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Armadillo Aerospace News: Unequivocal Mixed Monoprop Success
On Tuesday, we received our third style of catalyst from Catalytic Products International. This catalyst is a 3.5” tall roll of platinum plated corrugated foil. Unlike the random bale metal we tested last week, this material has a solid bond that doesn’t rub or wash off, and it seems as active as the ceramic monolith catalyst. The catalyst we got on short notice has 200 pores per inch, but it can also be fabricated at 400 ppi. Corrugations give slightly more surface area to volume ratio than square pores, but the 200 ppi sample should still be presenting less surface area than the 400 ppi ceramic monolith.
The physical characteristics of the foil catalyst are nicer than the ceramic monoliths, because it won’t crack or chip. We had to cut a small ramp into the engines to allow us to squeeze fit it in, but it made a nice, tight seal, and it was plenty rigid to be self-supporting at this diameter. Read More

posted by Sigurd @ 7/19/2003 03:28:00 AM