Home > Conference materials > Papers > Feastibility study and comparative study of air breathing electric propulsion systems operating in very low Earth orbit conditions
Original title:
Feastibility study and comparative study of air breathing electric propulsion systems operating in very low Earth orbit conditions
Authors:
Šťastný, Marek ; Dytrych, Tomáš ; Dániel, Vladimír ; Mrózek, Kryštof ; Obrusník, Adam Document type: Papers
Language:
eng Publisher:
Vysoké učení technické v Brně, Fakulta elektrotechniky a komunikačních technologií Abstract:
Air Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) systems offer a promising solution to extending the lifetime of Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) missions by using residual atmospheric particles as a propellant. ABEP systems need to provide sufficient thrust to compensate for substantial aerodynamic drag present in VLEO environments. The feasibility of operating a hypothetical ABEP system of a given geometry at a given altitude is assessed via Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) based on the following parameters: the mean pressure in the ionization chamber, compression factor and drag force acting upon the surface of the given geometry. Atmospheric models were used for reference to ensure realistic VLEO-like conditions. The comparative study is performed using a Global Plasma Model (GPM). A GPM can calculate the volume-averaged quantities of plasma systems with complex physics and reaction kinetics. The results of GPM are compared with a breadboard model of an Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ABEP system constructed by the Czech aerospace research institute (VZLU a.s.).
Keywords:
ABEP; Air Breathing Electric Propulsion; Direct Simulation Monte Carlo; DSMC; Global Plasma Model (GPM); Intake; Very Low Earth Orbit; VLEO Host item entry: Proceedings II of the 30st Conference STUDENT EEICT 2024: Selected papers, ISBN 978-80-214-6230-4, ISSN 2788-1334
Institution: Brno University of Technology
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Document availability information: Fulltext is available in the Brno University of Technology Digital Library. Original record: https://hdl.handle.net/11012/249322