JP7129074B1 - Pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathodic arc discharge - Google Patents

Abstract

A pulse-type propulsion machine using a vacuum cathodic arc discharge that reduces the effects of carbon deposits during use, converts the carbon deposits into fuel, prolongs service life, and enhances triggering accuracy and control accuracy. thing. A trigger space (312) and a discharge space (313) are formed in an axial direction inside a housing (31). The first anode 32, the insulating fuel layer 34, the first cathode 35, and the insulating layer 36 are placed concentrically around the center line R of the housing 31, and the insulating fuel layer 34 is placed on the first anode 32 , an insulating fuel layer 34 is placed between a first cathode 35 and a first anode 32 , an insulating layer 36 is surrounded by the first cathode 35 , a second cathode 37 is located on the centerline R of the housing 31 . , extending from the trigger space 312 into the discharge space 313 . [Selection drawing] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to a propulsion machine, and more particularly to a pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathodic arc discharge.

A pulsed plasma thruster is a new type of thruster developed in recent years.
It is a power propulsion device that uses the interaction of an electric field and a magnetic field to accelerate plasma to generate thrust, and has the characteristics of low cost, simple structure, light weight, and low power consumption.
At the same time, the pulse-type plasma thruster is effective for attitude control and position maintenance of small satellites, making the pulse-type plasma thruster one of the leading electric propulsion devices.

Common pulsed plasma thruster prototypes are the solid-fed pulsed plasma thruster and the gas-induced pulsed plasma thruster.
Solid-fed pulsed plasma thrusters are the most common and very simple in construction. It is primarily fuel that induces an electrical discharge in line with the spark plug electrodes to produce thrust. However, in a vacuum environment, a very high voltage is required to achieve the discharge needs of the spark plug, and the carbon generated during the discharge process deposits and adheres to the electrode surface and fuel surface of the spark plug. , which affects subsequent discharge-induced effects and significantly reduces the usage efficiency and lifetime of solid-fed pulsed plasma thrusters, and therefore needs to be improved.

For the gas-induced pulsed plasma propulsion machine, when enough ionized gas is generated between the electrodes, the capacitor discharges, and the argon gas is used as a propellant to induce the discharge together with the detonator, and the ionized gas discharges, and the breakdown voltage is smaller than the breakdown voltage under atmospheric conditions, and the impulse generated by the maximum single-shot pulse achieves the purpose of propulsion.
However, the method using gas as a propellant consumes a large amount of fuel and has poor propulsion efficiency.
In addition, both the gas-induced pulsed plasma thruster and the solid-supplied pulsed plasma thruster suffer from late-time ablation, degrading the performance of the thruster and shortening its service life. Therefore, it can be said that the challenge is how to design a propulsion device with a long service life, high performance, and low power consumption.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to use vacuum cathodic arc discharge to reduce the effect of carbon deposition in the process of use, convert the carbon deposition into fuel, extend the service life, and further improve the triggering accuracy and control accuracy. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a pulse-type propulsion machine that has

In order to solve the above problems, the pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathodic arc discharge of the present invention includes a housing, a first anode, a second anode, an insulating fuel layer, a first cathode, an insulating layer, and a second Contains the cathode.
the housing has a triggering space and a discharge space inside its inner wall surface, and the triggering space and the discharge space are arranged side by side in the axial direction and communicate with each other;
The first anode and the second anode are respectively installed in the trigger space and the discharge space, the first anode and the second anode are spaced apart from each other, and the inner wall of the housing is attached to each
The first anode, the insulating fuel layer, the first cathode and the insulating layer are arranged concentrically around the center line of the housing,
the insulating fuel layer is surrounded by a first anode;
The first cathode is installed in the catalyst space and spaced apart from the first anode, and the insulating fuel layer is installed between the first cathode and the first anode. ,
the insulating layer is surrounded by the first cathode;
The second cathode is installed in the housing and extends from the trigger space into the discharge space along the centerline of the housing.

When the first anode and the first cathode discharge, a plasma is generated within the discharge space by inducing an insulating fuel layer between the first anode and the first cathode. In addition, when the second anode and second cathode are discharged, the plasma produces a thrust with a high pumping velocity of metal ions.

The pulse-type propulsion machine using the vacuum cathodic arc discharge of the present invention does not require the use of spark plugs or the like because the high-speed pumping speed of metal ions is generated by the plasma. Simplify the complexity, light weight and low power consumption, at the same time prevent the carbon deposits generated during the discharge process from affecting the triggering effect, the carbon deposits serve as feedback for the fuel, and the triggering accuracy and control accuracy are improved. has the advantage of increasing the overall service life.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathodic arc discharge, showing an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathodic arc discharge, showing an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view in the first stage of operation of a pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathodic arc discharge, showing an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view in the second stage of operation of the pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathodic arc discharge, showing the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view in the third stage of operation of the pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathodic arc discharge, showing the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the fourth stage of operation of the pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathodic arc discharge, showing the embodiment of the present invention;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. In addition, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to embodiment.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pulse-type propulsion machine 3 using the vacuum cathodic arc discharge of the present invention includes a housing 31, a first anode 32, a second anode 33, an insulating fuel layer 34, and a first cathode 35. , an insulating layer 36 and a second cathode 37 .
In this embodiment, the housing 31, the first anode 32, the second anode 33, the insulating fuel layer 34, the first cathode 35 and the insulating layer 36 are cylindrical.
Also, the first anode 32 , the insulating fuel layer 34 , the first cathode 35 and the insulating layer 36 are arranged concentrically around the center line R of the housing 31 .

A trigger space 312 and a discharge space 313 are axially aligned inside an inner wall surface 311 of the housing 31 .
The first anode 32 and the second anode 33 are cylindrical and concentric with the housing 31 , the first anode 32 is installed in the trigger space 312 and the second anode 33 is installed in the discharge space 313 . In addition, the first anode 32 and the second anode 33 are installed with a gap therebetween and are attached to the inner wall surface 311 of the housing 31 respectively.
The insulating fuel layer 34 is cylindrical concentric with the housing 31 and surrounded by the first anode 32 .

The first cathode 35 has a cylindrical shape concentric with the housing 31 , and is placed in the trigger space 312 with a gap from the first anode 32 , and the insulating fuel layer 34 is between the first anode 32 and the first cathode 35 . placed in between.
The insulating layer 36 has a tubular shape concentric with the housing 31 and is surrounded by the first cathode 35 .
The second cathode 37 is installed in the housing 31 and extends along the center line R from the trigger space 312 to the discharge space 313 .
The trigger space 312 and the discharge space 313 communicate with each other. Also, the first anode 32 , the insulating fuel layer 34 , the first cathode 35 and the insulating layer 36 are arranged concentrically around the center line R of the housing 31 .
In this embodiment, the insulating fuel layer 34 is made of fluorine resin (Teflon (registered trademark) of DuPont, etc.).

In this embodiment, the pulse-type propulsion machine 3 using vacuum cathodic arc discharge further includes a partition member 38 and a control device 4 .
The partition member 38 is an annular member that protrudes and extends from the inner wall surface 311 of the housing 31 and is installed between the first anode 32 and the second anode 33 . Also, the opening surrounded by the inner peripheral surface of the partition member 38 is gradually reduced from the trigger space 312 toward the discharge space 313 .
The control device 4 is connected to the first anode 32, the first cathode 35, the second anode 33 and the second cathode 37 respectively. The control device 4 inputs a positive voltage at the first anode 32 and the second anode 33, inputs a negative voltage at the first cathode 35 and the second cathode 37, and further inputs a voltage at the first anode 32 and the first cathode 35. It controls the discharge and controls the discharge of the second anode 33 and the second cathode 37 .

3 and 4, in operation, the control device 4 controls the first anode 32 and the first cathode 35 to produce an induced discharge (shown in zig-zag form in FIG. 3), the first anode 32 and the first cathode 35 An arc is generated between the cathodes 35 . The arc converges on the surface of the first cathode 35 to form a cathode spot. Since the cathode spot has a very high temperature, it causes an ion ejection phenomenon to form a plasma (also called ionizer, represented by fine particles in FIG. 4). Plasma is emitted from the trigger space 312 into the discharge space 313 to produce interim thrust. At the same time, the plasma is due to micro-explosions and vaporization from the first cathode 35, which consumes carbon on the first cathode 35 and insulating fuel layer 34 surface.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the plasma is input into the discharge space 313 through the trigger space 312 (indicated by fine particles in FIG. 5). At the same time, the plasma forms a passage in the discharge space 313 , whereby the controller 4 controls the second anode 33 and the second cathode 37 to discharge (shown in zigzag form in FIG. 5 ), and the discharge space 313 plasma induces the interaction of the magnetic and electric fields by means of electrical discharges, thereby producing Lorentz forces and generating accelerating thrust (shown as clouds in FIG. 6).

Furthermore, since the insulating fuel layer 34 uses a fluororesin material, a part of carbon is deposited on the surface of the first cathode 35 and the surface of the insulating fuel layer 34 at the same time in the process of plasma generation by the arc. It provides carbon replenishment for the one cathode 35 and the insulating fuel layer 34 . Thus, unlike the prior art, it does not affect subsequent discharge-induced effects and aids carbon replenishment of the insulating fuel layer 34 and the first cathode 35, thereby extending the service life of the insulating fuel layer 34 and the first cathode 35.
That is, it effectively solves the drawback that the spark plug used in the prior art produces a discharge effect only when a very high voltage is input, and the electrode of the spark plug is covered with carbon deposits, which affects the ignition efficiency. do. Therefore, the pulse-type propulsion machine 3 using vacuum cathodic arc discharge is not affected by carbon deposition, and further improves control accuracy and triggering accuracy.

The above is a description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the invention, and any changes and modifications that do not depart from the gist of the invention shall fall within the scope of the invention. .

3 pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathode arc discharge 31 housing 311 inner wall surface 312 triggering space 313 discharge space 32 first anode 33 second anode 34 insulating fuel layer 35 first cathode 36 insulating layer 37 second cathode 38 partition member 4 control device R center line

Claims (5)

A pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathodic arc discharge includes a housing, a first anode, a second anode, an insulating fuel layer, a first cathode, an insulating layer, and a second cathode,
the housing has a triggering space and a discharge space inside its inner wall surface, and the triggering space and the discharge space are arranged side by side in the axial direction and communicate with each other;
The first anode and the second anode are respectively installed in the trigger space and the discharge space, the first anode and the second anode are spaced apart from each other, and the inner wall surface of the housing is attached to each
The first anode, the insulating fuel layer, the first cathode and the insulating layer are arranged concentrically around the center line of the housing,
the insulating fuel layer is surrounded by a first anode;
The first cathode is installed in the catalyst space and spaced apart from the first anode, and the insulating fuel layer is installed between the first cathode and the first anode. ,
the insulating layer is surrounded by the first cathode;
The vacuum cathode arc discharge is characterized in that the second cathode is installed in the housing and extends from the triggering space into the discharge space along the center line of the housing. Pulse-type propulsion machine. a control device, wherein the control device is connected to the first anode, the first cathode, the second anode and the second cathode, respectively, and inputs a positive voltage at the first anode and the second anode; A negative electrode voltage is input to the first cathode and the second cathode, the discharge of the first anode and the first cathode is controlled, and the discharge of the second anode and the second cathode is controlled. A pulse-type propulsion machine using the vacuum cathodic arc discharge according to claim 1. 2. A pulse-type propulsion machine using vacuum cathodic arc discharge according to claim 1, wherein said insulating fuel layer is made of fluororesin. 2. The vacuum cathodic arc discharge according to claim 1, further comprising a partition member, said partition member protruding from the inner wall surface of said housing, and disposed between said first anode and said second anode. Pulse-type propulsion machine used. 5. The vacuum according to claim 4, wherein said partition member is an annular member, and an opening surrounded by an inner peripheral surface of said partition member gradually shrinks from said trigger space toward said discharge space. Pulse-type propulsion machine using cathodic arc discharge.

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