Analysis of effective parameters on ablative PPT performance

Rezaeiha, Abdolrahim; Schönherr, Tony

doi:10.1108/00022661211237755

Cited by 21 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Many investigations have been carried out on the mechanisms of APPT. The effect of the propellant and electrodes on the performance of APPT has been studied by several researchers [10][11][12]. Antropov et al [13] studied the effect of shape and angle of electrodes on APPT's performance, and proposed that the efficiency of the APPT with tongue-shaped electrodes can increase about 10% compared with rectangular electrodes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental investigation on the plasma morphology of ablative pulsed plasma thruster with tongue-shaped and flared electrodes

Zhang

et al. 2020

Plasma Sci. Technol.

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Ablative pulsed plasma thrusters (APPTs) are considered as an attractive propulsion option for station-keeping and drag makeup purposes for mass-and power-limited satellites. In order to understand the physical mechanism of APPTs, high-speed camera and optical emission spectroscopy are utilized to investigate the plasma characteristics including the spatial distribution and composition between the electrodes. The plume images and spectra at different times and positions are experimentally recorded, and the spatial distribution, composition, and trajectory of plasmas can be concluded through analyzing them. With the increase of the distance from the ablation surface, two clusters of plasmas near the anode and cathode meet downstream, and the species and density of plasmas tend to be uniform.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental investigation on the plasma morphology of ablative pulsed plasma thruster with tongue-shaped and flared electrodes

Zhang

et al. 2020

Plasma Sci. Technol.

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“…Several types of electric propulsion systems have been developed, including devices based on electrothermal acceleration like resistojets and arcjets [1], devices based on acceleration of ions by an electric field like ion thrusters and Hall effect thrusters [2], and devices based on an acceleration by electromagnetic fields like stationary and pulsed magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters [3], [4]. For historical reasons, the pulsed MPD thrusters are commonly called pulsed plasma thrusters (PPTs), and several successful flight applications were reported throughout the past 50 years [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of Mechanical Probes for Evaluation of Plasma Acceleration in Ablative PPT

Schönherr

Komurasaki

Horner

et al. 2015

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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In pulsed plasma thrusters (PPTs), a highly ionized plasma is created and accelerated by means of a pulsed triggered vacuum gap discharge with concurrently occurring ablation, ionization, and Lorentz-force-based acceleration of propellant. The plasma flow behavior during the PPT discharge is, therefore, highly dependent on time, space, and operation parameters. Experimental work is seen as the necessary key to further understand the processes involved and to determine future research needs. The application of mechanical probes to measure the Mach number of the plasma flow optically is discussed in this paper. Values of 1.6-3.2 were determined for a variation in time, space, and discharge voltage. An inclination of the PPT plasma flow toward the cathode was observed, which concurs with the previous research results.Index Terms-Electric space propulsion, Mach number, oblique shock, pulsed plasma thruster (PPT).

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“…Different areas regarding the APPT's low performance have been studied by many researchers. The effect of the propellant and electrodes on the APPT's performance has been studied by several researchers [21][22][23][24]. The shape and angle of the electrodes with respect to their impact on the efficiency has also been studied by Schönherr et al [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The plasma morphology of an asymmetric electrode ablative pulsed plasma thruster

Zhang¹,

Ling²,

Ren³

et al. 2019

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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The ablative pulsed plasma thruster (APPT) is a typical form of electric propulsion that is highly suitable for micro-satellites. However, its low performance has been a main drawback. Recently, an asymmetric segmented anode schematic was shown to enhance the performance of APPTs. The improved thrust performance obtained with the use of a segmented anode can potentially enable promising applications in future space tasks. To further understand the physical processes behind a segmented anode APPT, experiments using an ultra-high-speed camera, narrow bandpass filters, and a magnetic probe were conducted with both normal parallel-plate electrodes and a segmented anode on an experimental APPT. Successive images of light emission from C + , neutral C 2 , and broadband emission reveal the evolution of the plasma morphology on an APPT with a segmented anode. The magnetic field strength profiles show that the inter-electrode plasma propagation velocity of a segmented anode APPT is approximately 19 km s −1 , which is slightly lower than that of a normal APPT at 23 km s −1. However, the similar order of magnitude suggests a similar downstream acceleration mechanism between the two. The arc morphology observed in the high-speed images shows that the segmented anode APPT with asymmetric electrodes has a restricted arc attachment point, possibly resulting in stronger arc current density at the anode corner. This should result in higher ionization and ablation when compared with a normal anode APPT. Based on the results here, we hypothesize that the segmented anode APPT may be able to better utilize the restrike energy in the propellant ionization process. This fundamentally changes the physical process behind APPT operation, meaning that the improvements should also be applicable to other APPT designs. It can also be adopted as an additional step in the overall optimization of an APPT design.

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Analysis of effective parameters on ablative PPT performance

Cited by 21 publications

References 22 publications

Experimental investigation on the plasma morphology of ablative pulsed plasma thruster with tongue-shaped and flared electrodes

Experimental investigation on the plasma morphology of ablative pulsed plasma thruster with tongue-shaped and flared electrodes

Application of Mechanical Probes for Evaluation of Plasma Acceleration in Ablative PPT

The plasma morphology of an asymmetric electrode ablative pulsed plasma thruster

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