Experimental Research on Plasma Induced by TEA CO_2 Laser Propulsion

Results in the air-breathing propulsion experiments with a parabolic light craft and a self-made UV-preionized 100 J TEA CO2 laser device are presented. Air disturbance and the spectrum of the plasma after the interaction of pulsed laser radiation with the light craft were studied. It was found that the focal length of the parabolic light craft had a significant effect on the air-disturbance. Two shock waves were detected for the longer focal length, while only one shock wave detected for the short focal length. The spectrum of the laser-induced plasma, the distribution of the characteristic lines, and the temporal behaviors of the air plasma were studied in detail. The results showed that, the evolution of the laser-induced plasma lasted 20μs, and the plasma spectrum would reach the maximum intensity at 7μs.

Experimental Investigation and Numerical Simulation of Air-Breathing Mode for Laser Propulsion

Laser propulsion is a new concept technique of propulsion and will have important application in future space technology. There are two main driving types: the air-breathing mode and the rocket ablation mode. Vertical flight experiments have been carried out with a simple paraboloid type lightcraft in the air-breathing mode by TEA-CO_2 laser. In simulation a new model is used for LSD/LSC wave, the result shows that the momentum coupling coefficient increases with the increase of the pulse energy.

Study on Energy Law of Similitude for Laser Propulsion in Repetitively-pulsed Mode

Energy law of similitude for laser propulsion refers to the law that there is an optimum nozzle configuration for the largest value of impulse coupling coefficient at certain incident laser energy. A dimensionless factor combined with incident laser energy, nozzle configuration parameters and working gas parameters is introduced. Energy law of similitude is established by means of theoretical analysis, experimental study and numerical simulation of radiation gas-dynamics. The qualitative results obtained from theoretical analysis are verified by experimental and numerical results. Physical meaning and engineering application of dimensionless factor and energy law of similitude are analyzed. Results indicate that ① impulse coupling coefficient has a maximurn value with dimensionless factor of about 0.4; ② impulse coupling coefficient is independent of incident laser energy when dimensionless factor is constant. Conclusions and recognitions acquired in this article can not only present optimum nozzle configurations for the present laser energy level, but also provide a good guide for the optimum nozzle configuration design once the laser energy is amplified to a high level.

Multi-use laser impulse pendulum and laser propulsion parameters measurement

In order to investigate the mechanisms of both the air-breathing and the ablation modes of laser propulsion under laboratory conditions, a multi-use laser impulse pendulum (MULIP) is developed. The measurable impulse range is from 1.0×10-4 to 3.8×10-3 N·s. The experimental calibration data agree well with the theoretical calculated data. With MULIP, the ablation mode has been performed, in which a high power pulsed Nd:glass laser (λ= 1.06μm, τ=20 ns) and a gray PVC film sample are used. The experimental results show that the maximum momentum coupling coefficient Cm is 7.73×10-5 N/W, and the maximum specific impulse Isp is 208.6 s.

Air-breathing mode laser propulsion with a long-pulse TE CO_2 laser

Air-breathing mode laser propulsion experiment with a long-pulse transversely excited （TE） CO2 laser is carried out, and its ignition problem is solved with the ignition needle of lightcraft. Owing to the ignition needle, an order of magnitude reduction in the ignition threshold is demonstrated. The result is compared with previous study. The momentum coupling coefficient is also measured in the experiment and its dependence upon laser pulse energy （6 14 J） and pulse width （20, 32, and 40 μs） is discussed.

Investigation on Mechanism of Altitude Characteristic for Air-breathing Pulsed Laser Thruster

Altitude characteristic is of great importance for studying when an air-breathing pulsed laser thruster works in the dense atmosphere condition of 0-30 km altitude. The experimental findings all over the world show that the similar relationship between impulse coupling coefficient and altitude. According to strong explosion theory and an ideal gas model,a dimensionless factor indicating energy law of similitude is introduced,and formula of impulse coupling coefficient is deducted. Then theoretical study of altitude characteristic is carried out and mechanism of altitude characteristic is further explained. The results indicate that there is a maximum value of impulse coupling coefficient if the dimensionless factor equals to 0.41 in theory, and whether the phenomena of maximum appear or not depends on the range of the dimensionless factor related to altitude. As to a conical nozzle with the fixed length of 120 mm, the relationship between the sonic velocity and the dimensionless factor causes the maximum phenomenon at the altitude of about 12.5 km,and maximum theoretical impulse coupling coefficient is also found in the experimental investigations. The mechanism of altitude characteristic for air-breathing pulsed laser thruster is discovered in this article, which will provide reference for further research on altitude characteristic.