This work focuses on improving the thrust-to-power ratio of Hall effect thrusters using in-channel electrodes to reduce ion-wall neutralization and focus the ion beam. A higher thrust-to-power ratio would give Hall thrusters increased thrust with the limited power available on spacecraft. A T-220HT Hall thruster is modified in this work to include a pair of ring electrodes within inside the discharge channel. The electrodes are biased above anode potential to repel ions from the walls and toward the channel centerline. Theoretical analysis of ion loss factors indicate that ion-wall neutralizations remove almost 13% of the total ions produced. Reduced wall losses could significantly improve the thruster performance without increased discharge power or propellant consumption. The thruster performance, plume ion characteristics, and internal plasma contours are experimentally measured. The plume and internal plasma measurements are important to determine the cause of the performance changes. The thruster is tested in three conditions: no electrode bias, low bias (10 V), and high bias (30 V). The performance measurements show the electrodes do indeed improve the thrust and thrust-to-power ratio, the latter only at the low bias level. Adding bias increases the ion density and decreases the plume angle compared to the no bias case. The plume measurements indicate that the performance improvements at low bias are due to increased ion number density as opposed to increased ion energy. The increased ion density is attributed to reduced wall losses, not increased ionization. The in-channel measurements support this due to little change in the acceleration potential or the electron temperature. At the high bias level, a drop in thrust-to-power ratio is seen, even though a larger increase in thrust is observed. This is due to increased power draw by the electrodes. Plume measurements reveal the increased thrust is due to ion acceleration. The internal measurements show increased acceleration potential and electron energy which can lead to increased ionization. At the high bias condition, the electrodes become the dominant positive terminal in the thruster circuit. This causes the increased ion acceleration and the creation of domed potential contours that conform to the near-wall cusp-magnetic fields. The domed contours produce focused electric fields, which cause the decreased wall losses and plume angle.

The current technological age is embodied by a constant push for increased performance and efficiency of electronic devices. This push is particularly observable for technologies that comprise free electron sources, which are used in various technologies including electronic displays, x-ray sources, telecommunication equipment, and spacecraft propulsion. Performance of these systems can be increased by reducing weight and power consumption, but is often limited by a bulky electron source with a high energy demand. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show favorable properties for field electron emission (FE) and performance as electron sources. This dissertation details the developments of a uniquely designed Spindt type CNT field emission array (CFEA), from initial concept to working prototype, to specifically prevent electrical shorting of the gate. The CFEA is patent pending in the United States. Process development enabled fabrication of a CFEA with a yield of up to 82%. Furthermore, a novel oxygen plasma etch process was developed to reverse shorting after CNT synthesis. CFEA testing demonstrates FE with a current density of up to 293 μA/cm² at the anode and 1.68 mA/cm² at the gate, with lifetimes in excess of 100 hours. A detailed analysis of eighty tested CFEAs revealed three distinct types of damage. Surprisingly, about half of the damaged chips are not electrically shorted, indicating that the CFEAs are very robust. Potential applications of this technology as cathodes for spacecraft electric propulsion were explored. Exposure to an operating electric propulsion thruster showed no significant effect or damage to the CFEAs, marking the first experimental study of CNT field emitters in an electric propulsion environment. A second effort in spacecraft propulsion is a collaboration with the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). CFEAs are the payload on an AFIT developed Cube Satellite, called ALICE, to test electron emission in the space environment. ALICE has passed flight tests and is awaiting launch scheduled for 5 December 2013.

Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Recent years have seen a decline in the rate of space exploration due to the inefficiency of chemical rockets. Therefore alternative fuel efficient propulsion methods are being sought to enable cost effective deep space exploration. The high fuel efficiency of electric thrusters enable a spacecraft to travel further, faster and cheaper than any other propulsion technology available. Thus electric propulsion has become the propulsion of choice for scientists and engineers. A typically electric thruster contains some sort of electrode to ionise the propellant. Although this is feasible for short space missions, it becomes impractical for more ambitious space missions as electrodes erode over time. The alternative is to ionise the propellant using electromagnetic fields, which eliminates lifespan issues associated with electrode based thrusters. In order to examine methods of improving the lifespan and performance of electric thrusters, this thesis aimed to study the method of microwave discharge ionisation for an electric thruster. This includes the design of an RF Ion Thruster with extraction and acceleration grids to generate thrust. A 600 W 2.45 GHz magnetron (obtained from a conventional microwave oven), coupled to circular TM010 resonant cavity, was used to ionise neutral argon gas. The process of electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) was used to ensure the efficient ionisation of a high density plasma. The thrust was achieved with a three-grid system biased at high voltages to accelerate positively charged argon ions to high exhaust velocities. Results yielded the success of the designed electromagnetic based thruster, measuring approximatively 1.78 mN of thrust with a specific impulse of Isp = 3786 seconds. The ECR process produced a high plasma density with a plasma absorption rate of approximately 77% of the total input microwave power. The final results obtained were found to match the predicted results extremely well and resembled results found in literature. This demonstrates the efficiency of the RF ion thruster that was designed in this project and the future use in space exploration activities. However, future research needs to be undertaken on a controlled feedback system that will ensure optimal operating conditions for maximum performance. In addition, the method of grid-less acceleration needs to be studied to achieve maximum thrust and specific impulse. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In onlangse jare het ’n afname in die tempo van die verkenning van die ruimte dit te danke aan die ondoeltreffendheid van chemiese vuurpyle. Derhalwe moet alternatiewe brandstof aandrywing metodes ondersoek word, om koste-effektiewe diep ruimte-eksplorasie moontlik te maak. Die hoë brandstof-doeltreffendheid van elektriese ontbranders stel ’n ruimtetuig in staat om verder, vinniger en goedkoper te reis as enige ander aandrywing tegnologie wat tans beskikbaar is. Dus het elektriese aandrywing metodes die aandrywings keuse vir wetenskaplikes en ingenieurs geword. ’n Tipies elektriese vuurpyl/aandrywer bevat ’n vorm van elektrode om die brandstof (argon gas) te ioniseer. Alhoewel hierdie elektrode proses van ionisasie effektief is vir kort ruimte missies, word dit onprakties vir meer ambisieuse ruimte missies as gevolg van verweering van elektrodes met verloop van tyd. ’n Alternatief is om die dryfmiddel/brandstof te ioniseer deur gebruik te maak van elektromagnetiese velde. Die elekromagnetiese velde sal die lewensduur van die vuurpyl vermeerder deur die verweering van elektrodes, wat geassosieer word met tipiese elektrieses vuurpyle, te elimineer. Hierdie tesis se doelwit is om die metode van mikrogolf ontslag ionisasie vir ’n elektriese vuurpyl/aandrywer te bestudeer om ten einde die lewensduur en doeltreffendheid van elektriese vuurpyl/aandrywer te ondersoek. Dit sluit in die ontwerp van ’n radio frekewensie ioon vuurpyl/aandrywer met ’n ontginning en versnelling matriks/rooster om stukrag te genereer. ’n 2,45 GHz magnetron (verkry vanaf ’n konvensionele mikrogolfoond), gekoppel aan ’n TM010 resonante holte, was gebruik om neutrale argon gas te ioniseer. Die proses van elektron siklotron resonansie (ESR) was gebruik om die doeltreffende ionisasie van ’n hoë digtheid plasma te verseker. Die aandrywing/stukrag was behaal met ’n drie-matriks-stelsel, bevoordeel deur hoë spannings om die positief-gelaaide argon ione te versnel. Resultate opgelewer, het die sukses van die ontwerp van ’n elektromagnetiese gebaseerde vuurpyl/aandrywer met ’n benaderde meting van ongeveer 1.78 mN van stukrag/aandrywing met ’n spesifieke impuls van Isp = 3786 sekondes bewys. Die ECR proses het ’n hoë plasma digtheid geproduseer met ’n plasma opname persentasie van ongeveer 77% van die totale inset mikrogolf energie. Die finale uitslae wat verkry was, het bevind dat die voorspelde resultate baie goed inpas met resultate in beskikbare literatuur. Dit dui op die doeltreffendheid van die RF ioon vuurpyl/aandrywer wat ontwerp is in hierdie projek vir die toekomstige gebruik in ruimte eksplorasie-aktiwiteite. Toekomstige navorsing moet op ’n beheerde terugvoer sisteem onderneem word, wat optimale werktoestande verseker vir maksimum prestasie. Daarbenewens moet die metode van matriks-lose versnelling bestudeer word, om maksimum versnelling/stukrag en spesifieke impuls te verseker.

L'objet de cette thèse est de démonter la faisabilité de conception d'un mini-drone longue endurance sans recourir à des véhicules de grande envergure qui nécessite des infrastructures supplémentaires, des systèmes de lancement complexes et un personnel d'exploitation important. Pour ce faire, une approche d'optimisation globale du problème a été utilisée, en s'appuyant sur les spécificités de chacun des aspects de la conception de mini-drones. Ce concept de mini-drone longue endurance doit repousser les limites dans plusieurs disciplines telles que l'aérodynamique, la propulsion, les structures, les sources d'énergies et le stockage, le contrôle et la navigation, ainsi que la miniaturisation de l'électronique embarquée. Un programme de conception baptisé Cdsgn a été développé et prend en compte les problèmes spécifiques de chaque discipline consacrées aux mini-drones. Il permet de voir l’influence de chaque paramètre de conception sur la performance finale de la conception, menant à la sélection optimale des paramètres. Cdsgn génère et analyse rapidement de nombreuses configurations de l'avion tout en simulant la performance de chaque configuration pour un pro fil de mission donnée. Un outil de post-traitement a également été développé afin de filtrer et sélectionner de manière interactive les paramètres de conception parmi les nombreuses configurations pour répondre à des applications pratiques. Le programme proposé a été utilisé dans le développement et la conception de plusieurs projets, tels que Solar Storm, premier mini-drone hybride au monde à énergie solaire d'une envergure de cinquante centimètre, SPOC, un mini-drone longue distance conçu pour voler au-dessus de la mer Méditerranée de Nice jusqu'en Corse (Calvii) et enfin Eternity, mini-drone de longue endurance d'une envergure d'un mètre, avec une configuration classique. Capable d'une autonomie de quatre heures avec les batteries embarquées, son temps de vol peut être amélioré jusqu’à huit heures avec l'utilisation de l’énergie solaire. En utilisant les évaluations de chaque projet, Cdsgn a été amélioré à la fois pour l'exactitude des calculs et pour la performance opérationnelle afin de développer le plus petit véhicule aérien pour une mission d'endurance donnée. / This thesis shows the feasibility of designing a long endurance mini UAV without resorting to large scale vehicles which requires additional infrastructure, complex launching systems and numerous operating crew. To do so is possible by using a global optimisation approach concentrated specifically on each aspect of the mini-UAV design with their particular challenges. So called Long Endurance Mini UAV Concept has to push the limits in several disciplines such as aerodynamics, propulsion, structures, energy source and storage, control and navigation, miniaturised electronics. A conceptual design program called Cdsgn is developed which takes into account each discipline's specific problems devoted to mini UAVs and making it possible to see the influence of each design parameter on the final performance of the complete design leading to the optimum selection of parameters. Cdsgn generates and analyse numerous aircraft configurations rapidly while simulating the performance of each configuration for a given mission profile. A post processing tool is also developed in order to interactively filter and select the final design parameters among numerous analysed aircraft configurations for practical applications. The proposed program is used in the development and design of several projects, such as Solar Storm, the world's first hybrid solar powered micro UAV in half a meter scale, SPOC, a long range mini UAV which is designed to fly across the Mediterranean sea from Nice to Corsica (Calvi) and finally the Eternity, the long endurance mini UAV concept which is an electrically powered, one-meter span aircraft with a conventional configuration having an endurance of four hours with the on-board batteries which can be enhanced up to eight hours with the use of solar-cells. Using the feedback of each project, Cdsgn has been improved both for the accuracy and for the operational performance in order to develop the smallest aerial vehicle for a given endurance mission.

La question de la propulsion spatiale a été un enjeu politique au coeur de la guerre froide et reste un enjeu stratégique de nos jours. La technologie chimique déjà en place sur les moteurs fusées s'avère être limitée par la vitesse d'éjection et la durée de vie des appareils. La propulsion électrique et plus particulièrement le moteur à effet Hall apparait ainsi comme la technologie la plus performante et la plus utilisée pour diriger un satellite dans l'espace. Cependant, la physique à l'intérieur d'un propulseur étant complexe, de par les champs électromagnétiques ou les processus de collisions importants, toutes les particularités de fonctionnement du moteur ne sont pas parfaitement expliquées. Au bout de centaines d'heures d'essais, certains prototypes voient leur paroi s'éroder de façon anormale et des instabilités électromagnétiques se développent au sein de la chambre d'ionisation. La mobilité des électrons mesurée est en contradiction avec les modèles analytiques et soulèvent des problématiques sur la physique du plasma à l'intérieur de ces moteurs. Par conséquent, le code AVIP a été développé afin de proposer un code 3D massivement parallèle et non-structuré à Safran Aircraft Engines modélisant le plasma instationnaire à l'intérieur du propulseur. Des méthodes lagrangiennes et eulériennes sont utilisées et intégrées dans le code et mon travail s'est concentré sur le développement d'un modèle fluide, étant plus rapide et donc mieux adapté à la conception et au design industriel. Le modèle fluide est basé sur un modèle aux moments avec une expression rigoureuse des termes de collisions et une description précise des conditions limites pour les gaines. Ce modèle a été implémenté numériquement dans un formalisme non structuré et optimisé de façon à être performant sur les nouvelles architectures de calcul. La modélisation retenue et les efforts d'optimisation ont permis de réaliser un calcul réel de moteur à effet Hall afin de retrouver les propriétés globales de fonctionnement telles que l'accélération des ions ou encore la localisation de la zone d'ionisation. Un second cas d'application a finalement reproduit avec succès les instabilités azimutales dans le propulseur avec un modèle fluide et a justifié le rôle de ces instabilités dans le transport anormal des électrons et l'érosion des parois / The space propulsion has been a political issue in the midst of the Cold War and remains nowadays a strategic and industrial issue. The chemical propulsion on rocket engines is limited by its ejection velocity and its lifetime. Electric propulsion and more particularly Hall effect thrusters appear then as the most powerful and used technology for space satellite operation. The physic inside a thruster is complex because of the electromagnetic fields and important collision processes. Therefore, all specificities of the engine operation are not perfectly understood. After hundreds of hours of tests, thruster walls are curiously eroded and electromagnetic instabilities are developping within the ionization chamber. The measured electron mobility is in contradiction with the analytical models and raises issues on the plasma behavior inside the discharg chamber. As a result, the AVIP code was developed to provide a massively parallel and unstructured 3D code to Safran Aircraft Engines modeling unsteady plasma inside the thruster. Lagrangian and Eulerian methods are used and integrated in the solver and my work has focused on the development of a fluid model which is faster and therefore better suited to industrial conception. The model is based on a set of equations for neutrals, ions and electrons without drift-diffusion hypothesis, combined with a Poisson equation to describe the electric potential. A rigorous expression of collision terms and a precise description of the boundary conditions for sheaths have been established. This model has been implemented numerically in an unstructured formalism and optimized to obtain good performances on new computing architectures. The model and the numerical implementation allow us to perform a real Hall effect thruster simulation. Overall operating properties such as the acceleration of the ions or the location of the ionization zone are captured. Finally, a second application has successfully reproduced azimuthal instabilities in the Hall thruster with the fluid model and justified the role of these instabilities in the anomalous electron transport and in theerosion of the walls

Dieser Konferenzband stellt alle schriftlich eingereichten Beiträge zum 3. Freiberger Kolloquium Elektrische Antriebstechnik zusammen. Thematische Schwerpunkte waren 2021: Modellierung und Simulation von elektrischen Maschinen und Antrieben, Auslegung und Fertigung neuer Motorenkonzepte, Thermische Untersuchungen an elektrischen Maschinen, Regelung elektrischer Maschinen, Ladetechnologien für Elektrofahrzeuge, Theoretische Elektrodynamik von Traktionsantrieben

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I samband med klimatmålet att Sverige ska ha ett netto-noll utsläpp av växthusgaser till 2045 krävs det att alla sektorer minskar sina växthusgasutsläpp och av sektorerna utgör sjöfarten inrikes en mindre men fortfarande betydande del. Två omtalade förnyelsebara driftstyper är batteri- och vätgasdrift, som har potential att ersätta fossila bränslen. Med hänsyn till detta syftar rapporten till att jämföra dessa två driftsformer, utifrån ett hållbarhetsperspektiv, i Gotlandsbolagets färjor. Jämförelseanalysen grundar sig i en kvantitativ litteraturstudie samt i form av en intervju och mejlkonversationer. I resultatet har aspekter som energibehov, vikt, utrymme, hastighet, infrastruktur och koldioxidutsläpp undersökts. Gällande diskussionsdelen avhandlas bland annat behovet av en energimässig marginal, betydelsen av fossilfri el för respektive driftsform, dimensionering av en ny elkabel till Gotland samt områden som bör utredas vidare. Av rapporten kan det bland annat konstateras att vätgasdrift ger upphov till lägre växthusgasutsläpp vid en svensk elmix medan den vid nordisk elmix ger upphov till mer utsläpp jämfört med batteridrift. En konvertering av färjan M/S Drotten är troligen möjlig att genomföra utifrån de valda aspekterna. / In correlation with the climate goal that Sweden should have a net-zero emission of greenhouse gasses by 2045, it is required that all sectors reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Of all the sectors, domestic shipping is a small but still significant part. Two well-known renewable operating propulsions are battery and hydrogen, which have the potential to substitute fossil fuels. With this in mind, the report aims to compare these two propulsions from a sustainability perspective in Gotlandsbolaget’s ferries. The comparison analysis is based on a quantitative literature study, an interview and email conversations. In the result, aspects such as energy demand, weight, space, speed, infrastructure and carbon dioxide emissions have been investigated. Moreover, in the discussion part, aspects such as an energy margin, the importance of fossil-free electricity for both propulsions, designing of a new power cable to Gotland, and areas that should be investigated further have been touched upon. From the report, it can be stated, among other things, that hydrogen propulsion results in lower greenhouse gas emissions when a Swedish electricity mix is used. However, when a Nordic electricity mix is used, which has higher emissions than the Swedish, hydrogen propulsion results in higher greenhouse gas emissions compared to battery propulsion. Lastly, a conversion of the ferry M/S Drotten is probably possible based on the selected aspects.

Die Reduktion klimaschädlicher Emissionen ist ein wesentliches Ziel im modernen Luftverkehr. Dafür geeignete Ansätze stellen unter anderem emissionsoptimierte Flugprofile sowie der Einsatz hybrid-elektrischer Antriebstechnologien dar. Um damit verbundene Vorteile identifizieren und quantifizieren zu können, wurde am Lehrstuhl für Turbomaschinen und Flugantriebe der TU Dresden ein modularisiertes 1D-Triebwerksmodell entwickelt, welches die Leistungsrechnung und die Emissionen thermischer Flugantriebe im Auslegungspunkt sowie Off-Design (quasi-stationär) abbilden kann. Im Rahmen dieser Forschungsarbeit wird zunächst die Validierung des bestehenden Modells vertieft und dieses um ausgewählte thermische Triebwerksarchitekturen erweitert. Dabei stehen die Emissionsberechnung und der Off-Design-Betrieb aller Triebwerkskomponenten im Fokus. Von besonderer Bedeutung und Hauptteil der Arbeit ist die Integration hybrider Antriebskonzepte am Triebwerk selbst sowie hinsichtlich notwendiger Komponenten wie bspw. E-Maschinen und Batterie. Teil dessen ist die Literaturrecherche der Funktionsweise und die Ausarbeitung von Modellierungsansätzen zur Umsetzung hybrid-elektrischer Teilkomponenten und deren Verknüpfung zu Triebwerksarchitekturen. Die Implementierung und Validierung für stationäre On- und Off-Design-Berechnungen ist wesentlicher Bestandteil der Arbeit. Das entwickelte Triebwerksmodell kann für die vergleichende Betrachtung ausgewählter Triebwerksarchitekturen und Flugzyklen angewendet werden und liefert somit eine Grundlage für de-ren Optimierung. Der Brennstoffverbrauch und entstehende Emissionen können für verschiedene Triebwerke und Flugmissionen konkret ausgerechnet und abgeschätzt werden. Die Ergebnisse dienen als Grundlage für die Entwicklung neuer hocheffizienter Triebwerke. Dies ermöglicht die gezielte Reduzierung von Emissionen im Luftverkehr für konventionelle sowie für revolutionäre, fortschrittliche und noch in der Entwicklung befindliche Triebwerke.:Problem Zielstellung Methodik Ergebnisse Zusammenfassung

The goal of this bachelor thesis has been to evaluate and test the available open source software and commercial hardwarefor potential later use as the electrical system in the ALPHAUAV. ALPHA is a student project, with the goal of building an autonomous drone capable of high altitude, long-endurance missions to gather data from electromagnetic phenomena in the atmosphere. Data later to be used in research at the facility ofSpace and Plasma physics at KTH. The evaluation has been done by constructing of an MVP, to prove that the open source softwareand commercial hardware can be used to build an autonomousUAV. / Målet med denna kandidatuppsats har varit att evaluera och testa öppen källkod tillsammans med kommersiell hårdvara för att potentiellt kunna nyttjas som elektriskt system i ALPHA UAV. ALPHA UAV är ett studentprojekt, med målet att bygga en autonom drönare kapabel att genomföra höghöjdsflygningar med lång uthållighet för att kunna samla in data från elektromagnetiska fenomen i atmosfären. Data som senare kan nyttjas i forskningssyfte på institutionen för rymd-och plasmafysik på KTH. Evalueringen har gjorts genom att konstruera en MVP, för att bevsia att öppen källkod och kommersiell hårdvara kan nyttjas för att bygga en autonom UAV. / Kandidatexjobb i elektroteknik 2022, KTH, Stockholm