Total impulse improvement of coaxial pulsed plasma thruster for small satellite

Research and development on pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) for small satellites has been conducted in Tokyo Metropolitan University (TMU). A PPT with coaxial electrode and PTFE cavity has been considered to gain larger impulse bit than that of parallel plate PPT. In this paper, the objectives are development of the PPTs with large impulse bit and large total impulse, to apply to a propulsion system for a small satellite. The electrodes and the propellant configuration were considered. As a result, divergent nozzle and larger cathode diameter improved thrust performances and larger impulse bit from 300 to 800 μNs was achieved. And the current reversal was appeared remarkable as its operation accumulated. Then, propellant-feeding mechanism was considered to improve its total impulse. With exchange of five propellants in each 20,000 shots, total impulse of 40 Ns was obtained. These results indicate that the PPT developed in TMU would provide various missions for a small satellite.     

Physik und Technik von Radiofrequenz‐Ionentriebwerken

Physics and Technological Aspects of Radio‐Frequency Ion Thrusters Electric space propulsion devices offer a propellant utilization efficiency orders of magnitude higher than chemical ones. This, among other benefits, motivates the usage of electric propulsion for station keeping, attitude and orbit control, orbit raising and interplanetary deep space missions. In particular, radio‐frequency ion thrusters (RIT) offer even higher efficiency than comparable electric thrusters. This is mainly due to electrostatically generated thrust in RITs which is decoupled from plasma generation which again is ultimately necessary for the production of thrust‐generating requency Ion Thrusters ions. This article gives insight into basic physical processes that occur within the thrusters' discharge vessels which lead to highly efficient, highly resolvable thrust generation. Furthermore, a more general systems engineering observation of the complete thruster system is given with special respect to the radio‐frequency generator (RFG) which is essential to take into account when speaking of overall efficiency. Finally, an overview on alternative propellants to possibly increase cost efficiency of a particular mission is proposed.     

Preparation and dielectric properties of ceramics based on mixed potassium titanates with the hollandite structure

We have studied the crystallization of potassium polytitanates (PPTs) modified in aqueous solutions of salts of various transition metals. The results demonstrate that the modified materials crystallize in the form of solid solutions with the hollandite structure. Ceramic materials obtained using the PPT/Fe, PPT/Ni, and PPT/Co systems have high dielectric permittivity in the low-frequency region (ε ~ 10⁵), whereas PPT/Cu ceramics have lower ε (~10³), retaining it to a frequency of 1 MHz, and very low dielectric losses (tanδ ~ 10^–2).     

小卫星领域应用电推进技术的评述

小功率电推进已成为最有技术竞争力的小卫星应用的推进系统选择。在总结美国、俄罗斯、欧洲、日本等国家离子、霍尔、电热、PPT、FEEP等小功率电推进技术发展和小卫星应用情况的基础上,从轨道转移、大气阻尼补偿、位置保持、姿态控制、编队飞行等任务方面分析了小卫星对电推进系统的需求和应用电推进的必要性及可行性,针对小卫星主要任务需求分别提出了10 W、100 W和500 W级小功率电推进技术发展和应用方面的具体建议。     

Experimental and numerical study of an electrothermal pulsed plasma thruster for small satellites

A pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) with a propellant feeding mechanism was designed using two poly tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) bars as propellants. The PPT was mounted on a thrust stand with a 1-m-long perpendicular pendulum which was developed for precise measurements of impulse bits. Initial thrust performance showed thrust-to-power ratio of 43–48 μN/W, specific impulse of 470–500 s and thrust efficiency of 10–12% with energy of 4.5–14.6 J. Ten thousand shots achieved a total impulse of approximately 3.6 Ns, and the PTFE bars were consumed approximately 2 mm in length. However, uneven receding of the PTFE surface was observed. In order to investigate physical phenomena in a whole system, an unsteady numerical simulation of initial discharge, generation of plasma, heat transfer to the PTFE, heat conduction inside the PTFE, ablation from the PTFE surface and acceleration of plasma was performed. The calculated results were used to explain the physical phenomena in the cavity, especially ablated mass of the PTFE.     

A review of hybrid rockets: present status and future potential

This paper discusses the potential of the hybrid rocket engine as a viable and attractive mode of propulsion for both space vehicles and missiles. Research and development work on this engine in other countries is presented and evaluated. The various advantages of a hybrid engine over solid and liquid engines and its problems are highlighted. It has been argued that because of the low technology needed in the development of the hybrid system, it constitutes a cost-and-time-effective propulsion system for several applications in space programmes as well as weapon systems. In support of this conclusion, experience on the developmental studies of a variable thrust 100 kg engine is presented. Some future possibilities for hybrid propulsion systems are cited.     

Effect of solute mixing in the liquid propellant of a pulsed plasma thruster

Sodium chloride or ammonia was dissolved in the water propellant of pulsed plasma thrusters to improve the performance. Pulsed plasma thrusters using liquid propellant utilize water as attractive alternative instead of Teflon. Water propellant enables in controlling propellant mass flow and leads to high specific impulse. However, liquid propellant pulsed plasma thrusters have larger plasma resistance and lower thrust power ratio than the common Teflon propellant thruster. Here, sodium chloride and ammonia solution of water were examined to decrease that plasma resistance. As a result, emission lines attributed from the solute were observed using sodium chloride aqueous solution propellant, and a 5% reduction of the plasma resistance was shown, and the thrust to power was increased. However, ammonia aqueous solution decreased the thruster performance.     

Electricity Generation through Light‐Responsive Diving–Surfacing Locomotion of a Functionally Cooperating Smart Device

Mini‐generators converting other forms of energy into electric energy are ideal power supplies for widely used microelectronic devices because they need only a low power supply in the range of µW to mW. Among various creative strategies to fabricate mini‐generators, recently developed functionally integrated systems combining self‐propulsion of small objects and the application of Faraday's law show advantages such as facile, noncontact, low resistance, and durability. However, wide application of such functionally integrated systems is currently restricted by artificial energy inputs, such as chemical fuels or mechanical work, and harvesting energy available in the environment or nature is urgently required. Herein, a light‐responsive functionally cooperating smart device is developed as a mini‐generator that can directly harvest naturally available light energy for diving–surfacing motions, thus converting mechanical energy into electricity through Faraday's law. The mini‐generator generates a maximum voltage of 1.72 V with an energy conversion efficiency of 2.44 × 10^?3% to power LEDs and shows a lifetime of at least 30 000 s. By using environmental energy, the study may promote the concept of a functionally cooperating system as an economic and facile power supply for microelectronics, reducing their dependence on batteries.     

Added mass effect on flapping foil

Unsteady effects caused by accelerating bodies in water play a very important role in biological propulsion. However, such propulsion mechanisms are challenging for simulation as both body geometry and locomotion patterns are quite complex and a natural first step is to model the motion of a standard man-made airfoil. The work presents simulations of harmonic oscillations of a NACA 0012 foil in water and the hydrodynamic forces generated were obtained by a Boundary Element Method (panel method) code. The focus is placed on one of the most important unsteady effects, the added mass effect, which has not been sufficiently addressed in the literature. The corresponding unsteady forces were obtained through appropriately devised two-dimensional added mass tensor. The computational results were compared to existing analytical ones and a maximum error of 10⁻⁶ was obtained for the added mass coefficients of the circle of unit diameter. The development of a dedicated numerical approach for the calculation of the added mass tensor is necessitated by the lack of analytical solution for a variety of wing shapes such as NACA foils. The simulations showed that for the range of investigated parameters the inertia thrust and lift generated by the flapping foil increase sharply when the added mass contribution is considered. For example, if the Strouhal number is set to 0.3 and the ratio between the wing and fluid densities to 0.3, the time average of the inertia thrust increases by 23 times and the maximum of the inertia lift is ca. 37 times larger when the added mass effect is considered. Generally, a densities' ratio of order 1 results in an increase of the time-average inertia thrust of order 10. It was confirmed that, as the densities' ratio becomes larger, the contribution of the added mass to the generated inertia forces decreased. As the Strouhal number increases, the added mass effect was found to be more dominant due to the imposed motion kinematics, i.e. the pitch amplitude. The obtained results show clearly that for the specific case of flapping flight in dense fluids the unsteady effects caused by the object acceleration are of prime importance for two reasons: (i) accurate estimate of the generated thrust and (ii) realistic assessment of the resulting structural loads.     

Unsteady motion: escape jumps in planktonic copepods,their kinematics and energetics

We describe the kinematics of escape jumps in three species of 0.3–3.0 mm-sized planktonic copepods. We find similar kinematics between species with periodically alternating power strokes and passive coasting and a resulting highly fluctuating escape velocity. By direct numerical simulations, we estimate the force and power output needed to accelerate and overcome drag. Both are very high compared with those of other organisms, as are the escape velocities in comparison to startle velocities of other aquatic animals. Thus, the maximum weight-specific force, which for muscle motors of other animals has been found to be near constant at 57 N (kg muscle)⁻¹, is more than an order of magnitude higher for the escaping copepods. We argue that this is feasible because most copepods have different systems for steady propulsion (feeding appendages) and intensive escapes (swimming legs), with the muscular arrangement of the latter probably adapted for high force production during short-lasting bursts. The resulting escape velocities scale with body length to power 0.65, different from the size-scaling of both similar sized and larger animals moving at constant velocity, but similar to that found for startle velocities in other aquatic organisms. The relative duration of the pauses between power strokes was observed to increase with organism size. We demonstrate that this is an inherent property of swimming by alternating power strokes and pauses. We finally show that the Strouhal number is in the range of peak propulsion efficiency, again suggesting that copepods are optimally designed for rapid escape jumps.     

Multi‐Fuel Driven Janus Micromotors

Here the first example of a chemically powered micromotor that harvests its energy from the reactions of three different fuels is presented. The new Al/Pd Janus microspheres—prepared by depositing a Pd layer on one side of Al microparticles—are propelled efficiently by the thrust of hydrogen bubbles generated from different reactions of Al in strong acidic and alkaline environments, and by an oxygen bubble thrust produced at their partial Pd coating in hydrogen peroxide media. High speeds and long lifetimes of 200 μm s^?1 and 8 min are achieved in strong alkaline media and acidic media, respectively. The ability to autonomously adapt to the presence of a new fuel (surrounding environment), without compromising the propulsion behavior is illustrated. These data also represent the first example of a chemically powered micromotor that propels autonomously and efficiently in alkaline environments (pH > 11) without additional fuels. The ability to use multiple fuel sources to power the same micromotor offers a broader scope of operation and considerable promise for diverse applications of micromotors in different chemical environments.     

Cryogenic propulsion for the Titan Orbiter Polar Surveyor (TOPS) mission

Liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LO2) cryogenic propellants can dramatically enhance NASA’s ability to explore the solar system due to their superior specific impulse (I_sp) capability. Although these cryogenic propellants can be challenging to manage and store, they allow significant mass advantages over traditional hypergolic propulsion systems and are therefore enabling for many planetary science missions. New cryogenic storage techniques such as subcooling and the use of advanced insulation and low thermal conductivity support structures will allow for the long term storage and use of cryogenic propellants for solar system exploration and hence allow NASA to deliver more payloads to targets of interest, launch on smaller and less expensive launch vehicles, or both. These new cryogenic storage technologies were implemented in a design study for the Titan Orbiter Polar Surveyor (TOPS) mission, with LH2 and LO2 as propellants, and the resulting spacecraft design was able to achieve a 43% launch mass reduction over a TOPS mission, that utilized a traditional hypergolic propulsion system with mono-methyl hydrazine (MMH) and nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) propellants. This paper describes the cryogenic propellant storage design for the TOPS mission and demonstrates how these cryogenic propellants are stored passively for a decade-long Titan mission that requires the cryogenics propellants to be stored for 8.5 years.     

Recent developments in ceramic microthrusters and the potential applications with green propellants: a review

Conventional chemical propellants such as hydrazine and ammonium perchlorate have been used within the realm of contemporary space propulsion devices and are well established owing to their rich heritage. However, their limitations such as toxicity, difficulty in operational handling and environmental impacts have raised concerns. In view of these limitations, the significance of green propellants such as hydroxylammonium nitrate, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and ammonium dinitramide has become more pronounced. In this paper, recent developments in ceramic microthrusters and the associated ceramic microfabrication techniques are reviewed. The characteristics of green propellants are examined, followed by the evaluation of previous attempts to incorporate green propellants into ceramic microthrusters. This has further unveiled the possibilities of green and clean space missions in the future.     

微电推进系统研制及应用现状

200kg以下的微小卫星的轨道维持、姿态控制、阻尼补偿、编队飞行等任务对微电推进技术及产品提出了明确的应用需求,不同类型的微电推进在不同功率范围内有着各自的优势.本文对中国微小卫星12U立方星LPPT-5脉冲等离子体电推进系统、150kg小卫星LPPT-25脉冲等离子体电推进系统、6U立方星LVAT-1真空弧电推进系统...     

Recovery of lunar surface access module residual and reserve propellants

The vision for space exploration calls for human exploration of the lunar surface in the 2020 timeframe. Sustained human exploration of the lunar surface will require supply, storage, and distribution of consumables for a variety of mission elements. These elements include propulsion systems for ascent and descent stages, life support for habitats and extra-vehicular activity, and reactants for power systems. NASA KSC has been tasked to develop technologies and strategies for consumables transfer for lunar exploration as part of the exploration technology development program. This paper will investigate details of operational concepts to scavenge residual propellants from the lunar descent propulsion system. Predictions on the mass of residuals and reserves are made. Estimates of heat transfer and boil-off rates are calculated and transient tank thermodynamic issues post-engine cutoff are modeled. Recovery and storage options, including cryogenic liquid, vapor and water are discussed, and possible reuse of LSAM assets is presented.     

空间离子电推进系统电源处理单元设计

空间电推进电源处理单元是组成电推进系统的关键设备之一,它是多电源组合、输出功率大、电压高及时序控制的复杂电源变换产品。以离子电推进系统配置的电源处理单元为例,叙述了输出功率为1 kW,屏栅电源输出电压达到1 000 V的各功能电源的电路设计,并给出了实验电路的测试结果。     

轴承刚度对船舶推进轴系振动传递路径影响分析

采用传递矩阵法,将船舶推进轴系简化为质量点单元、弹性支承单元和具有分布参数的梁单元。基于修正的Timoshenko梁理论,推导出推进轴系的场传递矩阵表达式。然后,引入相应的边界条件,形成方程组并实现不同轴承刚度下推进轴系轴承处的力和位移响应求解。最后,从能量的角度,对推进轴系各轴承传递路径处的功率流进行分析,并与有限元结果比较。结果表明:基于修正Timoshenko梁理论的传递矩阵法在计算推进轴系弯曲振动时是可行有效的;艉后轴承刚度对轴系振动传递影响最大,艉前轴承次之,推力轴承影响最小。     

Elektrische Antriebe für die Raumfahrt

Electric Propulsion for Space Flight This article describes electric rocket motors for satellites, probes and manned spacecraft based on principles used for material processing, too. The need for high exhaust velocities is explained and the limitations of conventional chemical thrusters are pointed out. Two important electric propulsion technologies, arcjet thrusters and gridded ion thrusters, together with their applications are described. Both types are currently successfully operated in space. Finally, a hybrid engine using an arcjet thruster and propellant heating by radiofrequency power is introduced. This concept is a potential solution for the propulsion demands of a future piloted mission to Mars.     

Grenzflächenenergien von Teflon und verschiedenen Flüssigkeiten in einer verdichteten Stickstoffatmosphäre

Measurements of interfacial tensions (±1–2%) for water, formamide, ethanediole and toluene in dense nitrogen up to 23?MPa and T=295.7?K were made with the pendant drop method. Additionally contact angles of these liquids were measured as advancing contact angles on Teflon. Contact angles (ca.?±?3°.) were evaluated by hand and software. Interfacial Free Energy in the system Teflon/N₂, which was calculated by the interaction parameter Φ, is σ _Teflon/N2=19.4–25.2?mN?m^?1 for 0.1?MPa and σ _Teflon/N2=8.2–9.3?mN?m^?1 for 20?MPa. The Interfacial Free Energy in the system Teflon/N₂ was determined through linear regression or solving the system of equations (Section 5). Using the contact angle and interfacial tension measurements a mean value for σ _Teflon/N2=22.3?mN?m^?1 at 0.1?MPa and 9.2?mN?m^?1 at 20?MPa (without Acid-Base procedure) and a pressure independent σ _{Teflon/liquid} results. For the different methods for calculating the Interfacial Free Energy of a solid, suggestions were made with which the contact angle on Teflon can be estimated at the given pressure, if the interfacial tension of the liquid is known. In chapter 5, the contact angles of 48 substances on Teflon at 0.1?MPa were taken from literature [8, 17] and compared to estimations made by the methods of Zisman and Fowkes. For C₁₀ and higher n-alkanes, the results predicted by the method of Zisman are satisfactory. The estimations are less than 10°, compared to the literature values, whereas the calculated values with the method of Fowkes aren't satisfactory. For 38 non- n-alkanes the contact angle estimation with the method of Fowkes is significantly better than the estimations with the method of Zisman. The average deviation relative to the literature values are 4.9° and 6.9°.     

On the mechanical behavior of carbon-carbon optic grids determined using a bi-axial optical extensometer

Ion engines accelerate electrically charged plasma through two optic grids and emit the ions as exhaust. The process facilitates propulsion without use of chemical propellants. Braided carbon fiber reinforced composite (C _(f)/C) optics are presently being considered for use as the accelerator and screen grids in ion propulsion engines. In this study the mechanical behavior of four candidate tow configurations proposed for the grids of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) were examined. A new bi-axial optical extensometer based on Digital Image Correlation (DIC) was developed and employed in determining the in-plane strain distribution resulting from uniaxial tension. The effective elastic modulus ranged from 4 GPa to 10 GPa at the onset of deformation. The stiffness either increased or decreased with further elongation as a result of bending of the axial tows and corresponding unit cell distortion. The transverse strain and Poisson's ratio of the panels were found to be a function of the tow dimensions and bonding between longitudinal and transverse tows.