A MPD Thruster with Liquid Metal Injection

概要

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Direct injection of liquid metal propellant is proposed for the MPD thruster system, the feasibility of which has been investigated by measuring thrust, plasma exhaust velocity, current, and terminal voltage, together with ivsual observation. The experimental model thruster consists of rail type electrodes and ON-OFF control valve for Mercury injection, and it has been tested with a non-reversing current pulse of 1.9 msec duration. The quasi-steady operation is established. The plasma exhaust velocity reaches more than 10000 m/sec, and the thrust-power ratio of 25 mN/kw is obtained. the transition process from liquid to plasma has been investigated through the kinetic evaporation mechanism and one-dimensional MHD flow model. The present MPD thruster system is shown to have the capability of unsteady, quasi-steady, and steady operations.
宇宙航空研究開発機構の論文