Abstract
The analysis of laser pulse effects on polymers is presented as applied to laser ablation propulsion. Polymers of CHO-chemical composition are considered to use as propellants to increase the efficiency of LAP by burning of polymer vapors and producing such combustion components of this reaction as CO2 and H2O. Theoretical analysis of the ablation effects is considered on the base of polymers burning models.
Moreover, high-temperature oxidation of the ablated CHO-materials as well as release of combustion energy in the ablated vapor are considered as basic chemical reactions resulting from laser ablation of polymers. The first reaction is a chemical oxidation of the vapor components by oxygen entering into the polymer’s composition. The second reaction is a delayed burning of the partially oxidized vapor components in the atmospheric oxygen.
In the case of the laser ablation propulsion based on the ablation of CHO-polymers, the concept of laser-propulsion efficiency is defined more correctly by the analogy with the efficiency of conventional jet engines, namely, as a ratio of exhaust jet power to the total power of the energy sources originated in a combustion chamber.
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Rezunkov, Y.A. (2021). Laser Ablation of Solid Materials, Laser Ablation Propulsion. In: High Power Laser Propulsion. Springer Series on Atomic, Optical, and Plasma Physics, vol 116. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79693-8_3
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