Evaluation of the efficiency of a small-sized electrothermal micro-thrusters with autonomous heating elements

Abstract

Abstract The work is aimed at solving urgent tasks – improving the efficiency of electrothermal micro-thrusters (ETMT) for microsatellites weighing up to 50 kg. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of a small-sized ETMT with Autonomous heating element (AHE) with a diameter of 4 mm on the basis of experimental studies. In the course of experimental studies, the ETMT temperature characteristics were determined for electrical power consumption in the range of 3-30 W using “cold” and “hot” switching schemes. The effectiveness of small ETMT with AHE diameter of 4 mm is a significant increase in temperature AHE and, as a result of heating of the working fluid and reducing the time of reaching the stationary mode of operation compared to ETMT with AHE diameter of 6 mm. The results of experimental studies have shown that a small-sized ETMT be successfully used in microsatellites correction propulsion system (CPS) with a power output of 10-30 W.