Study on the Plume Characteristics of Pulsed Plasma Thruster

A current-model Triple Langmuir probe was developed and used to measure electron temperature and density of the Pulsed Plasma Thruster plume. To decreasing the errors in measurement, Probe, collection circuit and glow cleaning devices were elaborately designed. A FIR digital Filter based on Matlab was designed and the software for date processing was developed by Labview. Measurements were taken at various position in the plume of a Pulsed Plasma Thruster operating at discharge energy of 6-24J. The results show the thruster plume has electron temperatures in the range between 0.6and 5.4eV, electron densities between 0.9×1019 and 4.1x1021m-3 for all discharge energy levels considered. Electron temperature and density decrease with increasing angle away from the centerline and with decreasing discharge energy.

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Analysis of triple Langmuir probe measurements in the plume of a pulsed plasma thruster

10.2514/6.1999-2286 ◽

1999 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Robert Eckman ◽

Lawrence Byrne ◽

Edward Cameron ◽

Nikos Gatsonis ◽

Eric Pencil

Keyword(s):

Langmuir Probe ◽

Pulsed Plasma ◽

Pulsed Plasma Thruster ◽

Plasma Thruster ◽

Langmuir Probe Measurements ◽

Probe Measurements

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Characterization of a Pulsed Plasma Thruster Plume Using a Quadruple Langmuir Probe Method

38th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit ◽

10.2514/6.2002-4123 ◽

2002 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Nikolaos Gatsonis ◽

Jurg Zwahlen ◽

Adrian Wheelock ◽

Eric Pencil ◽

Hani Kamhawi

Keyword(s):

Langmuir Probe ◽

Probe Method ◽

Pulsed Plasma ◽

Pulsed Plasma Thruster ◽

Plasma Thruster

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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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