Device and method for regulating flow rate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10641253-B2
Application number	US-201615560864-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 24, 2016
Priority date	Mar 25, 2015
Publication date	May 5, 2020
Grant date	May 5, 2020

Abstract

A flow rate regulator device is provided, including an upstream chamber, a downstream chamber, a plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts providing parallel fluid flow connections between the upstream chamber and the downstream chamber, first and second electrical terminals configured to be connected to an electric current source, and at least one electric switch configured to connect one or more of the capillary ducts selectively between the electrical terminals. A system for feeding propellant gas to a space electric thruster is also provided, including at least one such flow rate regulator device to regulate a propellant gas flow rate. And, a flow rate regulation method is provided, using the flow rate regulator device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A flow rate regulator device, comprising:
an upstream chamber;
a downstream chamber;
a plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts providing parallel fluid flow connections between the upstream chamber and the downstream chamber;
first and second electrical terminals configured to be connected to an electric current source; and
at least one electric switch configured to selectively connect one electrically conductive capillary duct of the plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts or multiple electrically conductive capillary ducts of the plurality of said capillary ducts, in series, between the first and the second electrical terminals.

2. The flow rate regulator device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the plurality of electrically conductive capillary duct comprises at least three electrically conductive capillary ducts, and
wherein the flow rate regulator device further comprises a plurality of electric switches configured to select a number of the plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts to be connected in series between the first and second electrical terminals.

3. A flow rate regulator device, comprising:
an upstream chamber:
a downstream chamber:
a plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts providing parallel fluid flow connections between the upstream chamber and the downstream chamber:
first and second electrical terminals configured to be connected to an electric current source: and
at least one electric switch connected to one of the plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts and configured to be switched between a first electrical connection to another one of the plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts and a second electrical connection to one of the first and the second electrical terminals.

4. The flow rate regulator device according to claim 3 , wherein a first end of a first electrically conductive capillary duct of the plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts is connected to the first electrical terminal, a first end of a second electrically conductive capillary duct of the plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts is connected to the second electrical terminal, and an electric switch connected to a second end of the first capillary duct is configured to be switched between a third electrical connection to the second electrical terminal and a fourth electrical connection to a second end of the second electrically conductive capillary duct.

5. A system for feeding propellant gas to a space electric thruster, the system comprising the flow rate regulator device according to claim 1 , for regulating a flow rate of the propellant gas.

6. A space electric thruster including a system according to claim 5 , for feeding the propellant gas to the space electric thruster.

7. A method of regulating a fluid flow rate between an upstream chamber and a downstream chamber, the method comprising:
at least one electric switch selectively connecting, between two electrical terminals, one electrically conductive capillary duct from a plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts or multiple electrically conductive capillary ducts of the plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts, in series; and
by the selectively connecting, providing fluid flow connections in parallel between the upstream chamber and the downstream chamber in order to use a Joule effect to heat the one electrically conductive capillary duct or the multiple electrically conductive capillary ducts electrically connected in series between the two electrical terminals to regulate the fluid flow rate passing via the plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts from the upstream chamber to the downstream chamber.

8. The method of regulating fluid flow rate according to claim 7 , wherein an electric current flowing between the two electrical terminals is also regulated in order to regulate the fluid flow rate passing via the plurality of electrically conductive capillary ducts.

9. A system for feeding propellant gas to a space electric thruster, the system comprising the flow rate regulator device according to claim 3 , for regulating a flow rate of the propellant gas.

10. A space electric thruster including a system according to claim 9 , for feeding the propellant gas to the space electric thruster.

Assignees

• Safran Aircraft Engines

Inventors

• Zurbach Stephan
• Rabin Julien
• Oberg Michael

Classifications

• G05D7/0694

  by action on throttling means or flow sources of very small size, e.g. microfluidics (microvalves F16K99/0001; microstructural devices per se B81B) · CPC title

• G05D7/0652 Primary

  the plurality of throttling means being arranged in parallel · CPC title

• F03H1/0012 Primary

  Means for supplying the propellant · CPC title

• B64G1/402 Primary

  Propellant tanks; Feeding propellants · CPC title

• B64G1/405

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic