Influence of Electrode Flare Angle on the Performance of Pulsed Plasma Thruster

In order to study the influence of electrode flare angle on the performance of Ablation Pulsed Plasma Thruster. Discharge character, plasma velocity and performance over different electrode flare angles of the Pulsed Plasma Thruster at 13.5J initial energy are measured experimentally, the effect of electrode flare angle on the electrode inductance gradient, equivalent circuit parameters and energy transfer efficiency are analyzed. It can be seen that the circuit parameters and inductance distribution are changed with electrode flare angle, the impulse bit, specific impulse, thruster efficiency and mean exhaust velocity increase non-linearly with flare angle increasing from 0 degree to 27 degree and the Pulsed Plasma Thruster gets the maximum thruster performance at 27 degree flare angle. It shows that with the increase of electrode flare angle the fraction of ablated mass accelerated magnetically and the impulse bit created by Lorentz force decrease are the reasons inducing the change in thruster performance.

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One-dimensional model of a pulsed plasma thruster

The Aeronautical Journal ◽

10.1017/s0001924000008599 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 117 (1195) ◽

pp. 929-942 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

T. R. Nada

Keyword(s):

Specific Impulse ◽

Maximum Error ◽

Initial Energy ◽

Pulsed Plasma ◽

Dimensional Model ◽

Modified Model ◽

One Dimensional ◽

Pulsed Plasma Thruster ◽

Plasma Thruster ◽

The Impact

Abstract This paper presents a modified one dimensional model for the pulsed plasma thruster. The model takes into account the impact of thruster geometry and capacitor initial energy on plasma inductance and resistance, as well as the ablated mass per pulse. These three factors have significant impact on the performance of the thruster and have not been considered concurrently before. The model is verified by comparing the estimated specific impulse, impulse bit and thrust-to-power ratio with experimental measurements for space qualified thrusters. The maximum error is estimated to be about 8% when using the modified model, while the conventional snowplow model produces error up to about 70%. The modified model is then employed to generate design charts that would help in selecting the proper combination of thruster geometry and energy level in the preliminary design phase of a pulsed plasma thruster for different space missions.

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Impulse and Performance Measurements of Electric Solid Propellant in a Laboratory Electrothermal Ablation-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster

Aerospace ◽

10.3390/aerospace7060070 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 70

Author(s):

Matthew S. Glascock ◽

Joshua L. Rovey ◽

Kurt A. Polzin

Keyword(s):

Solid Propellant ◽

Specific Impulse ◽

Energy Levels ◽

Early Discharge ◽

Initial Energy ◽

Pulsed Plasma ◽

Performance Measurements ◽

Rocket Propellants ◽

Pulsed Plasma Thruster ◽

Plasma Thruster

Electric solid propellants are advanced solid chemical rocket propellants that can be controlled (ignited, throttled and extinguished) through the application and removal of an electric current. This behavior may enable the propellant to be used in multimode propulsion systems utilizing the ablative pulsed plasma thruster. The performance of an electric solid propellant operating in an electrothermal ablation-fed pulsed plasma thruster was investigated using an inverted pendulum micro-newton thrust stand. The impulse bit and specific impulse of the device using the electric solid propellant were measured for short-duration test runs of 100 pulses and longer-duration runs to end-of-life, at energy levels of 5, 10, 15 and 20 J. Also, the device was operated using the current state-of-the-art ablation-fed pulsed plasma thruster propellant, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Impulse bit measurements for PTFE indicate 100 ± 20 µN-s at an initial energy level of 5 J, which increases linearly with energy by approximately 30 µN-s/J. Within the error of the experiment, measurements of the impulse bit for the electric solid propellant are identical to PTFE. Specific impulse when operating on PTFE is calculated to be about 450 s. It is demonstrated that a surface layer in the hygroscopic electric solid propellant is rapidly ablated over the first few discharges of the device, which decreases the average specific impulse relative to the traditional polytetrafluoroethylene propellant. Correcting these data by subtracting the early discharge ablation mass loss measurements yields a corrected electric solid propellant specific impulse of approximately 300 s.

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