The physics of electrodeless electric thrusters that use directed plasma to propel spacecraft without employing electrodes subject to plasma erosion is reviewed. Electrodeless plasma thrusters are potentially more dur...The physics of electrodeless electric thrusters that use directed plasma to propel spacecraft without employing electrodes subject to plasma erosion is reviewed. Electrodeless plasma thrusters are potentially more durable than presently deployed thrusters that use electrodes such as gridded ion,Hall thrusters, arcjets and resistojets. Like other plasma thrusters, electrodeless thrusters have the advantage of reduced fuel mass compared to chemical thrusters that produce the same thrust. The status of electrodeless plasma thrusters that could be used in communications satellites and in spacecraft for interplanetary missions is examined. Electrodeless thrusters under development or planned for deployment include devices that use a rotating magnetic field; devices that use a rotating electric field; pulsed inductive devices that exploit the Lorentz force on an induced current loop in a plasma; devices that use radiofrequency fields to heat plasmas and have magnetic nozzles to accelerate the hot plasma and other devices that exploit the Lorentz force. Using metrics of specific impulse and thrust efficiency, we find that the most promising designs are those that use Lorentz forces directly to expel plasma and those that use magnetic nozzles to accelerate plasma.展开更多
A charged spacecraft is subject to the Lorentz force when it orbits a central body with a magnetic field. The induced Lorentz force provides a new mean of propellantless electromagnetic propulsion for orbital control....A charged spacecraft is subject to the Lorentz force when it orbits a central body with a magnetic field. The induced Lorentz force provides a new mean of propellantless electromagnetic propulsion for orbital control. Modeling the Earth magnetic field as a tilted dipole that co-rotates with the Earth, this paper develops a nonlinear dynamical model that describes the relative motion of the Lorentz spacecraft about an arbitrary reference orbit. Based on the proposed dynamical model, feasibility of Lorentz-propelled rendezvous with no restrictions on the initial states is investigated. The rendezvous problem is then formulated as an optimal control problem, and solved with the Gauss pseudospectral method（GPM）. Numerical simulations substantiate the validity of proposed model and method, and results show that the propellantless rendezvous is achieved at both fixed and free final time.展开更多
基金The financial support of the Australian Research Council for this projectthe provision of an Australian Postgraduate Award
文摘The physics of electrodeless electric thrusters that use directed plasma to propel spacecraft without employing electrodes subject to plasma erosion is reviewed. Electrodeless plasma thrusters are potentially more durable than presently deployed thrusters that use electrodes such as gridded ion,Hall thrusters, arcjets and resistojets. Like other plasma thrusters, electrodeless thrusters have the advantage of reduced fuel mass compared to chemical thrusters that produce the same thrust. The status of electrodeless plasma thrusters that could be used in communications satellites and in spacecraft for interplanetary missions is examined. Electrodeless thrusters under development or planned for deployment include devices that use a rotating magnetic field; devices that use a rotating electric field; pulsed inductive devices that exploit the Lorentz force on an induced current loop in a plasma; devices that use radiofrequency fields to heat plasmas and have magnetic nozzles to accelerate the hot plasma and other devices that exploit the Lorentz force. Using metrics of specific impulse and thrust efficiency, we find that the most promising designs are those that use Lorentz forces directly to expel plasma and those that use magnetic nozzles to accelerate plasma.
基金Project supported by the Fund of Innovation by Graduate School of National University of Defense Technology(No.B140106)
文摘A charged spacecraft is subject to the Lorentz force when it orbits a central body with a magnetic field. The induced Lorentz force provides a new mean of propellantless electromagnetic propulsion for orbital control. Modeling the Earth magnetic field as a tilted dipole that co-rotates with the Earth, this paper develops a nonlinear dynamical model that describes the relative motion of the Lorentz spacecraft about an arbitrary reference orbit. Based on the proposed dynamical model, feasibility of Lorentz-propelled rendezvous with no restrictions on the initial states is investigated. The rendezvous problem is then formulated as an optimal control problem, and solved with the Gauss pseudospectral method（GPM）. Numerical simulations substantiate the validity of proposed model and method, and results show that the propellantless rendezvous is achieved at both fixed and free final time.
