Total impulse improvement of coaxial pulsed plasma thruster for small satellite

Aoyagi, Junichiro; Mukai, Masayuki; Kamishima, Yukiya; Sasaki, T.; Shintani, Kohei; Takegahara, Haruki; Wakizono, Takashi; Sugiki, Mitsuteru

doi:10.1016/j.vacuum.2008.03.082

Cited by 25 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The electromagnetic thrusters rely on the plasma acceleration via interaction of the current and magnetic fields: micro pulsed plasma thrusters. 31,32 The electrothermal thrusters rely on the plasma/gas heating via plasma discharge followed by supersonic plasma/ gas expansion through de Laval nozzles: micro arcjet thrusters, 33,34 hollow cathode thrusters, 35 and plasma thrusters using dc microdischarges, 36,37 ac/rf microcavity discharges, 38,39 capacitively coupled rf discharges in a dielectric tube, [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] and microwave discharges. 48,49 We have developed a mm-scale microplasma thruster of the electrothermal type with azimuthally symmetric surface wave-excited plasmas (SWPs), [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58] consisting of a microplasma source followed by a converging-diverging micronozzle as schematically shown in Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplasma thruster powered by X-band microwaves

Takahashi

Mori

Kawanabe

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Physics

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplasma thruster powered by X-band microwaves

Takahashi

Mori

Kawanabe

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…To realize microspacecraft of Ͻ10 kg ͑or nano-/picosatellites͒, their components have to be miniaturized drastically, including the propulsion system for station keeping ͑requiring a thrust of ϳmN͒ and for attitude control ͑ϳN͒. Various microthrusters have been proposed for these applications, [2][3][4][5][6] including microelectric propulsion systems or microplasma/ion thrusters: [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] direct current ͑dc͒ microarcjet thruster, [7][8][9] dc microplasma thruster, 10 micro-Hall thruster, 11,12 micro-ion thruster, 13,14 ferroelectric plasma thruster, 15,16 and dielectric capillary discharge acceleration 17 using gas fuels; field emission electric propulsion 18 and colloid thruster 19 using liquid fuels; vacuum arc microthruster, 20 microlaser-ablation plasma thruster, 21,22 and micropulsed plasma thruster 23,24 using solid fuels. Most of these are the applications of microplasmas or microdischarges on which extensive work has recently been done.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical and experimental study of microwave-excited microplasma and micronozzle flow for a microplasma thruster

et al. 2009

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Plasma and aerodynamic features have been investigated for a microplasma thruster of electrothermal type using azimuthally symmetric microwave-excited microplasmas. The thruster developed consisted of a microplasma source 1.5 mm in diameter, 10 mm long with a rod antenna on axis, and a converging-diverging micronozzle 1 mm long with a throat 0.2 mm in diameter. The feed or propellant gas employed was Ar at pressures of 10-50 kPa with flow rates of 10-70 SCCM ͑SCCM denotes standard cubic centimeter per minute at STP͒ and the surface wave-excited plasmas were established by 4.0 GHz microwaves at powers of Յ6 W. Numerical analysis was made for the plasma and flow properties by developing a self-consistent, two-dimensional model, where a two-temperature fluid model was applied to the entire region through the microplasma source to the micronozzle ͑or through subsonic to supersonic͒; in the former, an electromagnetic model based on the finite difference time-domain approximation was also employed for analysis of microwaves interacting with plasmas. In experiments, optical emission spectroscopy was employed with a small amount of additive gases of H 2 and N 2 , to measure the plasma electron density and gas temperature in the microplasma source around the top of the microwave antenna, just upstream of the micronozzle inlet; in practice, the numerical analysis exhibited a maximum thereabout for the microwave power density absorbed, plasma density, and gas temperature. The Stark broadening of H Balmer line and the vibronic spectrum of N 2 second positive band indicated that the electron density was in the range of ͑3-12͒ ϫ 10 19 m −3 and the gas or rotational temperature was in the range of 700-1000 K. The thrust performance was also measured by using a microthrust stand with a combination of target and pendulum methods, giving a thrust in the range of 0.2-1.4 mN, a specific impulse in the range of 50-80 s, and a thrust efficiency in the range of 2%-12%. These experimental results were consistent with those of numerical analysis, depending on microwave power and gas flow rate.

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“…The solid propellant pulsed plasma microthruster utilized poly-tetrafluoro ethylene (PTFE) as propellant, which has some advantages, such as simple structure, high reliability, and low electrical power for its operation. Aoyagi et al [94] designed a pulsed plasma microthruster with s coaxial electrode that consisted of an anode, a cathode, propellant, and an igniter, as shown in Figure 46 Generally, most pulsed plasma microthrusters are operated on electromagnetic forces to accelerate solid propellant to generate a thrust. It also has been proposed that a discharge can be initiated in a pulsed plasma microthruster at an under-voltage by shining an IR laser pulse on the backplate of microthruster [95].…”

Section: Liquid/solid Propellant Pulsed Plasma Microthrustermentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Advances in MEMS-Based Microthrusters

Liu

Yang

et al. 2019

Micromachines

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With the development of micro/nano satellites and formation flying, more advanced spatial propulsion technology is required. In this paper, a review of microthrusters developments that based on micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology adopted in microthrusters is summarized. The microthrusters in previous research are classified and summarized according to the types of propellants and the working principles they utilized. The structure and the performance including the thrust, the impulse and the specific impulse of various microthrusters are compared. In addition, the advantages and the disadvantages of these microthrusters presented in the paper are discussed.

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Total impulse improvement of coaxial pulsed plasma thruster for small satellite

Cited by 25 publications

References 3 publications

Microplasma thruster powered by X-band microwaves

Microplasma thruster powered by X-band microwaves

Numerical and experimental study of microwave-excited microplasma and micronozzle flow for a microplasma thruster

Recent Advances in MEMS-Based Microthrusters

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