High Energy, Small Scale, and Reliable Green Fuel Ignition

Description

Alphaport® has packaged spark exciter electronics and an igniter plug into a single component. The technology eliminates a corona-prone ignition cable in order to produce reliable sparks for ignition of LO2/LCH4 or other green fuels in engines exposed to altitude/space environments. It is capable of producing 50 to 120 millijoule sparks at a rate of 100-300 sparks/second by the generation of spark-gap breakdown high-voltage pulses of up to 18 kilovolts.

Success Story

Alphaport Phase 1B Spark Exciter Unit

Alphaport has received development exciter/igniter unit orders, for use in a spacecraft reaction control system, to be flown by a commercial space company.  The spacecraft ignition system has been delivered and tested in commercial space customer facilities. Alphaport’s engineering development team is currently engaging next steps for human rated production processes.

Benefit

The technology bolsters viability of non-toxic propellants (for example, LO2/LH2, LO2/LCH4, or other LO2/hydrocarbon) for in-space rocket / spacecraft systems. These propellant combinations are baselined for future exploration missions, and would substantially reduce ground operation risks, costs, and environmental impacts while also providing in-space performance benefits.  Other benefits include:

• Improves spark delivery and rocket ignition reliability by reducing risks of high-voltage pulse degradation caused by corona discharge since the need for an ignition cableis eliminated.
• Allows weight and volume reduction relative to existing systems.
• The improved efficiency reduces the engine complexity, increasing consistency and reliability.
• Produces tailored ignition systems for specialized, relatively low-volume rocket applications, reducing engine supplier risk.
• Available for commercial space rocket engine application, but can be customized in any industry for spark ignition of combustion, including aircraft engines, power turbines, or even land/water-craft engines.

 

Lead NASA Center: Glenn Research Center
Funding Organization:  Science Technology Mission Directorate
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
For more information: techport.nasa.gov/TechPort ID No.xxxxx

Description

 
Alphaport® has packaged spark exciter electronics and an igniter plug into a single component. The technology eliminates a corona-prone ignition cable in order to produce reliable sparks for ignition of LO2/LCH4 or other green fuels in engines exposed to altitude/space environments. It is capable of producing 50 to 120 millijoule sparks at a rate of 100-300 sparks/second by the generation of spark-gap breakdown high-voltage pulses of up to 18 kilovolts.

Success Story

Alphaport Phase 1B Spark Exciter Unit

Alphaport has received development exciter/igniter unit orders, for use in a spacecraft reaction control system, to be flown by a commercial space company.  The spacecraft ignition system has been delivered and tested in commercial space customer facilities. Alphaport’s engineering development team is currently engaging next steps for human rated production processes.

Benefit

The technology bolsters viability of non-toxic propellants (for example, LO2/LH2, LO2/LCH4, or other LO2/hydrocarbon) for in-space rocket / spacecraft systems. These propellant combinations are baselined for future exploration missions, and would substantially reduce ground operation risks, costs, and environmental impacts while also providing in-space performance benefits.  Other benefits include:

• Improves spark delivery and rocket ignition reliability by reducing risks of high-voltage pulse degradation caused by corona discharge since the need for an ignition cableis eliminated.
• Allows weight and volume reduction relative to existing systems.
• The improved efficiency reduces the engine complexity, increasing consistency and reliability.
• Produces tailored ignition systems for specialized, relatively low-volume rocket applications, reducing engine supplier risk.
• Available for commercial space rocket engine application, but can be customized in any industry for spark ignition of combustion, including aircraft engines, power turbines, or even land/water-craft engines.

 

Lead NASA Center: Glenn Research Center
Funding Organization:  Science Technology Mission Directorate
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
For more information: techport.nasa.gov/TechPort ID No.xxxxx