Slush hydrogen

Slush hydrogen is a combination of liquid hydrogen and solid hydrogen at the triple point with a lower temperature and a higher density than liquid hydrogen. It is formed by bringing liquid hydrogen down to nearly the melting point (14.01 K or −259.14 °C) that increases density by 16–20% as compared to liquid hydrogen.[1] It is proposed as a rocket fuel in place of liquid hydrogen in order to improve tankage and thus reduce the dry weight of the vehicle.[2]

Production

The continuous freeze technique used for slush hydrogen involves pulling a continuous vacuum over triple point liquid and using a solid hydrogen mechanical ice-breaker to disrupt the surface of the freezing hydrogen.[3][4][5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nancy B. McNelis, Terry L. Hardy, Margaret V. Whalen, Maureen T. Kudlac, Matthew E. Moran, Thomas M. Tomsik and Mark S. Haberbusch (April 1995). A summary of Slush hydrogen. NASA
  2. ↑ Density. Astronautix.com. Retrieved on 2012-12-29.
  3. ↑ Mark S. Haberbusch and Nancy B. McNelis (1996). Comparison of the continuous freeze slush hydrogen production. NASA Technical Memorandum 107324. Retrieved on 2012-12-29.
  4. ↑ R. O. Voth (February 1978). Producing Liquid-Solid Mixtures of Hydrogen Using an Auger. Cryogenics Division. Institute for Basic Standards National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colorado (report for NASA). Retrieved on 2012-12-29.
  5. ↑ A.S. Rapial and D.E. Daney (May 1969). 1966 – Preparation and characterization of slush hydrogen and nitrogen gels. Cryogenics Division. Institute for Basic Standards National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colorado (report for NASA). Retrieved on 2012-12-29.
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