water injection questions

[Wayne Braun]

At 10:18 PM 7/23/96 -0700, you wrote:
>> | Just a cautious thought out of the blue (i.e. I don't know the
>> | answer) ... it might be a good idea to check on the corrosiveness
>> | first, especially if you have aluminum heads.  Any chemists out
>> | there?
>> | Anthony Tsakiris
>> |
>> 
>> This topic came up on the hotrod list some time ago.  the peroxide you buy
>> in the store is too dilute to do any good.  Anything stronger is very
>> corrosive.  Apparently peroxide was used as rocket fuel a long time ago.
>> 
>> --steve
>
>Quite correct, Steve.  The use I remember is in the Messerschmidt ME-163 
>rocket plane.  As I recall, pure H2O2 is a sufficiently strong oxidizer 
>that it can burn skin on contact.  There were problems with tank 
>integrity in the planes, and they occasionally leaked.  Made for an 
>unpleasant flight, from the pilot interviews I've seen.
>Cheers.
>

        A couple of years ago I was at the Canadian Aviation Museum in
Ottawa, they have ( had ) at least 2 of the ME 163 Comet aircraft. In the
discussion, it was mentioned that the plane used H2O2 as the oxidizer for
the fuel. Apparently, pure H2O2 dissolves animal matter ( animal matter
being things like flesh ). Due to the tank integrity problems mentioned,
landings tended to be somewhat exciting. It is the only aircraft that is
known to have MELTED its pilot on landing. From what I can remember, they
lost as many pilots landing the plane as in combat ( or something like that
). The moral of the story is that one should be VERY careful when using H2O2
especially if it is concentrated.

        Regards
        Wayne Braun