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Post by theholyinquisition on Jan 22, 2017 23:19:38 GMT
Besides, I think LANTRs don't burn the LH2-LOX, they just use it as an additive. Atomic Rockets doesn't specify? It does say combustion: I was incorrect.
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Post by darthroach on Jan 23, 2017 0:32:30 GMT
Yes, we did see roach's post. Well, I did. Besides, I think LANTRs don't burn the LH2-LOX, they just use it as an additive. I would call whatever the LOx and H2 are doing in the exhaust stream, "burning", all right. It's an idea lifted straight from jet engine afterburners. Or rather, that's exactly what it is, just with oxidizer instead of fuel. The difference here is that the combustion is not the main energy source.
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Post by apophys on Jan 24, 2017 0:48:02 GMT
Another possible combo is resistojet-coil preheating of chemical reactants. It doesn't have to heat all the way to 4400 K, of course.
Any oxide coating will not react with hot oxygen, since it is already fully oxygenated. I saw thorium oxide mentioned somewhere as usable for this purpose.
Preheated LOX-decane sounds interesting.
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Post by theholyinquisition on Jan 24, 2017 1:17:01 GMT
Does hydrogen deuteride have any good reactions we could use? It's basically just better hydrogen, and if we could get a LANTR using it, that would be nice.
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Post by n2maniac on Jan 25, 2017 6:36:58 GMT
Yes, we did see roach's post. Well, I did. Besides, I think LANTRs don't burn the LH2-LOX, they just use it as an additive. Adding oxygen as an "additive" to a stream of hot hydrogen necessarily will burn. It is an afterburner in that configuration. Theoretically it could be injected prior to the choke as well for even more ISP. They probably had a good practical reason for doing so. Burning it before the reactor is a waste, don't bother (unless for some reason you are worried about burning through the nuclear fuel too fast). Pre-heating both the hydrogen and oxygen in the reactor, then letting them burn would provide even higher ISP (though the combustion is likely to hit equilibrium temperature until passing the choke at that level of crazy energy input).
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