Study on the control of propellant flow by electric field in ionic liquid electrospray thruster

Sun, Wei; Wu, Zhiwen; Sun, Zhe; Guo, Yuntao; Huang, Tiankun; Sun, Guorui; Xue, Jingran; Wang, Ningfei

doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2021.121926

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A small amount of EIL fails to completely fill the micropores of the porous emitter, so the EIL must be lifted first to the emission sites from internal pores by a strong electric field. At this point, the electric field acts as a flow switcher, as validated in a prior study . Upon comparing Figure a with Figure a, it is discernible that the emission current by using a porous ceramic emitter is one order of magnitude lower than that of a porous titanium emitter.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…At this point, the electric field acts as a flow switcher, as validated in a prior study. 43 Upon comparing Figure 3a with Figure 7a, it is discernible that the emission current by using a porous ceramic emitter is one order of magnitude lower than that of a porous titanium emitter. The observed difference is attributed to the fact that titanium, being a conductive material, can be deemed as a three-dimensional equipotential body in the electric field.…”

Section: Effect Of Propellant Components On Electrospraymentioning

confidence: 94%

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Multiplexed Electrospray Emission of Green Energetic Ionic Liquids from Wedge-Shaped Porous Emitters

Su,

Yao,

Zhuo

et al. 2023

Energy Fuels

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Effect Of Propellant Components On Electrospraymentioning

confidence: 94%

Multiplexed Electrospray Emission of Green Energetic Ionic Liquids from Wedge-Shaped Porous Emitters

Su,

Yao,

Zhuo

et al. 2023

Energy Fuels

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“…First, the droplet size affects its charge-mass ratio, which can evaluate its acceleration performance between the emission surface and extractor; a higher charge-mass ratio means it can be accelerated to a higher velocity at the same electric field conditions; second, physical property of propellant mainly affects the charging conditions and its viscosity also affect the formation of CSWs; third, the velocity indicates the performance of the electric propulsion thruster, and a higher specific impulse means it can work a longer time in orbit for the same orbit transfer task; fourth, the trajectory of the charged droplets affect the plume divergence, which should be limited in a fixed range to avoid affecting the working condition of spacecraft [28]. The size, velocity, and plume divergence of charged droplets in the UEP system have been investigated in the former work [21,29]. Due to different emphases, the experimental designs of the practical systems studied the size, velocity, and plume divergence have some differences from this work.…”

Section: Experimental Design Of the Uep Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary study of the electrospray DPE peculiarities from the liquid surface in the presence of the CSWs

HE 贺,

HUO 霍,

HAN 韩

et al. 2024

Plasma Sci. Technol.

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The Ultrasonic Electric Propulsion (UEP) system is a cutting-edge propulsion technology that is mostly used on platforms for small satellites (less than 10 kg). The characteristics of droplet partial emissions (DPEs) in the UEP system are investigated using a high-speed imaging technique (an ultra-high speed camera (NAC HX-6) and a long-distance microscope) in this work. The experiments demonstrate that there are a few partial emission modes, including left-side emission, double-side emission, and right-side emission, that are present in the droplet emission process of the UEP system. These modes are primarily caused by the partial formation of capillary standing waves (CSWs) on the emission surface of the ultrasonic nozzle. The emission rate for single- and double-sided emissions varies at different times, indicating that there are different CSWs engaged in droplet emission due to variations in the liquid film thickness and charge state of the liquid cones. Additionally, as the droplets emit continuously, a raised area on the emission surface appears, with several droplets emitting there as a result of charge accumulation. Additionally, photos of the CSWs with emitting droplets are obtained, which highlights the CSWs’ distinctive wave morphology.

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“…For small satellites with limited resources, these features significantly reduce the volume, mass, and power requirements of the propulsion system. However, it is noted that ionic liquid [19][20][21] is used in ILET, and the plume consisting of charged particles probably impacts and deposits on the spacecraft's surface, leading to charging and damage to surface components or circuits [22,23]. Therefore, comprehensive studies on the self-neutralization of the ILET's plume are imperative.…”

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.

Self Cite

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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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Study on the control of propellant flow by electric field in ionic liquid electrospray thruster

Cited by 9 publications

References 23 publications

Multiplexed Electrospray Emission of Green Energetic Ionic Liquids from Wedge-Shaped Porous Emitters

Multiplexed Electrospray Emission of Green Energetic Ionic Liquids from Wedge-Shaped Porous Emitters

Preliminary study of the electrospray DPE peculiarities from the liquid surface in the presence of the CSWs

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

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