工质对射频放电模式转换特性的影响
收稿日期: 2025-08-31
修回日期: 2025-09-23
录用日期: 2025-10-28
网络出版日期: 2025-11-03
基金资助
国家自然科学基金(52572464);国家自然科学基金(12505292);国家自然科学基金(T2221002)
Influence of propellant on radio-frequency discharge modes transition characteristics
Received date: 2025-08-31
Revised date: 2025-09-23
Accepted date: 2025-10-28
Online published: 2025-11-03
Supported by
National Natural Science Foundation of China(52572464)
射频等离子体推力器作为一种无电极式电推力器，是超低轨道吸气式电推进系统实现长寿命运行的优选推力器方案。环境参数对射频等离子体推力器的放电模式及其转换特性影响显著，直接决定了推力器的宽范围工作稳定性。利用朗缪尔探针、发射光谱等试验装置，测量了不同工质种类、比例和流量工况条件下，等离子体密度和光谱强度随射频功率的变化规律，进而分析工质对于射频放电模式转换特性的影响规律。氩气在射频功率300 W时发生从容性耦合等离子体放电模式到感性耦合等离子体放电模式的转换，且等离子体密度和光谱强度跳变规律一致。氮气因电离能较高，放电模式转换所需射频功率阈值显著高于氧气，且在氮氧混合气体中，氧气比例增加可降低转换阈值，但高比例的氧气会因电负性效应易形成负离子，抑制自由电子密度。流量增加会导致气体驻留时间缩短、电子-中性粒子碰撞频率升高、电离效率降低、模式转换所需射频功率阈值升高。研究结果为揭示射频等离子体放电模式转换特性、优化宽域条件下射频等离子体推力器的工作参数提供了重要试验依据。
张宇 , 方涛 , 王陈文 , 郑鹏 , 吴建军 , 钟宇轩 . 工质对射频放电模式转换特性的影响[J]. 航空学报, 2026 , 47(8) : 132732 -132732 . DOI: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.32732
Radio-frequency plasma thrusters， as a type of electrode-less electric thruster， represent a preferred thruster solution for the long-duration operation of air-breathing electric propulsion systems in very low Earth orbits. However， ambient parameters significantly influence the radio-frequency discharge modes and the transition characteristics， which directly determine the thruster’s operational stability under a wide range of conditions. We employed test diagnostic apparatus such as Langmuir probes and optical emission spectroscopy to measure the variations of plasma density and spectral intensity with radio-frequency power under different working conditions， including propellant type， mixture ratio， and flow rate. The influence of the propellant on the transition characteristics of radio-frequency discharge modes was subsequently analyzed. For argon， the discharge mode transition from capacitively coupled plasma to inductively coupled plasma occurs at 300 W， accompanied by consistent jumps in plasma density and spectral intensity. Due to its higher ionization energy， the required radio-frequency power threshold for discharge mode transition is significantly higher for nitrogen than for oxygen. In nitrogen-oxygen mixtures， an increased oxygen proportion reduces the transition threshold； however， a high oxygen fraction can facilitate the formation of negative ions due to its electronegativity， thereby suppressing the free electron density. The threshold of radio-frequency power for mode transition increases with the increase of gas flow rate， driven by the reduced gas residence time， the heightened electron-neutral collision frequency， and the consequent decline in ionization efficiency. The results provide important test evidence for elucidating the characteristics of radio-frequency plasma discharge mode transitions and for optimizing the operational parameters of radio-frequency plasma thrusters under wide-range conditions.
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