一位新西兰的学生工程师开发了一种能够将日常漂白剂转换为火箭推进剂的设备。
Working from his lab at theUniversity of Canterbury，研究生西蒙·里德（Simon Reid）提出了一个3D打印的催化剂床，将过氧化氢分解为能量气体。如果可以完善这种反应，Reid认为它将可以用作需要低到中等推力的火箭的更安全的燃料，因此他现在正在与当地发射公司合作黎明航空航天测试这一点。
确定更安全的推进剂
九世纪后期首次开发的氢津仍然是当今航空航天部门中普遍使用的火箭推进剂。但是，尽管该物质仍然是一种为将卫星发射到轨道所需的火箭所需的高效手段，但众所周知，它在干燥时也是不稳定的，并且对人类的触感非常有毒，以至于现在是一种可疑的致癌物。
According to Reid, the extra care required when handling hydrazine, including the safety gear and protocols necessary during usage, drive up the price of deploying it too, thus he’s identified the need for a safer, low-cost alternative. Interestingly, the substitute the student has opted for is hydrogen peroxide, a product often used to bleach hair or clean wounds, that only causes mild irritation upon exposure.
To generate thrust from such household bleaches, Reid initially recognized that a catalyst, the likes of which are often made from precious metals, would be required to break it down into a gas. In his case, the engineer opted to use ceramic, likely due to its lower cost than silver or platinum, to 3D print a bed coated in catalyst that effectively triggers a chemical change as hydrogen peroxide passes through it.
“通过液体过氧化氢渺位st bed it speeds up the decomposition reaction,” explains Reid. “The reaction disassociates the molecule, turning it into water and oxygen. It is the breakup of the molecule that produces a large amount of energy and heat. The heat vaporizes the water and results in a high temperature gas – passing the hot gas through a nozzle provides thrust.”
Using bleach as a rocket fuel
Now two years into a three-and-a-half-year PhD, Reid is seeking to refine the design of his 3D printed bleach-converting catalyst bed. Specifically, the engineer aims to maximize the thrust generated from hydrogen peroxide, while limiting the loss of catalyst from the bed and making all his device’s parts as light and commercially-competitive as possible.
In order to achieve this, Reid has begun working with New Zealand’s state-backedCallaghan Innovationagency, to 3D print devices into geometries with improved properties from other catalytic materials that yield better thruster performance.
博士生发现的一种方法在优化催化转化方面具有特殊的希望，是将床打印成某些甲状腺形状，这是通过传统生产方法不可能的。里德（Reid）这样做，他认为他的最新设计将是对其前身的升级，因为它可以最大程度地减少催化剂的损失，避免大量压力下降并更好地平衡燃料浓度。
Moving forwards, the grad student now intends to test the efficacy of his revised catalytic bed and compare the results against prior designs. More broadly, he also aims to work with project collaborator Dawn Aerospace, which uses hydrogen peroxide to fuel its reusable spaceplane, to identify a catalyst that enables it to do so more efficiently.
“Only a few companies are seriously considering hydrogen peroxide,” concludes Reid. “Hopefully by designing these efficient catalysts, we can promote it as a viable alternative to hydrazine, and help make the aerospace industry that little bit safer.”
3D printing’s rocket propellant potential
增材制造业继续满足世界各地的火箭制造商的需求，不仅是在高级推进系统的生产中，而且还用于为它们提供动力。最高的例子之一是Rocket Lab，一家去年公开公开的公司$4.1 billion SPAC merger, which is said to power the火箭的卢瑟福引擎通过印刷推进剂。
回到2020年末Firehawk Aerospacealso raised $2 million towards the R&D of its unique additive manufactured propulsion systems. Powered by a fuel, designed to provide a safer, more reliable, and lower-cost propellant for the engines of satellite launchers, the firm’s3D打印的固体燃料棒据说当时提供“新的表现”。
Likewise, in a similar project, scientists atJames Cook UniversityAustralia, have previously come up with3D printed fuel grains, capable of powering a hybrid rocket motor. Developed in response to the rapid rise in commercial space launches, the team’s commercial polymer-integrated rocket fuels showed strong potential during testing, as an accessible means of firing devices into low earth orbit (LEO).
To stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, don’t forget to subscribe to the3D打印行业newsletter或跟随我们Twitter或喜欢我们的页面Facebook.
For a deeper-dive into additive manufacturing, you can now subscribe to ourYoutube频道，包括3D打印进程的讨论，脱毛和镜头。
Are you looking for a job in the additive manufacturing industry? Visit3D打印作业在行业中选择一系列角色。
特色图片表演坎特伯雷大学博士大学生西蒙·里德（Simon Reid）的3D印刷催化床。通过坎特伯雷大学的图像。
