Performance measurement and evaluation of an ionic liquid electrospray thruster

作     者：Chengjin HUANG Jianling LI Mu LI Chengjin HUANG;Jianling LI;Mu Li

作者机构：School of Power and EnergyNorthwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi’an 710072China Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ultraintense Laser and Advanced Material TechnologyCenter for Advanced Material Diagnostic Technologyand College of Engineering PhysicsShenzhen Technology UniversityShenzhen 518118China 

出 版 物：《Chinese Journal of Aeronautics》 (中国航空学报（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2023年第36卷第3期

页      面：1-15页

核心收录：

学科分类：080703[工学-动力机械及工程] 08[工学] 0807[工学-动力工程及工程热物理] 0835[工学-软件工程] 0825[工学-航空宇航科学与技术] 

基　　金：co-supported by NSAF,China(No.U1730134) the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.11772310) the Innovation Foundation for Doctor Dissertation of Northwestern Polytechnical University,China(No.CX202034) the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund of the Student Affairs Department of Northwestern Polytechnical University,China(No.2021-CXCY-005)。 

主　　题：Electrospray thruster Ionic liquids Performance measurement Performance estimation Micro-propulsion 

摘      要：As a novel micro-propulsion system for small satellites(from micro to nano),the ionic liquid electro spray propulsion system is a promising candidate.However,performance measurement and evaluation of the Ionic Liquid Electrospray Thruster(ILET)is one of the most challenging issues for practical application,due to the difficulties in the development of a prototype and direct measurements of micro-thrust and small flow rate.To address this issue,a Modular Ionic Liquid Electrospray Thruster(MILET)prototype is constructed,and a diagnostic system for thrust and mass flow rate is specially developed based on an analytical balance method.With the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate as the propellant,a series of experiments is carried out on the MILET prototype under a wide operating condition through changing the applied voltage to control the thrust.Under different applied voltages,the thrust and the mass flow rate of the propellant are directly measured.The propulsive performance parameters of the thruster,such as thrust,specific impulse,thrust-to-power ratio,thruster efficiency,etc.,are comprehensively analyzed.Then,a performance comparison is made between the MILET and other representative ILETs.With a relatively low applied voltage ranging from 1550 V to 2000 V,the MILET achieves a quasi-constant specific impulse of 1263 s with the averaged thrust-to-power ratio of 65.2μN/W and thruster efficiency of 40.7%.The performance of ILET is also compared with other typical electric propulsions.The results demonstrate that the ILET exhibits an excellent ability of minimalization with high specific impulse and thruster efficiency,which guarantees a great superiority in micro propulsions.Finally,the ways to further improve the performance of ILET are discussed,which further confirms the potential prospect of ILET.The present result helps to advance the development and application of ILET.