Performance analysis and experimental research on nitrous oxide monopropellant micro-thruster

Performance analysis for monopropellant micro-thruster using nitrous oxide (N₂O) propellant was carried out based on the thermodynamic computation. Preliminary results show that decomposition rate of nitrous oxide and the expansion ratio of nozzle both have effects on the specific impulse of the thruster. Experiments of nitrous oxide catalytic decomposition at different initial catalyst bed temperature were conducted in testers of different structures. Self-sustaining decomposition reaction of nitrous oxide was observed at preheated temperature of 250°C. The performance of the sub-Newton micro-thruster was greatly affected by the combustion chamber structure and the loading factor of catalyst bed according to experimental results. Although the results are not conclusive because of the small initial test set, preliminary numbers demonstrate the feasibility of the N₂O monopropellant micro-thruster.