Evolution of small-space plasma in a microthruster designed for small spacecraft
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OWTEMPERATURE PLASMA
Evolution of SmallSpace Plasma in a Microthruster Designed for Small Spacecraft1 A. M. Farahata, b and E. Ramadanc a
College of Applied and Supporting Studies, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, 31261 Saudi Arabia b Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Moharam Beek, Alexandria University, 21511 Egypt c Department of Information and Computer Science, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, 31261 Saudi Arabia email: [email protected] Received December 30, 2013; in final form, May 19, 2014
Abstract—Plasma and gas particle dynamics in atmospheric pressure heliumfilled small volume are investi gated using a twodimensional model. The model includes the conservation equations for the plasma and the neutral gas. In this paper, results are presented from simulation of the interaction between gas and charged species, which in turn causes heating and thrust generation for this microengine. Gas heating and neutral depletion initiations are observed, highlighting the close interaction between gas and charged species in gov erning the evolution of the smallspace plasma inside a microthruster designed for microsatellites. DOI: 10.1134/S1063780X14110026 1
1. INTRODUCTION
The third millennium has started not very long ago and brought us a new stage of development of tiny space vehicles: micro and nanosatellites. Micro and nanosatellites are widely used for scientific missions such as earth remote sensing, ecological monitoring, earthquake predicting, and ionosphere studying. In the 1990s, universities and small private companies spent a lot of time on the design and development of micro and nanosatellites. The term “microsatellite,” or “microsat,” is usually applied to satellites with a mass between 10 and 100 kg. The term “nanosatel lite,” or “nanosat,” on the other hand, is usually applied to a satellite with a mass between 1 and 10 kg. Miniaturization of spacecraft helps one to reduce the overall mission costs, greatly increase the launch rates, and simplify the structure, leading to short develop ment periods. Reducing a microspacecraft’s size means shrinking the scale of its components, includ ing the propulsion system. Various microthrusters have been proposed for microspacecraft applications and are under significant development. The concept of electrothermal (ET) propulsion has been known for some time, and differ ent types of electrical thruster are being developed and tested. The fundamental principle of ET propulsion is to apply electrical heating from an external power source. The specific ET thruster studied generates plasma to increase the heat of the bulk propellant. The thermal energy imparted to the propellant gas is then 1
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converted into kinetic energy by a nozzle. Low molec ular weight gases are preferred propellants (e.g., hydrogen, helium, and ammonia) for this kind of sys tem. The advantage of electric rockets over conven tional chemical ones is that they are capable of pro du
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