ELECTRIC PROPULSION

Akash Kumar Chanchal

16AE60R08
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INTRODUCTION

The Class of Propulsion devices that use electric power

to generate thrust.

It uses the electric energy to change the velocity of a

spacecraft by electrically discharging propellant at high
speed.

Variety of designs to accelerate ions or plasma .

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 HISTORY OF ELECTRIC PROPULSION
The idea of electric propulsion
dates back to 1911, introduced
by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky .

In 1964, ZOND 2- 1 st spacecraft

to successfully use electric
propulsion. It was carrying 6
Pulsed plasma thrusters (PPTs)
with 70 minute of operation .

Source: Jahn & Choueiri,2002

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 WHY ELECTRIC PROPULSION ??

Higher Exhaust Speed than Chemical rockets.

= ; =
Continuous Propulsion: Provides a smaller thrust for a
longer time.

Reduced launch mass and launch cost.

High specific Impulse.

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 TYPES OF ELECTRIC PROPULSION

Electron ion thruster (Electrostatic device)

Arc-jet & Resistojet thruster (Electrothermal device)

Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster(MPDs) & Pulsed plasma

thrusters(PPTs). (Electromagnetic device )

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ELECTRON ION THRUSTER

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ION THRUSTER: COMPONENTS.

Propellant
It produces thrust by accelerating line
positively charged ions in an Ion source
electrostatic field.
Primary parts:- a) Ion thruster
Accelerating
b) Power Processing Unit (P.P.U)
electrode
c) Propellant feed mechanism
d) Digital Control & Interface Unit
Neutralizer
(D.C.I.U.)
A Propellant (Mostly Xenon) is Battery
fed into the chamber .

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 ION PROPULSION: PRESENT AND
FUTURE
DAWN: 1st Spacecraft mission launched by NASA to orbit two
extraterrestrial bodies; VESTA & CERES using Ion thrusters.

Now being used to keep over 100 Geosynchronous Earth Orbit

communication satellites in their desired locations.

NEXT NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster. Tested for 51000 hr.

The Annular Engine.- 2 times greater thrust than NEXT.

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DAWN SPACECRAFT- AN APPICATION OF ION
THRUSTER

Source: NASA Glenn Research

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POTENTIAL FAILURE MODES
Electron back streaming .

Structure failure of ion extraction grids due to erosion .

Neutralizer Cathode failure.

Discharge cathode Failure.

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 ELECTROTHERMAL THRUSTERS

Electric energy is used to heat the propellant.

Propellant is heated electrically and is thermodynamically
expanded and the heated gas is accelerated through a
nozzle similar to the chemical rocket.
In terms of propellant heating, this family can be divided
into 3 subclasses:
1) Resistojets
2) Arcjets
3) Inductively and radiatively heated devices .

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 RESISTOJETS
High resistance metal parts are directly heated
electrically.
In turn the propellant is heated by convective
contact with these very hot metals.
Thrust can be steady or pulsed.
Typical propellants used include hydrogen, helium,
ammonia, nitrogen, water and carbon dioxide.

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BASIC PRINCIPLE

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 POWER AUGMENTED ELECTRO-THERMAL
HYDRAZINE THRUSTER

It is a hybrid of a conventional electrothermal thruster (using hydrazine) and

a monopropellant chemical hydrazine thruster.
Additional ohmic heating allows 35-40% increase in performance.
Longer steady burns are needed to yield precise pulse control.
One example of a flight unit is IntelSat V.

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 APPLICATIONS:

Satellite 1st Flight Propellant Power usage Use of

/thruster(kW) Resistojet
VELA 1965 N2 0.09 Phase & spin
adjustment

ATS-D,E 1968 NH3 0.03 Attitude control

INTEL SAT V 1981 N2H4 0.55 N/S Station

keeping

SATCOM 1R 1983 N2H4 0.60 N/S Station

keeping

UoSAT-12 1999 N2O 0.1 Orbit

adjustment

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Micro- Resistojet Future of Resistojet thrusters
A miniature device developed at TU-Delft fabricated in silicon
MEMS technology.

Can be used for Attitude control of Nano-satellites.

Thrust range : N to mN.

Low power and propellant consumption.

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MICRO RESISTOJET

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DESIGN OF THE MICRO RESISTOJET THRUSTER

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THRUST VS. CHAMBER PRESSURE

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 LIMITATIONS:

Excessive Heating - Chamber temp. 3000 K

Life of the heater & electrical connections .

Thrust and specific impulse are limited by the material
properties of the resistor.
Specific Impulse is less compared to Electron ion
thrusters.

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 ARCJETS

In case of Arcjets, the propellant is heated by an electric

arc driven through it.

The arc stretches between the tip of the central cathode

and the annular anode.

Arcjet overcomes the temperature and specific impulse

limitations of the resistojet thrusters.

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24
WORKING PRINCIPLE

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LOW-POWER AUGMENTED ARCJET (MR 507)
Propellant Hydrazine
Steady thrust 0.2 0.22 N
Chamber pressure 350 480 kPa
Power control unit 1800 W
Input voltage 65 96 V
Efficiency 50 60 %
Exhaust Velocity 4922 m/s
Life span 870 hours
Specific Impulse 502 s

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PRIMARY LIMITATIONS ON PERFORMANCE

Energy losses through dissociation and ionization

Heat transfer losses through walls and radiation losses.

Erosion at electrodes surface.

Requires a burn-in period up to 20 hours of operation before stable,

consistent operation can be attained.

Much higher voltage to be applied in order to strike the initial arc.

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 INDUCTIVELY AND RADIATIVELY HEATED DEVICES

Some form of Electrodeless discharge or high frequency

radiation is used to heat the propellant.

Combination of Electrothermal , Electrostatic and

Electromagnet devices.

Overcomes the limitation of erosion of electrodes and

hence have a longer lifetime than Arcjets and resistojets.

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 PLASMA
Consists of free electrons and positively charged particles mixed together.
Created when the gas is exposed to high temperature or high voltage is
passed.
Easily conducts electricity and respond to magnetic fields.

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 ELECTROMAGNETIC THRUSTERS
Thrust is produced by the help of Electromagnetic fields .

Plasma is accelerated by the Lorentz force .

These thrusters can produce higher exhaust speeds than

Electrothermal devices .

Thrust density is much larger than Electrostatic thrusters.

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 LORENTZ FORCE

Force exerted by a magnetic field on a moving electric charge.

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TYPES OF ELECTROMAGNETIC THRUSTERS

Magnetoplasmadynamic
Thruster (M.P.D.T)
Electromagnetic
Thrusters
Pulsed Plasma Thruster
(P.P.T)

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MAGNETOPLASMADYNAMIC THRUSTER

Electromagnetic devices pass a large current through a small

amount of gas to ionize propellant.
Once ionized, plasma is accelerated by Lorentz force which is
created by interaction of a current (j) with magnetic field (B).
F=jxB
Mechanism for magnetic field:-
- Self field system
- Applied field system

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Fig: Design showing the operation of MPDT. (Source: Lucas,2005)

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Fig: Lorentz force in a MPDT ( Source: George P. Sutton)

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DEMONSTRATED CAPABILITIES: (LI-LFA)

Specific Impulse 1500-8000 seconds

Exhaust velocity 15000-60000 m/s
Thrust 2.5 25 N
Efficiency 40 60 %
Power Input 100 500 KW
Propellant Lithium
Mechanism Applied field system

Source: Edgar Choueiri ,2002

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PULSED PLASMA THRUSTER
Small, low power, self-contained electromagnetic propulsion
system.

Propellant is ablated and ionized by the arc discharge.

Plasma is accelerated by Lorentz force.

Low but Continuous thrust, high specific impulse : 650 1300 s

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Fig: PPT ( Source: International Journal of Aeronautical Engg, Vol.2, Issue.9)

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 CONCLUSION (1/3)

Electrostatic
(Electron ion thruster)

Electric Electrothermal
Propulsion

Electromagnetic

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CONCLUSION (2/3)

Electrothermal
Resistojet
Arcjet

Electromagnetic
M.P.D.T
P.P.T

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CONCLUSION (3/3)
Future Developments :
Variable Specific Impulse Magneto Rocket. (VASIMR)
NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster. (NEXT)
The Annular Engine.
Pulse Inductive Thruster. (PIT)

Currently Unviable Electric Propulsion Devices:

a) Electrodeless plasma Thrusters (E.P.T.)
b) Helicon Double layer Thruster. (H.D.L.T)

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REFERENCES:
Introduction to Flight- John D Anderson Jr.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/fs21grc.html
NASA technical memorandum AIAA-90-2527
Electric propulsion paper by Robert G Jahn.
International journal of engineering trends and
technology- Vol.28 No.3 Oct 15.
Electric propulsion by Jahn & Choueiri 2002
Rocket propulsion elements by George P. Sutton

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REFERENCES CONTD.

www.currentpropulsionsystem.weebly.com
http://www.tudelft.nl/en/current/lsatelliet-delfi-n3xt/
Fundamentals of electric propulsion by Dan M. Geobal
and Ira Katz
AIAA paper No. 69-496- The hydrazine resistojet by
R.R. Schreib, T.K.Pugmire & S.G.Chapin.

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Thank You
Questions ??

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