Aging and Atomization Characteristics of Aluminum Loaded and Unloaded Ethanol Gel

Gel propellants, also known as gel fuels or gel-based rocket propellants, are a type of propellant used in certain rocket engines. Unlike traditional liquid or solid propellants, gel propellants have a unique consistency resembling a gelatinous substance. Characteristics of the ethanol gel changes from time to time as the ethanol starts evaporating from the gel propellant when kept in open atmosphere, thus changing the concentration of the ethanol in the gel. Thus, the aging characteristic of the ethanol plays a major role in its atomization and combustion characteristics. An experimental investigation on the aging characteristics of aluminum loaded and unloaded ethanol gel was performed. The atomization of the base gel prepared was also done through impinging jet injector for both the types of gel at varying pressures. The results of aging characteristics obtained for the loaded gel were found to be better than the unloaded ethanol gel. The trends of atomization were observed to be almost similar for both the types of gel.