用于吸气式电推进系统的射频等离子体推力器实验测试  

Experimental testing of inductively coupled radiofrequency plasma thruster for atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system

作　　者：郑鹏 吴建军[1] 张宇[1] 钟宇轩 ZHENG Peng;WU Jianjun;ZHANG Yu;ZHONG Yuxuan(College of Aerospace Science and Engineering,National University of Defense Technology,Changsha 410073,China)

机构地区：[1]国防科技大学空天科学学院,长沙410073

出　　处：《航空学报》2024年第21期207-217,共11页Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica

基　　金：国家自然科学基金(T2221002);湖南省自然科学基金(2024JJ5405)。

摘　　要：吸气式电推进系统能够摄取稀薄大气作为电推力器的推进工质,有望在不从地面携带推进剂的条件下,满足超低轨道飞行器长期在轨运行期间的推进动力需求。基于感性耦合等离子体源,添加了物理喷管和附加增强磁场,设计了一种用于吸气式电推进系统的射频等离子体推力器。超低轨道大气的主要成分为氮气和原子氧,鉴于原子氧电离能低,且难以在地面条件下储存使用,使用氮气工质对推力器在不同工质流量、射频功率和磁场设置条件下的推力性能进行了测试。结果表明,使用附加增强磁场能够有效提高推力器的推力和比冲大小,并在一定轨道范围内实现稀薄大气阻力完全补偿,为超低轨道吸气式电推进系统的研制与应用提供了有效技术途径。The Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion(ABEP) technology can capture the rarefied atmosphere as the propellant for electric thrusters,potentially meeting the thrust requirements of Ultra-Low Earth Orbit(ULEO) satellites during operation without carrying any propellant from the ground.This paper designs a RadioFrequency(RF) plasma thruster through adding a nozzle and an enhanced magnetic field based on the Inductively Coupled Plasma(ICP) source.The main atmospheric components in the ULEO are nitrogen and atomic oxygen.Given the low ionization energy of atomic oxygen and its difficulty in storage and use under ground conditions,experiments were conducted on the thruster using nitrogen as the propellant with different gas flows,RF powers,and magnetic field settings.Results indicate that the use of the enhanced magnetic field can effectively improve the thrust and specific im-pulse of the thruster,and achieve full compensation for the sparse atmospheric drag within a certain orbital range,thus providing an effective approach for the development and application of ABEP systems.

关 键 词：超低轨道 感性耦合等离子体 增强磁场 推力 比冲 

分 类 号：V439[航空宇航科学与技术—航空宇航推进理论与工程]