Characterization of a CubeSat compatible magnetically levitated thrust balance for electrospray propulsion systems

Hicks, Fernando Mier; Perna, Louis; Coffman, Chase S.; Lozano, Paulo

doi:10.2514/6.2013-3879

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Hicks [14] developed a magnetically levitated thrust balance to create a zero-friction environment for the purpose of measuring the performance of an ion electrospray propulsion system with µN-class thrust. An electromagnet controlled by a levitation algorithm along with a permanent magnet (PM) attached to the thruster were used to constrain the thruster rotation at one degree of freedom.…”

Section: Measurement Science and Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

A micro-force measurement system based on high-temperature superconducting magnetic levitation

Yang

et al. 2019

Meas. Sci. Technol.

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A thrust stand based on high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnetic levitation technology capable of measuring the micro-thrust in two methods is presented in this paper. The stand mainly consists of a superconducting array, a permanent magnetic levitation platform, refrigerating devices, optical measuring devices, calibration devices and a data acquisition system. HTS magnetic levitation technology was used to provide a platform for micro-force measurements due to its low-friction and high-load-bearing characteristics. The measurements are divided into a direct method and an indirect method according to the principles. The direct method is required to measure the angular displacement of the platform and convert it into thrust with proper calibration. The indirect method, on the other hand, is required to measure the angular velocity to calculate the thrust according to the angular momentum theorem. Experiments indicate that, although the hysteresis loss of the HTS levitation system is unavoidable and may affect the accuracy of the system, it can be reduced effectively by multiple calibrations. The calibration results illustrate excellent repeatability and linearity. A propeller thruster is used to verify the performance of the stand. Four sets of micro-force with different propeller speeds were tested. The relative error between results from both methods at each speed was 11.48%, 18.11%, 22.73% and 21.00%. The direct method is more accurate and has fewer sources of uncertainty. It presents a new approach for measuring micro-thrust.

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Section: Measurement Science and Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

A micro-force measurement system based on high-temperature superconducting magnetic levitation

Yang

et al. 2019

Meas. Sci. Technol.

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“…Compared with mechanical stands, magnetic suspension test stands are believed to show low interference and are able to perform attitude control testing for micro-thrusters and associated micro-satellites. Hicks et al designed an active EM stand to measure a thrust magnitude of 6.9 µN with an uncertainty of 0.35 µN for an electrospray thruster [22]. Busek Co. Inc. developed an EM test stand for a colloid thruster applied in the LISA Pathfinder mission to obtain thrust in the range in 5-30 µN and thrust noise lower than 0.1 µN Hz -1/2 [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loading capacity, rotation loss and torsional oscillation research on an Evershed-type hybrid superconducting bearing used for micro-thrust measurements

Liu

Yang²,

Zhao³

et al. 2022

Supercond. Sci. Technol.

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Characterized by very low rotational drag, applications of high temperature superconductor (HTS) bearings have been expanded in some high precision instruments. We developed a sensitive magnetic suspension stand based on an Evershed-type hybrid HTS bearing to measure the micro newton level thrust. The hybrid HTS bearing is to use the strong attractive force of a permanent magnet (PM) biased bearing to support main loading in the bearing, while the instability in the PM biased bearing was compensated by the magnetic stability from an HTS bearing. Compared to the single PM/HTS bearing, the hybrid HTS bearing is intended not only to support larger load and but also to suppress the rotation loss and levitation drift. Loading capacity, loss and damping torque were explored at different design parameters such as bearing gaps L1, L2, field cooling height (FCH) of bulk HTSs. Spin down testing suggested that the loss of the hybrid HTS bearing can be reduced by raising the HTS bearing gap L2 or reducing the field cooling height. The hybrid HTS bearing showed a typical oscillation behavior in the extreme low frequency, and torsional pendulum testing suggested that the spring constant k of the hybrid HTS bearing can be as low as 36.39 μN·m/°. A micro-thrust stand based on the hybrid HTS bearing was established to test an electrospray thruster in the vacuum chamber, and the measurement result of 26.61 μN presents the ability of micro-thrust stand to achieve μN level testing.

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“…A typical inverted pendulum thrust stand was designed by Cassady [27] for high-power steadystate plasma thrusters, of which the sensitivity was 3.00±0.32 mV m −1 N −1 . Hicks [28] developed a magnetically levitated thrust balance (MLTB) for μN-class thrust measurements. An electromagnet controlled by a levitation algorithm was used to constrain the thruster rotation at one degree of freedom.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low frequency rotational loss in a high-temperature superconducting bearing and its application in micro-thrust measurement for space propulsion

Yang

et al. 2019

Supercond. Sci. Technol.

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High-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnetic bearings have great potential in the field of rotating machinery, such as flywheels and momentum wheels, because of their low friction and self-stabilizing capability. The study of rotational loss in HTS bearing is of great significance to achieve better efficiency. Previous research indicates that low rotational loss has a close relation with hysteresis loss in HTSs and eddy-current losses in the surrounding metal materials. A low coefficient of friction (<10 −8 ) at low speed is attractive for high precision instruments. This paper first presents a short overview of low rotational loss in HTS bearings, and then a special design of HTS bearing is given for application in micro-thrust measurements of space propulsion. The load capacity of the bearing allows for up to 10 kg, which means that the entire thruster system can be suspended to avoid measuring the internal force. Two different measuring methods are designed to fit several operational modes of the micro-thruster, and the measured thrust level is from 1 mN to 100 mN. The bearing system shows great response to short pulse modes of the micro-thruster, and an impulse of 1 mN•s was identified accurately. The measured thrust shows great agreement with the designed values of the micro-thruster, indicating the effective application of the HTS bearing for micro-thrust measurements.

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Characterization of a CubeSat compatible magnetically levitated thrust balance for electrospray propulsion systems

Cited by 10 publications

References 4 publications

A micro-force measurement system based on high-temperature superconducting magnetic levitation

A micro-force measurement system based on high-temperature superconducting magnetic levitation

Loading capacity, rotation loss and torsional oscillation research on an Evershed-type hybrid superconducting bearing used for micro-thrust measurements

Low frequency rotational loss in a high-temperature superconducting bearing and its application in micro-thrust measurement for space propulsion

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