Electron Flux Deflection Experiments with Coulomb Gossamer Structures

Abstract

This paper explores using Electrostatically Inflated Membrane Structures (EIMS) in a plasma flow. In particular, experiments are presented illustrating EIMS inflation in an electron flux while studying the structural stability. EIMS consists of conducting membranes coupled with active charge emission to provide an inflationary electrostatic pressure. Of interest is how the light-weight membrane charge distribution will interact with an electron flux, and will the deflection of this charge cause a structural response. Vacuum chamber experiments are performed with electron flux energies up to 5keV, while the membranes are charged using an external power supply up to 10kV. The experiments show that EIMS will remain inflated in the presence of this low-energy electron flux, which provides critical insight into developing Low-Earth Orbit EIMS experiments. At particular EIMS voltages and electron flux energy levels, unknown membrane vibrations are observed. Studying the experimental setup, these vibrations are not due to variations in the power supply or the electron flux, nor are they due to the momentum exchange of charge deflection. Rather, it is postulated these vibrations are due to the charge flux causing local membrane charge distribution changes. As the membrane structure inflation pressure is changed, the shape responds, and causes the observed sustained vibration. Having identified this phenomena is important when considering implying EIMS in a space environment.

Inflatable shape changing colonies assembling versatile smart space structures

“…A widely used deployable structure today is the umbrella deployable which is effective but relatively unreliable due to a large number of moving parts [3]. More exotic systems use electrostatic forces to deploy a structure [4] or a spinning assembly to deploy a membrane or web using centrifugal forces [5][6]. A very promising field is the use of inflatable structures due to their simple and reliable deployment mechanism and low storage volume.…”