Publication detail

Feastibility study and comparative study of air breathing electric propulsion systems operating in very low Earth orbit conditions

ŠŤASTNÝ, M. VLADIMÍR, D. DYTRYCH, T. MRÓZEK, K. OBRUSNÍK, A.

Original Title

Feastibility study and comparative study of air breathing electric propulsion systems operating in very low Earth orbit conditions

Type

conference paper

Language

English

Original Abstract

Air Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) systems offer a promising solution to extending the lifetime of Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) missions by using residual atmospheric particles as a propellant. ABEP systems need to provide sufficient thrust to compensate for substantial aerodynamic drag present in VLEO environments. The feasibility of operating a hypothetical ABEP system of a given geometry at a given altitude is assessed via Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) based on the following parameters: the mean pressure in the ionization chamber, compression factor and drag force acting upon the surface of the given geometry. Atmospheric models were used for reference to ensure realistic VLEO-like conditions. The comparative study is performed using a Global Plasma Model (GPM). A GPM can calculate the volume-averaged quantities of plasma systems with complex physics and reaction kinetics. The results of GPM are compared with a breadboard model of an Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ABEP system constructed by the Czech aerospace research institute (VZLU a.s.).

Keywords

Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO); Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC); Air Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP); Intake; Global Plasma Model (GPM)

Authors

ŠŤASTNÝ, M.; VLADIMÍR, D.; DYTRYCH, T.; MRÓZEK, K.; OBRUSNÍK, A.

Released

23. 4. 2024

Publisher

Brno University of Technology

Location

Brno

ISBN

978-80-214-6230-4

Book

PROCEEDINGS II OF THE 30TH STUDENT EEICT 2024 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, INFORMATION SCIENCE, AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES SELECTED PAPERS

ISBN

2788-1334

Periodical

Proceedings II of the Conference STUDENT EEICT

State

Czech Republic

Pages from

232

Pages to

236

Pages count

5

BibTex

@inproceedings{BUT188875,
  author="Marek {Šťastný} and Dániel {Vladimír} and Tomáš {Dytrych} and Kryštof {Mrózek} and Adam {Obrusník}",
  title="Feastibility study and comparative study of air breathing electric propulsion systems operating in 
very low Earth orbit conditions",
  booktitle="PROCEEDINGS II OF THE 30TH STUDENT EEICT 2024
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, INFORMATION SCIENCE,
AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
SELECTED PAPERS",
  year="2024",
  journal="Proceedings II of the Conference STUDENT EEICT",
  pages="232--236",
  publisher="Brno University of Technology",
  address="Brno",
  doi="10.13164/eeict.2024.232",
  isbn="978-80-214-6230-4",
  issn="2788-1334"
}