Measured performance of a multimegawatt MPD thruster
Previously cited in issue 12, p. 1960, Accession no. A81-29538
Burton, R. L.↗
Engineering topics
Clark, K. E.
Publications and source records attributed to Clark, K. E..
Thrust and efficiency of a self-field MPD thruster
Thrust and efficiency of a quasi-steady multi-MW argon MPD thruster are determined for one-millisecond current pulses. Terminal voltage and impulse bit per pulse are measured for a benchmark thruster geometry on a swinging gate thrust stand in a dielectric vacuum tank, at a background pressure of 0.0001 torr, for a range of argon flow rates and arc currents. The quasi-steady thrust data scale quadratically with arc current, and confirm previous estimates of the electromagnetic and electrothermal components of thrust from magnetic and pressure probe measurements. Thruster efficiency is found to increase monotonically with specific impulse, reaching a value of 25% for 4.5 to 6.0 g/sec at 2000 seconds. Results of further experiments show that the inferred specific impulse for voltage fluctuation onset can be increased to 3000 seconds, and the thrust efficiency to above 30%.
Burton, R. L.↗
Effect of choked flow on terminal characteristics of MPD thrusters
A one-dimensional steady real gas MPD accelerator model based on data for various electrode lengths and anode orifice radii is presented. The model relates the electric field to the boundary conditions in a form that agrees with experiment over parametric variations in current and mass flow. The electric field is sensitive to the formulations and assumptions bound into the analysis, and is useful in the modeling of outflow properties. It is shown that the location of the sonic point in the arc chamber shifts upstream for high current operation, and the relation between terminal voltage and current is demonstrated. Experiments using an anode suggested by the theory yield a thrust efficiency 1.5 times that of the unmodified thruster.
King, D. Q.↗
Effect of thrust chamber configuration on MPD arcjet performance
The performance of quasisteady multimegawatt MPD thrusters is significantly affected by anode thickness, location, and orifice radius, and by cathode length. Terminal voltage oscillations and electrode erosion are deferred until higher currents by anodes at more downstream locations and of smaller orifice radius and by cathodes of greater length. Without an optimized geometry, specific impulses of 3300 s and thrust efficiencies up to 31% are implied by the best data.
King, D. Q.↗
Recombination lasing in a magnetoplasmadynamic arcjet
The plasmadynamic recombination laser concept is verified experimentally in a high-power quasisteady MPD arcjet operating at 4 kA and 12 g/sec of argon. Measurements of the spatial variation of electron temperature, electron density, and population densities in the arc exhaust flow confirm that inverted populations of the 4p to 4s Ar II transitions are established by collisional-radiative recombination of the Ar III ion. Using an optical cavity aligned transversely to the flow, recombination lasing of seven such transitions, 5145, 4880, 4764, 4727, 4658, 4579, and 4545 A, is observed spectrophotographically and photoelectrically over the entire 1-msec discharge.
Campbell, E. M.↗
MPD thruster operation with inductively stored energy
Magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters with 10-cm and 2.5-cm long thoriated tungsten cathodes have been operated with both inductive and capacitive energy sources at currents up to 8 kA. Voltage-current characteristics and magnetic field measurements show that over most of the operating range, the inductively driven thruster acts as a continuously varying quasi-steady accelerator at the same current. However, at values of a specified parameter near the onset condition for voltage fluctuations and electrode and insulator erosion, the voltage for the inductively driven thruster is higher than its quasi-steady counterpart. This higher voltage occurs because the equilibration time constant of the MPD discharge, is too large to allow the terminal voltage to attain a quasi-steady value as the inductively driven current decreases.
Clark, K. E.↗
Onset phenomena in self-field MPD arcjets
Voltage fluctuations in a multi-megawatt quasi-steady MPD accelerator, indicative of increased ablation and a consequent degradation in performance, are found to exist only over a narrow range of currents, above which the ablation continues. Within this range, the discharge is characterized by a thin cylindrical shell, 4.0 cm in diameter, concentric with the cathode surface, containing steep radial gradients in plasma luminosity, number density, current density, electric field and Hall parameter, and within which a significant fraction of the propellant is first ionized. Experiments have shown that this cylindrical shell can be totally eliminated by immersing a small object at critical locations within it, thereby increasing the local mass density by preferential ablation and suggesting further means of improving the accelerator design.
Rudolph, L. K.↗
Inductive storage for quasi-steady MPD thrusters
Experiments in which a quasi-steady MPD thruster is driven by a large inductor demonstrate the feasibility of using inductive energy storage to couple an intermittent high power plasma thruster to a lower power steady state supply, such as a thermionic converter. Switching between inductor charging and MPD thrusting phases of the current cycle occurs smoothly, with the voltage spike generated during switching sufficient to initiate the arc discharge in the thruster without an auxiliary starting circuit. Further, the current waveforms delivered by the inductor are of a shape suitable for the quasi-steady thrusting process, and they agree with analytical estimates, indicating that the interaction between the thruster impedance and the inductive source is dynamically stable.
Clark, K. E.↗
Recombination lasing in a magnetoplasmadynamic arcjet
The plasmadynamic recombination laser concept is verified experimentally in a high-power quasisteady MPD arcjet operating at 4 kA and 12 g/sec of argon. Measurements of the spatial variation of electron temperature, electron density, and population densities in the arc exhaust flow confirm that inverted populations of the 4p to 4s ArII transitions are established by collisional-radiative recombination of the ArIII ion. Using an optical cavity aligned transversely to the flow, recombination lasing of four such transitions, 5145, 4880, 4764, and 4727 A, is observed spectrophotographically and photoelectrically over the entire 1-msec discharge.
Campbell, E. M.↗
Recombination lasing in a magnetoplasmadynamic arcjet
The plasmadynamic recombination laser concept is verified experimentally in a high power quasi-steady MPD arcjet operating at 4 kA and 12 g/sec of argon. Measurements of the spatial variation of electron temperature, electron density, and population densities in the arc exhaust flow confirm that inverted populations of the 4p to 4s Ar II transitions are established by collisional-radiative recombination of the Ar III ion. Using an optical cavity aligned transversely to the flow, recombination lasing of four such transitions, 5145, 4880, 4764 and 4727 A, is observed spectro-photographically and photoelectrically over the entire 1-msec discharge.
Campbell, E. M.↗
Physical processes in hollow cathodes
Detailed measurements of magnetic field and floating potential inside large hollow cathodes in a quasi-steady MPD arc facility reveal a cavity plasma that is concentrated near the orifice for most operating conditions. However, for certain combinations of current and mass flow, the peak surface current density penetrates into the cavity up to one diameter upstream of the orifice. These measured distributions are consistent with a conduction model which suggests that maximum current penetration, and the more efficient cathode emission which accompanies it, occurs when the dominant mean free path for electron energy exchange is comparable to the cavity diameter.
Krishnan, M.↗
Performance characteristics of quasi-steady MPD discharges
The onset of voltage fluctuations in a multi-megawatt quasi-steady MPD accelerator, indicative of increased cathode ablation and a consequent degradation of performance, is found to be a function of cathode size. With longer cathodes, this onset shifts to substantially higher powers per unit mass flow and the plasma exhaust velocity can be increased to values previously thought inaccessible to accelerators of this class. Centerline velocities up to 30 km/sec have been measured in argon, which for the observed exhaust profiles translate into specific impulses up to 2400 sec and corresponding thrust efficiencies above 30%.
Rudolph, L. K.↗
Inductively coupled TI-MPD spacecraft electric propulsion
A nuclear electric propulsion concept using a thermionic reactor inductively coupled to a magnetoplasma-dynamic (MPD) accelerator is described and the results of preliminary analyses are presented. In this system, the thermionic generating unit operates continuously at a power level of approximately 0.4 MW, while the MPD thruster operates intermittently at higher voltages and power levels. Energy storage is provided by building up a large current in an inductor. Periodically, the charging current is interrupted and the energy stored in the magnetic field of the inductor is utilized for a short duration thrust pulse. A typical thrust pulse is characterized by a power level of 1 to 4 MWe, a duration of 1 msec, and a duty cycle of approximately 20%. Results of the preliminary analysis show that approximately 85 to 90% of the power available from the thermionic converter array can be delivered to the MPD thruster for a nominal 400 kWe system with an inductive unit suitable for a flight vehicle. Optimized values of the total specific mass of the system including the thermionic reactor, the inductor, and the MPD thruster are estimated in the range of 23 to 24 kg/kWe.
Britt, E. J.↗
The MPD arc as a plasmadynamic laser source
The paper reports results of measurements of local plasma properties (electron density and temperature, radiance, and population density) in the recombining plasma flow of a high power (100 kW) quasi-steady MPD arc designed as a plasmadynamic laser source. The profiles of electron density and temperature and the populations of excited states of Ar II show large deviations from LTE and indicate the existence of population inversions between the 4d and 4p states.
Campbell, E. M.↗
Pulsed electromagnetic gas acceleration
Terminal voltage measurements with various cathodes and anodes in a high power, quasi-steady magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) are discussed. The magnitude of the current at the onset of voltage fluctuations is shown to be an increasing function of cathode area and a weaker decreasing function of anode area. Tests with a fluted cathode indicated that the fluctuations originate in the plasma adjacent to the cathode rather than at the cathode surface. Measurements of radiative output from an optical cavity aligned to examine the current-carrying portion of a two-dimensional, 56 kA magnetoplasmadynamic discharge reveal no lasing in that region, consistent with calculations of electron excitation and resonance radiation trapping. A voltage-swept double probe technique allows single-shot determination of electron temperature and electron number density in the recombining MPD exhaust flow. Current distributions within the cavity of MPD hollow cathodes for various static prefills with no injected mass flow are examined.
Jahn, R. G.↗
Laser processes in plasmadynamic flows
Radiation emitted from the exhaust flow of a multi-megawatt, quasi-steady magnetoplasmadynamic accelerator has been examined photoelectrically for argon mass flows from 6 to 32 g/sec and arc currents up to 25 kA. Vacuum ultraviolet radiation, indicative of resonance transitions, has been detected photoelectrically at various axial locations downstream of the arc chamber, consistent with a relaxation length calculated using a collisional-radiative recombination model. Photoelectric measurements of particular transitions in the neutral and first ionic state of argon show that populations of excited electronic states of AII are in excess of that which would be expected on the basis of Saha-Boltzmann equilibrium at the local electron temperature and number density. Optical depth measurements indicate that for a current of 4 kA and argon mass flow of 12 g/sec, a population inversion exists between the upper and lower states of the 0.4880 micron argon ion transition.
Campbell, E. M.↗
Hollow cathode characteristics in high current discharges
Current and potential distributions have been measured in various large hollow cathodes for currents from 0.9 to 7 kA and mass flows from 0.001 to 16 g/sec. For a variety of cavity diameters and shapes, all operated at 7 kA and 4 g/sec, the cathode current attaches over 0.6 cm of the cavity near the open end, where the electric field is less than 10 V/cm. However, for a fixed cathode configuration, the current conduction pattern is sensitive to both the current and the mass flows. For a given current, a range of mass flows is determined for maximum current penetration into the cavity, with the extent of penetration increasing as current decreases. Spectroscopic and photographic studies of AII radiance and electron densities within the cavity indicate a corresponding distribution of highly conducting plasma.
Krishnan, M.↗
Flow field characteristics and performance limitations of quasi-steady magnetoplasmadynamic accelerators
Measurements of terminal voltage, exhaust velocity, current and potential distributions in a quasi-steady MPD arc operating over a range of currents from 3 to 25 kA countervene previous indications of basic limitations on MPD performance. Terminal voltage fluctuations, previously used as an indicator of a unique limiting value of the parameter current squared over mass flow, are shown to be related to cathode surface area rather than to interelectrode plasma phenomena. With improved electrodes and insulators, satisfactory arc operation at specific impulses somewhat beyond previously proposed limits has been demonstrated, and the significant thrust producing mechanisms in such arcs have been identified.
Boyle, M. J.↗