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An experimental study on the catalytic decomposition of the nitrous oxide with catalysts based on palladium as active phase on alumina pellets support has been carried out and is presented in this paper, with the aim of inquiring the potentialities of nitrous oxide for space propulsion applications, especially as monopropellant for low-thrust engines. Different tests were carried out, with different system configurations and varying the propellant mass flow rate, to investigate the main dependences of the decomposition efficiency with the characteristic parameters of the system. The results showed that an optimal operating condition exists in terms of the catalytic bed load and the gas hourly space velocity. Finally, a procedure was designed for increasing the catalytic system initial temperature, and a new experimental campaign was carried out, highlighting the effect of the latter parameter on the nitrous oxide decomposition behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work deals with experimental characterisation of ultra-high-temperature ceramic materials for aerospace applications. Current research activities are focused on development and testing of new-class ultra-high-temperature ceramic matrix composites for near-zero ablation Thermal Protection Systems and near-zero erosion rocket nozzles. To investigate materials behaviour in atmospheric re-entry conditions, relevant tests are carried out on samples with different shapes with a supersonic arc-jet facility, with specific total enthalpies higher than 20 MJ kg−1 and temperatures over 2000 K in a gas atmosphere with high concentration of atomic oxygen. The Aerospace Propulsion Laboratory allows investigating rocket components or subsystems manufactured in innovative materials, such as nozzles and nozzle inserts, but also small specimens exposed to the rocket exhaust plume, in highly relevant operating conditions. Computational models for numerical simulations of high-enthalpy flows, in both arc-jet and propulsion environments, and thermal analyses of the material samples are developed to support the experimental activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]