Performance and endurance tests of a multipropellant resistojet for space station auxiliary propulsion

Morren, W. Earl; Whalen, Margaret V.; Sovey, James S.

doi:10.2514/6.1986-1435

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 4 publications

(2 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It was further assumed that a 10% cathode mass loss (in the discharge region) represents an end-of-life condition; this criteria is consistent with the lamp industry and resistojet heater end-of-life predictions. 62 Assumptions concerning cathode diameter and discharge conditions (/ = 5000 A) are shown in Table 2. The projected lifetimes of the quasisteadystate, 0.27-MW, self-field, low-power applied field, and 0.12-MW applied-field thrusters using these assumptions are 0.6, 21, 240, and 1 5,000 h, respectively.…”

Section: Thruster Lifetimementioning

confidence: 99%

Performance and lifetime assessment of magnetoplasmadynamic arc thruster technology

Sovey

Mantenieks

1991

Journal of Propulsion and Power

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A summary of performance and lifetime characteristics of pulsed and steady-state magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters is presented. The technical focus is on cargo vehicle propulsion for exploration-class missions to the moon and Mars. Relatively high MPD thruster efficiencies of 0.43 and 0.69 have been reported at about 5000-s specific impulse using hydrogen and lithium, respectively. Efficiencies of 0.10 to 0.35 in the 1000-to 4500-s specific impulse range have been obtained with other propellants (e.g., Ar, NHa, NI). Electrode power losses of less than 20% at megawatt power levels using pulsed thrusters indicate the potential of high MPD thruster performance. Extended tests of pulsed and steady-state MPD thrusters yield total impulses at least two to three orders of magnitude below that necessary for cargo vehicle propulsion. Performance tests and diagnostics for life-limiting mechanisms of megawatt-class thrusters will require high-fidelity test stands, which handle in excess of 10 kA, and a vacuum facility whose operational pressure is less than 4 x 10 ~2 Pa. Nomenclature e = electronic charge, 1.6 x 10 ~1 9 C g = gravity acceleration, 9.81 m/s 2 H 0 = unheated propellant enthalpy, J/kg A P -specific impulses, s J = arc current, A (J 2 /m) c = onset parameter, A 2 -s/kg k = Boltzman's constant, 1.38 x 10~2 3 J/K m = mass flow rate, kg/s P = input power, W P a = power loss to anode, W P e = input electric power, W P L = power to water cooling system, W T = thrust, N T e = electron temperature, K V a = anode voltage drop, V AK = velocity increment required for a mission, m/s v = average exhaust velocity, m/s v\ = thrust efficiency f/ th = (P -P L )/P, thermal efficiency (j > = work function of anode material, V

show abstract

Section: Thruster Lifetimementioning

confidence: 99%

Performance and lifetime assessment of magnetoplasmadynamic arc thruster technology

Sovey

Mantenieks

1991

Journal of Propulsion and Power

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This configuration prevents wasteful heat loss and realizes high-efficiency thermal insulation. Besides, the planar-shape heater is difficult to break as compared to a filament-type resistojet [5]. Figure 1 shows the cross-sectional view of the 3D-printed resistojet (3DRJ).…”

Section: Design and Theoretical Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Design and Experimental Verification of the 3D-printed Registojet

Nakata

Kinefuchi

2018

2018 Joint Propulsion Conference

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A 3D-printed resistojet, wherein the heater and flow path were united, was produced. The heater consists of multi-layer shells and is difficult to break down. In this paper, the thermal design and the results of the thrust measurement are reported. The measured electrical resistance matched with the predicted one. Both the heater and the thrust reached 70 percent efficiency when paired with a nitrogen propellant at a mass flow rate of 0.2 g/s.

show abstract

Thin film strain gauge sensors for ion thrust measurement

Stephen

Rajanna

Dhar

et al.

Proceedings of IEEE Sensors

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In order to measure the thrust produced by a Stationary Plasma Thruster, a measurement system has been developed using a thrust balance with thin Jilm strain gauge sensors. For this purpose, strain gauges were designed and deposited on the columns of the thrust balance fabricated and necessary signal conditioning circuit has been used. Performance of the system developed was studied, in a vacuum chamber under space simulated conditions, by activating the thruster. Insitu calibration was done using Lami's principle. For discharge powers varying @om 210-275 Watts, the measured values of thrust were found to be in the range of 11-16 mN with an accuracy off. ImN and resolution of 0.12 mN. Specijk impulse and eflciency were also estimated.

show abstract

Performance and endurance tests of a multipropellant resistojet for space station auxiliary propulsion

Abstract: This paper presents the results of an effort by the NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) to demonstrate the technology readiness of a long-life multipropellant resistojet for Space Station auxiliary propulsion.

Cited by 9 publications

References 4 publications

Performance and lifetime assessment of magnetoplasmadynamic arc thruster technology

Performance and lifetime assessment of magnetoplasmadynamic arc thruster technology

Thermal Design and Experimental Verification of the 3D-printed Registojet

Thin film strain gauge sensors for ion thrust measurement

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About