Impulse Measurements of Electric Solid Propellant in an Electrothermal Ablation-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Glascock ◽  
Joshua Rovey ◽  
Kurt A. Polzin
Keyword(s):  
Solid Propellant ◽  
Pulsed Plasma ◽  
Pulsed Plasma Thruster ◽  
Plasma Thruster

P4S-1 Solid Propellant Pulsed Plasma Thruster - Development Phase

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roque De Alessandro ◽  
Héctor Brito ◽  
Enrique Calcagni ◽  
Eugenio Galian ◽  
Carlos Dominguez
Keyword(s):  
Solid Propellant ◽  
Development Phase ◽  
Pulsed Plasma ◽  
Pulsed Plasma Thruster ◽  
Plasma Thruster

P4S-1 Solid Propellant Pulsed Plasma Thruster - Development Tests

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hector H. Brito ◽  
Roque De Alessandro ◽  
Carlos Dominguez ◽  
Enrique Calcagni ◽  
Eugenio Galian
Keyword(s):  
Solid Propellant ◽  
Pulsed Plasma ◽  
Pulsed Plasma Thruster ◽  
Plasma Thruster

scholarly journals Impulse and Performance Measurements of Electric Solid Propellant in a Laboratory Electrothermal Ablation-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster

Aerospace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Glascock ◽  
Joshua L. Rovey ◽  
Kurt A. Polzin
Keyword(s):  
Solid Propellant ◽  
Specific Impulse ◽  
Energy Levels ◽  
Early Discharge ◽  
Initial Energy ◽  
Pulsed Plasma ◽  
Performance Measurements ◽  
Rocket Propellants ◽  
Pulsed Plasma Thruster ◽  
Plasma Thruster

Electric solid propellants are advanced solid chemical rocket propellants that can be controlled (ignited, throttled and extinguished) through the application and removal of an electric current. This behavior may enable the propellant to be used in multimode propulsion systems utilizing the ablative pulsed plasma thruster. The performance of an electric solid propellant operating in an electrothermal ablation-fed pulsed plasma thruster was investigated using an inverted pendulum micro-newton thrust stand. The impulse bit and specific impulse of the device using the electric solid propellant were measured for short-duration test runs of 100 pulses and longer-duration runs to end-of-life, at energy levels of 5, 10, 15 and 20 J. Also, the device was operated using the current state-of-the-art ablation-fed pulsed plasma thruster propellant, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Impulse bit measurements for PTFE indicate 100 ± 20 µN-s at an initial energy level of 5 J, which increases linearly with energy by approximately 30 µN-s/J. Within the error of the experiment, measurements of the impulse bit for the electric solid propellant are identical to PTFE. Specific impulse when operating on PTFE is calculated to be about 450 s. It is demonstrated that a surface layer in the hygroscopic electric solid propellant is rapidly ablated over the first few discharges of the device, which decreases the average specific impulse relative to the traditional polytetrafluoroethylene propellant. Correcting these data by subtracting the early discharge ablation mass loss measurements yields a corrected electric solid propellant specific impulse of approximately 300 s.

scholarly journals Liquid micro pulsed plasma thruster

Nukleonika ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Szelecka ◽  
Jacek Kurzyna ◽  
Dariusz Daniłko ◽  
Serge Barral
Keyword(s):  
Solid Propellant ◽  
Power Ratio ◽  
Pulsed Plasma ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Liquid Propellant ◽  
Pulsed Plasma Thruster ◽  
Plasma Thruster ◽  
Volatile Liquid ◽  
New Type

Abstract A new type of pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) for small satellite propulsion is investigated, of which the most innovative aspect is the use of a non-volatile liquid propellant. The thruster is based on an open capillary design. The thruster achieved a thrust-to-power ratio above 45 μN/W, which constitutes a 5-fold improvement over the water-propelled pulsed plasma thruster, and which is also slightly above the performance of a similarly sized PPT with a solid propellant.

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