Bimodal Propulsion System for Small Spacecraft: Design, Fabrication, and Performance Characterization

Little, Bryan; Jugroot, Manish

doi:10.2514/1.a34555

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 51 publications

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“…The structural parameters of the electrospray model referred to the actual ILET or the scale of the principle prototype of each research unit [13,14,18,19]. Capillary tubes with an inner diameter of 60 μm, 110 μm and 160 μm were selected as the emitter.…”

Section: Experimental Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

The interelectrode breakdown mechanism and discharge characteristics of the electrospray thruster

Han,

Ye,

Cui

et al. 2024

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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In the actual working process of electric thrusters based on high-voltage electric fields, the discharge breakdown phenomenon is universal and complex, and such phenomena will have a significant impact on the thruster structure, working state and spacecraft system. In order to study the interpolar discharge breakdown characteristics of ionic liquid electrospray thrusters, a basic electrospray model and test system were constructed, and the change curves of discharge characteristic parameters such as breakdown voltage, threshold current, breakdown voltage frequency and so on in the range of 7×10−3~105 Pa with air pressure and transmitter inner diameter were obtained, and the air pressure range that the electrospray model could work in normally was calibrated. The results show that the breakdown voltage characteristic curve of the electrospray model has typical minimum characteristics, and the minimum values all appear around 80 Pa. Lowering the air pressure below 10−2 Pa can effectively increase the breakdown threshold between the poles and the emission current, thereby obtaining a larger voltage regulation range, and when the air pressure is reduced to 7×10−3 Pa, the breakdown can reach more than 3200 V. The 60-μm inner diameter emitter performed better in the discharge experiment, and the breakdown threshold, emission current and operating area range were better than the slightly larger inner diameter emitter under the same working conditions.

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Section: Experimental Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

The interelectrode breakdown mechanism and discharge characteristics of the electrospray thruster

Han,

Ye,

Cui

et al. 2024

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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show abstract

Micronozzle for satellite propulsion and mixture separation: a review

Sukesan

Shine

2023

J Therm Anal Calorim

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Multimodal electrospray thruster for small spacecraft: design and experimental characterization

Mallalieu,

Jugroot

2024

J Electr Propuls

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Electrospray thrusters are a promising electric micropropulsion technology which could be used to meet the propulsion needs of nanosatellites, or for fine attitude control of larger spacecraft. Multimodal propulsion is the integration of two or more propulsion modes into a system which utilizes a common propellant. Indeed, spacecraft mission simulations and models have shown that this type of multimode propulsion capacity is exciting because of the flexibility and adaptability it provides mission designers and planners. A single spacecraft would have potential to execute drastically different mission profiles, and the exact mission could even be determined post-launch. The current paper investigates a micro-propulsion system which combines a droplet and ion mode electrospray emitter into a unified multimodal system (using an ionic liquid as the common propellant for both systems). The high relative thrust droplet mode emitter was fabricated from P3 borosilicate glass while the high efficiency ion mode emitter, Carbon Xerogel dense porous substrate, was fabricated in-house. To characterize the multimodal thruster, a full beam and time-of-flight (ToF) experimental setup were developed at the RMC Advanced Propulsion and Plasma Exploration Laboratory (RAPPEL) and experiments were conducted using a custom vacuum chamber. The ion mode emitter, with a beam comprised purely of ions had an onset voltage around 1400 V with an estimated thrust performance of 0.14 $$\mu N$$ μ N and specific impulse of 4040 s. For droplet mode, with a mixed beam comprised of around 17$$\%$$ % droplets and 83$$\%$$ % ions, an onset voltage of 1375 V with an estimated performance of thrust at 14 $$\mu N$$ μ N and specific impulse of 140 s were measured. The prototype thruster demonstrates how various electrospray emitters could be combined into a multimodal system to provide flexibility and adaptability in providing effective thrust for small satellites.

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Bimodal Propulsion System for Small Spacecraft: Design, Fabrication, and Performance Characterization

Cited by 6 publications

References 51 publications

The interelectrode breakdown mechanism and discharge characteristics of the electrospray thruster

The interelectrode breakdown mechanism and discharge characteristics of the electrospray thruster

Micronozzle for satellite propulsion and mixture separation: a review

Multimodal electrospray thruster for small spacecraft: design and experimental characterization

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