Comparison of Chemical and Electric Propulsion Systems for Interplanetary Travel

Saltzer, Charles; Craig, Richard; Fetheroff, C. W.

doi:10.1109/jrproc.1960.287394

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…He proposed to use laser in an indirect manner (i.e., remote energy source) instead of ablating the propellant by using chemical or electrical means. Different propulsion schemes has been studied, i.e., electric propulsion, CW plasma propulsion, photonic laser propulsion, pulsed plasma propulsion and ablative laser propulsion (ALP) [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. In ALP, the material is ablated using an intense pulsed laser beam, which produces plasma and as a result of this plasma impulse is produced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of plasma confinement on laser ablation propulsion parameters by using external semi-elliptical cavities for Aluminum and Silver propellants

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ablative laser propulsion (ALP) is a type of beam-powered propulsion in which thrust is produced by ablating a target using a high-intensity laser beam. In this research work, we calculated the ALP parameters momentum coupling coefficient (Cm) and specific impulse (Isp) by confining the plasma with the help of external semi-elliptical cavities. The cavity minor axis was fixed at 2.5mm while the major axis varied to 7mm, 9mm, 11mm, 13mm and 15mm. Silver and aluminum samples were used as propellants. A pulsed Q-smart Nd: YAG laser operating at 532nm wavelength was used to ablate the target. A significant increase in the value of Cm and Isp was observed using confined ablative propulsion. The highest Cm and Isp were recorded for the 9 mm major axis cavity, for which Cm was increased from 5.01x10-5 N-s/J to1.75x10-4 nearly 249% for silver and from 3.4x10-5 N-s/J to 8.9x10-5 N-s/J nearly 161% for aluminum. Hence the use of semielliptical cavities is an effective technique for enhancing propulsion parameters. Cavity acts as a trap for plasma and shockwaves. Confinement of plasma and reflection of shockwaves from the cavity walls results in enhanced laser ablation propulsion parameters.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%