This paper presents the initial development and characterization of a novel micropropulsion system for nanosatellite applications: a liquid-fed pulsed plasma thruster (LF-PPT) comprising a Lorentz-force pulsed plasma accelerator (PPA) and a low-energy surface flashover (LESF) igniter. In this work, LESF was demonstrated as a sufficient means of igniting the primary discharge in a $3\mu \mathrm{F}/2\mathrm{kV}$ PPA operating with a pentaphenyl trimethyl trisiloxane (${\mathrm{C}}_{33}{\mathrm{H}}_{34}{\mathrm{O}}_2{\mathrm{Si}}_3$) dielectric liquid propellant, and initial characterization of the propulsion system parameters was performed. PPA current pulse durations of about $16\mu \mathrm{s}$ with peaks of $7.42\pm 0.1\mathrm{kA}$ were observed, and plasma jet exhaust velocity was measured at $32\pm 4\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}$ using a time-of-flight technique via a set of double probes located along the jet’s path. Intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD) photography was concurrently leveraged to visualize plasma dynamics and confirm successful operation in the LESF ignition regime. A peak thrust and impulse bit of $5.8\pm 0.7\mathrm{N}$ and $35\pm 4.4\mu \mathrm{N}\cdot \mathrm{s}$, respectively, were estimated using large-area Langmuir probe measurements of total ion flux produced by the thruster. This paper additionally exhibits successful operation of the LF-PPT with the hydroxylammonium-nitrate-based propellant AF-M315e. The results of this paper suggest the befitting of LESF igniters in LF-PPTs, and the compatibility of LF-PPTs with the green propellant AF-M315e.

本文介绍了一种适用于纳米卫星应用的新型微推进系统的初步开发和特性：液力脉冲等离子推进器（LF-PPT），包括洛伦兹力脉冲等离子加速器（PPA）和低能表面闪络（LESF）点火器。在这项工作中，LESF被证明是点燃火炉中一次放电的一种有效方法。$3\mu \mathrm{F}/2\mathrm{千伏}$ PPA与五苯基三甲基三硅氧烷（${\mathrm{C}}_{33}{\mathrm{H}}_{34}{\mathrm{Ø}}_2{硅}_3$）介电液体推进剂，并进行了推进系统参数的初始表征。PPA电流脉冲持续时间约$16\mu \mathrm{s}$ 与峰 $7.42\pm 0.1\mathrm{K\; a}$ 观察，并测量等离子流的排气速度 $32\pm 4\mathrm{公里}/\mathrm{s}$使用飞行时间技术，通过沿喷气机路径设置的一组双探针。同时使用增强的电荷耦合器件（ICCD）摄影来可视化等离子体动力学并确认在LESF点火方式下的成功运行。的最大推力和脉冲位$5.8\pm 0.7\mathrm{ñ}$ 和 $35\pm 4.4\mu \mathrm{ñ}\cdot \mathrm{s}$分别使用推进器产生的总离子通量的大面积Langmuir探针测量值进行估算。本文还展示了LF-PPT与硝酸铵-羟铵推进剂AF-M315e的成功运行。本文的结果表明，LFSF-PT中最适合使用LESF点火器，并且LF-PPT与绿色推进剂AF-M315e具有相容性。