Benveniste (Benny) Natan - Faculty of Aerospace Engineering

Biographical Data

b. Greece, 1954. B.Sc. Technion, 1977, M.Sc., Technion, 1982, D.Sc. Technion, 1988. NRC Senior Research Associate, Naval Postgraduate School, 1989-1991. Visiting Professor, National Technical University of Athens, Greece, 2003-2004, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. Visiting Professor, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, 2013-2014 and 2016. Technion Dean of Students 1.1.2017-31.12.2019. At Technion since 1991.

Main areas of research

Propulsion and combustion and related areas, including: Gel Propellants; Solid, Liquid (Gel) and Hybrid Rockets; Ramjet and Scramjet Engines; Hypergolic Ignition, Boron Combustion, Combustion of Metals; Internal ballistics of Rocket and Ramjet engines.

Positions available

Selected publications

Natan, B. and Gany, A., “Ignition and Combustion of Boron Particles in the Flowfield of a Solid Fuel Ramjet,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 37-43, 1991.
Natan, B. and Gany, A., “Combustion Characteristics of a Boron Fueled Ramjet with Aft-Burner,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 9, No. 5, pp. 694-701, 1993.
Ben-Yakar, A., Natan, B. and Gany, A., “Investigation of a Solid Fuel Scramjet Combustor,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 447-455, 1998.
Cohen-Zur, A. and Natan, B., “Experimental Investigation of a Supersonic Combustion Solid Fuel Ramjet,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 14, No. 6, pp. 880-889, 1998.
Halupovich, Y., Natan, B., and Rom, J., “Numerical Solution of Turbulent Supersonic Flow over a Backward Facing Step,” Fluid Dynamics Research, Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 251-273, 1999.
Nachmoni, G. and Natan, B., “Combustion Characteristics of Gel Fuels,” Combustion Science and Technology, Vol. 156, pp. 139-157, 2000.
Natan, B. and Rahimi, S., “The Status of Gel Propellants in Year 2000,” International Journal of Energetic Materials and Chemical Propulsion, Vol. 5, No. 1-6, pp. 172-194, 2002 (Review Paper).
Solomon, Y. and Natan, B., “Experimental Investigation of the Combustion of Organic-Gellant-Based Gel Fuel Droplets,” Combustion Science and Technology, Vol. 178, No. 6, pp. 1185-1199, 2006.
Chernov, V. and Natan, B., “The Effect of Periodic Disturbances on Non-Newtonian Fluid Sprays,” Journal of Atomization and Sprays, Vol. 18, No. 8, pp. 723-738, 2008.
Solomon, Y., Natan, B. and Cohen, Y., “Combustion of Gel Fuels based on Organic Gellants,” Combustion and Flame, Vol. 156, No. 1, pp. 261-268, 2009.
Kunin, A., Greenberg, J.B. and Natan, B., “Sensitivity of
Pulsating Organic Gel Polydisperse-Spray Diffusion Flames to Evaporation
Frequency Droplet-Size Dependency,” Journal of Atomization and Sprays, Vol. 19, No. 6, pp. 583-595, 2009.
Kunin, A., Natan, B. and Greenberg, J.B., “Theoretical Model of the Transient Combustion of Organic-Gellant-Based Gel Fuel Droplets,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 765-771, 2010.
Natan, B., Perteghella, V. and Solomon, Y., “Hypergolic Ignition by Fuel Gelation and Suspension of Reactive or Catalyst Particles,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 27, No. 5, pp. 1145-1149, 2011.
Haddad, A., Natan, B. and Arieli, R., “The Performance of a Boron Loaded Gel Fuel Ramjet,” in Progress in Propulsion Physics, Vol. 2, L. Deluca, C. Bonnal, O. Haidn and S. Frolov, editors, EUCASS Advances in Aerospace Sciences Book Series, Torus Press, pp. 549-568, 2011.
Hassid, S. and Natan, B., “Thermal Diffusion Controlled Ignition of Hypergolic Gel Propellants,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 29, No. 6, pp. 1337-1342, 2013.
Kim, S. and Natan, B., “Inlet Geometry and Equivalence Ratio Effects on Combustion in a Ducted Rocket,” Journal of Propulsion and Power 31, No. 2, pp. 619-631, 2015.
Balas, S. and Natan, B., “Boron Oxide Condensation in a Hydrocarbon-Boron Gel Fuel Ramjet,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 967-974, 2016.
Solomon, Y., Grinstein, D. and Natan, B., “Active Boron Dispersion and Ignition in Gel Droplets,” International Journal of Energetic Materials and Chemical Propulsion, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 197-213, 2016.
Connell Jr. T. L., Risha, G. A. Yetter, R. A. and Natan, B., “Ignition of Hydrogen Peroxide with Gel Hydrocarbon Fuels,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp 170-181, Jan. 2018.
Connell Jr. T. L., Risha, G. A. Yetter, R. A. and Natan, B., “Hypergolic Ignition of Hydrogen Peroxide/Gel Fuel Impinging Jets,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp 182-188, 2018.
Solomon, Y., Grinstein, D. and Natan, B., “Dispersion of Boron Particles from a Burning Gel Droplet,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, 34, No. 6, pp. 1586-1595, 2018.
Castaneda, D.A. and Natan, B., “Experimental Investigation of the Hydrogen Peroxide – Solid Hydrocarbon Hypergolic Ignition,” Acta Astronautica, 158, pp. 286-295, 2019.
Natan, B., and Hasan, D., “Advances in Gel Propellants,” International Journal of Energetic Materials and Chemical Propulsion, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 303-323, 2019.
Kadosh, H. and Natan, B., “Internal Ballistics of a Boron Containing Solid Fuel Ramjet,” Combustion Science and Technology, 193, No. 15, pp. 2672–2691, 2020.
Padwal, M.B., Castaneda, D.A. and Natan, B., “Hypergolic Combustion of Boron Based Propellants,” Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 6703-6711, 2020.
Padwal, M.B., Natan, B. and Mishra, D.P., “Gel Propellants,” Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Vol. 83, 100885, 2021 (Review Paper).