RF Helicon-based Inductive Plasma Thruster (IPT) Design for an Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion system (ABEP)

Romano, Francesco; Chan, Yung-An; Herdrich, Georg; Traub, Constantin; Fasoulas, Stefanos; Roberts, Peter; Smith, Katherine; Edmondson, Steve; Haigh, Sarah J.; Crisp, Nicholas; Oiko, Vitor Toshiyuki Abrao; Worrall, Stephen D.; Livadiotti, Sabrina; Huyton, Claire; Sinpetru, Luciana; Straker, Alastair; Becedas, Jonathan; Domínguez, Rosa M.; González, D.; Cañas, Valentín; Sulliotti-Linner, V.; Hanessian, V.; Mølgaard, A.; Nielsen, Jens D.; Bisgaard, Morten; García-Almiñana, Daniel; Rodriguez-Donaire, Silvia; Sureda, Miquel; Kataria, D. O.; Outlaw, Ron; Villain, Rachel; Perez, Jose Santiago; Conte, Alexis; Belkouchi, Badia; Schwalber, Ameli; Heißerer, Barbara

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.07.008

Cited by 54 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 59 publications

(104 reference statements)

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“…In 2020, this team deals in particular with the design and implementation of a novel antenna called the birdcage antenna [59]. It can be employed for helicon-wave-based plasma sources in fusion research.…”

Section: Electromagnetic Thrustersmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comprehensive Review of Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion Systems

Zheng

Zhang

et al. 2020

International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

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To develop the satellites for a low-Earth-orbit environment, atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) systems have become more attractive to researchers in the past decade. The system can use atmospheric molecules as the propellant to provide thrust compensation, which can extend the lifetime of spacecraft (S/C). This comprehensive review reviews the efforts of previous researchers to develop concepts for ABEP systems. Different kinds of space propulsion system are analysed to determine the suitable propulsion for atmosphere-breathing S/C. Further discussion about ABEP systems shows the characteristic of different thrusters. The main performance of the ABEP system of previous studies is summarized, which provides further research avenues in the future. Results show great potential for thrust compensation from atmospheric molecules. However, the current studies show various limitations and are difficult to apply to space. The development of ABEP needs to solve some problems, such as the intake efficiency, ionization power, and electrode corrosion.

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Section: Electromagnetic Thrustersmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comprehensive Review of Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion Systems

Zheng

Zhang

et al. 2020

International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

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“…Helicon plasma thrusters are also promising candidates for application to atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion, under investigation at the University of Stuttgart (Romano et al. 2020). Finally, other research centres that have studied thoroughly the dynamics of HPTs are Tokyo University (Shinohara et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation of the plume of a magnetically enhanced plasma thruster with SPIS

et al. 2021

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A three-dimensional fully kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation strategy has been implemented to simulate the acceleration stage of a magnetically enhanced plasma thruster (MEPT). The study has been performed with the open-source code Spacecraft Plasma Interaction Software (SPIS). The tool has been copiously modified to simulate properly the dynamics of a magnetized plasma plume. A cross-validation of the methodology has been done with Starfish, a two-dimensional open-source PIC software. Two configurations have been compared: (i) in the absence of a magnetic field and (ii) in the presence of a magnetic field generated by a coil with maximum intensity of 300 G at the thruster outlet. The results show a reduction of the plume divergence angle, an increase of ion speed and an increase of the specific impulse in the presence of the magnetic nozzle. The simulations presented in this study are representative of the operative conditions of a 50 W MEPT. Nonetheless, the methodology adopted can be extended to handle the magnetized plasma plume of several other types of thrusters such as electron cyclotron resonance and applied field magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters.

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“…Depending on the source used for the magnetic field, the magnetic flux density can range between 0.1 -1 T. The interaction of the dust and plasma within the magnetic nozzle geometry can then be studied using the above mentioned optical diagnostics. This can give information on field geometries and forces within the magnetic nozzle, which becomes crucial as magnetic nozzles have become a feasible method of thrust creation for advanced electric propulsion devices such as helicon-wave based thrusters [58][59][60], and a more detailed understanding of the processes within magnetic nozzles can lead to further understanding and improvement of future magnetic nozzles as well as other technical applications [54], in which plasma-magnetic field interaction can be found such as Hall-effect thrusters or in magnetic confinement fusion devices. As these engineering problems consist of more complex or unknown field geometries, the extension of the already presented theory on the dust magnetic field interaction becomes necessary to use charged dust to study these effects.…”

Section: Charged Dust As a Diagnosticmentioning

confidence: 99%

The IPG6-B as a research facility to support future development of electric propulsion

et al. 2022

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The inductively-heated plasma generator IPG6-B at Baylor University has been established and characterized in previous years for use as a flexible experimental research facility across multiple applications. The system uses a similar plasma generator design to its twin-facilities at the University of Stuttgart (IPG6-S) and the University of Kentucky (IPG6-UKY). The similarity between these three devices offers the advantage to reproduce results and provides comparability to achieve cross-referencing and verification. Sub-and supersonic flow conditions for Mach numbers between M a = 0.3 − 1.4 have been characterized for air, argon, helium and nitrogen using a pitot probe. Overall power coupling efficiency as well as specific bulk enthalpy of the flow have been determined by calorimeter measurements to be between η = 0.05 − 0.45 and h s = 5 − 35 MJ kg −1 respectively depending on gas type and pressure. Electron temperatures of T e = 1 − 2 eV and densities n e = 10 18 − 10 20 m −3 have been measured using an electrostatic probe system. At Baylor University, laboratory experiments in the areas of astrophysics, geophysics as well as fundamental research on complex (dusty) plasmas are planned. The study of fundamental processes in low-temperature plasmas connects directly to electric propulsion systems.

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RF Helicon-based Inductive Plasma Thruster (IPT) Design for an Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion system (ABEP)

Cited by 54 publications

References 59 publications

A Comprehensive Review of Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion Systems

A Comprehensive Review of Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion Systems

Simulation of the plume of a magnetically enhanced plasma thruster with SPIS

The IPG6-B as a research facility to support future development of electric propulsion

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