Thrust and Performance Study of Micro Pulsed Plasma Thrusters

<p>This research is focused on several areas of the μPPT performance. An important idea studied is the effect of lifetime use on the performance. The thruster is fired for a simulated lifetime of use to see if there is an impact on the thrust of the thruster later in life. Also vital is the efficiency of the thruster. A μPPT performing at max efficiency will ionize all ablated material; however we know that not to be the case. In this research the effort is made to collect these non-ionized particles in order to measure their mass post-test. With this collected mass and a knowledge of how much the thruster has ablated it can be determined what percentage of the propellant has been ionized. With the non-ionized particles also comes a concern about contamination. Knowing the amount of particles that can collect at the end of a lifetime of use allows a better understanding of what contamination issues a spacecraft may have and what precautions need to be made.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>