Liquid-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster with Low-Energy Surface Flashover Igniter for Propelling Nanosatellites

Abstract

This paper presents the initial development and characterization of a novel micropropulsion system for nanosatellite applications: a liquid-fed pulsed plasma thruster (LF-PPT) comprising a Lorentz-force pulsed plasma accelerator (PPA) and a low-energy surface flashover (LESF) igniter. In this work, LESF was demonstrated as a sufficient means of igniting the primary discharge in a PPA operating with a pentaphenyl trimethyl trisiloxane () dielectric liquid propellant, and initial characterization of the propulsion system parameters was performed. PPA current pulse durations of about with peaks of were observed, and plasma jet exhaust velocity was measured at using a time-of-flight technique via a set of double probes located along the jet’s path. Intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) photography was concurrently leveraged to visualize plasma dynamics and confirm successful operation in the LESF ignition regime. A peak thrust and impulse bit of and , respectively, were estimated using large-area Langmuir probe measurements of total ion flux produced by the thruster. This paper additionally exhibits successful operation of the LF-PPT with the hydroxylammonium-nitrate-based propellant AF-M315e. The results of this paper suggest the befitting of LESF igniters in LF-PPTs, and the compatibility of LF-PPTs with the green propellant AF-M315e.