Three-Dimensional Magnetohydrodynamic Analysis of a Magnetic Sail Using a Deployable Modular Structure

Abstract

To obtain significant drag from a magnetic sail, it is necessary to generate a large magnetic moment. However, even with superconducting coils, a coil radius of several kilometers is required to obtain a significant drag force due to the magnetic moment generated by the coil alone. Therefore, several methods have been proposed to expand the magnetosphere generated by the coil, such as mini-magnetospheric plasma propulsion devices. This paper proposes a method to expand the magnetosphere and increase the drag by arranging multiple coils printed on a thin membrane in a deployable modular structure. To investigate the increased drag achieved by using this arrangement, a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic analysis is performed, and the drag coefficient and the shape of the magnetosphere are compared for several different coil arrangements and distances between coils. It is found that the drag force depends on the coil arrangement and that the effect is related to changes in the structure of the magnetosphere.