A Reduced Order Model for H2O2 Catalytic Reactor Performance Analysis

The present paper describes a steady one dimensional model of the hydrogen peroxide decomposition flow in a pellet-type catalytic bed and its application to the parametric design of a typical reactor for small rocket propellant thrusters. The two-phase liquid-gas-vapor flow through the bed is treated as a homogeneous, adiabatic, chemically reacting flow, for which the properties depend on the local composition. Fast equilibrium hydrogen peroxide adsorption and first-order finite-rate desorption is assumed for the one-step hydrogen peroxide decomposition reaction on the catalyst surface. Standard viscous/aerodynamic correlations for porous media are used to account for pressure losses. The predictions of the model depend on a limited number of uncertain parameters, for which the values can be readily determined by comparison with the available experimental data. Good agreement has been attained between the model predictions and the results of hydrogen peroxide monopropellan...