YUsend-1 Solid Propellant Microthruster Design, Fabrication and Testing

Transcription

1 YUsend-1 Solid Propellant Microthruster Design, Fabrication and Testing 24 th AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites Authors: Kartheephan Sathiyanathan, Regina Lee, Hugh Chesser (York University) Charles Dubois, Robert Stowe, Rocco Farinaccio, Sophie Ringuette (Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) Valcartier) Presented by: Kartheephan Sathiyanathan

2 Outline Introduction YUsend-1 CubeSat Mission Solid Propellant Microthruster Testing and Results Conclusion

3 Introduction Nanosatellite advanced missions require specialized propulsion systems that deliver very low thrust values (millinewtons) and low impulse bits (micronewtonseconds) Example: High accuracy attitude control and formation maintenance for space interferometric arrays However, current propulsion technologies are often too large or require too much power Formation flying satellites in search of Earth-like planets; Photo credit: NASA JPL

4 Yusend-1 CubeSat Mission York University Space Engineering Nanosatellite Demonstration (YUsend) is a nanosatellite development program YUsend-1, has the primary purpose of demonstrating a number of technologies such as the solid propellant microthruster, high data rate communication, & attitude control using star camera Launch in 2011 will qualify these technologies in space

5 Solid Propellant Microthruster A two-dimensional matrix of millimeter-sized rockets with each one being individually addressable to provide millinewtons of thrust Operation principle: burning of a solid energetic material stored in a micro machined chamber which releases gases that are accelerated through a micro machined nozzle to produce thrust A typical microthruster consists of several layers laminated together: chamber, igniter, nozzle and seal

6 Solid Propellant Microthruster: LAAS-CNRS Image credit: C. Rossi LAAS-CNRS, France

7 Solid Propellant Microthruster In the form of an array, we can produce as many thrusters as needed for the mission (potentially, hundreds of thousands could be fabricated) The size of the thruster can be modified to obtain different thrust levels Programmable thrust levels can be accomplished by the simultaneous or sequential firing of a number of thrusters The YUsend-1 SPT prototype is made of COTS materials with future plan for MEMS fabrication

8 Chamber Layer The chamber layer houses the propellant and is also where the combustion process occurs Chamber material should have a high melting point and a low thermal conductivity to prevent heat loss Heat loss is significant at small scales due to the large surface area to volume ratio

9 Igniter Layer The igniter layer contains the resistive heating element which when supplied current, heats up to the ignition temperature of the propellant to begin the combustion process A simple approach followed for the YUsend-1 SPT prototype is nichrome wire

10 Nozzle Layer The nozzle layer s function is to build pressure within the chamber and to accelerate the combustion gases to generate thrust It plays a very important role in the performance of the thruster Nozzles were created using countersink drill bits

11 Assembly Stainless steel tubes of 3 mm length are placed at each of the chamber locations The layers are laminated together using epoxy

12 Propellant The propellant chosen for the microthruster design is glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) and AP composite propellant The formulation was customized to reduce viscosity for more easily filling the small chambers

13 Testing The impulse bit was measured using a pendulum thrust stand which was developed by the group at DRDC-Valcartier The ballistic pendulum thrust stand consists of a gondola suspended by four wires within an enclosure, a laser interferometer and a video camera.

14 Results No nozzle thruster firing Sonic nozzle thruster firing Supersonic nozzle thruster firing

15 Results

16 Results

17 Results

18 Results I thruster = M 2g L x L max 2 F = average t I burn Nozzle type Thruster Net displacement (mm) Impulse (Ns) Thrust (N) No nozzle A E E-05 A E E-06 A E E-05 Sonic nozzle B E E-04 B E E-04 Supersonic nozzle C E E-04 C E E-04

19 No-nozzle thruster firing

20 Sonic-nozzle thruster firing

21 Supersonic-nozzle thruster firing 1

22 Supersonic-nozzle thruster firing 2

23 Thank You 24 th AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites