A Novel Transversal-Feed Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Thruster: Design and Plasma Characteristics Analysis-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

A Novel Transversal-Feed Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Thruster: Design and Plasma Characteristics Analysis

Published:2023-10-01 Issue:10 Volume:10 Page:865
ISSN:2226-4310
Container-title:Aerospace
language:en
Short-container-title:Aerospace

Author:

Han Yajie¹²,Xia Guangqing¹²³,Sun Bin¹²,Zhang Junjun¹²,Chen Liuwei¹²,Lu Chang¹²³

Affiliation:

1. State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis, Optimization and CAE Software for Industrial Equipment, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

2. Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Aerospace Vehicles of Liaoning Province, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

3. Collaborative Innovation Center of Micro & Nano Satellites of Hebei Province, North China Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Langfang 065000, China

Abstract

This paper presents the development, analysis, and performance evaluation of a novel transversal-feed Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Thruster (ECRPT). The ECRPT operates based on the transversal-feed principle and incorporates optimized structural design. Through extensive simulation of the S-parameters of the antenna, optimal antenna sizes are determined for both coaxial and transversal-feed configurations. Additionally, the electric field intensity of the antenna is simulated for both feed structures, revealing higher electric field intensity in the transversal structure, thereby promoting discharge. We employ the drift-diffusion model to calculate the number density of electrons in the discharge chamber and ascertain that the number density can reach an order of magnitude of 1018 m−3. Experimental discharge tests are conducted under various microwave power conditions, demonstrating that the thruster can initiate and cease operation with an incident power as low as 5 W, significantly lower than that of traditional coaxial feed structures. At a power level of 20 W, the ion current density can attain 3 A/m2. Moreover, the transversal-feed thruster exhibits exceptional performance when the power exceeds 10 W, and the propellant flow rate ranges from 0.5 SCCM to 5 SCCM. The superior performance characteristics of the proposed thruster configuration make it a promising candidate for applications demanding efficient and low-power plasma propulsion systems.

Funder

National Key R&D Program of China

National Natural Science Foundation of China

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China

S&T Program of Hebei

S&T Innovation Program of Hebei

S&T Program of Langfang

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Aerospace Engineering

Link

https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/10/10/865/pdf

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