[AR] propane etc. (was Re: arocket Digest V11 #72)

  • From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2023 11:58:12 -0400 (EDT)

On Thu, 20 Apr 2023, Uwe Klein wrote:

But if propane is stored at LOx temp...

doesn't the propane get slushy" ( ~-188°C solid|liquid )
at LOX temps? ( ~-183°C liquid|gas )

In principle, no: so long as it's above its freezing point, by however small an amount, you don't get solid forming.

In practice, that's a small margin and you'd want to watch issues like impurities in the propane (commercial "propane" contains significant amounts of propylene, butane, etc.) and variations in temperature within the tank.

OT but apropos:
can one utilise the paramagnetic properties of LOX in rocket context?

Possible in theory, especially for controlling where the liquid goes in a partially-filled tank in microgravity, but I don't know of any actual attempts at it.

Henry

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  • » [AR] propane etc. (was Re: arocket Digest V11 #72) - Henry Spencer