avionics
      • Data Acquisition
      • Defense
      • Drones & Air Taxis
      • Electric & Hybrid
      • EMC
      • Engine Testing
      • Environmental Testing
      • Fatigue Testing
      • Flight Testing
      • Helicopters & Rotorcraft
      • High Speed Imaging
      • Industry News
      • Materials Testing
      • NDT
      • Simulation & Training
      • Software
      • Space
      • Structural Testing
      • Supplier News
      • Technology
      • Telemetry & Communications
      • Weapons Testing
      • Wind Tunnels
  • Features
  • Magazines
    1. March 2025
    2. Dec 2024/Jan 2025
    3. Showcase 2025
    4. September 2024
    5. June 2024
    6. March 2024
    7. Archive Issues
    8. Subscribe Free!
    Featured
    19th March 2025

    In this issue: March 2025

    Online Magazines By Ben Sampson
    Recent

    In this issue: March 2025

    19th March 2025
    contents and front cover of magazine

    In this issue: December / January 2025

    19th December 2024
    Showcase 2025

    In this issue – Showcase 2025

    6th November 2024
  • Opinion
  • Webinars
  • Events
    • All Events
    • Aerospace Test & Development Show
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Suppliers
    • Supplier Spotlights
    • Press Releases
    • Technical Papers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job – It’s FREE!
    • Manage Jobs (Employers)
LinkedIn YouTube X (Twitter)
Aerospace Testing InternationalAerospace Testing International
Engine Testing Space

Researchers test salt-based rocket fuel

Ben SampsonBy Ben Sampson19th August 20204 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email
rocket fuel test
Associate Professor Joshua Rovey with graduate students Nick Rasmont and Matt Klosterman from the the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Image: Aerospace Engineering, Grainger Engineering)

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the USA have developed a salt-based fuel they say could be used for propulsion in small satellites such as CubeSats.

The propellant, called FAM-110A, is a mixture of two commercially available salts and can be used in high-thrust chemical propulsion for fast time-sensitive maneuvers, and in electric mode for slow maneuvers, such as orbit maintenance.

“Unlike hydrazine, the most commonly used monopropellant available today, our mixture is nontoxic. It’s also denser, so a smaller tank can be used for storage. And because it can be used in a combined chemical-electric thruster, it requires less plumbing than two separate thruster systems with their own propellants,” said Nicolas Rasmont, a graduate student who is working with Joshua Rovey a faculty member from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Rasmont said his research project looked at the velocity of its combustion in the high-thrust chemical mode and how it performs under different pressures. The findings will help inform the design of a rocket engine using this type of propellant.

“We learned that the preparation and storage conditions have a deeper influence on combustion velocity than we anticipated,” Rasmont said. “We don’t have a complete explanation for that, yet. We think it’s because FAM-110A can absorb moisture from the atmosphere very quickly. Both components are hygroscopic, and other researchers found that even a small increase in water content can alter the combustion properties of similar propellants.”

The experiment studied FAM-110A along with two controls whose combustion behaviors are well known: nitromethane, and a mixture of 80% HAN with 20% water. The propellants were subjected to a range of pressures from 0.5 to 11.0 Megapascal, while a high-speed camera captured images of the flame to calculate the burn rate.

“The liquid propellant is placed in a quartz tube inside of the high-pressure combustion chamber. The chamber is closed and pressurized with nitrogen, then the top of the liquid is ignited, the flame front descends down the tube, and is observed through a viewport. Full combustion can take between a few seconds to a few hundredths of a second.”

“The burn rate influences how you design an engine,” Rasmont said. “If your burn rate is too high, you’re going to have combustion flashback, in which the decomposition flame will try to go back through the piping to the tank. It’s going so fast that it can blow up everything.

“But on the other hand, if your burn rate is too low, then the combustion will be difficult to maintain. In the end, we want to operate in a Goldilocks zone where the burn rate is not too high, so it’s safe, and not too low, so that the combustion is stable and efficient. We found that FAM-110A has a Goldilocks zone which is fairly wide, without any abrupt change in burn rate with increasing pressure.

In addition, the burn rate plateaus at a high pressure, which is also a desirable behavior.

“It means we could build a rocket engine using our propellant to be practical at almost any kind of pressure level. However, we also learned that FAM-110A leaves a significant amount of liquid residue after it burns. This is undesirable because it means that the combustion is incomplete. We might have to change the formulation in order to improve the efficiency of its combustion.”

Rasmont said the next step is to try to use it on an actual rocket engine to see if it is practical. “The tests we have done here are encouraging, but they also point out limitations and places we can improve.”

Share. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email
Previous ArticleHoneywell to supply flight deck technology for next Vertical Aerospace eVTOL demonstrator
Next Article MIT researchers demonstrate weak corona discharge from aircraft in wind tunnel tests
Ben Sampson

Ben has worked as a journalist and editor, covering technology, engineering and industry for the last 20 years. Initially writing about subjects from nuclear submarines to autonomous cars to future design and manufacturing technologies, he was editor of a leading UK-based engineering magazine before becoming editor of Aerospace Testing in 2017.

Related Posts

News

Astrolight raises €2.8m to build optical space communications network

22nd May 20253 Mins Read
Engine Testing

Venus Aerospace tests rotating detonation rocket engine

16th May 20253 Mins Read
Engine Testing

Rolls-Royce Orpheus engine program completes 100 tests

15th May 20252 Mins Read
Latest Posts

AIR cargo eVTOL completes night flight testing

22nd May 2025

Astrolight raises €2.8m to build optical space communications network

22nd May 2025

Industry Adoption of 3D Optical Surface Gauges

21st May 2025
Supplier Spotlights
Our Social Channels
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Getting in Touch
  • Subscribe To Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Meet the Team
  • Media Pack
Related Topics
  • Aircraft Interiors
  • Business Jet Interiors
FREE WEEKLY NEWS EMAIL!

Get the 'best of the week' from this website direct to your inbox every Wednesday

© 2023 Mark Allen Group Ltd | All Rights Reserved
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.