Low pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasma thruster

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11976642-B2
Application number	US-202218145849-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 22, 2022
Priority date	May 4, 2015
Publication date	May 7, 2024
Grant date	May 7, 2024

Abstract

Some embodiments of the invention include a thruster system comprising a thruster and a pulsing power supply. The thruster may include a gas inlet port; a plasma jet outlet; and a first electrode. In some embodiments, the pulsing power supply may provide an electrical potential to the first electrode with a pulse repetition frequency greater than 10 kHz, a voltage greater than 5 kilovolts. In some embodiments, the pressure downstream from the thruster can be less than 10 Torr. In some embodiments, when a plasma is produced within the thruster by energizing a gas flowing into the thruster through the gas inlet port, the plasma is expelled from the thruster through the plasma jet outlet.

First claim

That which is claimed:

1. A thruster system comprising:
a thruster comprising:
a gas inlet port;
a plasma jet outlet;
a first electrode; and
a pulsing power supply comprising a plurality of solid-state switches, the pulsing power supply electrically coupled with the first electrode, the pulsing power supply providing an electrical potential to the first electrode with a pulse repetition frequency greater than 10 kHz, and, a voltage greater than 5 kilovolts, wherein a downstream gas pressure is less than 10 Torr,
wherein a plasma is produced within the thruster by energizing a gas flowing into the thruster through the gas inlet port from an electric field created by pulsing the pulsing power supply through the first electrode, and the plasma is expelled from the thruster through the plasma jet outlet.

2. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of solid-state switches comprises a plurality of IGBTs and a transformer.

3. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the pulsing power supply has a total inductance less than 100 nH.

4. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the pulsing power supply has a capacitance less than 100 pF.

5. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the pulsing power supply is configured to produce variable pulse widths between 20 to 500 nanoseconds.

6. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the pulsing power supply provides the electrical potential with rise times less than 100 nanoseconds.

7. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the pulsing power supply provides the electrical potential with a pulse width less than 500 nanoseconds.

8. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the thruster is selected from a group consisting of a dielectric free electrode thruster, a dielectric barrier discharge device and a single electrode thruster.

9. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the pulsing power supply is configured to produce controllable pulse widths between 20 to 500 nanoseconds.

10. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode comprises a ring electrode.

11. The thruster system according to claim 10 , further comprising a second ring electrode electrically coupled with the pulsing power supply.

12. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the pulsing power supply comprises a dielectric tube.

13. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode comprises a tube electrode.

14. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the thruster comprises a dielectric tube that includes the gas inlet port and the plasma jet outlet; and wherein the first electrode comprises a ring electrode surrounding the dielectric tube, the thruster further comprising a second ring electrode, wherein the second ring electrode is electrically coupled with the pulsing power supply.

15. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the pulsing power supply produces the plasma at input propellant flow rates of less than 50,000 SCCM.

16. The thruster system according to claim 1 , wherein the pulsing power supply is configured to produce a current output up to 200 A.

17. A thruster system comprising:
a dielectric barrier discharge thruster comprising:
a dielectric tube;
a gas inlet port that introduces a gas into the dielectric tube;
a first ring electrode,
a second electrode; and
a pulsing power supply electrically coupled with the first ring electrode and the second electrode, the pulsing power supply producing electrical pulses having a pulse width less than 500 nanoseconds, and a voltage less than 5 kV, wherein the electrical pulses produce an electric potential between the first ring electrode and the second electrode that ionizes the gas within the dielectric tube.

18. The thruster according to claim 17 , wherein the second electrode is second ring electrode.

19. A thruster system comprising:
a thruster comprising:
a gas inlet port;
a plasma jet outlet;
a first electrode;
a second electrode; and
a pulsing power supply electrically coupled with the first electrode and the second electrode, the pulsing power supply comprising a plurality of switches that produces electric pulses greater than 5 kilovolts and with rise times less than 100 nanoseconds;
wherein a plasma is produced within the thruster by energizing a gas flowing into the thruster through the gas inlet port from an electric field created by pulsing the pulsing power supply through the first electrode and/or the second electrode, wherein a flow rate of the gas is less than 50,000 SCCM, and wherein the plasma is expelled from the thruster through the plasma jet outlet.

20. The thruster system according to claim 19 , wherein the pulsing power supply comprises a transformer electrically coupled with the plurality of switches having a primary and a secondary such that the primary has a primary inductance less than 100 nH and a primary to secondary stray capacitance less than 200 pF.

Assignees

• Eagle Harbor Tech Inc
• EHT Ventures LLC

Inventors

• Ziemba Timothy M
• Prager James R
• Carscadden John G
• Miller Kenneth E
• Slobodov Ilia
• Picard Julian F
• Hashim Akel

Classifications

• F03H1/0087 Primary

  Electro-dynamic thrusters, e.g. pulsed plasma thrusters · CPC title

• H05H1/2406

  using dielectric barrier discharges, i.e. with a dielectric interposed between the electrodes · CPC title

• H05H1/54

  Plasma accelerators · CPC title

• H05H1/2465

  the plasma being activated by inductive coupling, e.g. using coiled electrodes · CPC title