Related papers: A study of an air-breathing electrodeless plasma t…
Large-payload deep space missions are impractical with current rocket propulsion technologies in use. Chemical thrusters yield a high thrust but low efficiency while ion thrusters are efficient but provide too little thrust for large…
Challenging space mission scenarios include those in low altitude orbits, where the atmosphere creates significant drag to the S/C and forces their orbit to an early decay. For drag compensation, propulsion systems are needed, requiring…
This research work is part of a PhD project aiming to design a new helicon plasma thruster for cargo space missions, within a collaboration between the School of Aerospace Engineering of La Sapienza University and the ENEA Frascati research…
A zero-dimensional (volume-averaged) and a pseudo-one-dimensional (plug-flow) model are developed to investigate atmospheric-pressure plasma jet devices operated with He, He/O$_2$, He/N$_2$ and He/N$_2$/O$_2$ mixtures. The models are…
We report on the experimental characterization of the RIT-2.5 radiofrequency ion thruster, complemented by particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations to establish correlations between plasma parameters and extracted beam properties. The thruster…
Reactive species produced by atmospheric pressure plasma jets have high application potential in the fields of biomedicine and surface processing. An extensive validation between the simulation results in this work and measurement data from…
We report here on initial studies of a pulsed hydromagnetic plasma gun that can operate in either a pre-filled or a gas-puff mode on demand. These modes enable agile and responsive performance through tunable thrust and specific impulse.…
A local turbulence model is developed to study energy cascades in the heliosheath and outer heliosphere (OH) based on self-consistent two-dimensional fluid simulations. The model describes a partially ionized magnetofluid OH that couples a…
The asymmetrically mounted flat plasma actuator is studied using a self-consistent 2-DIM fluid model at atmospheric pressure. The computational model use the drift-diffusion approximation and a simple plasma phenomenological kinetic model.…
Atmospheric pressure steam/oxygen plasma is generated by a 88 Hz, 6kV AC power supply. The properties of the produced plasma are investigated by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The relative intensity, rotational, vibrational,…
A fully kinetic 2D axisymmetric Particle-in-Cell (PIC) model is used to examine the effects of background facility pressure on the plasma transport and propulsive efficiency of magnetic nozzles. Simulations are performed for a low-power…
A solid-state electro-aerodynamic propulsion system applies a high electric potential difference between two electrodes to ionize air within the resulting electric field, accelerating the ions to generate thrust. Previously, the so-called…
Conventional snowplow/1-D models assume the existence of single completely ionized plasma sheet in the discharge chamber of pulsed plasma thrusters (PPTs). However, extensive experimental analysis and observations suggest the presence of…
We have studied radiofrequency capacitively coupled plasmas in pure O2 using single mode laser cavity ringdown spectroscopy of oxygen atoms at 630 nm. The absolute atom densities and translational temperatures were determined over a range…
Radio frequency driven plasma jets are frequently employed as efficient plasma sources for surface modification and other processes at atmospheric pressure. The radio-frequency driven micro atmospheric pressure plasma jet ($\mu$APPJ) is a…
Traditional expressions and definitions describing performance of plasma thrusters, including the thrust, specific impulse, and the thruster efficiency, assume a steady state plasma flow with a constant flow velocity. However, it is very…
A Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma actuator for controlling airflow is proposed. It consists of diverging and converging nozzles, two concentric cylinders and an actuator mounted in-between the two cylinders. The actuator employs…
Plasma simulations are powerful tools for understanding fundamental plasma science phenomena and for process optimization in applications. To ensure their quantitative accuracy, they must be validated against experiments. In this work, such…
This perspective paper deals with an overview of particle-in-cell / Monte Carlo collision models applied to different plasma-propulsion configurations and scenarios, from electrostatic (E x B and pulsed arc) devices to electromagnetic (RF…
High-power magnetically shielded Hall thrusters have recently emerged to meet the needs of the next-generation space missions. Even though a few such thrusters are currently undergoing their late-stage development campaigns, many unanswered…