Abstract
We present a characterization of the performance of a recently developed gas-fed pulsed plasma thruster (GF-PPT) at low discharge energies (≤5 J). The impulsive thrust measurements were made using EPPDyL’s high-accuracy interferometric microthrust stand. The thruster is best suited for small satellite applications and is operated in an unsteady pulsed mode (3 μs/pulse). It is the result of a series of design iterations aimed at achieving the highest thrust efficiencies for unsteady electromagnetic acceleration at low discharge energies. The use of advanced nonlinear magnetic switching technology, which insured a total system inductance of 3-4 nH, combined with an electrode geometry and radial gas injection that favor low profile losses, yielded a total efficiency of 50% at 5 J with argon (at an impulse bit of 32 μNs and a mass bit of.2 μg/shot). This is the highest measured efficiency ever reported for a PPT at this low energy level. Moreover, the low mass utilization efficiency problem that plagued previous gas-fed pulsed thrusters was solved using a scheme based on an allsolid- state modulator with IGBT commutation that allows high repetition rate pulsing of the discharge (5000 pps) developed at SRL Inc. The scheme results in a mass utilization efficiency close to 100%.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| State | Published - 1997 |
| Event | 33rd Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, 1997 - Seattle, United States Duration: Jul 6 1997 → Jul 9 1997 |
Other
| Other | 33rd Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, 1997 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Seattle |
| Period | 7/6/97 → 7/9/97 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Control and Systems Engineering
- Aerospace Engineering