TY - GEN
T1 - IR-assisted discharge initiation in pulsed plasma thrusters
AU - Cooley, James E.
AU - Choueiri, Edgar Y.
PY - 2002/12/1
Y1 - 2002/12/1
N2 - It is demonstrated that a discharge can be initiated in a pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) at an undervoltage by shining an IR laser pulse on the thruster's backplate. The technique has the potential for achieving uniform and erosion-free discharge initiation. Three candidate mechanisms are investigated: thermionic emission, cathode vaporization, and gas desorption. Mass spectroscopic measurements and theoretical calculations implicate water desorption from the backplate as the likely explanation for the observed effects. It is then shown that while thermionic emission was not operative in the experiments, it can be used as the basis of the design of a discharge initiator.
AB - It is demonstrated that a discharge can be initiated in a pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) at an undervoltage by shining an IR laser pulse on the thruster's backplate. The technique has the potential for achieving uniform and erosion-free discharge initiation. Three candidate mechanisms are investigated: thermionic emission, cathode vaporization, and gas desorption. Mass spectroscopic measurements and theoretical calculations implicate water desorption from the backplate as the likely explanation for the observed effects. It is then shown that while thermionic emission was not operative in the experiments, it can be used as the basis of the design of a discharge initiator.
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M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84896877451
SN - 9781624101151
T3 - 38th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit
BT - 38th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit
T2 - 38th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit 2002
Y2 - 7 July 2002 through 10 July 2002
ER -