Abstract
This paper presents computational fluid dynamics simulations of the cold gas operation of Pocket Rocket and Mini Pocket Rocket radiofrequency electrothermal microthrusters, replicating experiments performed in both sub-Torr and vacuum environments. This work takes advantage of flow velocity choking to circumvent the invalidity of modelling vacuum regions within a CFD simulation, while still preserving the accuracy of the desired results in the internal regions of the microthrusters. Simulated results of the plenum stagnation pressure is in precise agreement with experimental measurements when slip boundary conditions with the correct tangential momentum accommodation coefficients for each gas are used. Thrust and specific impulse is calculated by integrating the flow profiles at the exit of the microthrusters, and are in good agreement with experimental pendulum thrust balance measurements and theoretical expectations. For low thrust conditions where experimental instruments are not sufficiently sensitive, these cold gas simulations provide additional data points against which experimental results can be verified and extrapolated. The cold gas simulations presented in this paper will be used as a benchmark to compare with future plasma simulations of the Pocket Rocket microthruster.
Highlights
In recent years, there has been a steady impetus in the satellite industry toward miniaturized microsatellites and microspacecraft, primarily driven by the desire to reduce spacecraft mass in order to reduce launch costs
This paper presents computational fluid dynamics simulations of the cold gas operation of Pocket Rocket and Mini Pocket Rocket radiofrequency electrothermal microthrusters, replicating experiments performed in both sub-Torr and vacuum environments
This paper presents computational fluid dynamics (CFD) cold gas simulations of the Pocket Rocket (PR) and Mini Pocket Rocket (MiniPR) microthrusters performed with the commercial CFDACE+ multiphysics package
Summary
There has been a steady impetus in the satellite industry toward miniaturized microsatellites and microspacecraft, primarily driven by the desire to reduce spacecraft mass in order to reduce launch costs. This has led to the development of micro- (≤ 100 kg), nano(≤ 10 kg), and picosatellites (≤ 1 kg), where the dramatic reduction in cost increases the accessibility to space, and brings with it the possibility of funding more missions and more frequent launches. A comprehensive review of electric propulsion is available in Charles [23] and Mazouffre [24], while Micci and Ketsdever [25] and Scharfe and Ketsdever [26] compiles a review of both classes of propulsion technologies with a specific focus on micropropulsion for microspacecraft
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