Coupled attitude-vibration analysis of an E-sail using absolute nodal coordinate formulation
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Vol. 4, No. 3, 249–263, 2020
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-020-0081-x
Coupled attitude-vibration analysis of an E-sail using absolute nodal coordinate formulation Ce Zhao1 , Mingying Huo1 (), Ji Qi2 , Shilei Cao1 , Dongfang Zhu3 , Lujun Sun3 , Hongli Sun3 , and Naiming Qi1 1. School of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China 2. Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA 3. Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, Shanghai 201109, China
ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS
In this study, the effects of solar wind on an electric sail (E-sail) are modeled and analyzed
E-sail
using an absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF). First, the thrust of the charged
absolute nodal coordinate
metal tether that makes up the E-sail was analyzed and a model was established. Numerical simulations of a single metal tether were performed. Then, an overall E-sail model was
formulation dynamic model
established using the connection matrix, and E-sails subjected to different angular velocities were compared. Simulation results of the ANCF model and a dumbbell model were compared at different angular velocities. The results confirm that with a relatively high angular velocity,
Research Article Received: 27 January 2020
the flexible metal chain can be approximately regarded as a rigid body. However, with a
Accepted: 11 April 2020
small angular velocity, the flexibility of the metal chain cannot be ignored.
© Tsinghua University Press
2020
1
Introduction
With time, remote space exploration and the use of distant space resources will gradually gain widespread research attention. Discovering an efficient interplanetary propulsion method is a key step in accomplishing this task. The electric sail (E-sail) is an emerging propulsion method that was first proposed by the Finnish researcher, Janhunen in 2004 [1]. Janhunen proved the possibility of the E-sail for space exploration through a series of theoretical analysis and research [2]. Unlike solar sails whose power source is the sunlight pressure, the E-sail uses the kinetic energy of the charged solar wind particles. E-sails consist of hundreds of long, thin metal tethers [5]. The solar gun on a spacecraft ejects electrons outwards to maintain a high positive potential of the metal tether. The charged metal tethers repel solar wind protons, thereby using the kinetic energy of solar wind to push the spacecraft forward. This propulsion method does not consume any propellant [3, 4]. Hence, the E-sail is suitable for longterm space missions, such as interstellar orbit transfer,
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solar system exploration [6, 7], gravitational trailer missions, suspension orbit, halo orbit, and in heliocentric low-thrust propulsion. Theoretical analysis and experiments have shown that E-sails can produce greater propulsive acceleration with a smaller propulsion system mass than the well-known solar sails [8]. Furthermore, an E-sail can generate torque by adjusting the voltage distri
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