Propulsion and Power Commons^™

Range Extension Of Electric Propulsion General Aviation Aircraft Using Solar Technology, Mary Kathryn Shultz

Theses and Dissertations

Alternative propulsion technologies in aviation have been a long-time topic of interest as operators aim to bypass growing fuel prices and meet environmental sustainability requirements set globally. Research regarding alternative propulsion technologies is primarily centered around marginally improving efficiency of combustion systems or large-scale implementation of novel technologies. This research evaluates the feasibility of implementing solar-integrated propulsion for general aviation aircraft to extend range through a comparison of full-electric, hybrid solar, and internal combustion engine propulsion systems. This evaluation of existing technology by range analysis indicates that hybrid solar‑electric propulsion is viable primarily for short‑range training and recreational aircraft, rather …

Characterization Of Krypton Performance In A Laboratory 300 W Magnetically Shielded Hall-Effect Thruster, Jacob Henry Knott

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Xenon has long been the propellant of choice in Hall Thrusters; however, significant work has been performed to produce thrusters capable of utilizing alternate propellants due to xenon’s price and scarcity. Krypton is the most similar alternative propellant to xenon. This work examines the performance of a sub-kilowatt magnetically shielded Hall Thruster operating on both xenon and krypton. Krypton produced lower thrust, specific impulse, and was less efficient than xenon. Specifically, the absolute xenon-krypton efficiency gap was 6 to 24 % . Krypton’s inferior efficiency is primarily attributable to differences in mass utilization and beam divergence losses. The impacts of …

Engine Performance Of An Electric Airplane With Partial Battery Capability, Hannah Yasmine Scrivens

Theses and Dissertations

As electric aircraft are developed and certified, knowledge of electric aircraft performance during complete or partial battery failures can be useful to determine an aircraft’s limitations and capabilities of completing an emergency landing, especially during takeoff and low-altitude climbs, as well as fully characterizing the potential aircraft performance. The results of this research will be useful in developing regulations and procedures pertaining to energy reserves and emergencies. This paper presents the results of a Pipistrel electric airplane climb power ground test that was conducted by the author and Florida Tech faculty. In the test, one of the airplane’s batteries was …

A Study Of Varying Dielectric Constant And Thickness Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Devices And Their Subsequent Plasma Actuation, Sharon Kardasz

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The principles of air-breathing ion propulsion are relatively unestablished in the aerodynamic realm as traditional forms of combustion for propulsion systems have remained in use. However, due to increasing environmental, economic, and efficiency concerns of traditional combustion, interests in innovative propulsion methodologies, such as electric propulsion, are emerging. A primary technology of interest for use of ion propulsion is the Dielectric Barrier Discharge Device (DBD). Preliminary research conducted at the University of Arkansas has determined the most favorable DBD geometry. This work will continue the preliminary research to decipher the most favorable DBD configuration by varying dielectric thickness and dielectric …

Feasibility Assessment Of An All-Electric, Narrow-Body Airliner, Ariel Sampson

Master's Theses

Combustion emissions from aviation operations contribute significantly to climate change and air pollution. Accordingly, there is increasing interest in advancing battery-powered propulsion for aviation applications to reduce emissions. As batteries continue to improve, it is essential to recognize breakthroughs in battery specific energy in the context of air transport vehicles. Most electric aircraft designs and programs have focused on small aircraft because of restrictive battery performance. This work presents a feasibility assessment for an all-electric airliner based on an Airbus A220-100 with turbofan engines replaced by electric motors and propellers. The analysis compares the performance characteristics of the electric airliner …

Design Principles And Preliminary Testing Of A Micropropulsion Electrospray Thruster Research Platform, Will Alan Mcgehee

Master's Theses

The need for micropropulsion solutions for spacecraft has been steadily increasing as scientific payloads require higher accuracy maneuvers and as the use of small form-factor spacecraft such as CubeSats becomes more common. Of the technologies used for this purpose, electrospray thrusters offer performance that make them an ideal choice. Electrosprays offer high accuracy impulse bits at low power and high efficiency, and have low volume requirements. Design choice reasoning and preliminary testing results are presented for two electrospray thruster designs. The first thruster, named the Demonstration thruster, is operated in atmospheric conditions and serves as a highly visible example of …

Optimization And Analysis Of An Elite Electric Propulsion System, Mehakveer Singh, Kapil Yadav, Satnam Singh, Vikas Chumber, Harikrishna Chavhan

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Abstract- Electric propulsion has a promising system to create new possibilities in this technological era as well as control the harmful gaseous emission. This paper put a vision on several parameters of electric propulsion. The engine’s performance is comparable to the current propulsion devices and provides a lightweight solution to the robust technologies’ dependent on chemical energy sources. There are a plethora of factors which is enhanced by electric propulsion such as, overall efficiency, capabilities, and robustness of future air vehicles as well as mainly overcome from exhaust hazards. Electric propulsion systems have the potential of utilizing the electrically-driven propulsion …

Micro-Nozzle Simulation And Test For An Electrothermal Plasma Thruster, Tyler J. Croteau

Master's Theses

With an increased demand in Cube Satellite (CubeSat) development for low cost science and exploration missions, a push for the development of micro-propulsion technology has emerged, which seeks to increase CubeSat capabilities for novel mission concepts. One type of micro-propulsion system currently under development, known as Pocket Rocket, is an electrothermal plasma micro-thruster.

Pocket Rocket uses a capacitively coupled plasma, generated by radio-frequency, in order to provide neutral gas heating via ion-neutral collisions within a gas discharge tube. When compared to a cold-gas thruster of similar size, this gas heating mechanism allows Pocket Rocket to increase the exit thermal velocity …

Experimental Evaluation Of A Krypton Propellant Arrangement In A T-100-3 Hall-Effect Thruster, Adam Patel, Javier Cortina Fernandez, Justin Chow, Osvaldo Alejandro Martin, Alexey Shashurin

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Stationary Hall thrusters are electric, moderate-specific impulse propulsion systems developed in Russia. These devices manipulate electric and magnetic fields to expel ionized gas (plasma) components, resulting in thrust. The success of Hall-effect engines in USSR satellite-transfer missions quickly sparked western interest in the design. Extensive government and academic study commenced shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when the technology was made available to the United States. The common SPT-100 model was the primary subject of such studies. Unfortunately, limited literature exists for rare and uncommon Hall thruster models. The T-100-3 stationary plasma thruster suffers from this gap; few …

Operation Of The T-100 Hall Effect Thruster, Glynn Smith, Omar Dary, Alexey Shashurin

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The introduction of Hall Effect Thrusters from the former Soviet Union to the United States generated considerable interest in using the propulsion system aboard Western spacecraft. The established programs evaluated the SPT-100, and TAL-55 Hall Effect Thrusters for efficiency, lifetime, and performance characteristics. The T-100 model garnered only minor interest during this time compared with the same generation counterparts, the SPT-100, and TAL-55. This gap in knowledge on the efficiency, and performance of the T-100 warrants investigation into the design, and operation of the thruster. Operational characteristics will be measured on a restored T-100 Hall Thruster, using argon as a …

Divergent Plume Reduction Of A High-Efficiency Multistage Plasma Thruster, Christopher M. Barlog

Master's Theses

High Efficiency Multistage Plasma Thrusters (HEMPTs) are a relatively new form of electric propulsion that show promise for use on a variety of missions and have several advantages over their older EP competitors. One such advantage is their long predicted lifetime and minimal wall erosion due to a unique periodic permanent magnet system. A laboratory HEMPT was built and donated by JPL for testing at Cal Poly. Previous work was done to characterize the performance of this thruster and it was found to exhibit a large plume divergence, resulting in decreased thrust and specific impulse. This thesis explores the design …

Inlet Shape Considerations For Split-Wing Electric Distributed Propulsion, Kurt Vonderhaar Papathakis

Master's Theses

This thesis aims to uncover preliminary design relationships for an inlet of a split-wing electric distributed propulsion regional airliner. Several aspects of the inlet design were investigated, including: the overall thickness of the airfoil section with respect to the chord, inlet throat area, and lip radius. These parameters were investigated using several angles of attack and mass flow rates through the fan. Computational fluid dynamics, with a 2^nd Order turbulence model was used and validated against World War II era data from NACA, as those studies were the most pertinent wind tunnel data available. Additionally, other works by Boeing, …

Preliminary Design Of A Laboratory Cylindrical Hall-Effect Thruster, Scott Mcgrail, Sam Parker

Aerospace Engineering

A 3-cm cylindrical Hall thruster with permanent magnets was designed and modeled. The goal was to design a Hall thruster for Cal Poly’s propulsion laboratory of similar size and performance as Cal Poly’s MiXI thruster. The design process began with an investigation into the physics of Hall thrusters and selection of certain thruster parameters. The selected parameters were the diameter and depth of the channel, the total power input to the system, the discharge supply voltage, the cathode voltage, and the propellant flow rates to the anode and cathode. These parameters were used to determine the operational characteristics of the …

Mixi Thruster Tungsten And Thoriated Tungsten Testing, Jesse R. Miller

Aerospace Engineering

The purpose of this project is to build and evaluate a tungsten filament cathode for the 3-cm Miniature Xenon Ion (MiXI) thruster. The filament is to be used for future tests within the CP 3-cm MiXI and thoriated tungsten is to be examined as a possible alternative. No testing of these filaments was conducted, but the preparatory work has been conducted for future testing.

Internet Enabled Remote Driving Of A Combat Hybrid Electric Power System For Duty Cycle Measurement, Jarrett Goodell, Marc Compere, Wilford Smith, Mark Brudnak, Mike Pozolo, Et Al.

Publications

This paper describes a human-in-the-loop motion-based simulator interfaced to hybrid-electric power system hardware, both of which were used to measure the duty cycle of a combat vehicle in a virtual simulation environment. The project discussed is a greatly expanded follow-on to the experiment published in [1,7]. This paper is written in the context of [1,7] and therefore highlights the enhancements. The most prominent of these enhancements is the integration (in real-time) of the Power & Energy System Integration Lab (P&E SIL) with a motion base simulator by means of a “long haul” connection over the Internet (a geographical distance of …