| Autor: |
L. N. Myrabo, J. P. Moder, J. K. Nelson, L. Salasoo |
| Rok vydání: |
2006 |
| Předmět: |
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| Zdroj: |
AIP Conference Proceedings. |
| ISSN: |
0094-243X |
| DOI: |
10.1063/1.2203305 |
| Popis: |
The thrust and flight performance of a novel airbreathing ion propulsion concept was analyzed for a 20‐m diameter microwave‐propelled Lightcraft. Two sample vehicle/charge cloud geometries were modeled using an axisymmetric Finite Element Analysis (FEM) electrostatic package to determine the charge and electric field distributions, as well as the thrust force on the vehicle. A 2‐D cartesian analysis was then employed to approximately model three additional geometries in which the vehicle and charge cloud axes of symmetry did not coincide. In each case, the amount of charge ejected from the vehicle was such that the maximum electric field at the vehicle surface corresponded to the breakdown value for NTP air, ∼2.99 MV/m. The maximum electrostatic force was calculated for each of the three cloud/vehicle configurations. Estimates of the characteristic velocities for equilibrium flight were calculated, and variations in vehicle flight orientation were considered in order to achieve a compromise between aerodynamic benefits and maximum electrostatic force. |
| Databáze: |
OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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