Microwave Electrothermal Thruster Performance

Autor:	Byron Zeigler, R. B. Cohen, Kevin D. Diamant
Rok vydání:	2007
Předmět:	Propellant Materials science Residual gas analyzer business.industry Mechanical Engineering Electrical engineering Aerospace Engineering Thrust Fuel Technology Space and Planetary Science Cavity magnetron Gas constant Specific energy Specific impulse Atomic physics business Microwave
Zdroj:	Journal of Propulsion and Power. 23:27-34
ISSN:	1533-3876 0748-4658
DOI:	10.2514/1.19571
Popis:	Thrust, specific impulse, thrust efficiency, and coupling efficiency were measured for a nominally 1 kW microwave electrothermal thruster operating on He, N 2 , and N 2 O, and for a 5 kW model operating on water. For He, N 2 , and N 2 O, thrust varied from approximately 100 to 700 mN at discharge pressures from 6.7 x 10 4 to 2.7 x 105 Pa and magnetron input powers from 900 to 1500 W. Thrust measurements agree well with calculations assuming one-dimensional, isentropic flow of a perfect gas with constant specific heats. Peak specific impulses for He, N 2 , and N 2 O were 418, 243, and 209 s, respectively. Water was run at magnetron input powers from 2.1 to 4.1 kW and discharge pressures from 4.0 x 10 4 to 1.5 x 10 5 Pa. Thrust varied from approximately 100 to 250 mN with a peak specific impulse of 428 s. Incorporating an impedance matching capability improved coupling efficiency with water to over 96%, but did not increase specific impulse. Measurements with a residual gas analyzer indicate that the water plume may be 50 to 70% dissociated, and that the lack of dependence of specific impulse on specific energy results from a tradeoff between dissociation losses at low specific energy and heating of the thruster body at high specific energy.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::039e7271cb968068c218684e3384b1b3 https://doi.org/10.2514/1.19571 Zobrazit plný text záznamu