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Combustion efficiency of iridium coated pellets for environmentally friendly space propulsion
No full textMost of the satellite engines still uses critical fuels such as hydrazine, which is chemically aggressive, toxic and carcinogenic. New developments for satellite engines try to avoid such critical propellants. One promising approach is the usage of rocket-grade hydrogen peroxide [H2O2] in mono- and bipropellant driven rocket engines. Catalysts in the rocket engines convert the hydrogen peroxide by an exothermic catalytic reaction; the resulting hot gases oxygen and water vapor provide the thrust. Currently used catalysts are, for example, Al2O3 pellets impregnated with platinum.
Within a joint research project of Aschaffenburg University and the German Aerospace Center new catalysts are developed. They consist of ceramic pellets coated with iridium using the magnetron sputtering process. Thereby the surface structure of the iridium layers strongly depends on the used sputtering process conditions [1]. After optimization of the sputtering parameters, it was demonstrated in laboratory experiments that the catalytic effect (measured by the volume of released gas) can be increased by a factor of four compared to platinum impregnated pellets [2].
In first hot firing tests at the test bench complex M11 at the DLR- Institute of Space Propulsion, these new, iridium-based catalysts have been used in a model combustion chamber for hydrogen peroxide decomposition. For this purpose, the reaction chamber was filled with iridium pellets in the high-altitude simulation chamber of the M11.2 test bench. The model chamber was equipped with numerous measuring devices like temperature and pressure sensors (e.g. Tcat, pcat). With the help of the mass flow and the herein obtained data, performance characteristics of the propellant system were accessible. High-concentrated hydrogen peroxide was used in the experiments as monopropellant (~ 87-wt.% H2O2). During the experiments, the combustion chamber was operated in pulse mode and in continuous mode. Aim of this campaign called MoCa (“Monopropellant Catalytic Demonstrator”) is the demonstration of functionality and the performance evaluation of this iridium-based monopropellant system. Recent experimental results will be presented.
References:
[1] A. Büttner et al., Thin Solid Films 2018, 662: 41–46
[2] M. Stollenwerk et al., Journal of Materials Science 2021, 56(16), 9974-998
Manipulation von Abgaswerten
No full textDieses Buch stellt Hintergründe zum Abgasskandal dar, z. B. welche Schadstoffe kritisch sind, wie Motorsteuergeräte, Abgasrückführung und Abgasnachbehandlung funktionieren, wie Manipulationen auf dem Prüfstand möglich sind, mit welchen Fahrzyklen getestet wird und in welchem rechtlichen und politischen Umfeld dies lange Zeit geschehen konnte. Es werden Maßnahmen vorgestellt, mit denen Fahrzeuge auch real Grenzwerte einhalten können und wie Manipulationen zukünftig rechtlich und politisch verhindert werden können. Dem Leser werden durch Literaturhinweise zusätzliche Details erschlossen
Wissenstransfer und Weiterbildung
No full textDie AutorInnen fassen in dieser Broschüre die Beiträge der ReferentInnen beim Symposium von Wirtschaft und Hochschule am 11. März 2021 an der TH Aschaffenburg zusammen. Daneben werden auch die Ergebnisse aus den Workshops zur Learning Persona dargestellt
Elucidation of the Clustered Nano-Architecture of Radiation-Induced DNA Damage Sites and Surrounding Chromatin in Cancer Cells: A Single Molecule Localization Microscopy Approach
No full textIn cancer therapy, the application of (fractionated) harsh radiation treatment is state of the art for many types of tumors. However, ionizing radiation is a “double-edged sword”—it can kill the tumor but can also promote the selection of radioresistant tumor cell clones or even initiate carcinogenesis in the normal irradiated tissue. Individualized radiotherapy would reduce these risks and boost the treatment, but its development requires a deep understanding of DNA damage and repair processes and the corresponding control mechanisms. DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) and their repair play a critical role in the cellular response to radiation. In previous years, it has become apparent that, beyond genetic and epigenetic determinants, the structural aspects of damaged chromatin (i.e., not only of DSBs themselves but also of the whole damage-surrounding chromatin domains) form another layer of complex DSB regulation. In the present article, we summarize the application of super-resolution single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) for investigations of these structural aspects with emphasis on the relationship between the nano-architecture of radiation-induced repair foci (IRIFs), represented here by γH2AX foci, and their chromatin environment. Using irradiated HeLa cell cultures as an example, we show repair-dependent rearrangements of damaged chromatin and analyze the architecture of γH2AX repair clusters according to topological similarities. Although HeLa cells are known to have highly aberrant genomes, the topological similarity of γH2AX was high, indicating a functional, presumptively genome type-independent relevance of structural aspects in DSB repair. Remarkably, nano-scaled chromatin rearrangements during repair depended both on the chromatin domain type and the treatment. Based on these results, we demonstrate how the nano-architecture and topology of IRIFs and chromatin can be determined, point to the methodological relevance of SMLM, and discuss the consequences of the observed phenomena for the DSB repair network regulation or, for instance, radiation treatment outcomes
Sputtered highly effective iridium catalysts: a new approach for green satellite propulsion
No full textThis work demonstrated the large potential of sputtered iridium metal for catalytic reactions shown by the example of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for space propulsion systems. For this purpose, iridium was coated onto Al2O3 pellets by a sputter process under varied process parameters. Depending on previously selected parameters, the obtained metal-loaded pellets offer closed- and/or open-shell structures. Catalytic productivity of these first-generation iridium-sputtered catalysts was estimated in laboratory experiments and compared to platinum-loaded pellets. Under optimized sputter-process conditions, the reactivity is significantly improved compared to the platinum-impregnated pellets. The better catalytic productivity can be explained by the increased active surface area of the iridium layers on the pellets. The surface morphology and the microstructure of the iridium coating can be actively controlled by the sputter pressure. The results are in accordance with the sputtering process pressure tendency described by the Thornton Structure–Zone Model
