TWI778706B - Vacuum cathode arc-induced pulsed thruster - Google Patents

Abstract

A vacuum cathode arc-induced pulsed thruster includes a housing, a first anode unit and a second anode unit disposed in the housing respectively, an insulating fuel layer enclosed by the first anode unit, a first cathode unit enclosed by the insulating fuel layer, a main insulating layer enclosed by the first cathode unit, and a second cathode unit extended along a central axis of the housing. The first anode unit, the insulating fuel layer, the first cathode unit, and the main insulating layer are in concentric relationship with one another around the central axis of the housing. Thus, the vacuum cathode arc-induced pulse thruster is lightweight and has low manufacturing costs, low system complexity, and less energy consumption. Carbon deposition caused during an electric discharging process is prevented from affecting an inducing effect to thereby prolong the service life of the thruster and increase the inducing precision.

Description

Vacuum Cathode Arc Induced Pulse Thruster

The present invention relates to a thruster, in particular to a vacuum cathode arc-induced pulse thruster.

A new type of thruster developed in recent years, the pulsed plasma thruster is a new type of thruster developed in recent years. It is an electric propulsion device that uses the interaction of electric and magnetic fields to accelerate plasma to generate thrust. , because the pulsed plasma thruster has the characteristics of low cost, simple design, light weight and low power consumption, and at the same time, the pulsed plasma thruster can achieve a good effect in the attitude control and position maintenance of the microsatellite, making the The pulsed plasma thruster has become one of the most promising electric propulsion devices; check, the prototype of the general pulsed plasma thruster is the solid-supply pulsed plasma thruster and the gas-induced pulsed plasma thruster, among which , The solid-supply pulsed plasma thruster is the most common and has a very simple structure. It mainly uses fuel and the electrode of the spark plug to induce discharge, thereby generating thrust. However, in a vacuum environment, a very high voltage is required to pass the spark plug. The discharge requirement of induced discharge, and the carbon generated during the discharge process will deposit and adhere to the electrode surface and the fuel surface of the spark plug, thereby affecting the subsequent discharge induction effect, and greatly reducing the use efficiency and efficiency of the solid-supply pulsed plasma thruster. Life expectancy needs to be improved.

Continuing the above, as far as the gas-induced pulsed plasma thruster is concerned, when enough ionized gas is generated between the electrodes, the capacitor will cause a discharge, and the argon gas is used as the propellant and the inducer to induce the discharge, through the ionization The gas discharge and the breakdown voltage is lower than the breakdown voltage in the atmospheric environment, and the impulse generated by the maximum single pulse can achieve the goal of propulsion; however, the use of gas as a propellant has a large loss of fuel and is relatively The propulsion efficiency is poor. In addition, whether it is a gas-induced pulsed plasma thruster or a solid-supplied pulsed plasma thruster, it will cause the occurrence of late-time ablation, which will reduce the performance and service life of the thruster. Therefore, how to design a propeller with long service life, high performance and low energy consumption is also the goal of everyone's efforts.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cathodic arc-induced pulse propeller, which can reduce the influence of carbon deposition during use, and convert the carbon deposition into fuel, effectively prolong the service life, and improve the triggering accuracy.

Therefore, the vacuum cathode arc-induced pulse propeller of the present invention includes a casing with an inner wall, a trigger space and a discharge space surrounded by the inner wall, respectively, and a first space in the trigger space and the discharge space, respectively. An anode and a second anode, an insulating fuel layer surrounded by the first anode, and a first cathode disposed in the trigger space and spaced apart from the first anode, so that the insulating fuel layer is disposed on the Between the first cathode and the first anode, an insulating layer surrounded by the first cathode, and a second cathode disposed in the casing, and the second cathode is parallel to the centerline of the casing Extending from the trigger space into the discharge space, in addition, the first anode, the insulating fuel layer, the first cathode and the insulating layer are arranged in concentric circles with the center line as the center; therefore, by the above structure It is designed to first discharge through the first anode and the first cathode, and then induce the insulating fuel layer between the first anode and the first cathode to generate plasma into the discharge space, and then the second anode and the first cathode generate plasma into the discharge space. The second cathode discharge enables the high-speed exhaust velocity of metal ions in the plasma flow to generate thrust, without the need for additional structures such as spark plugs, so it has the advantages of low cost, low system complexity, light weight and low power consumption. At the same time, it can also avoid the carbon deposition generated during the discharge process to affect the triggering effect, and use the carbon deposition as a fuel feedback function, thereby improving the triggering accuracy and control accuracy, and extending the overall service life.

[this invention]

3: Vacuum Cathode Arc Induced Pulse Thruster

31: Shell

311: inner wall surface

312: Trigger Space

313: Discharge space

32: First anode

33: Second anode

34: Insulating fuel layer

35: First cathode

36: Insulation layer

37: Second cathode

38: Dividers

4: Control device

R: center line

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 to 6 are schematic diagrams of operations of the first embodiment of the present invention.

The foregoing and other technical contents, features and effects of the present invention will be clearly understood in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the first preferred embodiment of the vacuum cathode arc-induced pulsed thruster 3 of the present invention, the vacuum cathode arc-induced pulsed thruster 3 includes a casing 31 , respectively disposed in the casing 31 The first anode 32, the second anode 33, the insulating fuel layer 34, the first cathode 35, the insulating layer 36 and the second cathode 37; wherein, the casing 31 defines a center line R and has an inner wall surface 311, and The inner wall surface 311 surrounds a trigger space 312 and a discharge space 313 , and the trigger space 312 and the discharge space 313 communicate with each other. The first anode 32 is disposed in the trigger space 312 , and the second anode 33 is arranged in the discharge space 313, and the first anode 32 and the second anode 33 are arranged at intervals and are respectively attached to the inner wall surface 311 of the casing 31; in addition, the insulating fuel layer 34 is received by the first anode 32 circles; In addition, the first cathode 35 is disposed in the trigger space 312 and is spaced apart from the first anode 32, so that the insulating fuel layer 34 is disposed between the first anode 32 and the first cathode 35; As for, the insulating layer 36 is surrounded by the first cathode 35; furthermore, the second cathode 37 is disposed in the casing 31 and extends into the discharge along the center line R and from the trigger space 312 In the space 313; finally, the first anode 32, the insulating fuel layer 34, the first cathode 35 and the insulating layer 36 are arranged in concentric circles with the center line R of the casing 31 as the center, and in this embodiment , the insulating fuel layer 34 is made of Teflon material.

Continuing the above, the vacuum cathode arc-induced pulse propeller 3 further includes a partition 38 and a control device 4 , the partition 38 protrudes from the inner wall surface 311 of the casing 31 so that the first anode 32 It is spaced from the second anode 33 , and the separator 38 is inclined from the trigger space 312 to the discharge space 313 to form a tapered arrangement. In addition, the control device 4 is connected to the first anode 32 and the first cathode respectively. 35. The second anode 33 and the second cathode 37, therefore, the control device 4 can input the positive voltage to the first anode 32 and the second anode 33, and input the negative voltage to the first cathode 32 and the second cathode 33 voltage, and control the discharge of the first anode 32 and the first cathode 35, and control the discharge of the second anode 33 and the second cathode 37, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , during operation, the control device 4 controls the first anode 32 and the first cathode 35 to perform induced discharge, so that an arc is generated between the first anode 32 and the first cathode 35 , and the arc will Concentrating on the surface of the first cathode 35 to form a cathode spot, because the cathode spot has a very high temperature, it causes an ion emission phenomenon to form a plasma (also called an ionizer), and by discharging the plasma into the trigger space 312, A preliminary thrust is generated while the plasma is micro-exploded and evaporated from the first cathode 35, which causes the first cathode 35 and the Carbon consumption on the surface of insulating fuel layer 34 .

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , the plasma is then input into the discharge space 313 through the trigger space 312 , and a path is formed in the discharge space 313 due to the plasma, so that the control device 4 controls the second anode 33 to communicate with The second cathode 37 discharges, so that the plasma in the discharge space 313 induces the interaction of the magnetic field and the electric field due to the discharge, thereby generating the Lorentz force and generating the acceleration thrust; in addition, due to the insulating fuel The layer 34 is made of Teflon material. During the process of generating plasma due to the arc, a part of carbon is also deposited on the surface of the first cathode 35 and the surface of the insulating fuel layer 34 to serve as the first cathode 35 and the surface of the insulating fuel layer 34. The carbon replenishment of the insulating fuel layer 34, therefore, the carbon deposition phenomenon in the present invention is different from the conventional one, no longer affects the subsequent discharge induction effect, but contributes to the carbon replenishment of the insulating fuel layer 34 and the first cathode 35 , thereby prolonging the service life of the insulating fuel layer 34 and the first cathode 35, effectively solving the problem that the conventional spark plug must input a very high voltage to produce a discharge effect, and the electrode of the spark plug is covered by carbon deposition and affects the ignition efficiency. Therefore, the vacuum cathode arc-induced pulsed thruster 3 of the present case is not affected by the carbon deposition, and can further improve the control accuracy and the induction accuracy.

Summarizing the foregoing, the vacuum cathodic arc-induced pulsed thruster of the present invention includes a casing defining a center line, a trigger space and a discharge space enclosed by the casing, respectively, and a first space disposed in the trigger space. Anode, a second anode disposed in the discharge space and spaced from the first anode, an insulating fuel layer surrounded by the first anode, a second anode disposed in the trigger space and spaced from the first anode The first cathodes are arranged at intervals, so that the insulating fuel layer is arranged between the first cathode and the first anode, an insulating layer surrounded by the first cathode, and a first cathode arranged in the casing. Two cathodes, and the second cathode is parallel to the center line The trigger space is inserted into the discharge space. In addition, the first anode, the insulating fuel layer, the first cathode and the insulating layer are arranged in concentric circles with the center line of the casing as the center; therefore, through The structure design of the vacuum cathodic arc-induced pulse thruster not only achieves the functions of low cost, low system complexity, light weight and low power consumption, but also can avoid the carbon deposition produced in the discharge process to affect the efficiency and effectively improve the efficiency. The service life of the vacuum cathodic arc-induced pulse propeller, and the increased triggering accuracy and control accuracy, can indeed achieve the purpose of the present invention.

However, the above descriptions are only to illustrate the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and should not limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. , shall still fall within the scope covered by the patent of the present invention.

3: Vacuum Cathode Arc Induced Pulse Thruster

31: Shell

311: inner wall surface

312: Trigger Space

313: Discharge space

32: First anode

33: Second anode

34: Insulating fuel layer

35: First cathode

36: Insulation layer

37: Second cathode

38: Dividers

4: Control device

R: centerline

Claims (4)

A vacuum cathodic arc-induced pulsed thruster, comprising: a casing, which defines a centerline, has an inner wall, and a trigger space and a discharge space respectively surrounded by the inner wall, and the trigger The space and the discharge space communicate with each other; the first anode and the second anode are respectively arranged in the trigger space and the discharge space, the first anode and the second anode are arranged at intervals and fit into the casing respectively a wall surface; an insulating fuel layer surrounded by the first anode; a first cathode disposed in the trigger space and surrounded by the insulating fuel layer, and the first cathode and the first anode are arranged at intervals , so that the insulating fuel layer is arranged between the first cathode and the first anode; an insulating layer surrounded by the first cathode, so that the two sides of the first cathode are respectively attached to the insulating fuel layer , the insulating layer; and a second cathode disposed in the casing and surrounded by the insulating layer, and the second cathode extends into the discharge space along the centerline of the casing and from the trigger space; Wherein, the first anode, the insulating fuel layer, the first cathode and the insulating layer are arranged in concentric circles with the center line of the casing as the center, so that the first anode, the insulating fuel layer, the first cathode, The insulating layer and the second cathode are continuously encircled by the casing toward the centerline in the trigger space; and a control device, the control device is respectively connected with the first anode, the first cathode, the The second anode and the second cathode are connected, so that the control device controls the first anode and the second cathode respectively. The first cathode directly conducts an induced discharge to generate an arc to form plasma, and controls the discharge of the second anode and the second cathode to generate an accelerated thrust by the plasma. The vacuum cathode arc-induced pulse propeller according to claim 1, wherein the insulating fuel layer is made of Teflon material. The vacuum cathodic arc-induced pulse propeller according to claim 1 further comprises a partition, the partition protrudes from the inner wall surface of the casing, so that the first anode and the second anode are spaced apart. The vacuum cathodic arc-induced pulsed thruster according to claim 3, wherein the separator is inclined from the trigger space toward the discharge space to be arranged in a tapered manner.

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