Stabilization and steering of a parabolic laser thermal thruster with an ignition device

High energy pulses of a CO₂ laser are focused in a parabolic mirror yielding to a laser-supported detonation. The generated thrust acting on the reflector as a bell nozzle is studied in multiple pulse free flight experiments with respect to axial, lateral and angular momentum coupling. The employment of an ignition pin on the reflector's axis of symmetry lowering the ignition threshold by several orders of magnitude is found to provide for a reproducible detonation process. The axial momentum coupling of each pulse is analyzed with respect to initial lateral offset and tilt during the flight. High speed analyses of recorded flights indicate that lateral momentum components occur re-centering the thruster on the beam. Thrust vector steering can be realized by tilt of the ignition pin inside the thruster, thus shifting the detonation. A design model of a laser-driven rocket including a remotely accessible steering gear was developed and tested successfully.     

Determination of vibrational CO2 distributions in thermodynamically-nonequilibrated rarefied flows by use of radiational characteristics in the 15 μm band

A method for determination of the vibrational distributions and populations of individual vibrational levels of vibrationally-nonequilibrated carbon dioxide in bend-stretch manifold and asymmetric stretching mode was developed and substantiated. The method is based on the measurements of integrated radiation intensity in the wide spectral intervals of the 15 μm CO₂ band and total emissivities of its appropriate Q-branches. Computations of radiation intensities and emissivities in P and R-branches were performed by using vibrational-rotational band models and in Q-branches by the direct “line-by-line” integration.It was shown that vibrational temperature of CO₂ asymmetric stretching mode may be determined from the measurements of integrated radiation intensity of the 15 μm band. The populations of individual levels of the bend-stretch manifold may be obtained from the measurements of total emissivities of some Q-branches of the 15 μm band.The procedure of the CO₂ lower vibrational levels populations determination under the conditions typical of 18 μm and 9–11 μm CO₂ laser cavities is described.     

CE-4中继卫星使命轨道维持与动量轮卸载联合控制方法

针对嫦娥四号中继卫星动量轮频繁喷气卸载对其使命轨道Halo轨道的扰动问题，定性分析了卫星角动量累积规律和动量轮卸载对使命轨道构型的影响，给出了动量轮卸载前后角动量变化量与喷气卸载等效速度增量的关系，在角动量卸载预测的基础上，提出了一种使命轨道维持与动量轮卸载联合控制方法，通过偏置维持控制目标抵消控后动量轮卸载影响，达到延长轨道维持控制周期和节省推进剂的目的，给出了控制目标偏置量的求解方法。工程应用结果验证了方法的有效性。     

一次火箭流量对RBCC性能影响的数值和实验研究

利用三维两相数值计算方法和地面直联试验系统,开展了不同来流速度下一次火箭流量变化对发动机性能的影响。数值研究结果表明,在不同来流条件下,一次流流量的增加对发动机推力和比冲的贡献不同,在低速条件时,一次火箭流量的增加对来流空气的加热以及缩短二次燃料的雾化蒸发时间和距离起着积极的作用,对性能的提高有一定作用;当来流速度较高时,过大一次流流量对流动通道产生了阻塞效应,造成对推力和比冲贡献作用的减小。试验结果验证了数值研究得到的规律,特别在高马赫数条件下,一次火箭流量的增加对推力和比冲的贡献是减小的,且飞行速度越高,这种贡献越小。无论低速还是高速来流条件,存在着一个优化的一次流流量,这对提高发动机性能有很大好处。     

拉瓦尔型微喷管性能的DSMC模拟

运用DSMC方法,对轴对称拉瓦尔型微喷管流动现象进行了仿真模拟,分析了不同壁面边界条件对喷管流动性能的影响。研究结果表明,不同的壁面反射模型对喷管内的流场结构及推力有较大影响;在同等壁面热条件下,随着动量调节系数的增加,喷管粘性损失增大,喷管的推力和比冲都将下降;对不同光滑度与清洁度的喷管表面,一概采用完全漫反射模型,将低估喷管推力性能。     

无拖曳卫星氮气微推进系统填充与开机工作特性的仿真研究

采用AMESim软件对氮气贮存压力为1.5×10 7 Pa、推力范围为mN级的压电驱动的氮气微推进系统进行建模。研究了氮气填充过程中氮气瓶、减压阀的压力和质量流量瞬态特性。分析了整合喷管的压电比例阀在开机过程中的瞬态工作特性。最后，研究了驱动电压对压电比例阀在开机过程中的阀芯位移和喷管推力瞬态值、阀芯运动和推力响应时间的影响规律。结果显示，当驱动电压为80 V时，阀芯的响应时间和稳定位移分别为 0.64 ms 和3.67 μm。开机后8 ms，喷管推力达到稳定值(0.588 mN)。压电比例阀阀芯的开启响应快速，且驱动电压与喷管推力之间存在良好的线性关系，说明推力可通过改变驱动电压进行mN级的线性调节。     

激光模拟单粒子效应设备及试验研究进展综述

单粒子效应的脉冲激光模拟方法是单粒子效应地面模拟试验中近年来才发展起来的一种方法。文章主要介绍了脉冲激光模拟单粒子效应的基本原理、特点及国内外研究进展。研究表明脉冲激光模拟是一种有效、安全、经济、方便的地面模拟单粒子效应的方法,在器件单粒子效应危害评估及电路加固验证方面具有明显的优势。     

Aerospike nozzle contour design and its performance validation

A simplified design and optimization method of aerospike nozzle contour and the results of tests and numerical simulation of aerospike nozzles are presented. The primary nozzle contour is approximated by two circular arcs and a parabola; the plug contour is approximated by a parabola and a third-order polynomial. The maximum total impulse from sea level to design altitude is adopted as objective to optimize the aerospike nozzle contour. Experimental studies were performed on a 6-cell tile-shaped aerospike nozzle, a 1-cell linear aerospike nozzle and a 3-cell aerospike nozzle with round-to-rectangle (RTR) primary nozzles designed by method proposed in present paper. Three aerospike nozzles achieved good altitude compensation capacities in the tests and still had better performance at off-design altitudes compared with that of the bell-shaped nozzle. In cold-flow tests, 6-cell tile-shaped aerospike nozzle and 1-cell linear aerospike nozzle obtained high thrust efficiency at design altitude. Employing gas H₂/gas O₂ (GH₂/GO₂) as propellants, hot-firing tests were carried out on a 3-cell aerospike nozzle engine with RTR primary nozzles. The performance was obtained under two nozzle pressure ratios (NPR) lower than design altitude. Efficiency reached 92.0–93.5% and 95.0–96.0%, respectively. Pressure distribution along plug ramp was measured and the effects of variation in the amount of base bleed on performance were also examined in the tests.     

Optimal control laws for heliocentric transfers with a magnetic sail

A magnetic sail is an advanced propellantless propulsion system that uses the interaction between the solar wind and an artificial magnetic field generated by the spacecraft, to produce a propulsive thrust in interplanetary space. The aim of this paper is to collect the available experimental data, and the simulation results, to develop a simplified mathematical model that describes the propulsive acceleration of a magnetic sail, in an analytical form, for mission analysis purposes. Such a mathematical model is then used for estimating the performance of a magnetic sail-based spacecraft in a two-dimensional, minimum time, deep space mission scenario. In particular, optimal and locally optimal steering laws are derived using an indirect approach. The obtained results are then applied to a mission analysis involving both an optimal Earth–Venus (circle-to-circle) interplanetary transfer, and a locally optimal Solar System escape trajectory. For example, assuming a characteristic acceleration of 1 mm/s², an optimal Earth–Venus transfer may be completed within about 380 days.     

A ballistic-pendulum test stand to characterize small cold-gas thruster nozzles

This paper deals with the design, development and experimentation of a new test stand for the accurate and precise characterization of small cold-gas nozzles having thrust of the order of 0.1 N and specific impulse of the order of 10 s. As part of the presented research, a new cold-gas supersonic nozzle was designed and developed based on the quasi one-dimensional theory. The test stand is based on the ballistic-pendulum principle: in particular, it consists of a suspended gondola hosting the propulsion system and the sample nozzle. The propulsion system consists of an air tank, pressure regulator, solenoid valve, battery and digital timer to command the valve. The gondola is equipped with a fin, immersed in water, to provide torsional and lateral oscillation damping. A laser sensor measures the displacement of the gondola. The developed test stand was calibrated by using a mathematical model based on the inelastic collision theory. The obtained accuracy was of ～1%. Sample experimental results are reported regarding the comparison of the new supersonic nozzle with a commercially available subsonic nozzle. The obtained measurements of thrust, mass flow rate and specific impulse are precise to a level of ～3%. The broad goal of the presented research was to contribute to an upgraded design of a spacecraft simulator used for laboratory validation of guidance, navigation and control algorithms for autonomous docking manoeuvres.     

Simple method for performance evaluation of multistage rockets

Multistage rockets are commonly employed to place spacecraft and satellites in their operational orbits. Performance evaluation of multistage rockets is aimed at defining the maximum payload mass at orbit injection, for specified structural, propulsive, and aerodynamic data of the launch vehicle. This work proposes a simple method for a fast performance evaluation of multistage rockets. The technique at hand is based on three steps: (i) the flight-path angle at each stage separation is guessed, (ii) the spacecraft velocity is maximized at the first and second stage separation, and (iii) for the last stage the thrust direction is obtained through the particle swarm optimization technique, in conjunction with the use of the Euler–Lagrange equations and the Pontryagin minimum principle. The coast duration at the second stage separation is optimized as well. The method at hand is extremely simple and easy-to-implement, but nevertheless it proves to be capable of yielding near-optimal ascending trajectories for a multistage launch vehicle with realistic structural, propulsive, and aerodynamic characteristics. The solutions found with the technique under consideration can be employed either for a rapid evaluation of the multistage rocket performance or as guesses for more refined optimization algorithms.     

卫星振动试验中推力的估算方法

准确预估规定试验条件下卫星振动试验所需推力对于试验的设计与实施具有重要意义。文章在常规卫星振动试验需用推力估算方法的基础上,结合具体的小卫星应用实例提出了支反力分析预示法和类比相似结构卫星推力的方法来估算卫星振动试验需用推力。通过与实际振动试验推力数据对比,文章给出了卫星振动试验需用推力估算方法的实用评估结论。     

TDC-GP1器件单粒子锁定效应的脉冲激光模拟试验研究

文章介绍了单粒子锁定效应脉冲激光模拟试验的工作原理。以时间测量芯片TDC-GP1为试验对象,利用单粒子锁定模拟试验设备开展了无限流保护电阻和有限流保护电阻的单粒子锁定效应脉冲激光模拟试验研究。结果发现:TCD-GP1芯片在20 nJ脉冲激光辐照下发生了单粒子锁定现象。在对照试验中发现,有限流保护电阻的情况下,在发生锁定时不仅能降低锁定大电流和供电电压,而且还能有效地避免器件的功能损伤。     

用于空间站火灾防护的隔绝式氧烛呼吸自救器研制

文章介绍某新型隔绝式氧烛呼吸自救器的研制.其呼吸保护装置主要由防护头罩、氯酸钠氧烛和CO2吸附3个单元组成,利用氧烛产生的O2通过文丘里管推动头罩内的空气循环,采用LiOH吸附剂吸附循环气体中的CO2.该装置进行了适用性试验,人体感觉良好.文章对该装置用于空间站火灾逃生自救的可行性进行了分析,认为其适用于空间站火灾逃生.     

Gasdynamic lasers: review and extension

A review of the physics and gasdynamics associated with conventional CO₂-N₂ gasdynamic lasers (GDL's) is given, including a short survey of the state of the art. The role of advanced, downstream mixing GDL's is examined, and the question is addressed: Can such downstream mixing GDL's provide an order-of-magnitude increase in power output over the conventional device? Finally, combustion driven GDL's with unconventional fuels are examined, and new results for gain and maximum available power are given for various fuel-oxidizer combinations.     

Lawrence-Gurney模型对于激光驱动飞片的适用性分析

Lawrence-Gurney模型给出了求解激光驱动飞片速度的方程组。文章从理论和试验两个方面对Lawrence-Gurney模型的适用性进行了分析,发现该模型不能较好地描述厚度为10μm以下飞片的驱动过程。主要原因是Lawrence-Gurney模型对激光与飞片的具体相互作用过程进行了简化假设,依据能量守恒和动量守恒定律建立数学方程组,而这些假设条件和近似求解条件对于厚度小于10μm的飞片均不能很好地成立,导致对飞片速度、能量耦合效率、冲量耦合系数和飞片烧蚀深度随激光能量变化的理论预估结果与试验结果偏差较大,需要进行修正。     

激光击穿不同气体的激光推进实验研究

为了研究激光击穿气体工质的机理,通过测量冲量耦合系数,比较了激光在不同压强下击穿不同惰性单原子气体(氩气、氦气)的效果,试验结果表明:原子序数较大的无机气体原子可以电离出更多的电子,从而击穿阈值更低,激光能量转化为爆轰波能量的能量转化效率更高,冲量耦合系数就越大,同样条件下更容易击穿。推进剂气体不同,冲量耦合系数差别较大。测量摆角对结果的影响也较大。     

High order optimal feedback control of space trajectories with bounded control

Optimal feedback control is classically based on linear approximations, whose accuracy drops off rapidly in highly nonlinear dynamics. Several nonlinear optimal feedback control strategies have appeared in recent years. Among them, differential algebraic techniques have been used to tackle nonlinearities by expanding the solution of the optimal control problem about a reference trajectory and reducing the computation of optimal feedback control laws to the evaluation of high order polynomials. However, the resulting high order method could not handle control saturation constraints, which remain a critical facet of nonlinear optimal feedback control. This work introduces the management of saturating actuators in the differential algebraic method. More specifically, the constraints are included in the optimal control problem formulation and differential algebra is used to expand the associated optimal bang–bang solution with respect to the initial and terminal conditions. Optimal feedback control laws for thrust direction and switching times are again computed by evaluating the resulting polynomials. Illustrative applications are presented in the frame of the optimal low-thrust transfer to asteroid 1996 FG₃.     

A new type of magnetic gimballed momentum wheel and its application to attitude control in space

A new type of magnetically suspended gimbal momentum wheel utilizing permanent magnets is described. The bearing was composed of four independent thrust actuators which control the rotor thrust position and gimbal angles cooperatively, so that the bearing comes to have a simple mechanism with high reliability and light weight. The high speed instability problem due to the internal damping was easily overcome by introducing anisotropic radial stiffness. A momentum flywheel with the 3-axis controlled magnetic bearing displays good performance for attitude control of satellite with biased momentum.     

氨电弧喷射推力器实验和数值研究

为了证实氨电弧喷射推力器良好的工作性能，对其进行了系统的实验和数值研究。在实验研究中建立了高真空实验系统、先进的小推力测量系统和恒定电流控制系统，在数值研究中采用二阶精度无波动、无自由参数的耗散差分格式(NND格式)数值求解耦合电磁源项的扩展N-S方程组。通过实验获得了不同结构尺寸的推力器不同工作条件下的工作性能，通过数值模拟给出了推力器的流场结构，预计了其推力、比冲和推进效率。研究结果表明，氨电弧喷射推力器工作性能良好，能够担负一定的空间应用任务。