Allan - Just a guess, but hydrazine is used as the fuel for spacecraft(satellites)because it can be passed over a heated catalyst bed to change it from a liquid fuel to copious amounts of what you might call coal gas. In the spacecraft this rapidly expanding gas exits the thruster through a "rocket" nozzle(a divergent duct)which produces the thrust to move the spacecraft as desired. As an emergency "fuel" for the airplane this would provide a means to spin up the emergency turbine without a fuel control or igniters which are much more complex systems than a simple propellant valve, basically a solenoid valve, and an otherwise inert catalyst bed with a simple battery powered heater. So you turn on the heater, simple switch, then you open the propellant valve, simple switch, and you have an unlimited source for gas to drive the emergency generator turbine till you run out of hydrazine. Pretty simple and not much chance that it would fail.
Barry -----Original Message----- From: mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com [mailto:mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com] On Behalf Of Allan Streib Sent: Friday, January 28, 2011 7:19 AM To: Mercedes Discussion List Subject: Re: [MBZ] F-16 Dead-Stick Landing....... Why hydrazine to fuel the APU? Why not a normal auxiliary gas turbine like the APU on a normal airliner? Allan _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
