Laser ablation micropropulsion technology has the characteristics of high specific impulse, high thrust ratio and precise thrust control, which is a good choice for many micro/nano satellite power systems such as meteorology, remote sensing and reconnaissance. In order to provide optimal power support for micro-nano satellites and improve the propulsion performance of laser ablation microthrust, in this paper, the ablative material is GAP+3% nano carbon powder, doped with 5%, 8%, 10%, 15% LiAlH4 or 5%, 10%, 20%, 30% AP, respectively. A semiconductor laser with a wavelength of 975nm was used to ablate different doping substances and materials with different doping ratios, and the ablative properties were compared. The mechanism of the difference in ablative properties of different materials was analyzed by electron microscopy. The results show that LiAlH4 and AP can improve the laser ablation performance when they are mixed into GAP as oxidants because of their strong oxidability. When 10% LiAlH4 was added into the material, the average values of specific impulse and single impulse were 235s and 13.36μN·s, respectively. The propulsive performance parameters of 10% doped AP are slightly lower, but the error is smaller and the propulsive performance is more stable.
Laser ablation micro propulsion is a novel space propulsion scheme with minimum impulse bit, high specific impulse, less pollution, simple constructer of thruster and less weight compared to other micro propulsion, with great potential application on precise attitude control and orbit control of spacecraft and formation flying of micro satellites. Because of the splashing of the liquid working fluid drastically reducing the efficiency of laser ablation, it is essential to feed the liquid by micro flow approximately 50μg per pulse. Currently the main difficulty is the micro flow feed and ablation of the liquid energetic polymers. A micro flow system, utilizing piezoelectric valve controlled by pulse signal and piston cylinder, was designed and set up to satisfy the requirement of the continuous ignition and ablation of the liquid GAP. The dynamic characteristics of ablation, impulse, plume and splashing were observed and analyzed. The ablation behavior and splashing is detected by shadowgraphy experiments and the impulse bit is measured by torsional pendulum in vacuum. The experiment demonstrates the stability of the feed system, the jam status of the jet after the laser ablation, and the feasibility of the laser ablation propulsion using liquid energetic polymers in engineering application.
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