用于吸气式电推进系统的射频等离子体推力器实验测试

doi:10.7527/S1000-6893.2024.30144

Abstract

Abstract:

The Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion （ABEP） technology can capture the rarefied atmosphere as the propellant for electric thrusters， potentially meeting the thrust requirements of Ultra-Low Earth Orbit （ULEO） satellites during operation without carrying any propellant from the ground. This paper designs a RadioFrequency （RF） plasma thruster through adding a nozzle and an enhanced magnetic field based on the Inductively Coupled Plasma （ICP） source. The main atmospheric components in the ULEO are nitrogen and atomic oxygen. Given the low ionization energy of atomic oxygen and its difficulty in storage and use under ground conditions， experiments were conducted on the thruster using nitrogen as the propellant with different gas flows， RF powers， and magnetic field settings.Results indicate that the use of the enhanced magnetic field can effectively improve the thrust and specific impulse of the thruster， and achieve full compensation for the sparse atmospheric drag within a certain orbital range， thus providing an effective approach for the development and application of ABEP systems.

Key words: ultra-low Earth orbit, inductively coupled plasma, enhanced magnetic field, thrust, specific impulse

CLC Number:

V439

Peng ZHENG, Jianjun WU, Yu ZHANG, Yuxuan ZHONG. Experimental testing of inductively coupled radiofrequency plasma thruster for atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system[J]. Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica, 2024, 45(21): 130144.

Figures/Tables 13

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References 26

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序号	工质流量/sccm	射频功率/W	附加磁场设置
1	20	100，150，200	有，无
2	40	100，150，200	有，无
3	60	100，150，200	有，无
4	80	100，150，200	有，无
5	100	100，150，200	有，无
6	120	100，150，200	有，无
7	140	100，150，200	有，无
8	160	100，150，200	有，无
9	180	100，150，200	有，无
10	200	100，150，200	有，无

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Experimental testing of inductively coupled radiofrequency plasma thruster for atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system

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