Prof. Benveniste (Benny) Natan


Tel: 972-4-829-2395
Fax: 972-4-829-2030
email: aerben@technion.ac.il
Download a full resume (PDF)

Biographical Data

  • B.Sc.  Technion – IIT, Aeronautical Engineering, 1977.
  • M.Sc. Technion – IIT, Aerospace Engineering, 1982.
  • D.Sc.  Technion – IIT, Aerospace Engineering, 1988.
  • PostDoc – NRC Senior Research Associate – Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, 1989-1991.
  • Faculty member at Technion since 1991.
  • Visiting Professor – National Technical University of Athens, Greece, 2003-2004.
  • Visiting Professor – Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy, 2013-2014.

Main Interests

  • Gel Propellants – Rheology, Atomization, Combustion
  • Rocket, ramjet and scramjet propulsion
  • Combustion
  • Hypergolic Ignition
  • Reactive and two-phase flows
  • Metal and Boron combustion
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Thermodynamics

Selected Publications

  • Natan, B. and Gany, A., “Ignition and Combustion of Boron Particles in the Flowfield of a Solid Fuel Ramjet,” (AIAA) Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 37-43, Jan.-Feb. 1991.
  • Natan, B. and Gany, A., “Combustion Characteristics of a Boron Fueled Ramjet with Aft-Burner,” (AIAA) Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 9, No. 5, pp. 694-701, Sept.-Oct. 1993.
  • Rosenband, V., Natan, B. and Gany, A., “Ignition of Boron Particles Coated by a Thin Titanium Film,” (AIAA) Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 11, No. 5, pp. 1125-1131, Nov.-Dec. 1995.
  • Natan, B. and Netzer, D.W., “Boron-Carbide Combustion in Solid Fuel Ramjets using Bypass Air. Part I: Experimental Investigation,” Propellants Explosives and Pyrotechnics, Vol. 21, No. 6, pp. 289-294, Nov.-Dec. 1996.
  • Natan, B. and Netzer, D.W., “Boron-Carbide Combustion in Solid Fuel Ramjets using Bypass Air. Part II: Theoretical Investigation,” Propellants Explosives and Pyrotechnics, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 6-10, Jan.-Feb. 1997.
  • Ben-Yakar, A., Natan, B. and Gany, A., “Investigation of a Solid Fuel Scramjet Combustor,” (AIAA) Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 447-455, July-Aug. 1998.
  • Cohen-Zur, A. and Natan, B., “Experimental Investigation of a Supersonic Combustion Solid Fuel Ramjet,” (AIAA) Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 14, No. 6, pp. 880-889, Nov.-Dec. 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.
  • Ben-Arosh, R., Natan, B., Spiegler, E. and Gany, A., “Theoretical Study of a Solid Fuel Scramjet Combustor,” Acta Astronautica, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp.155-166, 1999.
  • Rahimi, S. and Natan, B., “The Flow of Gel Fuels in Tapered Injectors,” (AIAA) Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 458-471, May-June 2000.
  • Nachmoni, G. and Natan, B., “Combustion Characteristics of Gel Fuels,” Combustion Science and Technology, Vol. 156, pp. 139-157, July 2000.
  • Rahimi, S. and Natan, B., “Numerical Solution of the Flow of Power-Law Gel Propellants in Converging Injectors,” Propellants Explosives and Pyrotechnics, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 203-212, Aug. 2000.
  • Rahimi, S. and Natan, B., “On the Thixotropic Effect of Inorganic Gel Fuels,” (AIAA) Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 16, No. 6, pp. 1182-1184, Nov.-Dec. 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).
  • Rahimi, S. and Natan, B., “Atomization of Gel Propellants through an Air-Blast Triplet Atomizer,” Journal of Atomization and Sprays, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 379-400, June 2006.
  • 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, June 2006.
  • Rahimi, S., Peretz, A. and Natan, B., “Shear Rheometry of Gel Propellants,” Propellants Explosives and Pyrotechnics, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp.165-174, April 2007.
  • 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, June  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.
  • Rahimi, S., Peretz, A. and Natan, B., “Rheological Matching of Gel Propellants,” (AIAA) Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 376-379, Mar.-Apr. 2010.
  • Kunin, A., Natan, B. and Greenberg, J.B., “Theoretical Model of the Transient Combustion of Organic-Gellant-Based Gel Fuel Droplets,” (AIAA) Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 765-771, July-Aug. 2010.
  • Natan, B., Perteghella, V. and Solomon, Y., “Hypergolic Ignition by Fuel Gelation and Suspension of Reactive or Catalyst Particles,” (AIAA) Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 27, No. 5, pp. 1145-1149, Sep.-Oct. 2011.
  • Desyatkov, A., Adler, G., Prokopov, O. and Natan, B., “Atomization of Gel Fuels using Impinging Jet Atomizers,” International Journal of Energetic Materials and Chemical Propulsion, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 55-65, Oct. 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.
  • Chernov, V. and Natan, B., “A Simplified Model for the Evaluation of the Rheological Properties of a Suspension of Solids in a Power-Law Fluid,” Applied Rheology, Vol. 22, No. 1, 15163, pp. 1-10, Jan. 2012.
  • Bar-or, D. and Natan, B., “The Effect of Ambient Conditions on the Burning Rate of Gel Fuel Droplets,” Propellants Explosives and Pyrotechnics, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp.199-203, April 2013.
  • Hassid, S. and Natan, B., “Thermal Diffusion Controlled Ignition of Hypergolic Gel Propellants,” (AIAA) Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 29, No. 6, pp. 1337-1342, Nov.-Dec. 2013.