Development Of Thrust Measure And Spectral Characteristics Of Pulsed Plasma Thruster

In recent years, along with the rapid development of micro-satellite system,the technology of micro-propulsion has got intensive research and investigation.As the key to micro-satellites and other spacecraft subsystem,the performance of micro-thruster could directly decidewhether the space mission is successful or not. Because of simplified structure, small thrust, high specific impulse, low elementary impulse, and little power dissipation etc., Pulsed Plasma Thruster(PPT) has been a hot topic in many reserches.In this paper, we introduced related domestic and foreign investigationsfocusing on propeller thrust firstly. We studied thetechnology of multi-impulsive thrust measurement, and through Fourier transform analysis we concluded that multiple pulse force is proportional to steady-state corner of the system. We used our own test systemto meet multiple pulse testing requirements by increasing or decreasing a mass block of the system to change its natural period.As experiments with PPT require vacuum environment, we designed automatic calibration system for testing which is suitable for vacuum environment. We also designed coil circuit and stents. Trough comparison with standard weights, weconfirmed the feasibility of thedesigned authentication system, improving precision of the measurementmethods. We conducted experiments for testing PPT under different cases.For measurements ofablation quality, weput forward a proposal to increase the amount of sample propellant, improving the precision significantly andcalculatingspecific impulse as well as performanceindex of the thruster.We optimized the original systemfor spectrum test. By increasingoptical fibers and lens we solved the problem signal weakness. By using horizontal lasers we improvedtheprecision of initial zero positioningin experiments. As the discharge area of PPTis two-dimensional, we introduced nylon panel device of accurate thicknessto control the vertical height, and achievedtwo-dimensional spatial measurements of plasma discharged by PPT.Finally, we measuredthe spectrum ofPPT and analyzedthe characteristics of it qualitatively.