scholarly journals Plume Divergence and Discharge Oscillations of an Accessible Low-Power Hall Effect Thruster

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1973
Author(s):  
Matthew Baird ◽  
Thomas Kerber ◽  
Ron McGee-Sinclair ◽  
Kristina Lemmer
Keyword(s):  
Hall Effect ◽  
Discharge Current ◽  
Electric Propulsion ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Discharge Voltage ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Divergence Angle ◽  
Frequency Spectra ◽  
Plume Divergence

Hall effect thrusters (HETs) are an increasingly utilized proportion of electric propulsion devices due to their high thrust-to-power ratio. To enable an accessible research thruster, our team used inexpensive materials and simplified structures to fabricate the 44-mm-diameter Western Hall Thruster (WHT44). Anode flow, discharge voltage, magnet current, and cathode flow fraction (CFF) were independently swept while keeping all other parameters constant. Simultaneously, a Faraday probe was used to test plume properties at a variety of polar coordinate distances, and an oscilloscope was used to capture discharge oscillation behavior. Plasma plume divergence angle at a fixed probe distance of 4.5 thruster diameters increased with increasing anode flow, varying from 36.7° to 37.4°. Moreover, divergence angle decreased with increasing discharge voltage, magnet current, and CFF, by 0.3°, 0.2°, and 8°, respectively, over the span of the swept parameters. Generally, the thruster exhibited a strong oscillation near 90 kHz, which is higher than a similarly sized HET (20–60 kHz). The WHT44 noise frequency spectra became more broadband and the amplitude increased at a CFF of less than 1.5% and greater than 26%. Only the low flow and low voltage operating conditions showed a quiescent sinusoidal discharge current; otherwise, the discharge current probability distribution was Gaussian. This work demonstrates that the WHT44 thruster, designed for simplicity of fabrication, is a viable tool for research and academic purposes.

scholarly journals Study of plasma dynamics in the HET relying on global thruster characteristics parameterized with discharge voltage

2021 ◽  
Vol 136 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Szelecka ◽  
M. Jakubczak ◽  
A. Riazantsev ◽  
J. Kurzyna
Keyword(s):  
Discharge Current ◽  
Specific Impulse ◽  
Diagnostic System ◽  
Discharge Voltage ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Ion Current ◽  
Plasma Dynamics ◽  
Engine Operation ◽  
Current Collection ◽  
Hall Effect Thruster

AbstractA prototype of krypton Hall-effect thruster (HET) of 0.5 kW nominal power and a dedicated diagnostic system for ion current collection were designed in the laboratory of plasma space propulsion (PlaNS) of the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion (IPPLM) in Warsaw. The diagnostic system consisting of a collimated Faraday Cup (FC) and a Planar Probe with Guarding Ring, named also Faraday Probe (FP) was intended to capture both temporal and spatial ion current variation, allowing to analyze not only ion current dynamics locally but also to estimate the total ion current value and a plasma jet divergence. Reliable engine operation provided by stability of plasma in a discharge channel of the thruster is unambiguously reflected in the oscillations of the discharge current. The so-called breathing mode, categorized as ionization instability with frequencies in the range of 10–30 kHz, is commonly recognized in the HET’s discharge current. Rising of instabilities makes it difficult to increase the specific impulse effectively by just simply attempting to operate thruster in high-voltage regime because it may result in very irregular thruster functioning and often to ceasing of plasma. Discharge current oscillations should also be strongly reflected in the ion current. Indeed, a similar to discharge current behavior was observed in the recorded FC and FP ion current signals. By changing thruster operating conditions, like discharge voltage and magnitude of B-field, transitions between smooth and oscillating current regimes were examined. Studying the ion current dynamics seems particularly important, since it is predicted that the control of discharge instabilities may be crucial to improve the performance of HETs in the future.

A review of high-power magnetoplasmodynamic electric propulsion designs and studies of RSC Energia

2020 ◽  
pp. 112-133
Author(s):  
Victor V. SINYAVSKIY
Keyword(s):  
Service Life ◽  
Electric Power ◽  
High Power ◽  
Electric Propulsion ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Power Input ◽  
Design Bureau ◽  
Rocket Propulsion

At the initiative of S.P.Korolev, in 1959, Special Design Bureau No.1 (now RSC Energia) established the High-temperature Power Engineering and Electric Propulsion Center which was tasked with development of nuclear electric propulsion for heavy interplanetary vehicles. Selected as the source of electric power was a nuclear power unit based on a thermionic converter reactor, and selected as the engine was a stationary low-voltage magnetoplasmodynamic (MPD) high-power (0.5–1.0 MW) thruster which had thousands of hours of service life. The paper presents the results of extensive efforts in research, development, design, materials science experiments, and tests on the MPD-thruster, including the results of development and 500-hours life tests of an MPD-thruster with a 500-600 kW electric power input that used lithium propellant. The world’s first lithium 17 kW MPD-thruster was built and successfully tested in space. The paper points out that to this day nobody has surpassed the then achievements of RSC Energia neither in thruster output during long steady-state operation, nor in performance and service life. Key words: Martian expeditionary vehicle, nuclear electric rocket propulsion system, electric rocket thruster, magnetoplasmodynamic thruster, lithium, cathode, anode, barium, electric propulsion tests in space.

scholarly journals A Novel Hybrid LDC Converter Topology for the Integrated On-Board Charger of Electric Vehicles

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3603
Author(s):  
Vu-Hai Nam ◽  
Duong-Van Tinh ◽  
Woojin Choi
Keyword(s):  
Low Voltage ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
Battery Charger ◽  
Forward Converter ◽  
Vehicle To Grid ◽  
Circulating Current ◽  
In Series ◽  
Converter Topology ◽  
Output Capacitor

Recently, the integrated On-Board Charger (OBC) combining an OBC converter with a Low-Voltage DC/DC Converter (LDC) has been considered to reduce the size, weight and cost of DC-DC converters in the EV system. This paper proposes a new integrated OBC converter with V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) and auxiliary battery charge functions. In the proposed integrated OBC converter, the OBC converter is composed of a bidirectional full-bridge converter with an active clamp circuit and a hybrid LDC converter with a Phase-Shift Full-Bridge (PSFB) converter and a forward converter. ZVS for all primary switches and nearly ZCS for the lagging switches can be achieved for all the operating conditions. In the secondary side of the proposed LDC converter, an additional circuit composed of a capacitor and two diodes is employed to clamp the oscillation voltage across rectifier diodes and to eliminate the circulating current. Since the output capacitor of the forward converter is connected in series with the output capacitor of the auxiliary battery charger, the energy from the propulsion battery can be delivered to the auxiliary battery during the freewheeling interval and it helps reduce the current ripple of the output inductor, leading to a smaller volume of the output inductor. A 1 kW prototype converter is implemented to verify the performance of the proposed topology. The maximum efficiency of the proposed converter achieved by the experiments is 96%.

scholarly journals Research on operating conditions of electric propulsion ships under transformer interturn short circuit

2021 ◽  
Vol 1976 (1) ◽  
pp. 012041
Author(s):  
Bo Ma ◽  
Xixiu Wu ◽  
Wenyu Ma ◽  
Qichao Zhang ◽  
Bowen Hou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electric Propulsion ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Operating Conditions

Experimental Investigation of Fuel Staging Effect on Modal Dynamics of Thermoacoustic Azimuthal Instabilities in a Multi-Nozzle Can Combustor

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Kim ◽  
W. Gillman ◽  
T. John ◽  
S. Adhikari ◽  
D. Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Standing Wave ◽  
Phase Difference ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Oscillatory Behavior ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Azimuthal Mode ◽  
Fuel Staging ◽  
Modal Dynamics

Abstract This paper analyzes the dynamics of unstable azimuthal thermoacoustic modes in a lean premixed combustor. Azimuthal modes can be decomposed into two counter rotating waves where they can either compete and potentially suppress one of them (spinning) or coexist (standing), depending on the operating conditions. This paper describes experimental results of the dynamical behaviors of these two waves. The experimental data were taken at different mass flow rates as well as different azimuthal fuel staging in a multi-nozzle can combustor. It is shown that at a low flow rate with uniform fuel distribution, the two waves have similar amplitudes, giving rise to a standing wave. However, the two amplitudes are slowly oscillating out of phase to each other, and the phase difference between the two waves also shows oscillatory behavior. For an intermediate flow rate, the dynamics show intermittency between standing and spinning waves, indicating that the system is bistable. In addition, the phase difference dramatically shifts when the mode switches between standing and spinning waves. For a high flow rate, the system stabilizes at a spinning wave most of the time. These experimental observations demonstrate that not only the amplitudes of two waves but also the phase difference plays an important role in the dynamics of azimuthal mode. For non-uniform azimuthal fuel staging, the modal dynamics exhibit only an oscillatory standing wave behavior regardless of the mass flow rate. Compared to the uniform fuel staging, however, the pressure magnitude is considerably reduced, which provides a potential strategy to mitigate and/or suppress the instabilities.

Marine Gas Turbine Performance Model for More Electric Ships

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
George M. Koutsothanasis ◽  
Anestis I. Kalfas ◽  
Georgios Doulgeris
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Diesel Engines ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Electric Propulsion ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Prime Mover ◽  
Creep Life ◽  
Hull Fouling ◽  
Turbine Performance

This paper presents the benefits of the more electric vessels powered by hybrid engines and investigates the suitability of a particular prime-mover for a specific ship type using a simulation environment which can approach the actual operating conditions. The performance of a mega yacht (70m), powered by two 4.5MW recuperated gas turbines is examined in different voyage scenarios. The analysis is accomplished for a variety of weather and hull fouling conditions using a marine gas turbine performance software which is constituted by six modules based on analytical methods. In the present study, the marine simulation model is used to predict the fuel consumption and emission levels for various conditions of sea state, ambient and sea temperatures and hull fouling profiles. In addition, using the aforementioned parameters, the variation of engine and propeller efficiency can be estimated. Finally, the software is coupled to a creep life prediction tool, able to calculate the consumption of creep life of the high pressure turbine blading for the predefined missions. The results of the performance analysis show that a mega yacht powered by gas turbines can have comparable fuel consumption with the same vessel powered by high speed Diesel engines in the range of 10MW. In such Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) environment the gas turbine provides a comprehensive candidate as a prime mover, mainly due to its compactness being highly valued in such application and its eco-friendly operation. The simulation of different voyage cases shows that cleaning the hull of the vessel, the fuel consumption reduces up to 16%. The benefit of the clean hull becomes even greater when adverse weather condition is considered. Additionally, the specific mega yacht when powered by two 4.2MW Diesel engines has a cruising speed of 15 knots with an average fuel consumption of 10.5 [tonne/day]. The same ship powered by two 4.5MW gas turbines has a cruising speed of 22 knots which means that a journey can be completed 31.8% faster, which reduces impressively the total steaming time. However the gas turbine powered yacht consumes 9 [tonne/day] more fuel. Considering the above, Gas Turbine looks to be the only solution which fulfills the next generation sophisticated high powered ship engine requirements.

Hydraulic Instability Onset Detection in Kaplan Turbines by Monitoring Shaft Vibrations

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Pennacchi ◽  
P. Borghesani ◽  
S. Chatterton ◽  
A. Vania
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Test ◽  
Turbine Unit ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Draft Tube ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Operating Life ◽  
Vortex Rope ◽  
Power Load ◽  
Helical Vortex

Design of hydraulic turbines has often to deal with hydraulic instability. It is well-known that Francis and Kaplan types present hydraulic instability in their design power range. Even if modern CFD tools may help to define these dangerous operating conditions and optimize runner design, hydraulic instabilities may fortuitously arise during the turbine life and should be timely detected in order to assure a long-lasting operating life. In a previous paper, the authors have considered the phenomenon of helical vortex rope, which happens at low flow rates when a swirling flow, in the draft tube conical inlet, occupies a large portion of the inlet. In this condition, a strong helical vortex rope appears. The vortex rope causes mechanical effects on the runner, on the whole turbine and on the draft tube, which may eventually produce severe damages on the turbine unit and whose most evident symptoms are vibrations. The authors have already shown that vibration analysis is suitable for detecting vortex rope onset, thanks to an experimental test campaign performed during the commissioning of a 23 MW Kaplan hydraulic turbine unit. In this paper, the authors propose a sophisticated data driven approach to detect vortex rope onset at different power load, based on the analysis of the vibration signals in the order domain and introducing the so-called “residual order spectrogram”, i.e. an order-rotation representation of the vibration signal. Some experimental test runs are presented and the possibility to detect instability onset, especially in real-time, is discussed.

scholarly journals Study of the possibility of obtaining nanocrystalline cellulose in a single stage plasma chemical process

2021 ◽  
pp. 17-23
Keyword(s):  
Microcrystalline Cellulose ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Discharge Current ◽  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
Chemical Process ◽  
Discharge Voltage ◽  
Nanocrystalline Cellulose ◽  
Plasma Chemical ◽  
Small Surface ◽  
Direct Current Discharge

The paper considers the possibility of obtaining nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) by gas-discharge treatment of aqueous suspensions of microcrystalline cellulose or filter paper. For processing, a direct current discharge was used at atmospheric pressure with a wa-ter cathode at a discharge current of 35 mA and a discharge voltage of 1500 V. It was found that the plasma-chemical treatment of cellulose-containing material in water without the use of other reagents leads to the release of NCC with relatively large parti-cle sizes and a small surface charge.

scholarly journals Algorithms and models of power losses in circuit breakers installed in networks

Vestnik MGTU ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-353
Author(s):  
E. I. Gracheva ◽  
A. N. Gorlov ◽  
A. N. Alimova
Keyword(s):  
Power Supply ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Technical Condition ◽  
Active Power ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Public Utility ◽  
Electrical Networks ◽  
Power Losses ◽  
Circuit Breakers ◽  
Technical Parameters

Determination of the main characteristics of the topology and technical condition of equipment underoperating conditions is necessary for analyzing and assessing power and electricity losses in intrashoplow-voltage industrial power supply networks. A comparative analysis of the technical characteristicsof automatic circuit breakers VA57-31 (KEAZ), NSX100 TM-D (Schneider Electric), DPX3 160 (Legrand), Tmax XT1 TMD (ABB) has shown that the main technical parameters of the machines are close in their values. At that it has been found out that automatic switches of the BA57-31 series have the lowest value of power losses per pole (7.5 W), whereas the automatic switches of the Tmax XT1 TMD series have the highest value (10 W). Thus, under the operating conditions of the equipment, the lowest value of power and electricity losses is characteristic of low-voltage electrical networks with installed circuit breakers of the BA57-31 series, and the highest value of losses is noted in in-shop systems with installed circuit breakers Tmax XT1 TMD. Using catalog data, the dependences of active power losses in circuit breakers on rated currents have been established; the algorithms have been developed and the obtained dependences have been modeled using approximating functions. The standard deviation of the compiled approximating functions has been calculated. Analytical expressions of the dynamics of power losses per pole have been determined as a function of the rated current. The graphical dependences of the investigated parameters of low-voltage equipment have been presented. The developed models are recommended to be used to increase the reliability of the assessment and refinement of the amount of active power and electricity losses in low-voltage electrical networks of industrial power supply systems, agrotechnical complexes, and enterprises of the public utility sector.

scholarly journals Prediction of Low-Voltage Tetrafluoromethane Emissions Based on the Operating Conditions of an Aluminium Electrolysis Cell

JOM ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 2472-2482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Dion ◽  
László I. Kiss ◽  
Sándor Poncsák ◽  
Charles-Luc Lagacé
Keyword(s):  
Low Voltage ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Electrolysis Cell ◽  
Aluminium Electrolysis
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document