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Zolotukhin DB, Bandaru SRP, Daniels KP, Beilis II, Keidar M. Demonstration of electric micropropulsion multimodality. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eadc9850. [PMID: 36070382 PMCID: PMC9451150 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adc9850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Electric propulsion has become popular nowadays owing to the trend of miniaturizing the size and mass of satellites. However, the main drawback of the most popular approach-Hall thrusters-is that their efficiency and thrust-to-power ratio (TPR) markedly deteriorate when its size and power level are reduced. Here, we demonstrate an alternative approach-a minute low-power (<50 W), lightweight (~100 g), two-stage propulsion system. The system is based on a micro-cathode vacuum arc thruster with magnetoplasmadynamic second stage (μCAT-MPD), which achieves the following parameters: a thrust of up to 1.7 mN at a TPR of 37 μN/W and an efficiency of ~50%. A μCAT-MPD system, in addition to "traditional" inverse, displays the anomalous direct (growing) "TPR versus specific impulse Isp" trend at high Isp values and allows multimodality at high efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis B. Zolotukhin
- George Washington University, 800 22nd Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20052, USA
- Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics, 40 Lenin Ave., Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | | | - Keir P. Daniels
- George Washington University, 800 22nd Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Isak I. Beilis
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Michael Keidar
- George Washington University, 800 22nd Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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Zheng J, Liu H, Song Y, Zhou C, Li Y, Li M, Tang H, Wang G, Cong Y, Wang B, Wang Y, Wu P, Qu T, Zhu X, Zhu L, Liu F, Cheng Y, Zhao B. Integrated study on the comprehensive magnetic-field configuration performance in the 150 kW superconducting magnetoplasmadynamic thruster. Sci Rep 2021; 11:20706. [PMID: 34667219 PMCID: PMC8526827 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00308-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Higher magnetic fields are always favoured in the magnetoplasmadynamic thruster (MPDT) due to its superior control of the plasma profile and acceleration process. This paper introduces the world's first integrated study on the 150 kW level AF-MPDT equipped with a superconductive coil. A completely new way of using superconducting magnet technology to confine plasma with high energy and extremely high temperatures is proposed. Using the PIC method of microscopic particle simulation, the plasma magnetic nozzle effect and performance of the MPDT under different magnetic-field conditions were studied. The integrated experiment used demonstrated that, in conjunction with the superconducting coil, greater homogeneity and a stronger magnetic field not only caused more even cathode ablation and improved its lifespan but also improved the performance of the MPDT (maximum thrust was 4 N at 150 kW, 0.56 T). Maximum thrust efficiency reached 76.6% and the specific impulse reached 5714 s.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinxing Zheng
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China.
| | - Haiyang Liu
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China.,University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Yuntao Song
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China
| | - Cheng Zhou
- Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Beijing, 100080, China
| | - Yong Li
- Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Beijing, 100080, China
| | - Ming Li
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China
| | | | - Ge Wang
- Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Beijing, 100080, China
| | - Yuntian Cong
- Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Beijing, 100080, China
| | - Baojun Wang
- Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Beijing, 100080, China
| | - Yibai Wang
- Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Peng Wu
- Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Timing Qu
- Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xiaoliang Zhu
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China
| | - Lei Zhu
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China
| | - Fei Liu
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China
| | - Yuan Cheng
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China.,University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Boqiang Zhao
- Beijing Institute of Control Engineering, Beijing, 100080, China
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