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Scientists of Samara University and the Moscow Aviation Institute have developed the system for calculating parameters of a pulse gas valve, one of the most important components of promising space plasma engines. The scientists’ development will help designers in designing such engines. The created algorithms for automatic calculation of valve parameters will make it possible to design more economical and lightweight space engines that can be used to equip small-sized spacecrafts, for example, CubeSat nanosatellites, which will significantly increase the active life of nanosatellites in orbit.
The experimental study was conducted with the financial support of Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science, within the large-scale All-Russian project “Fundamental Problems of Developing Aerospace Transport Systems and Controlling in Aerospace Technology for Ensuring Connectivity of the Territory of the Russian Federation”. The results of the study have been published in the prestigious international journal “International Review of Aerospace Engineering”.
“In recent years, the increasing number of tasks on the Earth and in outer space have been solved by using small- and ultra-small-sized spacecrafts, including CubeSat nanosatellites. However, many of these tasks are performed more efficiently if the spacecrafts are equipped with jet propulsion systems. The engines help compensate for the force of aerodynamic drag in orbits in the altitude range of 300-450 km, which significantly increases the active life of the spacecrafts - from a few additional months to a year or more. Using the engines, it is possible to adjust the altitude of the working orbit and the satellite location relative to other devices of the satellite constellation. Therefore, research and development of propulsion systems for satellites of Small and Ultra-Small Class is currently underway all over the world, and pulsed plasma engines with a gaseous working fluid are among the most promising in many respects”, said Georgy Makaryants, Head of Samara University’s Department of Aircraft Maintenance.
In such propulsion systems, gas enters the discharge channel through a special pulse valve that opens for a strictly defined period of time (like a valve in a human heart), where an electrical breakdown occurs between the electrodes at the required pressure. The gas is heated by the electric arc, ionized, turning into plasma, and then accelerates in the nozzle, creating engine thrust.
“One of the most complex structural components of a pulsed plasma engine with a gaseous working fluid is a pulsed gas valve: it is like the “heart” of a plasma engine, with the operating mode of the entire propulsion system depending on it. In the course of our research, various aspects of the operation of such a valve were considered, to create various engine thrust parameters and gas consumption indicators. This made it possible to create the system for calculating parameters both in terms of operating pressure and speed, which can be used by designers when designing the gas path of such valves for promising plasma engines”, said Georgy Makaryants.
According to the scientist, the use of gas in a plasma engine makes it possible to get rid of the disadvantages inherent in solid-state plasma engines that use special checkers made of dielectric material, such as fluoropolymer, as a working fluid. Such checkers are difficult to place and assemble in the limited dimensions of an engine designed for small- and ultra-small-sized spacecrafts. Gas as a working fluid gives much more freedom in terms of structural design, and allows reducing the size of the propulsion system, since it eliminates the dependence of the shape and size of the discharge channel on the shape of the checkers of the working fluid. Moreover, as a result, the use of gas makes it possible to use a discharge channel, the shape of which makes it possible to reduce the amount of discharge current, that is, the elements through which the discharge current flows, in particular, the electric energy storage unit in such an engine can be made smaller in size and weight, which is very important for nanosatellites.
The developed parameter calculation system was successfully tested during experiments on a gas valve created at the Scientific Research Institute of Applied Mechanics and Electrodynamics of the Moscow Aviation Institute (NII PME MAI). Nitrogen was used as a working fluid in the experiments.
The material has been prepared with the support of the grant provided by Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science within the Decade of Science and Technology.
For reference
Samara University won the grant for implementing the project “Fundamental Problems of Developing Aerospace Transport Systems and Controlling in Aerospace Technology for Ensuring Connectivity of the Territory of the Russian Federation”. It will be implemented within the departmental project “Development of Institutes of Grant Support for Researchers, Scientific and Creative Groups” of the State Program “Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation”. The project deadline is from 2024 till 2026.
The head executor is Samara University, the co-executors are the Moscow Aviation Institute and the RAS Institute of Electrophysics and Electric Power Engineering. The work is headed by Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Evgeny Shakhmatov, Scientific Supervisor of Samara University.
The project goal is solving fundamental scientific problems of development of aerospace transport systems and control over aerospace engineering, necessary for ensuring connectivity of the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as for developing and using outer space and airspace for the new territories’ integration in face of geopolitical and climatic challenges by increasing efficiency of both atmospheric and space aircrafts that are carriers of the Earth remote sensing equipment based on new methods of controlling their movement, methods of increasing their energy efficiency, methods of ensuring reliability of control equipment, methods of protecting against dynamic and thermal effects on the payload, as well as improving quality of the Earth remote sensing based on the new methodology for joint analysis and processing of heterogeneous and time-varying data obtained from aircrafts.
Photo by: Olesya Orina
