Multiscale Simulation of Electric Propulsion Effects on Active Spacecraft

The simulation of the impact of small-scale components on the electrostatic charging of a spacecraft requires the implementation of new multiscale numerical schemes. For instance, resolving the solar array interconnects is needed to accurately simulate the current collection by a satellite with elec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIEEE transactions on plasma science Vol. 45; no. 8; pp. 2019 - 2024
Main Authors Brunet, Antoine, Sarrailh, Pierre, Mateo-Velez, Jean-Charles, Siguier, Jean-Michel, Rogier, Francois, Roussel, Jean-Francois, Payan, Denis
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 01.08.2017
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Subjects
Computational modeling
Computer Science
Convergence
Electric propulsion
High Energy Physics - Theory
Integrated circuit interconnections
Ions
Modeling and Simulation
multiscale
numerical methods
Numerical models
patch method
Physics
Plasma Physics
plasma simulation
Plasmas
Space Physics
Space vehicles
PLASMA SIMULATION
PATCH METHOD
MULTISCALE
ELECTRIC PROPULSION
NUMERICAL METHODS
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Summary:The simulation of the impact of small-scale components on the electrostatic charging of a spacecraft requires the implementation of new multiscale numerical schemes. For instance, resolving the solar array interconnects is needed to accurately simulate the current collection by a satellite with electric propulsion. We here present an implementation of the nonlinear patch method in the Spacecraft Plasma Interaction Software (SPIS) simulation code. This method allows for local mesh refinements by embedding a local patch in a relatively coarse mesh and iteratively solving on the different meshes. The nonlinear patch method and its SPIS implementation are detailed, and numerical simulations are provided, showing the flexibility and the efficiency of the proposed method. A simulation of a complete geostationary telecom satellite with detailed solar array interconnect is proposed.
ISSN:0093-3813
1939-9375
DOI:10.1109/TPS.2017.2691907