Firing test and evaluation of coaxial pulsed plasma thruster

Abstract

Abstract For many reasons, electrical propulsion systems are the most expected in space; they are suitable for researchers because they are effective, easy to design and applicable in space. One of the most important parameters that could assess the performance of the propulsion system is the problem of measuring the very low thrust of pulsed plasma thrusters (PPTs). Various test beds, including indirect designs of measuring systems such as pendulums and optical measuring systems, can measure the thrust with very high precision, but it is very complicated. This paper presents the firing test of a new designed coaxial pulsed plasma thruster for proofing the concept and then the thrust is measured by a new simple test bed using a rod in accordance with a loading cell (0-100 gf.) which can measure thrust accurately after good calibration up to μgf. In a medium-sized vacuum chamber (VC) (10−5 bar, D= 1 m and L= 1.4 m), a coaxial PPT is designed and tested under environmental conditions in space. Four proofs of concept took place until the experiment was adjusted and six experiments were carried out to measure the thrust using the new test bed under various operating conditions. Evaluation of the system is presented too and the maximum thrust obtained is 0.68mN at the discharge voltage equals 7kV and the 12kV voltage of the spark plug initiator and the efficiency equals 10%. The steps of fabrication of the coaxial PPT and steps of measuring the thrust is presented in the paper beside the result charts of the thrust under different operating conditions.