Comparison of Berthelot and Arrhenius Approaches for Prediction of Liquid Propellant Shelf Life

The shelf life of amine based liquid propellant was predicted using Berthelot and Arrhenius approaches and the results were compared. Reduction of the triethylamine concentration to less than 48 wt-% was taken as the end of shelf life. The γ10 parameter and the activation energy of the Berthelot and Arrhenius approaches were determined to be 1.99 and 64.07 kJ mol−1, respectively. According to the experimental data, the fuel shelf life at 293, 303, and 313 K, was predicted to be 5.7, 2.4, and 1.06 years using Arrhenius; and 3.93, 2, and 1 years using Berthelot approach, respectively. Results showed that the results that Berthelot approach gives lower values for fuel shelf life at ambient temperatures but it gives higher values at higher temperatures. Considering the safety aspect, the lower values are recommended as shelf life of the fuel.