Determination of the thrust of an ion thruster by the aerodynamic method of double angle (AMαβ-method)

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the jet thrust of a mixed jet of neutral and ionized nitrogen flowing from the working chamber of an experimental sample of an accelerator ion thruster into a vacuum space. The main method of the study was the aerodynamic double angle method (AMαβ-method). The method of determining low thrust and the design of the stand for the implementation of the AMαβ-method are proposed. The object of research is a prototype of an accelerator two-phase ion thruster with a solid-state microwave plasma generator and a toroidal resonator. The study showed that a 2.5 W microwave generator together with a 2.5 W accelerating potential difference voltage source with a nitrogen consumption of 0.05 -1 mg/s can increase the speed of the working gas by 2.3 times. The jet thrust, according to the test results, was 1-3.6 μN. It is shown that the thrust components (the gas-dynamic component, the ion component of a high-frequency discharge, the ion component of a glow discharge) have different levels depending on the mass flow rate of the gas.