Exploring potential candidates of alternative solid hydrocarbon propellants for cold-gas thrusters

IF 3.1 2区 物理与天体物理 Q1 ENGINEERING, AEROSPACE
Thimthana Lee, Mahdi Davoodianidalik, Dimitrios Tsifakis, Roderick W. Boswell, Christine Charles
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Abstract

Cold-gas thrusters play a vital role as a subsystem in satellite operations facilitating space maneuvers in numerous missions. Achieving optimal propulsion necessitates not only continuous development of thruster design but also an exploration of novel propellant options to enhance overall performance. While an ideal propellant remains elusive, many studies have identified alternative options to replace commonly used inert gases. Choosing a solid-state propellant offers benefits such as the absence of a pressurised tank and sloshing effect. Hydrocarbon propellants are advantageous due to their non-corrosiveness and abundance as organic compounds on Earth. The sublimation process for manipulating solid propellants typically requires only a few watts, making it suitable for low-power budget missions. This work presents five solid hydrocarbon propellants for cold-gas thrusters, three of which have not yet been experimentally explored. The comparison between various aspects, including mass flow rate, power consumption, and several key performance parameters, is discussed. The measured mass flow rate is a function of the species and temperature, following the trend of the vapour pressure. The power consumption for all propellants only depends on the required heating temperature as they share similar thermal properties. The thrust generated by each propellant is comparable and linearly proportional to the mass flow rate when the flow is choked. Specific impulse remains relatively constant across different mass flow rates due to the strong correlation between thrust and mass flow rate. The thrust-to-power ratio is generally comparable among the propellants, except hexamine, which demands more power at higher operating temperatures due to increased heat loss. Among these alternatives, camphor emerges as the most promising candidate due to its low power consumption, thrust generation, and mass efficiency. On the other hand, naphthalene offers the best in terms of its superior thrust-to-power ratio and cost-per-kilogram advantage.
探索冷气体推进器替代固体碳氢化合物推进剂的潜在候选者
冷气体推进器作为卫星运行中的一个子系统,在众多任务中为空间机动提供了便利,发挥着至关重要的作用。要实现最佳推进效果,不仅需要不断开发推进器设计,还需要探索新的推进剂选择,以提高整体性能。虽然理想的推进剂仍然遥不可及,但许多研究已经确定了替代常用惰性气体的备选方案。选择固态推进剂有很多好处,例如不需要加压罐和荡动效应。碳氢化合物推进剂因其不腐蚀性和在地球上大量存在的有机化合物而具有优势。操纵固体推进剂的升华过程通常只需要几瓦的功率,因此适用于低功率预算任务。本研究介绍了五种用于冷气体推进器的固体碳氢化合物推进剂,其中三种尚未进行过实验探索。讨论了各方面的比较,包括质量流量、功耗和几个关键性能参数。测得的质量流量是种类和温度的函数,与蒸汽压力的趋势一致。所有推进剂的功耗只取决于所需的加热温度,因为它们具有相似的热特性。每种推进剂产生的推力都相当,并且在阻塞流量时与质量流量成线性比例。由于推力与质量流量之间存在很强的相关性,因此在不同的质量流量下,比冲保持相对恒定。除六胺外,其他推进剂的推力功率比基本相当,六胺在较高的工作温度下由于热损失增加而需要更多的功率。在这些替代品中,樟脑因其低功耗、低推力和质量效率而成为最有前途的候选者。另一方面,萘在推力-功率比和每公斤成本优势方面表现最佳。
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来源期刊
Acta Astronautica
Acta Astronautica 工程技术-工程:宇航
CiteScore
7.20
自引率
22.90%
发文量
599
审稿时长
53 days
期刊介绍: Acta Astronautica is sponsored by the International Academy of Astronautics. Content is based on original contributions in all fields of basic, engineering, life and social space sciences and of space technology related to: The peaceful scientific exploration of space, Its exploitation for human welfare and progress, Conception, design, development and operation of space-borne and Earth-based systems, In addition to regular issues, the journal publishes selected proceedings of the annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC), transactions of the IAA and special issues on topics of current interest, such as microgravity, space station technology, geostationary orbits, and space economics. Other subject areas include satellite technology, space transportation and communications, space energy, power and propulsion, astrodynamics, extraterrestrial intelligence and Earth observations.
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