Abstract
To determine the relationship between the characteristic parameters of ignition reliability of a pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) and the effects of the discharge energy on these parameters, PPT reliability tests were performed in this study, including two propellants which are traditional polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and PTFE mixed with carbon, respectively. By recording the ignition failure rate and analyzing the discharge delay time, it was possible to determine the PPT ignition reliability with different propellants, providing a new research solution for analyzing PPT ignition reliability. The results show that under different discharge voltages, the variation regularity of the discharge delay time of PPT using PTFE is obviously different with the increase of ignition times. When the discharge voltage is 1kV, the discharge delay time increases from 1μs to 15μs. It obviously increases at the initial stage, and then rises with fluctuation, accompanied by ignition fault. When the discharge voltages are 1250V and 1500V, the discharge delay time fluctuates within 1μs to 5μs, respectively, and no ignition fault occurs. The discharge delay threshold of PTFE mixed with carbon changes exponentially with the discharge voltage.
| Translated title of the contribution | Experimental Study on Ignition Reliability of Pulsed Plasma Thrusters |
|---|---|
| Original language | Chinese (Traditional) |
| Pages (from-to) | 205-211 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Tuijin Jishu/Journal of Propulsion Technology |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2020 |