Effect of External Radiation on the Burning Rates of Solid Propellants

Abstract

A means for improving the performance of a solid fuel pulsed plasma thruster has been described and analyzed. The key to improvement is control over the mass consumed per discharge. Figures 3 and 4 show that the mass consumption can be chosen by adjusting the distance between the two side-fed Teflon fuel bars. For high mass consumption, the thruster operates in the gas-dynamic regime and provides high thrust. At low mass consumption, thruster operation is primarily electromagnetic with high specific impulse. Efficiency increases as the thrust mechanism is predominately in one regime or the other. By using side feed, the performance has been significantly increased over the conventional rear-feed design. Carbonization of the Teflon side walls remains the one stumbling block to the full utilization of this design to flight thrusters. Geometry changes may reduce or eliminate this problem. References