Work

Characterization of a 10 W class electrospray array thruster

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: A porous conical type electrospray array thruster consisting of 6102 individual emitters is operated at up to 13.3 W power. The design and manufacture of the thruster are described, including its porous glass emitter chip and metallized ceramic extractor chip. A precision mass balance mounted inside a bell jar is used to directly measure the thrust, specific impulse, and efficiency in negative polarity, from $$42\pm 0.5\ \upmu$$ 42 ± 0.5 μ N, $$1050\pm 26$$ 1050 ± 26 s, and $$57\pm 1.9$$ 57 ± 1.9 % at $$-1000$$ - 1000 V and 0.38 W to $$174\pm 0.5\ \upmu$$ 174 ± 0.5 μ N, $$420\pm 2$$ 420 ± 2 s, and $$21\pm 0.3$$ 21 ± 0.3 % at $$-1300$$ - 1300 V and 1.7 W. Additional negative polarity experiments in a 2 meter vacuum facility demonstrate powers from order 1 $$\upmu$$ μ W to over 10 W, spanning 7 orders of magnitude. Power and performance measurements were not repeated for positive mode operation, as this was found to induce arcing between the emitter and extractor electrodes at 1400 V and above. The drop in efficiency from $$-1000$$ - 1000 V to $$-1300$$ - 1300 V operation in the bell jar is discussed within the context of facility effects, and secondary charged particle flux to the thruster is identified as a likely contributor. Finally, the performance of the thruster is considered relative to scaling electrospray systems to higher power robustly.

Source: Journal of Electric Propulsion

DOI: 10.1007/s44205-025-00114-4

Authors: Collin Whittaker, Steven Arestie, Colleen Marrese-Reading, Benjamin Jorns

Institutions: University of Michigan, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Language: English

Topic: Electrohydrodynamics and Fluid Dynamics

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $1,490

Funders: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space Technology Mission Directorate