Orbital and thermal modelling of a 3U CubeSat equipped with a high-temperature superconducting coil

Olatunji, Jamal R.; Acheson, Chris; Szmigiel, Mathieu; Wimbush, Stuart C.; Long, Nicholas J.

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.10.027

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…For instance, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) mission's original LTS magnet was designed to operate at 1.8 K, but was replaced with a permanent magnet to improve operational longevity [1,7]. Maintaining a cryogenic environment for an HTS magnet in space is challenging-yet tractable-in terms of energy and thermal budget [8]. There are several groups researching HTS magnets for space applications [9][10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operation of a plasma thruster featuring a 1.1 T high temperature superconducting magnet

Acheson,

Kinefuchi,

Ichihara

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Increasingly ambitious space missions rely upon the advancement of propulsion systems, and innovations in electric propulsion represent a vital step toward potential solutions. Electric propulsion research has indicated improved thruster performance at higher magnetic fields, but real-world implementations have been encumbered by available magnet technology. In this study, a new class of superconducting magnet designed for such space applications is demonstrated. A central cathode electrostatic thruster was paired with a conduction cooled high temperature superconducting magnet operated in non-pulsed mode. Using Xe propellant, thrust of 38--73 mN was measured at a central bore magnetic field of 1.13 T and on-anode field of 1.28 T, and the thruster's specific impulse was throttled between 1050s and 1450s. The peak thruster efficiency was 18.7%, inclusive of the power consumption of the magnet subsystems. This was performed without the onset of plasma instabilities, and is the first case in the literature of a high temperature superconducting plasma thruster operating at > 1 T.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operation of a plasma thruster featuring a 1.1 T high temperature superconducting magnet

Acheson,

Kinefuchi,

Ichihara

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…Furthermore, selfrectifying FPs do not contain moving parts, unlike dynamobased FPs, and do not require additional electromagnets as 'switching' components [13,14]. This makes self-rectifying FPs an attractive option for applications with demanding size, weight and power requirements, such as those found on spacecraft [15,16] or as portable high-field electromagnets [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective circuit modelling and experimental realization of an ultra-compact self-rectifier flux pump

Mallett

Venuturumilli

Geng

et al. 2023

Supercond. Sci. Technol.

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This paper presents experimental and modelling results of an ultra-compact self-rectifier flux pump energizing a superconducting coil. The device fits inside a volume of 65x65x50 mm and generates up to 320 A dc through the coil and a peak output voltage up to 60 mV. We also develop and present a full electromagnetic effective circuit model of the flux pump and compare its predictions to the experimental results. We show that our model can reproduce accurately the charging of the load coil and that it reproduces the systematic dependence of the maximum load coil current on the input current waveform. The experiments and modelling together show also the importance of dc-flux offsets in the transformer core on the final achievable current through the coil. The miniaturization possible for this class of flux pump and their minimal heat-leak into the cryogenic environment from thermal conduction make them attractive for applications with demanding size, weight and power limitations. Our effective circuit model is a useful tool in the understanding, design and optimization of such flux pumps which will accelerate their progression from research devices to their application.

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“…It should be noted that there are many examples of these cryocooler models already operating in space. These cryocoolers have two power leads and require some cooling at space ambient temperatures [195], [200]. However, there are also advantages of conduction cooling for a laboratory magnet.…”

Section: Coolingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These results were passed to a finite element model which could solve the thermal problem for a specific spacecraft design. For detailed results, the interested reader is directed to this publication on the topic [200]. In summary, it transpires that power availability is the dominant factor in the spacecraft design and orbit choice.…”

Section: In-space Operationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The satellite must also have the thermal management system and radiative capacity to dump the heat from the hot end of the cryocooler to the space environment. For a spacecraft in an orbit which passes through the Earth's shadow, to calculate the mean power availability a rule of thumb (devised during the modelling in [200]) is to divide installed solar capacity by 4: so 400 W of solar panel capacity is required for the cryogenic system alone. For context, the power available to the 721 kg Voyager 2 spacecraft at launch was 470 W (though this was supplied by radioisotope thermoelectric generators rather than solar panels) and the power available to the 1220 kg Dawn spacecraft at 3 AU from the sun was 1.3 kW.…”

Section: In-space Operationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Central-Cathode Electrostatic Thruster Featuring a High-Temperature Superconducting Applied Field Module

Acheson

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In recent decades, advances in electric propulsion have enabled the development of novel mission designs for space exploration. However, future deep space mission payloads of unprecedented mass will require advances in high thrust, high specific impulse propulsion. To achieve higher thrust density than traditional ion thrusters or Hall effect thrusters, novel designs for central-cathode electrostatic thrusters (CC-ESTs) and applied field magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters incorporate an applied magnetic field module which is used to accelerate plasma. The high thrust density of such designs makes them suitable candidates for further research and development for space deployment.Crucial performance metrics of such thrusters have been shown to increase as the applied magnetic field increases, and high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets show promise as low-power, high applied field modules. Both the strength and the profile of the applied magnetic field are closely tied to thruster performance. This raises the question- which magnetic fields improve thruster performance and why?In this thesis, the impact of the magnetic field strength and profile on the performance of a plasma thruster is investigated. Numerical modelling of a central-cathode electrostatic thruster (CC-EST) was performed with particular regard to the detachment of plasma from magnetic field lines. This modelling was conducted alongside an experimental campaign to manufacture and integrate a high temperature superconducting applied field module with a CC-EST to characterise the HTS CC-EST performance. CC-EST performance was measured at central bore fields exceeding 1 T and with two different magnetic field profiles. These efforts have led to a novel understanding of the scaling of performance parameters in CC-EST with magnetic field, and how the performance of the thruster might be tailored to a specific application.

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Orbital and thermal modelling of a 3U CubeSat equipped with a high-temperature superconducting coil

Cited by 9 publications

References 24 publications

Operation of a plasma thruster featuring a 1.1 T high temperature superconducting magnet

Operation of a plasma thruster featuring a 1.1 T high temperature superconducting magnet

Effective circuit modelling and experimental realization of an ultra-compact self-rectifier flux pump

A Central-Cathode Electrostatic Thruster Featuring a High-Temperature Superconducting Applied Field Module

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