Electrohydrodynamic thruster for near-space applications
Studies of the lifting force of an electrohydrodynamic thruster based on a corona discharge in wire-to-cylinder geometry in a rarefied atmosphere have been carried out. Electrohydrodynamic cell parameters at three interelectrode gaps of 50, 100, and 150 mm and at pressures from 1 to 0.05 atm with po...
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Published in | Acta astronautica Vol. 180; pp. 141 - 148 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Elmsford
Elsevier Ltd
01.03.2021
Elsevier BV |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Studies of the lifting force of an electrohydrodynamic thruster based on a corona discharge in wire-to-cylinder geometry in a rarefied atmosphere have been carried out. Electrohydrodynamic cell parameters at three interelectrode gaps of 50, 100, and 150 mm and at pressures from 1 to 0.05 atm with positive corona discharge were investigated. The experimental system included a vacuum chamber, an EHD thruster, a high voltage power source (HVDC), and a thrust, voltage, and current acquisition system was created. The effectiveness of the thruster reached 26 mN/W at atmospheric pressure at a 150 mm gap. At a pressure of 0.05 atm (corresponds to an altitude of 20 km) the maximum thrust per unit length was 1.8 mN/m and the thrust-to-power ratio was 0.5 mN/W. Theoretical and experimental data on the normalized effectiveness on the altitude of the thruster were obtained.
•Electrohydrodynamic thruster performance at the lower boundary of the near-space was studied.•Thruster efficiency reached 26 mN/W at 1 atm.•The thrust per unit length of 1.8 mN/m and the effectiveness of 0.5 mN/W at pressure of 0.05 atm was achieved. |
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ISSN: | 0094-5765 1879-2030 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.12.002 |