Electrothermal Plasma Research Articles

A repetitive pulsed electrothermal plasma jet ignition system based on capillary discharge.

Plasma ignition and combustion enhancement is a promising technology in applications of engines, industrial burners, pollutant emissions controls, etc. A new repetitive electrothermal plasma jet ignition system based on ablated capillary discharge under atmospheric pressure is presented in this paper. It consists of a capillary discharge module, a pulse current circuit, a pulse voltage circuit, a current release unit, an LC series resonant circuit, and a control system. The effects of the energy storage capacitor's voltage and resistance in the current release unit on the electrical parameters are investigated. Increasing the capacitor voltage helps to shorten the discharge delay and increase the energy deposition efficiency in the main discharge process. The increase of the resistance in the current release unit leads to a longer discharge delay and higher energy deposition efficiency in the main discharge process. Balanced parameters between the delay of discharge in 66 µs and the energy deposition efficiency in 84% are achieved through optimization, with a peak radiative heat flux of 23MWm-2 and a maximum jet length of 17cm. Repetitive capillary discharge at 20Hz under atmospheric pressure is achieved with the dispersion of energy storage capacitor charging voltage and energy deposition efficiency of 0.3% and 9.6%, respectively. Simplified circuit topology and control logic contribute to the miniaturization of the ignition system.

Bidirectional vortex stabilization of a supersonic inductively coupled plasma torch

Radio-frequency (RF) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) torches using a supersonic nozzle have many industrial materials processing applications and have also been proposed as novel electrothermal plasma thrusters for space propulsion. The gas injection method in plasma torches plays an important role in both gas heating dynamics and overall discharge stabilization. Here, we investigate reverse vortex gas injection into a supersonic ICP torch for RF powers up to 1 kW, argon mass flow rates between 15 and 180 mg s−1, and plasma torch pressures from ∼270 Pa to ∼50 kPa. In this configuration, gas is injected tangentially just upstream of the nozzle inlet. This produces a bidirectional vortex flow field where gas first spirals upwards along the outer edge of the plasma torch walls, before then reversing direction at the torch end and spiralling back down through the central plasma region towards the nozzle exit. Results are compared to a more conventional forward vortex configuration where gas is instead injected tangentially from the upstream end of the torch, and which forms a unidirectional vortex that spirals towards the downstream nozzle. While performance is similar for gas flows below 80 mg s−1, we show that at higher mass flow rates both the effective torch stagnation temperature and thermal efficiency can be increased by almost 50% with reverse vortex injection. Considering that the measured RF antenna-plasma power transfer efficiency is similar for both configurations, this enhancement occurs because of the unique bidirectional vortex flow field which leads to reduced gas-wall heat losses and consequently an increased enthalpy flow leaving the torch.

Structural and Tribological Studies of “(TiC + WC)/Hardened Steel” PMMC Coating Deposited by Air Pulsed Plasma

The deposition of a thin (several tens of microns) protective coating in atmospheric conditions is a challenging task for surface engineering. The structural features and tribological properties of a particle-reinforced metal matrix composite coating synthesized on middle-carbon steel by air pulse-plasma treatments were studied in the present work. The 24–31 µm thick coating of “24 vol.% (TiC + WC)/Hardened steel matrix” was produced by 10 plasma pulses generated by an electro-thermal axial plasma accelerator equipped with a consumable cathode of novel design (low-carbon steel tube filled with “TiC/WC + Epoxy resin” mixture). The study included optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD, microhardness measurements, and dry “Ball-on-Plate” testing. The carbides were directly plasma-transferred to the substrate (steel of AISI 4145H grade) from the cathode without substantial melting. The hard (500–1044 HV) coating matrix consisted of 57 vol.% austenite (1.43 wt.% C) and 43 vol.% plate martensite was formed via carbon enrichment of steel from plasma flow. Additionally, a minor amount of oxide phases (TiO2, WO2, WO3) were dispersed in the matrix. As compared to substrate, the coating had a lower coefficient of friction; its volumetric wear was decreased by 4.4 times when sliding against hardened steel ball and by 16 times when sliding against SiC ball.

Computational Investigation of Beryllium and Lithium Performance in Future Fusion Tokamaks

Low-z materials are exemplary candidates in tiling critical plasma-facing components in future fusion reactors due to their low ablation rates under intense high heat fluxes especially during abnormal and hard disruption events. Beryllium and Lithium as low-z materials show good performance as plasma-facing materials in current tokamak. Future tokamaks will exhibit long duration hard disruptions, which in turn requires further investigation of plasma-facing materials, as Li and Be, to judge their performance and evaluate their erosion rates. Electrothermal plasma capillary discharges are used to simulate the high-heat flux deposition on materials to assess their erosion rates. The electrothermal plasma code ETFLOW, which is written for capillary discharges to predict the plasma parameters and erosion rates is used to simulate the high-heat flux conditions similar to expected disruption events for simulated heat fluxes from as low as ~50 to as high as ~290 GW/m2 with a reconnoitering of generating the Be and Li plasmas up to the third ionization (Br+++, Li+++). Performance of Be and Li under the lowest capillary discharge currents (50 kA and 100 kA) is almost identical, however, Li shows sharper increase in the plasma pressure, heat flux, total ablated mass and the exit velocities than Be for higher discharge currents (150, 200 and 250 kA). This huge difference between the performance of Li and Be under low and high heat fluxes can be an important issue for the future magnetic fusion reactors.

Structural and Tribological Assessment of Biomedical 316 Stainless Steel Subjected to Pulsed-Plasma Surface Modification: Comparison of LPBF 3D Printing and Conventional Fabrication.

The structural features and nanoindentation/tribological properties of 316 stainless steel fabricated by conventional rolling and laser-based powder bed fusion (LPBF) were comparatively investigated regarding the effect of surface-pulsed plasma treatment (PPT). PPT was performed using an electrothermal axial plasma accelerator under a discharge voltage of 4.5 kV and a pulse duration of 1 ms. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, nanoindentation measurements and tribological tests were applied to characterize the alloys. The LPBF steel presented almost the same modulus of elasticity and double the hardness of rolled steel. However, the LPBF steel manifested lower dry-sliding wear resistance compared with its wrought counterpart due to its porous structure and non-metallic inclusions. Conversely, LPBF steel showed three times higher wear resistance under sliding in simulated body fluid (SBF), as compared with wrought steel. PPT led to steel modification through surface melting to a depth of 22–26 μm, which resulted in a fine cellular structure. PPT moderately improved the dry-sliding wear resistance of LPBF steel by fusion of pores on its surface. On the other hand, PPT had almost no effect on the SBF-sliding wear response of the steel. The modification features were analyzed using a computer simulation of plasma-induced heating.

The Impact of Pulse Plasma Treatment on the Operating Characteristics of Steel 40X10C2M: Experiment and Numerical Simulations

This paper presents a study of operating characteristics of steel 40X10C2M after treatment it of high-energy plasma pulses. The steel is used to manufacture the elements of ships' power plants. For pulsed plasma treatment of steel samples, we used an electrothermal plasma accelerator (ETPA). A high-current pulsed high-pressure arc discharge was initiated in a restricted dielectric chamber of ETPA. The discharge duration was 1.4 ms, the maximum current reached the value of 5 kA, the discharge voltage was up to 5 kV. We investigated the microhardness and microstructure of the processed (modified) layer and determined the optimal parameters of steel processing that provide the best characteristics of the modified layer when the microhardness increases by ≈ 5 times. Microhardness maxima were discovered in the depth of the modified layer. The paper studies the possibilities of controlling the maxima localization to form the desired performance characteristics of the treated layer. Mathematical modeling of rapid pulsed heating of the steel surface layer is performed within the framework of the two-phase "melt-solid" model, taking into account the dynamics of the thermodynamic characteristics of steel. For this purpose, we used the classical equation of thermal conductivity with varying steel parameters: density, heat capacity, and coefficient of thermal conductivity during the transition of a substance from the liquid to the solid phase. Within the chosen mathematical model, numerical calculations of the rapidly pulsed heating phenomenon of the steel surface were performed, taking into account melting and solidification in the Comsol Multiphysics package using the finite element method. The numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental distribution of the microhardness of the treated steel layer deep into the sample.

Characterization of a radio-frequency inductively coupled electrothermal plasma thruster

A radio-frequency (RF) inductively coupled electrothermal plasma thruster operating with argon is experimentally characterized for different mass flow rates, RF powers, and propellant injection configurations. Depending on the propellant mass flow rate, significant neutral gas heating is observed with effective stagnation temperatures around 2000 K (giving a maximum estimated thrust and specific impulse of about 100 mN and 125 s, respectively) for absorbed powers between 300 and 500 W. A self-consistent theoretical discharge model is developed and used to study the basic physics and operation of RF electrothermal thrusters, and predictions of the gas temperature are in good agreement with experimental measurements. The model identifies primary power inefficiencies as electron-neutral excitation losses and neutral gas heat losses to the thruster walls. Both experimental and theoretical results indicate that a relatively high stagnation pressure (of the order of 100 Torr or higher) is critical for high performance. For pressures significantly below this the electron-neutral collisional power transfer is too low to effectively heat the neutral gas.

Evaluation of the Microstructure, Tribological Characteristics, and Crack Behavior of a Chromium Carbide Coating Fabricated on Gray Cast Iron by Pulsed-Plasma Deposition.

The structural and tribological properties of a protective high-chromium coating synthesized on gray cast iron by air pulse-plasma treatments were investigated. The coating was fabricated in an electrothermal axial plasma accelerator equipped with an expandable cathode made of white cast iron (2.3 wt.% C–27.4 wt.% Cr–3.1 wt.% Mn). Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, microhardness measurements, and tribological tests were conducted for coating characterizations. It was found that after ten plasma pulses (under a discharge voltage of 4 kV) and post-plasma heat treatment (two hours of holding at 950 °C and oil-quenching), a coating (thickness = 210–250 µm) consisting of 48 vol.% Cr-rich carbides (M7C3, M3C), 48 vol.% martensite, and 4 vol.% retained austenite was formed. The microhardness of the coating ranged between 980 and 1180 HV. The above processes caused a gradient in alloying elements in the coating and the substrate due to the counter diffusion of C, Cr, and Mn atoms during post-plasma heat treatments and led to the formation of a transitional layer and different structural zones in near-surface layers of cast iron. As compared to gray cast iron (non-heat-treated and heat-treated), the coating had 3.0–3.2 times higher abrasive wear resistance and 1.2–1208.8 times higher dry-sliding wear resistance (depending on the counter-body material). The coating manifested a tendency of solidification cracking caused by tensile stress due to the formation of a mostly austenitic structure with a lower specific volume. Cracks facilitated abrasive wear and promoted surface spalling under dry-sliding against the diamond cone.

Numerical investigation of the plasma processes for propellant heating in electrothermal plasma thruster for nanosatellites

AbstractNumerical investigation of the plasma processes in a cylindrical chamber with small dimensions of a novel microwave electrothermal plasma thruster for nanosatellites has been conducted. The absorbed microwave power from the electrons in the plasma column of the surface wave discharge is included in the computational model as a heat source with Gaussian distribution. The computational model takes into account the elastic and inelastic collisions of the electrons with the atoms in the ground state and two excited states (−s, −p) and the processes of recombination and deactivation of the plasma species in the volume and on the walls of the chamber. The computational model includes the flow of neutral gas and the processes in the plasma for effective heating of neutral particles by collisions not only with electrons but also with ions. Selected combinations of input power and propellant mass flow rates are used as initial parameters for the numerical investigation. The results show that at higher mass flow rates the heating of the neutral gas is more effective and at power levels of 4 W and propellant mass flow rate of 3 mg/s the electrothermal plasma thruster demonstrates effective performance and thrust levels in the order of 1 mN.

Measurements of dynamic surface changes by digital holography for in situ plasma erosion applications.

There are currently few viable diagnostic techniques for in situ measurement of plasma facing component erosion. Digital holography is intended to fill this gap. Progress on the development of single and dual CO2 laser digital holography diagnostics for in situ plasma facing component erosion is discussed. The dual laser mode's synthetic wavelength allows the measurable range to be expanded by a factor of ∼400 compared to single laser digital holography. This allows the diagnostic to measure surface height changes of up to 4.5 μm in single laser mode and up to 2 mm in dual laser mode. Results include ex situ measurements of plasma eroded targets and also dynamic measurements of nm and μm scale motion of a target mounted on a precision translation stage. Dynamic measurements have successfully been made with the system operating in both single and dual laser modes, from ∼50 nm to ∼4 μm in single laser mode and up to ∼400 μm in dual laser mode (limited only by the stage speed and camera acquisition duration). These results demonstrate the feasibility of using digital holography to characterize plasma facing component erosion dynamically, i.e., during plasma exposure. Results of proof-of-principle in situ digital holographic measurements of targets exposed to an electrothermal arc plasma source are presented.

Formation mechanism, microstructural features and dry-sliding behaviour of “Bronze/WC carbide” composite synthesised by atmospheric pulsed-plasma deposition

The present work was focused on the study of a composite metal-ceramic coating synthesised by atmospheric pulsed plasma deposition using an electro-thermal plasma accelerator. “Bronze/WC carbides” coating of 85–135 μm width was formed on the surface of grey cast iron due to high-current erosion of a sintered cathode (50 vol% of Al-bronze and 50 vol% WC) without post-plasma heat treatment. The work was conducted using OM, SEM/EDS, XRD, hardness and “Ball-on-Disc” dry-sliding testing. Numerical modelling and high-speed photo-shooting were applied to reveal the two-stage mechanism of the coating formation. The coating/substrate transitional layer was formed due to the dynamic interaction of a plasma flux with a plasma-melted substrate surface. WC carbides crystallised from the plasma flux in a transitional layer or they were embedded to the coating being transferred by plasma flux as unmolten angular particles. Wear test showed that the «Bronze/WC carbide” composite coating had much better tribological behaviour as compared to bulk copper under the friction against a steel ball. At the same time, the coating was inferior in wear resistance to copper when sliding against a SiC ball.

A repetitive high current pulse generator for high flux electrothermal plasma jets.

Power sources play an important role in the characteristics and the applications of the electrothermal (ET) plasma as an edge localized mode (ELM) heat flux simulator. A repetitive high current ET plasma source with the capability of working at a 10 Hz repetition rate and peak current 7.5 kA is presented in this paper. By controlling the sequence of discharge of ten pulse power modules, a repetitive high heat flux plasma jet can be generated. A two-stage capillary structure is presented, and its repetitive trigger driving circuit based on surface flashover ignition is designed to achieve reliable and repetitive discharge. The topology of the inductive and capacitive (LC) series resonant circuit is applied to the charging system of the pulsed power source. The charging current is limited to 500 A with a charging time of 3.5 ms, and the ratio of the charging voltage to the operating voltage is 1.85. A diode and a power resistor in series are used to suppress the negative overvoltage, which is helpful to increase the thyristors' operating reliability. Using the designed repetitive ET plasma source, the characteristics of the ET plasma jet are investigated by measuring the voltages and currents and by obtaining images of the discharges. Experimental results show that the repetitive ET plasma generator can be used as an appropriate way to simulate the ELM-like heat flux plasma.

Morphological and nanomechanical changes in tungsten in high heat flux conditions

Morphological and nanomechanical alteration of tungsten in extreme environments, like those in edge localized modes in nuclear fusion environments, up to 46.3 GWm−2 heat fluxes were experimentally simulated using electrothermal plasma. Surface and subsurface damage to the tungsten is seen mainly in the form of pore formation, cracks, and resolidified melt instabilities. Mirco voids, rosette-type microfeatures, core-shell structure, particle enrichment, and submicron channels all manifest in the damaged subsurface. The formation of voids in the subsurface was determined to originate from the ductile fracture of hot tungsten by plastic flow but not developed to cracking. The voids were preferentially settled in grain boundaries, interfaces. The directionality of elongated voids and grains is biased to the heat flow vector or plasma pathway, which is the likely consequence of the thermally driven grain growth and sliding in the high-temperature conditions. The presence of a border between the transient layer and heat-affected zone is observed and attributed to plasma shock and thermal spallation of fractural tungsten at high temperature. Plasma peening-like hardening effects in tungsten were observed in the range of 22.7–46.3 GWm−2 but least in the case of the lowest heat flux, 12.5 GWm−2.

Impulse and Performance Measurements of Electric Solid Propellant in a Laboratory Electrothermal Ablation-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster

Electric solid propellants are advanced solid chemical rocket propellants that can be controlled (ignited, throttled and extinguished) through the application and removal of an electric current. This behavior may enable the propellant to be used in multimode propulsion systems utilizing the ablative pulsed plasma thruster. The performance of an electric solid propellant operating in an electrothermal ablation-fed pulsed plasma thruster was investigated using an inverted pendulum micro-newton thrust stand. The impulse bit and specific impulse of the device using the electric solid propellant were measured for short-duration test runs of 100 pulses and longer-duration runs to end-of-life, at energy levels of 5, 10, 15 and 20 J. Also, the device was operated using the current state-of-the-art ablation-fed pulsed plasma thruster propellant, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Impulse bit measurements for PTFE indicate 100 ± 20 µN-s at an initial energy level of 5 J, which increases linearly with energy by approximately 30 µN-s/J. Within the error of the experiment, measurements of the impulse bit for the electric solid propellant are identical to PTFE. Specific impulse when operating on PTFE is calculated to be about 450 s. It is demonstrated that a surface layer in the hygroscopic electric solid propellant is rapidly ablated over the first few discharges of the device, which decreases the average specific impulse relative to the traditional polytetrafluoroethylene propellant. Correcting these data by subtracting the early discharge ablation mass loss measurements yields a corrected electric solid propellant specific impulse of approximately 300 s.

Effects of wire materials on radiative heat flux and spectral characteristics of a capillary discharge plasma jet

Capillary discharge plasmas have been widely used in many fields. This paper investigates the influence of different explosion wire materials on the radiative heat flux and spectral characteristics. Three kinds of wire (aluminum, copper and nickel) with 0.3 mm diameter were used as initiation wires to produce an electrothermal plasma, with a capacitor charging voltage of 3 kV. A thin-film calorimeter with high response speed was used for the measurement of the radiative heat flux. At the same time, spectral analysis was performed using a spatially resolved spectrometer with an ICCD. Based on the results, the electrical energy transported to the plasma that is calculated from the voltage and current traces follows the order Cu > Al > Ni, while the radiative heat flux follows the order Al > Cu > Ni. The trends can be explained by the secondary combustion (chemical reaction with the air) of Al and the fact that the dissipated energy is smaller than the vaporization energy for Ni but larger for Al and Cu, resulting in a bad performance in jet heat flux due to the incomplete vaporization of Ni wires. For the Cu and Al cases, a four-stage evolution process of the emitted radiation, which describes the emission, absorption and decay processes, can be found from the spectral analysis.

Current-Free Electric Double Layer in a Small Collisional Plasma Thruster Nozzle Simulation

A computational fluid dynamics and plasma model of a collisional (∼ a few Torr) radiofrequency (at 13.56 MHz) argon plasma capacitively coupled in a converging-diverging nozzle (applied to the optimisa- tion of electrothermal plasma thrusters for space use) shows the formation of a strong stationary current-free double layer (CFDL) at the 1.5 mm diameter nozzle throat for a downstream pressure of ∼ 0.1 Torr. The cycle average magnitude of the double layer potential is ∆ΦDL = 77 V and the electron temperature at the high potential edge of the double layer is kBTe = 2.64eV, yielding a strength of ∆ΦDL/(kBTe) ∼ 30. The double layer is 1.2 mm wide which corresponds to ∼ 90 Debye lengths. The axial electric field of the double layer accelerates ions along the nozzle to a maximum drift velocity of 17 km s−1, about 3.3 times the ion sound speed, and their kinetic energy is transferred to neutrals by ion-neutral charge exchange col- lisions. The ion transit time τi through the potential structure spontaneously forming at the nozzle throat is about 5 times the radiofrequency excitation period τRF. These findings are discussed in the broader context of double layer physics and the dynamics of their formation as well as in the context of electrothermal thruster optimisation in which neutral propellant heating via ion-neutral charge exchange collisions is the main source of thrust.

Performance of Capillary Plasma Source With Combustible Materials

Application of an energetic material (EM) in a liquid or gaseous form to electrothermal (ET) plasma discharge systems can provide an energetic plasma jet that has desirable parameters for launching applications. In this energetic ET concept, the EM is basically injected into the plasma source that is operated in an ablation-free regime. The discharge and EM combustion processes have been simulated using the ETFlowCom code, which is an in-house developed energetic ET plasma model. In this article, the ETFlowCom code is used to predict the energetic plasma jet parameters such as temperature, pressure, heat flux, and exit velocity. Different computational case studies have been conducted using a variety of EM mixtures. The simulation results show that the generated energetic plasma jet has the density on the order of 10271/m3, kinetic pressure on the order of hundreds of MPa, and an exit velocity that can reach up to 6 km/s. These parameters are found to be functions of the EM type and the mixing ratio as well. The jet parameters show strong potential for launching applicability.

PLASMA COATING FORMATION BY THE DEPOSITION OF CATHODE MATERIAL ERODED THROUGH HIGH-CURRENT PULSED DISCHARGE

The paper analyzes the conditions for the formation of a coating obtained using an electrothermal axial plasma accelerator due to plasma transfer of cathode erosion products. It is shown that by using a cathode of low-melting materials with a high-current pulsed discharge, microdrops are formed and injected from the accelerator falling into the surface to be treated. When colliding with the surface, the drops acquire near-disk shape with a radius of up to 100 μm, cooling on the substrate at a speed of up to 108 K/s. This leads to the formation in the drops of a supersatu-rated solid solution with nonequilibrium structure. The subsequent heat treatment of the coating can result in harden-ing phases precipitation from solid solution causing the increase in coating microhardness.

Surface Erosion of Plasma-Facing Materials Using an Electrothermal Plasma Source and Ion Beam Micro-Trenches

Erosion characteristics of tungsten-alternative plasma-facing materials (PFMs) were tested under high heat flux conditions in the electrothermal plasma source facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The PFMs of interest are high-purity β-3C chemical vapor deposition silicon carbide (SiC) and the MAX phases Ti3SiC2 and Ti2AlC [MAX = chemical formula Mn+1AXn, where M is an early transition metal (such as Ti or Ta), A is an A-group element (such as Si or Al), and X is carbon or nitrogen]. An erosion analysis method was developed using a combination of focused ion beam microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, carving micro-trench geometries into polished sample surfaces. Samples of SiC, Ti3SiC2, and Ti2AlC were exposed to the electrothermal plasma source alongside tungsten and monocrystalline silicon. Samples were exposed to a Lexan polycarbonate (C16H14O3) electrothermal plasma stream in a He environment, at a specified impact angle, with infrared camera diagnostics. Edge localized mode–relevant heat fluxes of 0.9 to 1 GW/m2 over 1-ms discharges were generated on the target surfaces. Tungsten samples exhibited pronounced melt-layer formation and deformation, with measured molten pits 2 to 10 μm in diameter and melt-layer depths of up to 7 μm deep. Surface erosion rates for Ti3SiC2 and Ti2AlC ranged from 80 to 775 μm/s and 85 to 470 μm/s, respectively. Both MAX phases exhibited extreme surface fracture and material ejection, with damage depths past 4 μm for Ti2AlC and 11 μm for Ti3SiC2. SiC displayed the best performance, in one case surviving 15 consecutive electrothermal plasma exposures with an average erosion rate of about 29 μm/s and no surface fracturing. SiC erosion rates ranged from 23 to 128 μm/s.

An Integrated RF Power Delivery and Plasma Micro-Thruster System for Nano-Satellites

Progress in satellite technologies is ongoing and eventually finds applications back on Earth. Electric propulsion systems have been proven effective on large scale satellites (NASA DAWN) with better propellant efficiency than chemical or cold gas propulsion, and if miniaturized can be promising for long term operation of nano-satellites (e.g.CubeSats) in low Earth orbit or in deep space (NASA MarCO). However, the power supplies often used to power these electric thrusters, particularly those involving radiofrequency (RF) plasma, typically comprise power inefficient linear mode RF power amplifiers (e.g. class AB). These are simple systems designed to operate reliably under a wide range of loads for versatility, but they suffer low power efficiencies when operating at conditions significantly different from the nominal operating point. The required bulky and heavy thermal management components deem these electric propulsion systems impossible to fit on board nano-satellites. Here we present a compact and efficient switched mode dc-RF power inverter integrated with an electro-thermal plasma micro-thruster for nano-satellite (e.g.Cubesats) propulsion. The integrated system can serve as side panels and structural support of CubeSats, saving precious on-board volume for propellant and/or payloads. A complete assembly has been operationally tested in a space simulation system. This development opens a route for a new generation of power supplies applicable to the space sector, the microelectronics industry as well as the field of bioengineering.