Proceedings ArticleDOI
High-power hydrogen arcjet performance
Thomas W. Haag,Francis M. Curran +1 more
Reads0
Chats0
TLDR
In this paper, a hydrogen arcjet was operated at power levels ranging from 5 to 30 kW with three different nozzle geometries, including constrictor diameter, length, and diverging exit angle.Abstract:
A hydrogen arcjet was operated at power levels ranging from 5 to 30 kW with three different nozzle geometries. Test results using all three nozzle geometries are reported and include variations of specific impulse with flow rate, and thrust with power. Geometric variables investigated included constrictor diameter, length, and diverging exit angle. The nozzle with a constrictor diameter of 1.78 mm and divergence angle of 20 deg was found to give the highest performance. A specific impulse of 1460 s was attained with this nozzle at a thrust efficiency of 29.8 percent. The best efficiency measured was 34.4 percent at a specific impulse of 1045 s. Post test examination of the cathode showed erosion after 28 hours of operation to be small, and limited to the conical tip where steady state arc attachment occurred. Each nozzle was tested to destruction.read more
Citations
More filters
ReportDOI
Multiplexed Laser Induced Fluorescence and Non-Equilibrium Processes in Arcjets.
TL;DR: The UTSI arcjet code was later extended to include a two temperature, finite rate kinetic model for hydrogen plasma as mentioned in this paper, which has been used to simulate arcjet thrusters operating on ammonia, hydrogen, and argon.
Proceedings ArticleDOI
Medium power hydrogen arcjet performance
TL;DR: In this paper, a series of nozzles were operated in modular laboratory thrusters to examine the effects of geometric parameters such as constrictor diameter and nozzle divergence angle on the performance of a hydrogen arcjet.
Proceedings ArticleDOI
Thrust Stand Characterization of the NASA NEXT Thruster
TL;DR: In this article, the NASA NEXT ion engine was used for direct thrust measurements using a standard pendulum style thrust stand constructed specifically for this application, and the measurements were compared to the nominal NASA throttle table 10 (TT10) values by 3.1% at most, while at 30 throttle levels the difference is less than 2.0%.
Thrust Stand Characterization of the NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT)
TL;DR: In this paper, the NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) ion engine was used for direct thrust measurements and a pendulum style thrust stand was constructed specifically for this application.