Analysis of Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion
Analysis of Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion
复制标题
DOI：
10.1109/tps.2014.2364053
复制
发表时间：
2015
影响因子：
1.5
通讯作者：
T. Schonherr;K. Komurasaki;F. Romanò;B. Massuti-Ballester;G. Herdrich
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
T. Schonherr;K. Komurasaki;F. Romanò;B. Massuti-Ballester;G. Herdrich
为了延长低地球轨道（LEO）及以下（100-250公里高度）商业和科学卫星的寿命，近年来在吸气式电力推进和束能推进系统领域的活动有所增加。然而，初步研究表明，在这些高度静电推进所需的推进剂流量超过了在合理范围内可能的质量进气，并且由于氧气流引起的电极侵蚀可能会限制最终推进器系统的寿命。然而，脉冲等离子体推力器（PPT）可以在较小的质量进气和相对较低的功率下成功运行。这使其成为低轨道空气呼吸应用的一个有趣的候选者，本文对其可行性进行了研究。对这种吸气式PPT系统的分析表明，在150至250公里的高度，假设推力功率比为30 mN/kW，比冲为5000 s，阻力补偿至少部分可行。此外，为了避免电极侵蚀，讨论了感应加热电热等离子体发生器技术，以得出一种可能的推进系统，该系统可以处理气体推进剂而不会产生不利的副作用。目前的技术可用于每1毫克/秒的质量流量产生约4.4毫的推力，这足以补偿高度在150至250公里之间的小型卫星的阻力。
To extend the lifetime of commercial and scientific satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and below (100-250 km of altitude) recent years showed an increased activity in the field of air-breathing electric propulsion as well as beamed-energy propulsion systems. However, preliminary studies showed that the propellant flow necessary for electrostatic propulsion at these altitudes exceeds the mass intake possible within reasonable limits, and that electrode erosion due to oxygen flow might limit the lifetime of eventual thruster systems. The pulsed plasma thruster (PPT), however, can be successfully operated with smaller mass intake and at relatively low power. This makes it an interesting candidate for air-breathing application in LEO and its feasibility is investigated within this paper. An analysis of such an air-breathing PPT system shows that for altitudes between 150 and 250 km, drag compensation is at least partially feasible assuming a thrust-to-power ratio of 30 mN/kW and a specific impulse of 5000 s. Further, to avoid electrode erosion, inductively heated electrothermal plasma generator technology is discussed to derive a possible propulsion system that can handle gaseous propellant without unfavorable side effects. Current technology can be used to create an estimated 4.4 mN of thrust per 1 mg/s of mass flow rate, which is sufficient to compensate the drag for small satellites in altitudes between 150 and 250 km.