Optimizing ideal ion propulsion systems depending on the nature of the propellant
Journal Title: INCAS BULLETIN - Year 2016, Vol 8, Issue 4
Abstract
From all accounts the ion thrusters are characterized by the fact that they produce a very high exhaust velocity and specific impulse, sometimes too high for many missions. The exhaust velocity of the ionized particles is a function of the ratio between electrical charge and mass. The obvious solution is the use of ions with low electrical charge – mass ratio, but many of these substances have a corrosive effect on the acceleration grids, they are toxic and hard to store on board the spacecraft. Currently the most used propellant for the ionic propulsion systems is xenon gas having many advantages, but it is expensive when compared to other propellants. The current paper aims to make an optimization study of ideal ion thrusters depending on the nature of the propellant using for studying a significant number of substances. It will study the variation of the performances: force, specific impulse, efficiency, etc for the same power available on board, for the same accelerating voltage and the same ionic current.
Authors and Affiliations
Grigore CICAN, Ionut-Florian POPA
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP249362
- DOI 10.13111/2066-8201.2016.8.4.8
- Views 75
- Downloads 0
Analysis of entropy production in some enclosed subsystems where spontaneous processes take place
It is well-known that every spontaneous process occurring in an isolated system is accompanied by increasing entropy. The goal of this paper is to show that if the system is made of several subsystems, the entropy produc...
Flow visualization techniques, new developments and modernization of the existing Schlieren system in the Trisonic Wind Tunnel
Schlieren flow visualization methods are an important part of high speed wind tunnel testing, being a fast and reliable method of graphically presenting complex dynamic phenomena that occur in high subsonic, transonic an...
Air Quality – monitoring and modelling
Air pollution is a major concern for all nations, regardless of their development. The rapid growth of the industrial sector and urban development have lead to significant quantities of substances and toxic materials, mo...
Safety Culture in Modern Aviation Systems – Civil and Military
Understanding important aspects of the safety culture should be the main objective for identifying hazards, mitigate and manage risk and find solutions to problems before accidents and incidents occur. The two defining e...
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF ICE ACCRETION ON AIRFOIL
This work consists in the simulation of the ice accretion in the leading edge of aerodynamic profiles and our proposed model encompasses: geometry generation, calculation of the potential flow around the body, boundary l...