Testing Hypergolic Ignition of Paraffin Wax/LiAlH4 Mixtures

Abstract

,The hypergolic ignition of paraffin wax doped with LiAlH4 was investigated. The paraffin wax/LiAlH4 mixture was found to be hypergolic with 363 K - 373 K nitric acid at concentrations above 30 % LiAlH4. The mixture was also found to be hypergolic under certain conditions with 296 K nitric acid. The exact ignition mechanism was explored with chemical kinetic modeling and experimentation. Further investigation finds the doped wax to be hypergolic with several other strong acids; sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid, but not the weak acid, acetic acid. Hypergolic ignition of paraffin wax with N2O4 was observed but a reliable ignition system was not found.