Numerical and Experimental Study of a 1-kW Hydrazine Engineering Design Model Arcjet Thruster
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 27, Issue 1
Abstract
Numerical and experimental study of a 1-kW hydrazine engineering design model arcjet thruster with simulated hydrazine reaction products as propellant was performed. A two-dimensional numerical model incorporating the effects of viscous dissipation, Lorentz force, ohmic heating, heat conduction, radiation loss, and pressure work was developed to model the plasma processes inside the arcjet nozzle. The flow field and heat-transfer characteristics inside the arcjet nozzle obtained from the numerical study are discussed. The effects of the electrical conductivity and the anode wall temperature on arcjet performance prediction are also discussed. Experimental tests of the engineering design model arcjet thruster with simulated hydrazine reaction products as propellant were carried out with a mass flow rate range of and an arc current range of 8–10 A. Over the mass flow rate and arc current ranges tested in the experiment, the specific impulse of the arcjet was in the range 479–528 s, and the thrust was in the range 91.28–155.22 mN. Correspondingly, the thrust efficiencies of the arcjet thruster were in the range 21.35–31.09%. The predicted thrust and specific impulse are compared with the experimental data obtained from the experimental tests to validate the numerical model. The predicted thrust and specific impulse agree fairly well with the experimental data. The predicted thrust and specific impulse are both smaller than the experimental data, with maximum discrepancies of 11 and 12% separately.
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Acknowledgments
The work is supported by China National Nature Science Funds (Grant Nos. 50836007 and 10705003).
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Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 27 • Issue 1 • January 2014
Pages: 16 - 25
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 5, 2011
Accepted: Feb 13, 2012
Published online: Feb 15, 2012
Published in print: Jan 1, 2014
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