Ground and On-Orbit Thruster Performance Comparison for the Lisa Pathfinder Colloid MicroNewton Thrusters

Demmons, Nathaniel; Hruby, Vlad; Courtney, D Dressing; Ziemer, John

doi:10.2514/6.2018-4643

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 10 publications

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“…Various satellites in various earth orbits make up the spacebased infrastructure for daily travel, defense construction, weather forecasting, business intelligence and disaster recovery applications [1,2]. Small satellites are recommended for the building of the next-generation global internet due to specific impulse, precise thrust control, low acoustic noise, low power consumption, and reduced structural mass, making it ideal for small satellites [12][13][14][15]. Additionally, ILET generates bipolar particles and achieves self-neutralization of the plume by directly applying positive or negative high voltage to the emitter without external neutralizers [16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on the plume self-neutralization of ionic liquid electrospray thruster based on median potential

Du,

Wu,

et al. 2024

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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Ionic liquid electrospray thruster (ILET) has the advantages of high specific impulse, precise thrust control, and low structural mass, which make it ideal for small satellites. The charged particles of ILET’s plume may lead to device charging or even damage, restricting its engineering applications. Thus, this paper examines the self-neutralization effectiveness of the ILET's plume under various emission conditions using particle-in-cell simulations. In order to accurately evaluate the self-neutralization effectiveness of the ILET’s plume, the median potential is explained in this paper and its reasonableness as the evaluation criterion for self-neutralization of the plume is verified. The working envelope for achieving self-neutralization of the ILET’s plume is determined by simulating the bipolar plume under various emission conditions. The results indicate that when the highest and lowest potentials are the same, the mean electric field strength between two points in space with a better degree of neutrality is 200% higher compared to points with a lesser degree of neutrality. The study determines the working envelope to realize self-neutralization of the ILET’s plume with an effectiveness of 70%. When the emission voltage of the anode thruster is fixed, the range of the cathode thruster’s voltage ranges from 108.36 V to 228.74 V. The asymmetry between the anode and cathode emissions of the ILET prototype significantly influences the operational range of the cathode thruster. Greater asymmetry leads to a narrower operating range for the ILET to achieve self-neutralization of the plume. This study serves as a guide for the ILET to achieve self-neutralization of the plume.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on the plume self-neutralization of ionic liquid electrospray thruster based on median potential

Du,

Wu,

et al. 2024

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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Fully 3D-printed carbon nanotube field emission electron sources with in-plane gate electrode

Perales-Martínez

Velásquez–García

2019

Nanotechnology

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We report the design, fabrication, and experimental characterization of the first fully additively manufactured carbon nanotube (CNT) field emission electron sources. The devices are created via direct ink writing (DIW)—one of the least expensive and most versatile additive manufacturing methods, capable of creating monolithic multi-material objects. The devices are 2.5 cm by 2.5 cm glass substrates coated with two imprints, i.e. a trace made of a CNT ink (the emitting electrode), symmetrically surrounded on both sides by a trace made of Ag microparticle ink (the in-plane extractor gate). The CNT ink is a mixture of (–COOH)-functionalized multiwalled CNTs (MWCNTs), N,N-Dimethylformamide, and ethyl cellulose. Optimization of the formulation of the CNT ink resulted in a MWCNT concentration equal to 0.82 wt% and in imprints with an electrical resistivity equal to 0.78 Ω cm. 3D-printed devices having CNT imprints with active length equal to 25 mm (a single, straight trace with 174.5 μm gap between adjacent Ag microparticle imprints) and 135 mm (a square-loop spiral with 499 μm gap between Ag microparticle adjacent imprints) were characterized in a triode configuration (i.e. using an external anode electrode) at ∼2.5 × 10–7 Torr, yielding emission currents as large as 120 μA (60 μA cm−2), start-up voltages as low as 62 V and gate transmission as high as 99%. The low-cost cold cathode technology is compatible with compact applications such as miniaturized mass spectrometry, handheld x-ray generation, and nanosatellite electric propulsion.

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Robust Design of an Electrospray Emitters

Gorodetsky

Whittaker

Szulman

et al. 2021

AIAA Propulsion and Energy 2021 Forum

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Ground and On-Orbit Thruster Performance Comparison for the Lisa Pathfinder Colloid MicroNewton Thrusters

Cited by 4 publications

References 10 publications

Study on the plume self-neutralization of ionic liquid electrospray thruster based on median potential

Study on the plume self-neutralization of ionic liquid electrospray thruster based on median potential

Fully 3D-printed carbon nanotube field emission electron sources with in-plane gate electrode

Robust Design of an Electrospray Emitters

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