The Innovative Dual-Stage 4-Grid Ion Thruster Concept - Theory And Experimental Results

Bramanti, Cristina; Walker, Roger; Sutherland, Orson; Boswell, Rod; Charles, Christine; Fearn, D. G.; Amo, J. Gonzalez del; Orlandi, Marika

doi:10.2514/6.iac-06-c4.4.07

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…From the graphs, it is found out that the forces obtained are comparable to the present day MPD thrusters and other electric engines. [15]- [17] , and is shown in Table (2). The thrust values for the propulsion system is also bigger than the thrust force values of the electromagnetic propulsion system proposed by Engelberger and Pulatov for a much smaller size and lower current input values.…”

Section: Thrust Forcementioning

confidence: 99%

Electromagnetic Propulsion system for spacecrafts using geomagnetic fields and superconductors

Dadhich

2016

54th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting

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This thesis concentrates on developing an innovative method to generate thrust force for spacecraft in localized geomagnetic fields by various electromagnetic systems. The proposed electromagnetic propulsion system is an electromagnet, like normal or superconducting solenoid, having its own magnetic field which interacts with the planet's magnetic field to produce a reaction thrust force. The practicality of the system is checked by performing simulations in order the find the varying radius, velocity, and acceleration changes. The advantages, challenges, various optimization techniques, and viability of such a propulsion system in present day and future are discussed. The propulsion system such developed is comparable to modern MPD Thrusters and electric engines, and has various applications like spacecraft propulsion, orbit transfer and stationkeeping.

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Section: Thrust Forcementioning

confidence: 99%

Electromagnetic Propulsion system for spacecrafts using geomagnetic fields and superconductors

Dadhich

2016

54th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting

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“…The emitter is presented in the form of a multi-turn antenna wrapped around a discharge chamber. The frequency of the RF field in various designs is 13.56 MHz [2][3][4][5][6]. The frequency of the induction antenna 5.25 MHz is implemented in the RF IT MiDGIT [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the operation of a microwave autogenerator with emitters of various designs

Vavilov

Yachmenev

Fedyanin

et al. 2022

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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This paper presents the results of experimental studies of 15 design versions of capacitive and induction type microwave antennas. As part of the work on the development of an accelerator ion thruster, 32 radiator designs were studied. The research was carried out in order to select the optimal design of a plasma-generating microwave antenna for installation in the discharge chamber of a prototype ion thruster. The volt-ampere characteristics (VAC) were obtained the microwave generator when working with each design of the radiator in a vacuum chamber. The VAC is obtained in the presence and absence of a high-frequency discharge.

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“…In terms of product development, only the European space agency and Australia jointly developed a prototype of a dual-stage four-grid (DS4G) ion thruster with a RF source in 2006 (Bramanti et al 2006). The experimental result suggested that the DS4G structure can effectively improve the specific impulse (14,000-15,000 s), thrust and power density (8.4 mN•cm -2 , 740 W•cm -2 ) of the thruster.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inductive Coupling Discharge Characteristics of a 10-cm Dual-Stage 4-Grid Radiofrequency Ion Thruster

Zhang

et al. 2021

J. Aerosp. Technol. Manag.

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In this study, the numerical simulations are used to simulate the discharge process of a 10-cm dual-stage 4-grid (DS4G) radiofrequency (RF) ion thruster, and the effects of RF coil turns, and electrical parameters on the key plasma parameters inside the discharge chamber are investigated. Thus, the optimal design parameters of the thruster are obtained. The RF plasma source has high inductive coupling discharge efficiency when the number of coil turns is six and the operational frequency is 2 MHz. The simulation results show that increasing the number of coil turns can effectively increase the plasma density inside the discharge chamber, and thus improve the efficiency of the inductive coupling discharge, and the operational frequency affects the characteristics of the inductively coupled discharge by influencing the depth of the plasma skinning layer. An experimental thruster demonstrated the 10-cm DS4G RF ion thruster can achieve super high specific impulse. The correctness of the simulation model is verified by the experiment results of the thruster, which will be useful for the optimal design of radio ion thruster or ion sources.

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The Innovative Dual-Stage 4-Grid Ion Thruster Concept - Theory And Experimental Results

Cited by 11 publications

References 6 publications

Electromagnetic Propulsion system for spacecrafts using geomagnetic fields and superconductors

Electromagnetic Propulsion system for spacecrafts using geomagnetic fields and superconductors

Investigation of the operation of a microwave autogenerator with emitters of various designs

Inductive Coupling Discharge Characteristics of a 10-cm Dual-Stage 4-Grid Radiofrequency Ion Thruster

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