A review of the characterization and optimization of ablative pulsed plasma thrusters

Zhang, Zhe; Ling, William Yeong Liang; Tang, Haibin; Cao, Jinbin; Li, Xiangyang; Wang, Ningfei

doi:10.1007/s41614-019-0027-z

Cited by 47 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 116 publications

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“…Electrostatic thrusters include ion thrusters (IT) and colloid thrusters with various mechanisms of propellant ionization [5,6]. Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPT) are usually considered as a separate class [7] due to the pronounced specificity of operating processes. It should be noted that in Ablative PPT (APPT) both electrothermal and electromagnetic plasma acceleration can take place.…”

Section: Types Of Low-power Electric Propulsion Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…• Electrothermal thruster DUMIT was developed by the Production Association "Polet" [7] (prototype of the flight model). Thrusters of such type are widely used on satellites developed by VNIIEM and NIIEM [15].…”

Section: Available Family Of Pulsed Plasma Thrusters and Their Rational Application Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, it is necessary to take into account the possibility of APPT using as a part of the precise attitude control systems of SSC for remote-sensing and other purposes. Table 11.3 shows the characteristics of APPT-based electric propulsion system designed for the mentioned purpose: EPS of "EO-1" satellite [13] and its analog, APPT-120 developed at the RIAME MAI [7]. EO-1 and APPT-120 belong to the same class of thrust and power consumption.…”

Section: • Stationary Plasma Thruster Spt-25 Was Developed By the Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fig. 11.5Family of EPS based on APPT developed at the RIAME MAI (APPT-95 is being developed jointly with NIIEM)[7] …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of Low-Power Pulse Plasma Thrusters in Thrust Units of Small Spacecrafts

Bogatiy

Dyakonov

Elnikov

et al. 2021

Applied Mathematics and Computational Mechanics for Smart Applications

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The chapter considers the current state of work on flight models of pulsed plasma propulsion systems. It is shown that the primary application area for propulsion systems based on an ablative pulsed plasma thruster is the station-keeping of small spacecraft with the power of supply system of up to 100 W and with an active lifetime in a range from 1 to 10 years in low Earth orbits with altitudes in a range from 400 to 700 km. It is also shown that ablative pulsed plasma thrusters can be efficiently used to solve the problems of accurate attitude control and angular stabilization of spacecraft.

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Section: Types Of Low-power Electric Propulsion Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Available Family Of Pulsed Plasma Thrusters and Their Rational Application Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: • Stationary Plasma Thruster Spt-25 Was Developed By the Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fig. 11.5Family of EPS based on APPT developed at the RIAME MAI (APPT-95 is being developed jointly with NIIEM)[7] …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of Low-Power Pulse Plasma Thrusters in Thrust Units of Small Spacecrafts

Bogatiy

Dyakonov

Elnikov

et al. 2021

Applied Mathematics and Computational Mechanics for Smart Applications

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“…Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is an alternative propellant for laser thrusters [10,14], pulsed plasma thrusters (PPT) [15,16]] and MLAPPT [8,17] due to its excellent thermal stability, electrical insulation and stability under low pressure [8,18]. In particular, PTFE was the only propellant used for PPT space applications [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study on the Plasma Plume Expansion Dynamics of Nanosecond Laser Ablating Al/PTFE

Tan

Wang

et al. 2020

Energies

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To study the plasma plume expansion dynamics of nanosecond laser ablating Al/PTFE, the Al/PTFE propellant was prepared by a molding sintering method and the rapid expansion process of the plasma plume was photographed using fast photography technology. The effects of the proportion of Al, laser energy and ambient pressure on plasma plume expansion dynamics are analyzed. The results show that the plume expansion process of laser ablating Al/PTFE plasma can be divided into three stages and this phenomenon has not been reported in the literature. The Al powder doped in PTFE will block part of the laser transmission into the propellant, thus reducing the laser absorption depth of the propellant. In the case of short pulse laser ablation, the reaction rate between Al and PTFE is optimal when the reductant is slightly higher than the oxidant. As the laser energy increases, the light intensity of the plasma becomes stronger, the plasma size becomes larger and the existence time of plasma becomes longer. In the first stage plume, the plume expands freely at the ambient pressure of 0.005 Pa and the plume expansion distance is linearly related to time, while the shock wave formed at the interface between the plume front and the ambient gas at the ambient pressure of 5 Pa and the expansion can be described by S-T theory.

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Enabling direct kinetic simulation of dense plasma plume expansion for laser ablation plasma thrusters

Chan

Boyd

2022

J Electr Propuls

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Laser ablation plasma thrusters are an emerging space propulsion concept that provides promise for lightweight payload delivery. Predicting the lifetime and performance of these thrusters hinges on a comprehensive characterization of the expansion dynamics of the ablated plasma plume. While state-of-the-art techniques for simulating plasmas are often particle-based, a grid-based direct kinetic solver confers advantages in such a transient and inhomogeneous problem by eliminating statistical noise. A direct kinetic solver including interparticle collisions is employed on a plume expansion model problem spanning one dimension each in configuration and velocity space. The high degree of thermodynamic nonequilibrium inherent in plume expansion is characterized, justifying the need for a kinetic rather than a hybrid or fluid solver. Thruster-relevant metrics such as the momentum flux are also computed. The plume dynamics are observed to be highly inhomogeneous in space with insufficient time for thermalization in the region preceding the expansion front, and the theoretical possibility of reducing the local grid resolution by up to two orders of magnitude at the far end of the domain is established. These grid-point requirements are verified via the employment of nonuniform grids of various expansion ratios, several of which also employ coarsening in velocity space. Longer domain lengths are explored to characterize thruster-scale phenomena and larger ambient pressures are simulated as a testbed to probe facility effects due to collisions with background particles.

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A review of the characterization and optimization of ablative pulsed plasma thrusters

Cited by 47 publications

References 116 publications

Application of Low-Power Pulse Plasma Thrusters in Thrust Units of Small Spacecrafts

Application of Low-Power Pulse Plasma Thrusters in Thrust Units of Small Spacecrafts

A Study on the Plasma Plume Expansion Dynamics of Nanosecond Laser Ablating Al/PTFE

Enabling direct kinetic simulation of dense plasma plume expansion for laser ablation plasma thrusters

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