低气压离子风推进器仿真与实验

离子风动力具有无需机械旋转部件、低功耗及低噪声等优点, 在平流层飞艇和太阳能飞机上具有重要的应用潜力。模拟临近空间的低气压环境, 采用"线-柱"电极结构电晕放电装置产生离子风, 实验测量不同放电条件下离子风推进器产生的推力和推功比, 研究了气压、放电电压、电极间隙对离子风动力的影响。仿真和实验结果表明, 气压的降低会导致推进器推功比的下降, 具体表现为: 当电极间隙为2.0 cm, 最大推功比由1 atm (1 atm＝101325 Pa)时的17.70 mN/W降低至0.02 atm时的0.24 mN/W; 而推功比的损失可以通过增大电极间隙来补偿, 当电极间隙增加至14 cm, 在0.02 atm的气压环境下, 推功比由0.24 mN/W升至0.70 mN/W。通过优化离子风推进器结构, 增加电极间隙, 离子风动力具备低气压环境下的应用潜力。 

Simulation and Experiment of Ionic Wind Thruster at Low Air Pressures

Thrust generated by ionic wind has the advantages of no mechanical rotating parts, low power consumption and low noise, and has important application potential in stratospheric airships and solar planes. The wire-cylinder electrode corona discharge device was used to generate ionic wind. The thrust and the thrust-to-power ratio generated by the ionic wind thruster were measured under different operating conditions, including the air pressure, the applied voltage, and the electrode gap distance. The results show that the decrease in air pressure will lead to a reduction in the thrust-to-power ratio. For example, when the electrode gap is 2.0 cm, the maximum thrust-to-power ratio is reduced from 17.70 mN/W at 1.0 atm to 0.24 mN/W at 0.02 atm. The loss of the thrust-to-power ratio can be compensated by increasing the electrode gap. When the electrode gap is increased from 2.0 cm to 14 cm at the pressure of 0.02 atm, the thrust-to-power ratio rises from 0.24 mN/W to 0.70 mN/W. By optimizing the structure of the ionic wind thruster and selecting the appropriate electrode gap distance, the ionic wind thrust has more applications in low-pressure environments.