Simulation investigation of inductively coupled plasma generator for atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system

Zheng, Pengwu; Wu, Jianjun; Zhang, Yu; Che, Bixuan; Li, Jian

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.06.044

Cited by 13 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…This simulation is carried out at an orbit altitude of about 190 km. According to the real environment of VLEO, the measured relationship between mass flow and altitude is shown in figure 3 [19] . It can be calculated from the gas state equation that the mass flow is about 20 sccm under the condition of 190 km orbit altitude.…”

Section: Initial Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation on Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Inductively Coupled Plasma with Nitrogen Working Medium

Zhong,

Zhang,

Zheng

2023

Advances in Transdisciplinary Engineering

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Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) is an international research focus. ABEP systems work in very low earth orbit (VLEO) can realize orbit maintenance of spacecrafts with little or no fuel. In this field, radio-frequency inductively coupled plasma (RF-ICP) thrusters can solve the problems of electrode corrosion and produce a dense plasma under thin atmosphere condition of VLEO. In this research, a RF-ICP source for the thruster configuration is designed, and a multi-physical coupling model is established. A complete simulation process is constructed to analyze the spatial distribution of the particles (e, N+, N2+, N, N2, N2S) in the RF-ICP. The results show that the particles in RF-ICP are axisymmetric in space, the electrons are mainly constrained in the central region of the ionization chamber by the magnetic field, and the plasma region expands and the electron density increases with the increase of the coil power. The other particles (N+, N2+, N, N2, N2S) are mainly distributed near the chamber wall as reactants or products of the surface reactions. And the distribution range of particles has a certain negative correlation with the electron energy required for excitation.

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Section: Initial Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation on Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Inductively Coupled Plasma with Nitrogen Working Medium

Zhong,

Zhang,

Zheng

2023

Advances in Transdisciplinary Engineering

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“…They found that the RF power transfer efficiency decreases from 82% to 34% with the increase of RF power, and rises first rapidly then slower to about 80% with the increase of gas mass flow. Zheng et al [26] simulated an ICP source with an inner radius of 18.5 mm and a length of 180 mm with O and N 2 as propellants based on COMSOL Multiphysics. The results show that the RF power transfer efficiency is only 10%-30%, which declines slightly with the increase of RF power, and rises with the increase of propellant mass flow rate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Power transfer efficiency in an air-breathing radio frequency ion thruster

Huang 黄,

Li 李,

Gao 高

et al. 2024

Chinese Phys. B

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Due to a series of challenges such as low-orbit maintenance of satellites, the air-breathing electric propulsion has got widespread attention. Commonly, the radio frequency ion thruster is favored by low-orbit missions due to its high specific impulse and efficiency. In this paper, the power transfer efficiency of the radio frequency ion thruster with different gas composition is studied experimentally, which is obtained by measuring the radio frequency power and current of the antenna coil with and without discharge operation. The results show that increasing the turns of antenna coils can effectively improve the radio frequency power transfer efficiency, which is due to the improvement of Q factor. In pure N2 discharge, with the increase of radio frequency power, the radio frequency power transfer efficiency first rises rapidly and then exhibits a less steep increasing trend. The radio frequency power transfer efficiency increases with the increase of gas pressure at relatively high power, while declines rapidly at relatively low power. In N2/O2 discharge, increasing the N2 content at high power can improve the radio frequency power transfer efficiency, but the opposite was observed at low power. In order to give a better understanding of these trends, an analytic solution in limit cases is utilized, and a Langmuir probe was employed to measure the electron density. It is found that the evolution of radio frequency power transfer efficiency can be well explained by the variation of plasma resistance, which is related to the electron density and the effective electron collision frequency.

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A review of air-breathing electric propulsion: from mission studies to technology verification

2022

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Air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) allows for lowering the altitude of spacecraft operations below 250 km, in the so-called Very Low Earth Orbits (VLEOs). Operations in VLEOs will give radical advantages in terms of orbit accessibility, payload performance, protection from radiations, and end-of-life disposal. ABEP combines an intake to collect the residual atmosphere in front of the spacecraft and an electric thruster to ionize and accelerate the atmospheric particles. Such residual gas can be exploited as a renewable resource not only to keep the spacecraft on a VLEO, but also to remove the main limiting factor of spacecraft lifetime, i.e., the amount of stored propellant. Several realizations of the ABEP concept have been proposed, but the few end-to-end experimental campaigns highlighted the need to improve the concept functional design and the representativeness of simulated atmospheric flows. The difficulty in recreating the VLEO environment in a laboratory limits the data available to validate scaling laws and modelling efforts. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the main research and development efforts on the ABEP technology.

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Simulation investigation of inductively coupled plasma generator for atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system

Cited by 13 publications

References 25 publications

Simulation on Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Inductively Coupled Plasma with Nitrogen Working Medium

Simulation on Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Inductively Coupled Plasma with Nitrogen Working Medium

Power transfer efficiency in an air-breathing radio frequency ion thruster

A review of air-breathing electric propulsion: from mission studies to technology verification

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