Inductive plasma acceleration apparatus and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11933282-B2
Application number	US-202017605565-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 25, 2020
Priority date	Sep 25, 2019
Publication date	Mar 19, 2024
Grant date	Mar 19, 2024

Abstract

An inductive plasma acceleration apparatus, comprising a pulse laser assembly, a pulsed discharge assembly, an exciting coil assembly, a solid-state working medium, and a control assembly; the exciting coil assembly is electrically connected to the pulsed discharge assembly such that a strong pulse current is produced in the exciting coil assembly during the discharge process of the pulse discharge assembly, and an inductive pulse electromagnetic field is excited around the exciting coil assembly; the solid-state working medium is positioned on the optical path of a pulse laser emitted by the pulse laser assembly such that the solid-state working medium produces a pulse gas under the ablation action of the pulse laser, and the inductive pulse electromagnetic field is positioned on the circulation gas path of the pulse gas such that the pulse gas can enter the inductive pulse electromagnetic field.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An inductive plasma acceleration apparatus, comprising a pulsed laser assembly, a pulsed discharge assembly, an exciting coil assembly, a solid-state working medium, a control assembly, and a bracket,
wherein the exciting coil assembly is electrically connected to the pulsed discharge assembly, such that the pulsed discharge assembly produces a strong pulse current in the exciting coil assembly during a discharge process to further excite an inductive pulse electromagnetic field around the exciting coil assembly;
the solid-state working medium is located on an optical path of a laser pulse emitted by the pulsed laser assembly, such that the solid-state working medium produces a gas pulse under an ablation action of the laser pulse, and the inductive pulse electromagnetic field is located on a circulation gas path of the gas pulse, such that the gas pulse is capable of entering the inductive pulse electromagnetic field;
and the pulsed laser assembly and the pulsed discharge assembly are both electrically connected to the control assembly to control a power and a frequency of the laser pulse emitted by the pulsed laser assembly, wherein a reflecting assembly capable of changing a direction of the optical path is disposed on the optical path of the laser pulse emitted by the pulsed laser assembly, such that the laser pulse is capable of accurately irradiating on the solid-state working medium based on a predetermined density distribution, wherein the reflecting assembly comprises a first reflecting mirror and a second reflecting mirror which are disposed on the bracket, the first reflecting mirror has an axisymmetric conical configuration, and the second reflecting mirror has an axisymmetric annular configuration;
the first reflecting mirror is located within an annular opening of the second reflecting mirror, a reflecting sheet of the first reflecting mirror is located on a conical surface of the axisymmetric conical configuration, and a reflecting surface of the second reflecting mirror is located on an inner-ring surface of the axisymmetric annular configuration;
the solid-state working medium and the exciting coil assembly are both disposed on the bracket and located between the reflecting surface of the first reflecting mirror and the reflecting surface of the second reflecting mirror, and the exciting coil assembly is located below the solid-state working medium and excites the inductive pulse electromagnetic field above the solid-state working medium; and
the laser pulse emitted by the pulsed laser assembly irradiates on the solid-state working medium after reflecting from the reflecting surface of the first reflecting mirror and the reflecting surface of the second reflecting mirror.

2. The inductive plasma acceleration apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a generatrix of the first reflecting mirror and a generatrix of the second reflecting mirror are of a linear or curved configuration.

3. The inductive plasma acceleration apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the exciting coil assembly is formed by axisymmetrically crossing and overlapping a plurality of spiral line type antennas.

4. The inductive plasma acceleration apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the solid-state working medium is made of a high polymer material or a metal material.

5. An inductive plasma acceleration method using the inductive plasma acceleration apparatus according to claim 1 , comprising the following steps:
ablating the solid-state working medium by the laser pulse to produce a pulse gaseous ablation product, namely a pulse gas flow;
breaking down the pulse gaseous ablation product by a circumferential electromagnetic-field component of the inductive pulse electromagnetic field and establishing an annular plasma current; and
interacting with the plasma current by a radial electromagnetic-field component of the inductive pulse electromagnetic field to produce an axial Lorentz force to accelerate the plasma current, thereby achieving a propelling effect, wherein a yield and a pulse frequency of the pulse gaseous ablation product is controlled by controlling the power and the frequency of the laser pulse.

6. An inductive plasma acceleration apparatus, comprising a pulsed laser assembly, a pulsed discharge assembly, an exciting coil assembly, a solid-state working medium, a control assembly, and a bracket assembly, wherein the exciting coil assembly is electrically connected to the pulsed discharge assembly, such that the pulsed discharge assembly produces a strong pulse current in the exciting coil assembly during a discharge process to further excite an inductive pulse electromagnetic field around the exciting coil assembly;
the solid-state working medium is located on an optical path of a laser pulse emitted by the pulsed laser assembly, such that the solid-state working medium produces a gas pulse under an ablation action of the laser pulse, and the inductive pulse electromagnetic field is located on a circulation gas path of the gas pulse, such that the gas pulse is capable of entering the inductive pulse electromagnetic field; and
the pulsed laser assembly and the pulsed discharge assembly are both electrically connected to the control assembly to control a power and a frequency of the laser pulse emitted by the pulsed laser assembly, wherein a reflecting assembly capable of changing a direction of the optical path is disposed on the optical path of the laser pulse emitted by the pulsed laser assembly, such that the laser pulse is capable of accurately irradiating on the solid-state working medium based on a predetermined density distribution, the bracket assembly comprises a support pedestal and a tower disposed on the support pedestal, the exciting coil assembly is disposed on the support pedestal and coiled around the tower;
the solid-state working medium has a columnar structure, wherein one end abuts on the support pedestal and another end located inside the tower, and an outer wall of a portion of the solid-state working medium located within the tower is in contact with and connected to an inner wall of the tower;
the reflecting assembly comprises a reflecting pedestal suspended above the tower, as well as a third reflecting mirror and a lens which are disposed on the reflecting pedestal, the third reflecting mirror is located above the lens and has a reflecting surface facing towards the lens, an annular skirt extending downwards is disposed around the lens, the lens is located directly above the tower and faces towards an end of the solid-state working medium, and an annular nozzle facing towards the exciting coil assembly is defined between an inner wall of the annular skirt and an outer wall of the tower; and
the laser pulse emitted by the pulsed laser assembly irradiates on the end of the solid-state working medium after passing the reflecting surface of the third reflecting mirror and the lens.

7. The inductive plasma acceleration apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the support pedestal is provided with a restraint member having an annular structure, and the exciting coil assembly is located between an inner wall of the restraint member and the outer wall of the tower.

8. The inductive plasma acceleration apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the support pedestal is provided with a support spring at a position corresponding to the solid-state working medium, and the end of the solid-state working medium abuts on the support spring.

9. An inductive plasma acceleration method using the inductive plasma acceleration apparatus according to claim 6 , comprising the following steps:
ablating the solid-state working medium by the laser pulse to produce a pulse gaseous ablation product, namely a pulse gas fl

Assignees

• National Univ Of Defense Technology

Inventors

• Li Xiaokang
• Cheng Mousen
• Wu Jianjun
• Che Bixuan
• Wang Moge
• Guo Dawei
• Yang Xiong

Classifications

• F03H1/0081 Primary

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• F03H1/0006

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• F03H1/0012

  Means for supplying the propellant · CPC title