A conductive liquid-fed pulsed plasma thruster includes a first electrode having a conductive solid portion and a conductive liquid portion, a second electrode separated from the first electrode to define an ignition space therebetween, at least one electric insulator separating the first and second electrodes, and a conductive-liquid passage extending within the conductive solid portion through which the conductive liquid portion flows from an inlet to an outlet located at the ignition space. The first and second electrodes are configured so that a drop of the conductive liquid portion forms and grows at the outlet when the conductive liquid portion flows through the conductive liquid passage until the drop of the conductive liquid causes an arc discharge between the drop and the second electrode that ignites the drop to produce a plasma cloud that generates thrust when exhausted.
PULSED PLASMA THRUSTERS WITH CONDUCTIVE LIQUID SACRIFICIAL ELECTRODE(S)
2025-03-06
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
Liquid-Metal-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thrusters
NTRS | 2003
|Pulsed Plasma Thrusters for Micropropulsion
AIAA | 2003
|Pulsed Plasma Thrusters for Micropropulsion
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2003
|A Thrust Stand for Liquid Propellant Pulsed Plasma Thrusters
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2002
|Designing solid propellant pulsed plasma thrusters
NTRS | 1975
|