Characterization of film-evaporating microcapillaries for water-based microthrusters

Pugia, Steven; Cofer, Anthony G.; Alexeenko, Alina

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.09.011

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Moreover, having a net zero mass flow rate, eliminates the need for fluid reservoirs and pumps. Present study 0.1-0.2 0 0.005-0.05 VLM [24] 1.0-2.4 1.6 0.005-0.12 VLM [22] 5.0 90.0 0.15-0.46 HTCC [25] 1.0-6.0 1.0 0.2-0.6 LTCC [27] 7.1-9.2 1.0 0.34-0.68 FEMTA [26] 0.65 -0.15 SP [33] 0.16 -25.0-150 SP [34] 0.1-0.2 -0.2-2.5 CG [17] -0.5-3.5 0.25-1.75 CG [9] -180-460 60-160…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hydrodynamic characteristics of an evaporation-based micro-synthetic jet for micro-propulsion

Sourtiji

Peles

2021

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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In this study, a concept of using a synthetic jet for micro-propulsion is introduced. The system has no moving parts and operates based on a periodic process associated with bubble growth and collapse on a micro-heater in a confined chamber. The liquid is propelled through a micro-nozzle located at the chamber exit using the interfacial layer movement between the vapor and liquid phases during the bubble growth. High-speed photography and image processing are used to capture the sequence of bubble ebullition in the chamber. The synthetic jet velocity at the nozzle exit is then numerically simulated using SST k-ω turbulence model and it is shown that the thrust during the ejection phase is two orders of magnitude greater than the rest of the cycle, resulting in a positive net momentum. Comparing the operating power of different types of micro-thrusters revealed that the introduced approach is one of the lowest powered micro-thrusters.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pugia et al [26] examined a microthruster based on Film-Evaporating MEMS Tunable Array (FEMTA). In this approach, the thrust was generated by heating a micro-scale water capillary to induce controlled film-evaporation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrodynamic characteristics of an evaporation-based micro-synthetic jet for micro-propulsion

Sourtiji

Peles

2021

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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“…The development of propulsion systems for small spacecraft is also an extremely active research area; many low-thrust propulsion systems for small spacecraft such as ionic-liquid electrospray thrusters [11,12], film-evaporating water microcapillaries [13], miniaturized ion thrusters [14], and plasma thrusters [15,16] are actively under development and will likely have in-space demonstrations in the near future. As such, the development of thrust estimation methods that leverage orbital maneuvers is desired as they can be applied to a wider range of missions and avoid uncertainties associated with the thruster lever arm for small spacecraft.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Segmented Reconstruction of Low-Acceleration Orbital Maneuvers

Jia-Richards

2023

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics

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This paper considers the problem of inferring the acceleration acting on a spacecraft in a near-circular orbit around a large planetary body when the acceleration is known to act in the along-track direction. A segmented approach is analyzed where the acceleration profile over a given period of time is approximated as a piecewise-constant profile. Noisy measurements of the spacecraft’s position are collected throughout the acceleration profile, from which the constant acceleration for each segment of the piecewise-constant profile can be inferred. The primary contribution of this work is an analytical approximation for the sensitivity of each measurement with respect to the constant acceleration of each segment. The resulting analytically approximated sensitivity matrix enables an analytical reconstruction of the acceleration profile given a numerically simulated reference trajectory. Applications of the segmented approach for thrust inference for both discontinuous and continuous thrust profiles are demonstrated. In particular, the reconstruction of a simulated thruster degradation profile over the course of 60 h is shown.

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A method for direct in-space thrust estimation from low-acceleration orbital maneuvers

Jia-Richards,

Marzouk,

Lozano

2023

J Electr Propuls

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This paper presents a method for performing direct in-space thrust estimation for low-acceleration propulsion systems using measurements of the spacecraft’s position taken during an orbital maneuver. The method is based on the ensemble Kalman update which does not require linearization of the spacecraft dynamics nor does it require Gaussian distributions for parameter uncertainties and measurement noise, allowing for a more general approach to thrust estimation. In addition, modeling error, such as that caused by the truncation of a spherical-harmonics representation of the Earth’s gravitational field, can be explicitly accounted for by representing the error with Gaussian processes. Simulated experiments show that uncertainty in the propulsive acceleration magnitude on the order of 0.1 $$\mu$$ μ m/s$$^2$$ 2 (1$$\sigma$$ σ ) can be achieved at an orbit altitude of approximately 410 km with temporally-sparse measurements even in the presence of uncertain atmospheric drag, and Monte Carlo analysis demonstrates the consistency of the inference results. Trends in the estimate of the propulsive acceleration with the true acceleration value are explored empirically and theoretically in order to allow for generalization of the results. The outcome of this work is a systematic approach to direct in-space thrust estimation that can support the final steps of development for future in-space electric propulsion systems or the calibration of a thruster during a mission.

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Characterization of film-evaporating microcapillaries for water-based microthrusters

Cited by 13 publications

References 8 publications

Hydrodynamic characteristics of an evaporation-based micro-synthetic jet for micro-propulsion

Hydrodynamic characteristics of an evaporation-based micro-synthetic jet for micro-propulsion

Segmented Reconstruction of Low-Acceleration Orbital Maneuvers

A method for direct in-space thrust estimation from low-acceleration orbital maneuvers

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