Atmospheric Dispersion of Hypergolic Liquid Rocket Fuels. Volume 1

Titan II weapons systems are charged with hypergolic liquid rocket propellants hydrazine fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. These same propellents are used in support of other systems, including the MX missile and the space shuttle. This effort was designed to characterize the interactions of hypergolic liquid rocket propellants and to provide information pertinent to the development of a model to describe the transport and diffusion of airborne combustion products and unreacted vapors from an accident involving these propellants. This report is prepared in two volumes. Volume I addresses the reactions between nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine, including the reaction products and the heat released. This information was used to determine the combustion time and the height of the resulting fireball before it cools and disperses with the air. Volume II discusses the chemical and physical interactions of the combustion products with air, and the dispersion of these products in the environment.