A novel laser-assisted pulsed plasma thruster(LA-PPT)is proposed as an electric propulsion thruster,which separates laser ablation and electromagnetic acceleration.It aims for a higher specific impulse than that achie...A novel laser-assisted pulsed plasma thruster(LA-PPT)is proposed as an electric propulsion thruster,which separates laser ablation and electromagnetic acceleration.It aims for a higher specific impulse than that achieved with conventional LA-PPTs.Owing to the short-time discharge and the novel configuration,the physical mechanism of the discharge is unclear.Time and spatial-resolved optical emission spectroscopy was applied to investigate the variation in the plasma properties in the thruster discharge channel.The plasma species,electron temperature,and electron density were obtained and discussed.Our investigation revealed that there were H_(α),H_(β),H_(γ),H_(ε) atoms,CⅠ,CⅡ,CⅢ,CⅣ,ClⅠ,ClⅡparticles,and a small amount of CH,C_(3),C_(2),H_(2) neutral molecular groups in the plasma.The electron temperature of the discharge channel of the thruster was within 0.6–4.9 e V,and the electron density was within(1.1–3.0)×10^(18)cm^(-3),which shows that the optical emission spectroscopy method is to measure the electron excitation temperature and electron density in heavy particles.But the Langmuir probe method is to measure the temperature and density of free electrons.The use of laser instead of spark plug as the ignition mode significantly changed the plasma distribution in the discharge channel.Unlike the conventional PPT,which has high electron density near the thruster surface,LAPPT showed relatively large electron density at the thruster outlet,which increased the thruster specific impulse.In addition,the change in the ignition mode enabled the electron density in the LA-PPT discharge channel to be higher than that in the conventional PPT.This proves that the ignition mode with laser replacing the spark plug effectively optimised the PPT performance.展开更多
The distribution of the thermal effects of the ion thruster plume are essential for estimating the influence of the thruster plume, improving the layout of the spacecraft, and for the thermal shielding of critical sen...The distribution of the thermal effects of the ion thruster plume are essential for estimating the influence of the thruster plume, improving the layout of the spacecraft, and for the thermal shielding of critical sensitive components. In order to obtain the heat flow distribution in the plume of the LIPS-200 xenon ion thruster, an experimental study of the thermal effects of the plume has been conducted in this work,with a total heat flow sensor and a radiant heat flow sensor over an axial distance of 0.5–0.9 m and a thruster angle of 0°–60°. Combined with a Faraday probe and a retarding potential analyzer, the thermal accommodation coefficient of the sensor surface in the plume is available. The results of the experiment show that the xenon ion thruster plume heat flow is mainly concentrated within a range of15°. The total and radial heat flow of the plume downstream of the thruster gradually decreases along the axial and radial directions, with the corresponding values of 11.78 k W m^(-2) and 0.3 k W m^(-2) for the axial 0.5 m position, respectively. At the same position, the radiation heat flow accounts for a very small part of the total heat flow, approximately 3%–5%. The thermal accommodation factor is0.72–0.99 over the measured region. Furthermore, the PIC and DSMC methods based on the Maxwell thermal accommodation coefficient model(EX-PWS) show a maximum error of 28.6% between simulation and experiment for LIPS-200 ion thruster plume heat flow, which, on the one hand, provides an experimental basis for studying the interaction between the ion thruster and the spacecraft, and on the other hand provides optimization of the ion thruster plume simulation model.展开更多
A particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision model of a discharge chamber is established to investigate the start-up process of a miniature ion thruster.We present the discharge characteristics at different stages(the ini...A particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision model of a discharge chamber is established to investigate the start-up process of a miniature ion thruster.We present the discharge characteristics at different stages(the initial stage,development stage,and stable stage)according to the trend of the discharge current with time.The discharge current is the sum of the sidewall current and the backplate current.During the start-up process,the sidewall current lags behind the backplate current.The variation and distribution characteristics of the discharge current over time are determined by the electron density distribution and electric potential distribution.展开更多
Though tremendous efforts have been made to investigate electrospray,some aspects,such as the evolution of the menisci on the micropores of porous emitter tips and the transient response of the meniscus during the pol...Though tremendous efforts have been made to investigate electrospray,some aspects,such as the evolution of the menisci on the micropores of porous emitter tips and the transient response of the meniscus during the polarity alternation,need to be further understood.This paper presents a computation fluid dynamics(CFD)model to describe the meniscus formation in the ionic liquid electrospray process.The CFD model,based on the Taylor–Melcher leaky dielectric fluid theory and the volume of fluid(VOF)method,is validated by experiments.The evolution of the meniscus on the basis of a micropore is presented using two typical ionic liquids,EMI-BF_(4) and EMI-Im.The influences of the pore size,flow rate and applied voltage on the formation of the meniscus have been studied.Results show that a larger pore is more likely to start emission,and the time consumed for liquid meniscus formation decreases with increasing applied voltage and flow rate.Further,it is found that alternation of polarity does not destroy the structure of the meniscus but retards the formation process,and a faster polarity alteration leads to a shorter delay in meniscus formation time.展开更多
针对离子推力器服役过程中的非预期电击穿对可靠性的影响问题,首先进行了非预期电击穿的失效影响及综合风险评估,然后结合非预期电击穿导致的突发失效特征建立了基于δ冲击模型的离子推力器可靠性评估模型,最后以20 cm Xe离子推力器为例...针对离子推力器服役过程中的非预期电击穿对可靠性的影响问题,首先进行了非预期电击穿的失效影响及综合风险评估,然后结合非预期电击穿导致的突发失效特征建立了基于δ冲击模型的离子推力器可靠性评估模型,最后以20 cm Xe离子推力器为例,在收集地面试验历史数据的基础上计算了考虑非预期电击穿的离子推力器可靠度随服役时间的关系。另外,综合考虑了由于栅极系统性能退化导致的退化型失效和由于非预期电击穿导致的突发型失效共存的情形,对离子推力器的整机可靠性评估进行了分析讨论。展开更多
The grid structure has significant effects on the discharge characteristics of an ion thruster.The discharge performances of a 30 cm diameter ion thruster with flat,convex and concave grids are studied.The analysis re...The grid structure has significant effects on the discharge characteristics of an ion thruster.The discharge performances of a 30 cm diameter ion thruster with flat,convex and concave grids are studied.The analysis results show that the discharge chamber with a convex grid has a larger’magnetic-field free area’than the others,and the parallelism of the magnetic-field isopotential lines and anode is generally the same in the three models.Plasma densities of the three structures at the grid outlet are in the range of 3.1×1016-6.9×1017m-3.Along the thruster axis direction,the electron temperature in the chamber with the convex and concave grids is in the range of 3.3-3.5 eV,while that with a flat grid is lower,in the range of 3.1-3.5 eV.In addition,the convex and the concave grids have better uniform distribution of electron temperature.Moreover,the collision frequency ratios show that the axial degree of ionization of the three models is the highest,and the flat grid has the highest discharge efficiency,followed by the convex grid and the concave grid is the least efficient.The test and simulation results of the 30 cm diameter ion thruster with the convex grid show that the measurement and calculation results are 3.67 A and 3.44 A,respectively,and the error above mainly comes from the ignorance of the doubly charged ions and parameter settings in the model.The comparison error between the simulation and measurement of beam current density is mainly caused by the actual thermal deformation of the grids during the discharge process,which leads to the change in electric potential distribution and variation of the focusing characteristics of the grids.Upon consideration of discharge performance and the thermal grid gap variation,it can be concluded that the flat and concave grids are more suitable for small-diameter ion thrusters,while the convex grid is a more reasonable choice for the higher-power and larger-diameter thrusters.展开更多
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.11772354)。
文摘A novel laser-assisted pulsed plasma thruster(LA-PPT)is proposed as an electric propulsion thruster,which separates laser ablation and electromagnetic acceleration.It aims for a higher specific impulse than that achieved with conventional LA-PPTs.Owing to the short-time discharge and the novel configuration,the physical mechanism of the discharge is unclear.Time and spatial-resolved optical emission spectroscopy was applied to investigate the variation in the plasma properties in the thruster discharge channel.The plasma species,electron temperature,and electron density were obtained and discussed.Our investigation revealed that there were H_(α),H_(β),H_(γ),H_(ε) atoms,CⅠ,CⅡ,CⅢ,CⅣ,ClⅠ,ClⅡparticles,and a small amount of CH,C_(3),C_(2),H_(2) neutral molecular groups in the plasma.The electron temperature of the discharge channel of the thruster was within 0.6–4.9 e V,and the electron density was within(1.1–3.0)×10^(18)cm^(-3),which shows that the optical emission spectroscopy method is to measure the electron excitation temperature and electron density in heavy particles.But the Langmuir probe method is to measure the temperature and density of free electrons.The use of laser instead of spark plug as the ignition mode significantly changed the plasma distribution in the discharge channel.Unlike the conventional PPT,which has high electron density near the thruster surface,LAPPT showed relatively large electron density at the thruster outlet,which increased the thruster specific impulse.In addition,the change in the ignition mode enabled the electron density in the LA-PPT discharge channel to be higher than that in the conventional PPT.This proves that the ignition mode with laser replacing the spark plug effectively optimised the PPT performance.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 12005087)the Science and Technology Program of Gansu Province (Nos. 2006ZCTF0054, HTKJ2019KL510003, and 20JR10RA478)。
文摘The distribution of the thermal effects of the ion thruster plume are essential for estimating the influence of the thruster plume, improving the layout of the spacecraft, and for the thermal shielding of critical sensitive components. In order to obtain the heat flow distribution in the plume of the LIPS-200 xenon ion thruster, an experimental study of the thermal effects of the plume has been conducted in this work,with a total heat flow sensor and a radiant heat flow sensor over an axial distance of 0.5–0.9 m and a thruster angle of 0°–60°. Combined with a Faraday probe and a retarding potential analyzer, the thermal accommodation coefficient of the sensor surface in the plume is available. The results of the experiment show that the xenon ion thruster plume heat flow is mainly concentrated within a range of15°. The total and radial heat flow of the plume downstream of the thruster gradually decreases along the axial and radial directions, with the corresponding values of 11.78 k W m^(-2) and 0.3 k W m^(-2) for the axial 0.5 m position, respectively. At the same position, the radiation heat flow accounts for a very small part of the total heat flow, approximately 3%–5%. The thermal accommodation factor is0.72–0.99 over the measured region. Furthermore, the PIC and DSMC methods based on the Maxwell thermal accommodation coefficient model(EX-PWS) show a maximum error of 28.6% between simulation and experiment for LIPS-200 ion thruster plume heat flow, which, on the one hand, provides an experimental basis for studying the interaction between the ion thruster and the spacecraft, and on the other hand provides optimization of the ion thruster plume simulation model.
文摘A particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision model of a discharge chamber is established to investigate the start-up process of a miniature ion thruster.We present the discharge characteristics at different stages(the initial stage,development stage,and stable stage)according to the trend of the discharge current with time.The discharge current is the sum of the sidewall current and the backplate current.During the start-up process,the sidewall current lags behind the backplate current.The variation and distribution characteristics of the discharge current over time are determined by the electron density distribution and electric potential distribution.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52075334)。
文摘Though tremendous efforts have been made to investigate electrospray,some aspects,such as the evolution of the menisci on the micropores of porous emitter tips and the transient response of the meniscus during the polarity alternation,need to be further understood.This paper presents a computation fluid dynamics(CFD)model to describe the meniscus formation in the ionic liquid electrospray process.The CFD model,based on the Taylor–Melcher leaky dielectric fluid theory and the volume of fluid(VOF)method,is validated by experiments.The evolution of the meniscus on the basis of a micropore is presented using two typical ionic liquids,EMI-BF_(4) and EMI-Im.The influences of the pore size,flow rate and applied voltage on the formation of the meniscus have been studied.Results show that a larger pore is more likely to start emission,and the time consumed for liquid meniscus formation decreases with increasing applied voltage and flow rate.Further,it is found that alternation of polarity does not destroy the structure of the meniscus but retards the formation process,and a faster polarity alteration leads to a shorter delay in meniscus formation time.
文摘针对离子推力器服役过程中的非预期电击穿对可靠性的影响问题,首先进行了非预期电击穿的失效影响及综合风险评估,然后结合非预期电击穿导致的突发失效特征建立了基于δ冲击模型的离子推力器可靠性评估模型,最后以20 cm Xe离子推力器为例,在收集地面试验历史数据的基础上计算了考虑非预期电击穿的离子推力器可靠度随服役时间的关系。另外,综合考虑了由于栅极系统性能退化导致的退化型失效和由于非预期电击穿导致的突发型失效共存的情形,对离子推力器的整机可靠性评估进行了分析讨论。
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.61901202)Key Laboratory Funds for the Science and Technology on Vacuum Technology and Physics Laboratory,Lanzhou Institute of Physics(No.HTKJ2019KL510003)。
文摘The grid structure has significant effects on the discharge characteristics of an ion thruster.The discharge performances of a 30 cm diameter ion thruster with flat,convex and concave grids are studied.The analysis results show that the discharge chamber with a convex grid has a larger’magnetic-field free area’than the others,and the parallelism of the magnetic-field isopotential lines and anode is generally the same in the three models.Plasma densities of the three structures at the grid outlet are in the range of 3.1×1016-6.9×1017m-3.Along the thruster axis direction,the electron temperature in the chamber with the convex and concave grids is in the range of 3.3-3.5 eV,while that with a flat grid is lower,in the range of 3.1-3.5 eV.In addition,the convex and the concave grids have better uniform distribution of electron temperature.Moreover,the collision frequency ratios show that the axial degree of ionization of the three models is the highest,and the flat grid has the highest discharge efficiency,followed by the convex grid and the concave grid is the least efficient.The test and simulation results of the 30 cm diameter ion thruster with the convex grid show that the measurement and calculation results are 3.67 A and 3.44 A,respectively,and the error above mainly comes from the ignorance of the doubly charged ions and parameter settings in the model.The comparison error between the simulation and measurement of beam current density is mainly caused by the actual thermal deformation of the grids during the discharge process,which leads to the change in electric potential distribution and variation of the focusing characteristics of the grids.Upon consideration of discharge performance and the thermal grid gap variation,it can be concluded that the flat and concave grids are more suitable for small-diameter ion thrusters,while the convex grid is a more reasonable choice for the higher-power and larger-diameter thrusters.
