Prediction of Basic Operation of Electro-Spray Thrusters Using High Fidelity Modeling
Abstract
Electro-spray (ES) thrusters for in-space propulsion operate using ionic liquids that may be colloidal or metal as propellant. Individual ES devices generate very small thrust and impulse bits that are ideal for fine pointing missions. The Air Force has a more significant need for large-scale thrust levels required for station keeping, orbit raising, and orbit transfer. ES systems are of interest because they provide a specific impulse that may be tailored by the propellant, high thrust through the application of many devices in parallel, and all achieved at potentially high efficiencies of about 80 percent. There are significant fundamental challenges for the integration of the large numbers of devices needed for Air Force missions including: (1) failure modes of ES thrusters; (2) determining the lifetime of ES thrusters; and (3) understanding any crosstalk between adjacent thrusters. We are pursuing a comprehensive research project to address these gaps: Model Development: The key developments needed to model electro-spray systems are treatment of ionic-liquid physics, consideration of multiple emission sites, and extension to three dimensions. Model Benchmarking.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 10, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1230372
Entities
People
- Iain D. Boyd
Organizations
- Regents of the University of Colorado