Experimental Investigation of Li and SF6 Combustion for Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion Systems

A series of experimental investigations of Lithium (Li) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) combustion at various conditions are reported. The combustion products are soluble in lithium liquid. Therefore, it is ideal for undersea application. This paper is aimed at finding a suitable method to ignite the system safely and efficiently. The experiment results show that, for the active fuel supplying method, the ignition is influenced strongly by the supplying speed of Li and SF 6 . It succeeds only they cooperate precisely. For the prestored fuel method, the ignition goes very well with electric heating method, and more efficiently combined with metal wick configuration. It just took 39 seconds to ignite the Li/SF 6 system, and the combustion was stable.