An ionic liquid(IL)electrospray thruster was developed for application in micro-nano satellites or gravitational wave detectors.The thruster employed a porous ceramic emitter with seven emitter strips located on its e...An ionic liquid(IL)electrospray thruster was developed for application in micro-nano satellites or gravitational wave detectors.The thruster employed a porous ceramic emitter with seven emitter strips located on its emission surface.Without any liquid-supply device,IL was delivered through porous media to emitter strips via capillary effect.Multiple emission sites then formed at the tip of each strip.A charged beam of up to 350μA(with a current density of 540μA cm^(-2))was stably produced in the negative mode.However,in the positive mode,a corona was observed which could prevent the thruster from emitting larger current.A time-of-flight mass spectrometer with significantly improved signal-to-noise ratio was built,which was used to obtain the mass distribution of the beam of the thruster.A retarding potential analysis was also performed.The test results showed that the thruster worked in the pure-ion regime,and delivered a maximum thrust of 67.1μN with specific impulses of 3952 s and 3117 s in the positive and negative modes,respectively.展开更多
As a novel micro-propulsion system for small satellites(from micro to nano),the ionic liquid electro spray propulsion system is a promising candidate.However,performance measurement and evaluation of the Ionic Liquid ...As a novel micro-propulsion system for small satellites(from micro to nano),the ionic liquid electro spray propulsion system is a promising candidate.However,performance measurement and evaluation of the Ionic Liquid Electrospray Thruster(ILET)is one of the most challenging issues for practical application,due to the difficulties in the development of a prototype and direct measurements of micro-thrust and small flow rate.To address this issue,a Modular Ionic Liquid Electrospray Thruster(MILET)prototype is constructed,and a diagnostic system for thrust and mass flow rate is specially developed based on an analytical balance method.With the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate as the propellant,a series of experiments is carried out on the MILET prototype under a wide operating condition through changing the applied voltage to control the thrust.Under different applied voltages,the thrust and the mass flow rate of the propellant are directly measured.The propulsive performance parameters of the thruster,such as thrust,specific impulse,thrust-to-power ratio,thruster efficiency,etc.,are comprehensively analyzed.Then,a performance comparison is made between the MILET and other representative ILETs.With a relatively low applied voltage ranging from 1550 V to 2000 V,the MILET achieves a quasi-constant specific impulse of 1263 s with the averaged thrust-to-power ratio of 65.2μN/W and thruster efficiency of 40.7%.The performance of ILET is also compared with other typical electric propulsions.The results demonstrate that the ILET exhibits an excellent ability of minimalization with high specific impulse and thruster efficiency,which guarantees a great superiority in micro propulsions.Finally,the ways to further improve the performance of ILET are discussed,which further confirms the potential prospect of ILET.The present result helps to advance the development and application of ILET.展开更多
In order to meet the demand of CubeSats for low power and high-performance micro-propulsion system,a porous ionic liquid electrospray thruster prototype is developed in this study.1010 conical emitter arrays are fabri...In order to meet the demand of CubeSats for low power and high-performance micro-propulsion system,a porous ionic liquid electrospray thruster prototype is developed in this study.1010 conical emitter arrays are fabricated on an area of 3.24 cm^(2) by computer numerical control machining technology.The propellant is 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate.The over-all dimension of the assembled prototype is 3 cm×3 cm×1 cm,with a total weight of about 15 g(with propellant).The performance of this prototype is tested under vacuum.The results show that it can work in the voltage range of±2.0 kV to±3.0 kV,and the maximum emission current and input power are about 355 lA and 1.12 W.Time of Flight(TOF)mass spectrometry results show that cationic monomers and dimers dominate the beam in positive mode,while a higher proportion of higher-order solvated ion clusters in negative mode.The maximum specific impulse is 2992 s in positive mode and 849 s in negative mode.The thrust is measured in two methods:one is calculated by TOF results and the other is directly measured by high-precision torsional thrust stand.The thrust(T)obtained by these two methods conforms to a certain scaling law with respect to the emis-sion current(I_(em))and the applied voltage(V_(app)),following the scale of T-Iem_(Vapp)^(0.5),and the thrust range is from 2.1 lN to 42.6 lN.Many thruster performance parameters are significantly different in positive and negative modes.We speculate that due to the higher solvation energy of the anion,more solvated ion clusters are formed rather than pure ions under the same electric field.It may help to improve thruster performance if porous materials with smaller pore sizes are used as reservoirs.Although there are still many problems,most of the performance parameters of ILET-3 are good,which can theoretically meet the requirements of CubeSats for micro-propulsion system.展开更多
The electrospray thruster is becoming popular in space propulsion due to its low power and high specific impulse.Before this work,an electrospray thruster based on a porous emitter was developed.In order to achieve la...The electrospray thruster is becoming popular in space propulsion due to its low power and high specific impulse.Before this work,an electrospray thruster based on a porous emitter was developed.In order to achieve larger and more stable thrust,the thruster was redesigned,and the influence of the space between strips on thrust was studied.Four types of emitter were tested,and they had 1,3,4 and 14 emitter-strips on the emission surface of the same size respectively.According to the experimental results,the maximum extraction voltage and emission current of the four thrusters are different under stable operational conditions.The measured stable emission currents and extraction voltages were-500μA/-5000 V,-1570μA/-3800 V,-1200μA/-3800 V,and-650μA/-4500 V,respectively.Increasing the number of strips may not result in the emission current increasing,but changing the stable operational range of the emission current per strip and the extraction voltage.The maximum stable operational extraction voltages of 3 and 4 emitter-strips are lower than those of 1 and 14 emitter-strips,but the emission currents are higher than those of 1 and 14 emitter-strips.Time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to analyze the mass distribution and obtain the performance of the thruster in the case of thrusters with 1 and 3 emitter-strips.Both of their plumes were composed of very small ion cluster(the pure-ion regime),and their thrusts were 80.1μN,219.2μN with specific impulses of 5774 s,5047 s,respectively.展开更多
文摘An ionic liquid(IL)electrospray thruster was developed for application in micro-nano satellites or gravitational wave detectors.The thruster employed a porous ceramic emitter with seven emitter strips located on its emission surface.Without any liquid-supply device,IL was delivered through porous media to emitter strips via capillary effect.Multiple emission sites then formed at the tip of each strip.A charged beam of up to 350μA(with a current density of 540μA cm^(-2))was stably produced in the negative mode.However,in the positive mode,a corona was observed which could prevent the thruster from emitting larger current.A time-of-flight mass spectrometer with significantly improved signal-to-noise ratio was built,which was used to obtain the mass distribution of the beam of the thruster.A retarding potential analysis was also performed.The test results showed that the thruster worked in the pure-ion regime,and delivered a maximum thrust of 67.1μN with specific impulses of 3952 s and 3117 s in the positive and negative modes,respectively.
基金co-supported by NSAF,China(No.U1730134)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.11772310)+1 种基金the Innovation Foundation for Doctor Dissertation of Northwestern Polytechnical University,China(No.CX202034)the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund of the Student Affairs Department of Northwestern Polytechnical University,China(No.2021-CXCY-005)。
文摘As a novel micro-propulsion system for small satellites(from micro to nano),the ionic liquid electro spray propulsion system is a promising candidate.However,performance measurement and evaluation of the Ionic Liquid Electrospray Thruster(ILET)is one of the most challenging issues for practical application,due to the difficulties in the development of a prototype and direct measurements of micro-thrust and small flow rate.To address this issue,a Modular Ionic Liquid Electrospray Thruster(MILET)prototype is constructed,and a diagnostic system for thrust and mass flow rate is specially developed based on an analytical balance method.With the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate as the propellant,a series of experiments is carried out on the MILET prototype under a wide operating condition through changing the applied voltage to control the thrust.Under different applied voltages,the thrust and the mass flow rate of the propellant are directly measured.The propulsive performance parameters of the thruster,such as thrust,specific impulse,thrust-to-power ratio,thruster efficiency,etc.,are comprehensively analyzed.Then,a performance comparison is made between the MILET and other representative ILETs.With a relatively low applied voltage ranging from 1550 V to 2000 V,the MILET achieves a quasi-constant specific impulse of 1263 s with the averaged thrust-to-power ratio of 65.2μN/W and thruster efficiency of 40.7%.The performance of ILET is also compared with other typical electric propulsions.The results demonstrate that the ILET exhibits an excellent ability of minimalization with high specific impulse and thruster efficiency,which guarantees a great superiority in micro propulsions.Finally,the ways to further improve the performance of ILET are discussed,which further confirms the potential prospect of ILET.The present result helps to advance the development and application of ILET.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2020YFC2201103).
文摘In order to meet the demand of CubeSats for low power and high-performance micro-propulsion system,a porous ionic liquid electrospray thruster prototype is developed in this study.1010 conical emitter arrays are fabricated on an area of 3.24 cm^(2) by computer numerical control machining technology.The propellant is 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate.The over-all dimension of the assembled prototype is 3 cm×3 cm×1 cm,with a total weight of about 15 g(with propellant).The performance of this prototype is tested under vacuum.The results show that it can work in the voltage range of±2.0 kV to±3.0 kV,and the maximum emission current and input power are about 355 lA and 1.12 W.Time of Flight(TOF)mass spectrometry results show that cationic monomers and dimers dominate the beam in positive mode,while a higher proportion of higher-order solvated ion clusters in negative mode.The maximum specific impulse is 2992 s in positive mode and 849 s in negative mode.The thrust is measured in two methods:one is calculated by TOF results and the other is directly measured by high-precision torsional thrust stand.The thrust(T)obtained by these two methods conforms to a certain scaling law with respect to the emis-sion current(I_(em))and the applied voltage(V_(app)),following the scale of T-Iem_(Vapp)^(0.5),and the thrust range is from 2.1 lN to 42.6 lN.Many thruster performance parameters are significantly different in positive and negative modes.We speculate that due to the higher solvation energy of the anion,more solvated ion clusters are formed rather than pure ions under the same electric field.It may help to improve thruster performance if porous materials with smaller pore sizes are used as reservoirs.Although there are still many problems,most of the performance parameters of ILET-3 are good,which can theoretically meet the requirements of CubeSats for micro-propulsion system.
文摘The electrospray thruster is becoming popular in space propulsion due to its low power and high specific impulse.Before this work,an electrospray thruster based on a porous emitter was developed.In order to achieve larger and more stable thrust,the thruster was redesigned,and the influence of the space between strips on thrust was studied.Four types of emitter were tested,and they had 1,3,4 and 14 emitter-strips on the emission surface of the same size respectively.According to the experimental results,the maximum extraction voltage and emission current of the four thrusters are different under stable operational conditions.The measured stable emission currents and extraction voltages were-500μA/-5000 V,-1570μA/-3800 V,-1200μA/-3800 V,and-650μA/-4500 V,respectively.Increasing the number of strips may not result in the emission current increasing,but changing the stable operational range of the emission current per strip and the extraction voltage.The maximum stable operational extraction voltages of 3 and 4 emitter-strips are lower than those of 1 and 14 emitter-strips,but the emission currents are higher than those of 1 and 14 emitter-strips.Time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to analyze the mass distribution and obtain the performance of the thruster in the case of thrusters with 1 and 3 emitter-strips.Both of their plumes were composed of very small ion cluster(the pure-ion regime),and their thrusts were 80.1μN,219.2μN with specific impulses of 5774 s,5047 s,respectively.
文摘超声波电喷推力器主要应用在小卫星(<10 kg)平台,为解决该类型推力器的羽流在中和过程中产生的推力偏角以及能效低的问题,对超声波电喷推力器的羽流中和过程进行数值研究.为实现电喷推力器羽流特有物理过程的仿真,建立了一种带电液滴中和模型(NECD模型),对电子-正电液滴的中和过程进行捕捉,包括带电粒子的输运过程、电子液滴碰撞过程以及液滴的破碎与重组等过程;为验证模型的可行性和精度,开展推力测量和羽流高速照相试验,以工况相同试验和仿真结果进行对比.结果显示,该模型的综合计算误差在20%左右,在不同工况下可以和试验值形成趋势上的符合.基于该计算模型,对放电功率为2 W、放电电流为2 m A的超声波电喷推力器进行羽流输运过程的数值模拟,获得表征羽流中和特性的几种参数分布,包括数密度、电荷密度、液滴体积大小等,并统计出各类能耗所占比例,解释了推力偏角和能效低问题的内在机理以及为相应优化提供参考.
