Enhanced Power Generation by Optical Solar Reflectors on Geostationary Spinners

A novel arrangement is proposed to enhance the power generating capabilities of a spin stabilized geostationary satellite (spinner). The unilluminated solar array area of the usual spinner (as sunlight falls on only one side) is illuminated by employing despun optical solar reflectors. The different mechanisms required for implementation of this arrangement are already space proven. The detailed study of this arrangement made by the authors reveals that the practical realization of this concept will enhance the power generating capability of the spinner and simultaneously reduce the weight (per unit power) and cost (per unit power) in such spinners.     

Isotopic Fractionation by Plasma Processes

The Sun is the largest reservoir of matter in the solar system, which formed 4.6 Gy ago from the protosolar nebula. The solar wind carries a nearly unfractionated sample of heavy isotopes at energies of about 1 keV/amu from the Sun into interplanetary space. Data from space missions and theoretical models indicate that the isotopes of the volatile elements N, O, Ne, and Ar are fractionated by at most a few percent per atomic mass unit in different solar wind regimes. In contrast, isotopic abundances of solar and heliospheric energetic particles at energies larger than about 100 keV/amu are observed to strongly vary relative to solar abundances. Processes such as resonant acceleration or pre-acceleration by plasma waves, first-order Fermi acceleration, or propagation in the interplanetary plasma are discussed as causes for charge-to-mass dependent fractionation. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Self-Adapting dc Converter for Solar Spacecraft Power Supply Selbstanpassender Gleichstromwandler für die Energieversorgung eines Sonnensatelliten

The voltage-current characteristic of solar cells that provide power for a spacecraft can vary over a wide range. For maximum power transfer from the solar cells to the battery system a power converter has to be designed that adjusts its input impedance to a value equal to the output impedance determined by the operating power characteristic of the solar cells. This paper discusses a circuit and calculations for a design to match this condition. The proposed power converter is simple, lightweight, and reliable and will be used in the Sunblazer satellite.     

Modeling of brushless DC generating systems using diakoptics

The mathematical modeling of a brushless DC generator is described, as an illustration of the application of diakoptic techniques to the analysis of small-scale electrical power supply systems. Modeling of the generator and its output rectifier is accomplished using an established matrix technique that accounts for the continuously changing conduction pattern of the diode bridge network. The advantages of using diakoptics are discussed together with the main generator linked to its exciter and to the automatic voltage regulator and permanent magnet generator which are often included in a complete unit. A solution algorithm is presented for this overall arrangement and a comparison is made between theoretical and practical results for a typical 3-stage, 4000-rev/min, 10.3-kW, 28-V unit     

Applications of Brayton cycle technology to space power

The Closed Brayton Cycle (CBC) power conversion cycle can be used with a wide range of heat sources for space power applications. These heat sources include solar concentrator, radioisotope, and reactor. With a solar concentrator, a solar dynamic ground demonstration test using existing Brayton components is being assembled for testing at NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC). This 2-kWe system has a turbine inlet temperature of 1015 K and is a complete end-to-end simulation of the Space Station Freedom solar dynamic design. With a radioisotope heat source, a 1-kWe Dynamic Isotope Power System (DIPS) is under development using an existing turboalternator compressor (TAC) for testing at the same NASA-LeRC facility. This DIPS unit is being developed as a replacement to Radioisotopic Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) to conserve the Pu-238 supply for interplanetary exploration. With a reactor heat source, many studies have been performed coupling the SP-100 reactor with a Brayton power conversion cycle. Applications for this reactor/CBC system include global communications satellites and electric propulsion for interplanetary exploration. applications. The CBC consists of a heater, turboalternator compressor (TAC), cooler, and recuperator. A mixture of He and Xe is used as the working fluid in the CBC system. The He provides superior heat transfer characteristics in the heater, cooler, and recuperator. The Xe adjusts the molecular weight to provide superior aerodynamic performance for maximized turbine and compressor efficiency. Cycle studies are performed to select the optimum He/Xe molecular weight or He to Xe mixture ratio. The following presents the characteristics and advantages of using the CBC for space power applications, CBC development status, characteristics and applications of the CBC with each of the heat sources, and finally performance projections     

飞行状态对太阳能飞机中组件性能的影响

基于光伏组件产生功率模型，研究了太阳能飞机中飞行速度、高度、时间及区域等状态参数影响组件性能的规律。以单晶硅组件及Xihe太阳能飞机为研究对象，当飞机飞行速度增加时，组件产生的功率随之增加但趋于饱和。原因在于速度的增加能有效降低组件的表面温度，但提升是有限的。飞机所需的功率随飞行速度呈现指数增加，且组件产生的功率与飞机所需的功率有能量平衡点。组件产生的功率随飞行高度的增加而增加，但有饱和的趋势。原因在于，当飞行高度上升，大气温度随之下降，组件表面温度下降；同时海拔越高，大气密度和大气通透率越大，太阳辐射增加，从而组件产生的功率增加了；饱和的原因在于组件本身性能的限制。一天之中，组件产生的功率基本以太阳时12点为中心左右近似对称，中午最强；一年中组件性能在夏季最强，冬季最弱。原因在于组件性能主要由所受太阳辐射决定。随着纬度的增加，组件产生的功率减小。原因在于，纬度越高，太阳高度角越小，组件所能接受到的太阳辐射也就越小；纬度越低，组件总产生功率越高且平稳。纬度低的地区更适合太阳能飞机的飞行。该文为太阳能飞机的能量分配、长时间驻空提供一定的帮助。     

考虑局部遮挡的太阳能无人机能源控制

针对太阳能无人机在飞行状态下可能出现的太阳能电池局部遮挡情况,开展相应的太阳能电池最大功率点追踪算法和能源控制研究。通过将发光亮度引入相对吸引力计算过程对萤火虫算法进行改进,实现了局部阴影情况下太阳能电池最大功率点的高效追踪。以此为基础,设计了考虑局部遮挡情况下太阳能无人机的太阳能电池/蓄电池混合能源状态机控制规则。以"蒲公英I"无人机为例,建立了太阳能电池阵列模型,开展了考虑局部遮挡情况下太阳能电池最大功率点追踪仿真实验;基于"蒲公英I"飞行剖面,开展了考虑局部遮挡情况的混合能源控制仿真试验。研究结果表明：改进的萤火虫算法可以实现在局部阴影情况下太阳能电池最大功率点的有效跟踪,与萤火虫算法相比收敛时间更短、且功率波动幅度更小;采用改进萤火虫算法和状态机能源管理策略,在考虑局部遮挡的飞行状态下可以实现太阳能电池/蓄电池之间的合理功率分配与控制。     

重力姿轨耦合效应引起的太阳能电站轨道共振

以任意相控阵天线式空间太阳能电站为研究对象,主要研究了其在轨运行过程中受到的重力姿轨耦合效应对其轨道运动的影响。首先,通过Hamilton原理建立起考虑重力姿轨耦合效应时的姿态运动和轨道运动的方程。其中,任意相控阵天线式空间太阳能电站被简化成刚体,它的重力势能以其结构尺寸和其轨道半径的比值为小量进行泰勒展开,并保留至二阶项。之后,采用解析的方法对方程进行分析,并发现当电站的姿态运动满足一定条件时,其轨道运动将会出现共振现象。此外,重力姿轨耦合效应还会引起空间太阳能电站轨道运动长期的漂移,通过选择合适的轨道运动初始条件可以消除漂移;而且,在一定条件下,重力姿轨耦合效应还会引起轨道运动的发散。最后,数值仿真结果验证了分析的正确性。     

布雷顿-空气底部复合循环和外涵回热式燃气-空气轮机

介绍了俄罗斯新发展的一种外涵回热式燃机FTY-18ⅡC，这种燃机的外涵增压空气经与内涵燃机的排气换热后驱动热空气涡轮。该涡轮与内涵燃气动力涡轮共轴输出功率18MW，轴端热效率44％。对FTY-18ⅡC的布雷顿-空气底部复合循环方式与常规回热循环及LM2500的布雷顿-空气底部联合循环和WR21的间冷回热循环做了比较。估算了将斯贝MK202涡扇发动机改装成这种外涵回热燃机的最大功率为17．9MW，热效率为39．1％。     

Large-signal stability analysis of solar array power system

A large-signal stability analysis of the solar array regulator system is performed to facilitate the design and analysis of a low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite power system. The effective load characteristics of various control methods in the solar array regulator system, such as the constant power load, variable power load, constant voltage load, constant current load, and constant resistive load, are classified to analyze the large-signal stability. Then, using the state plane analysis technique, the large-signal behavior of the solar array system is portrayed and the stability of various equilibrium points is analyzed. Thus, this approach can be contributed to organize the optimal controller structure of the system by representing the relationship between the control method of the solar array regulator and the large-signal stability. For the verification of the proposed large-signal analysis, a solar array regulator system that consists of two 100 W parallel module buck converters has been built and tested using a real 200 W solar array.     

The Dawn Framing Camera

The Framing Camera (FC) is the German contribution to the Dawn mission. The camera will map 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres through a clear filter and 7 band-pass filters covering the wavelengths from the visible to the near-IR. The camera will allow the determination of the physical parameters of the asteroids, the reconstruction of their global shape as well as local topography and surface geomorphology, and provide information on composition via surface reflectance characteristics. The camera will also serve for orbit navigation. The resolution of the Framing Camera will be up to 12 m per pixel in low altitude mapping orbit at Vesta (62 m per pixel at Ceres), at an angular resolution of 93.7 ??rad?px^?1. The instrument uses a reclosable front door to protect the optical system and a filter-wheel mechanism to select the band-pass for observation. The detector data is read out and processed by a data processing unit. A power converter unit supplies all required power rails for operation and thermal maintenance. For redundancy reasons, two identical cameras were provided, both located side by side on the +Z-deck of the spacecraft. Each camera has a mass of 5.5 kg.     

基于遗传模拟退火算法的航班进离场调度

基于航班延误成本构成的复杂性,惩罚航空器单位时间延误成本以区分续航航班与非续航航班,且推导出与航班类型直接相关的续航航班单位时间延误成本表达式。建立了以航班总延误成本及跑道调度时间跨度最小的多目标跑道调度模型,并用遗传模拟退火算法求解模型。以国内某大型机场的两条近距平行跑道调度为例对算法进行验证,实验结果表明,运用遗传模拟退火算法求解多目标跑道调度问题,可显著提高航班延误成本分布的均衡性,且程序收敛性较强,具有很好的实用性。     

Experimental investigations on the power extraction of a turbine driven by a pulse detonation combustor

In order to grasp the interaction mechanism between the pulse detonation combustor（PDC）and the turbine,the experimental work in this paper investigates the key factors on the power extraction of a turbocharger turbine driven by a PDC.A PDC consisting of an unvalved tube is integrated with a turbocharger turbine which has a nominal mass flow rate of 0.6 kg/s and50000 r/min.The PDC-turbine hybrid engine is operated on gasoline-air mixtures and runs for6＋min to achieve a thermal steady state,and then the engine performance is evaluated under different operating conditions.Results show that the momentum difference per unit area between the turbine inlet and outlet plays an important role in the power extraction,while the pressure peak of the detonation has little effect.The equivalence ratio of fuel and air mixture and the transition structure between PDC and turbine are also important to the power extraction of the turbine.The present work is promising as it suggests that the performance beneft of a PDC-turbine hybrid engine can be realized by increasing the momentum difference per unit area through the optimal design of transition section between the PDC and turbine.     

Design and integration of a solar AMTEC power system with anadvanced global positioning satellite

A 1,200-W solar AMTEC (alkali metal thermal-to-electric conversion) power system concept was developed and integrated with an advanced global positioning system (GPS) satellite. The critical integration issues for the SAMTEC with the GPS subsystems included: (1) packaging within the Delta II launch vehicle envelope; (2) deployment and start-up operations for the SAMTEC; (3) SAMTEC operation during all mission phases; (4) satellite field of view restrictions with satellite operations; and (5) effect of the SAMTEC requirements on other satellite subsystems. The SAMTEC power system was compared with a conventional planar solar array/battery power system to assess the differences in system weight, size, and operations, Features of the design include the use of an advanced multitube, vapor anode AMTEC cell design with 24% conversion efficiency, and a direct solar insolation receiver design with integral LiF salt canisters for energy storage to generate power during the maximum solar eclipse cycle, The modular generator design consists of an array of multitube AMTEC cells arranged into a parallel/series electrical network with built-in cell redundancy. Our preliminary assessment indicates that the solar generator design is scaleable over a 500 to 2,500-W range. No battery power is required during the operational phase of the GPS mission. SAMTEC specific power levels greater than 5 We/kg and 160 We/m² are anticipated for a mission duration of 10 to 12 years in orbits with high natural radiation backgrounds     

Nonsteady behaviour of solar dynamic power systems with Stirling cycle for space stations

In the first part of this paper, a solar dynamic power system with a Stirling engine for space station application is described. Its unsteady behaviour is theoretically modelled and numerically simulated for four representative orbit configurations. The results are compared to that of a solar dynamic power module with a Brayton gas turbine.In the second part, it is shown that the complex nonsteady behaviour of solar dynamic power modules with either the Brayton cycle or Stirling cycle can be analysed in a simplified way with sufficient accuracy for practical purposes on the basis of parametrizations and simple energy balances.     

化学热泵系统研究

介绍了化学热泵系统的工作原理, 对不同工作方式下的性能进行了热力学分析。着重研究了化学热泵系统代替蒸汽压缩式循环系统的可能性, 指出了系统的COP和单位反应器体积或单位质量吸收剂的功率是两个决定性的因素。讨论了为改善化学热泵系统性能可供采取的技术途径。分析结果表明, 化学热泵系统作为蒸汽压缩循环系统的替代物是很有可能的。      

Structure of the Solar Wind and Compositional Variations

The composition of the solar wind is largely determined by the composition of the source material, i.e. the present-day composition of the outer convective zone. It is then modified by the processes which operate in the transition region and in the inner corona. In situ measurements of the solar wind composition give a unique opportunity to obtain information on the isotopic and elemental composition of the Sun. However, elemental — and to some degree also isotopic — fractionation can occur in the flow of matter from the outer convective zone into the interplanetary space. The most important examples of elemental fractionation are the well-known FIP/FIT effect (First Ionization Potential/Time) and the sometimes dramatic variations of the helium abundance relative to hydrogen in the solar wind. A thorough investigation of fractionation processes which cause compositional variations in different solar wind regimes is necessary to make inferences about the solar source composition from solar wind observations. Our understanding of these processes is presently improving thanks to the detailed diagnostics offered by the optical instrumentation on SOHO. Correlated observations of particle instruments on Ulysses, WIND, and SOHO, together with optical observations will help to make inferences for the solar composition. Continuous in situ observations of several isotopic species with the particle instruments on WIND and SOHO are currently incorporated into an experimental database to infer isotopic fractionation processes which operate in different solar wind regimes between the solar surface and the interplanetary medium. Except for the relatively minor effects of secular gravitational sedimentation which works at the boundary between the outer convective zone and the radiative zone, refractory elements such as Mg can be used as faithful witnesses to monitor the magnitude of these processes. With theoretical considerations it is possible to make inferences about the importance of isotopic fractionation in the solar wind from a comparison of optical and in situ observations of elemental fractionation with the corresponding models. Theoretical models and preliminary results from particle observations indicate that the combined isotope effects do not exceed a few percent per mass unit. In the worst case, which concerns the astrophysically important 3He/4He ratio, we expect an overall effect of at most several percent in the sense of a systematic depletion of the heavier isotope. Continued observations with WIND, SOHO, and ACE, and, with the revival of the foil technique, with the upcoming Genesis mission will further consolidate our knowledge about the relation between solar wind dynamics and solar wind composition. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Galileo Net Flux Radiometer experiment

The Galileo Net Flux Radiometer (NFR) is a Probe instrument designed to measure the vertical profile of upward and net radiation fluxes in five spectral bands spanning the range from solar to far infrared wavelengths. These unique measurements within Jupiter's atmosphere, from which radiative heating and cooling profiles will be derived, will contribute to our understanding of Jovian atmospheric dynamics, to the detection of cloud layers and determination of their opacities, and to the estimation of water vapor abundance. The NFR uses an array of pyroelectric detectors and individual bandpass filters in a sealed detector package. The detector package and optics rotate as a unit to provide chopping between views of upward and downward radiation fluxes. This arrangement makes possible the measurement of small net fluxes in the presence of large ambient fluxes. A microprocessor-controlled electronics package handles instrument operation.     

Tandem solar cells with 31% (AM0) and 37% (AM1.5D) energyconversion efficiencies

The authors demonstrate that the efficiency of GaAs satellite solar cells can be increased to 31% (AM0) with two straightforward modifications. First, the wire grid reflection losses on the GaAs cell can be eliminated by attaching and aligning a thin grooved cover slide. The grooves in this cover slide deflect the incident light rays away from the wire grid lines into the cell active area, increasing the efficiency from 22% to 24%. The second modification involves making the GaAs cell transparent to the infrared energy that normally is wasted and then placing an infrared sensitive GaSb booster cell behind the GaAs cell. This increases the AM0 solar energy conversion efficiency from 24% to 31%. The GaAs/GaSb tandem solar cells have conversion efficiencies of 37% if used for terrestrial (AM1.5) rather than space (AM0) solar electric power systems, high enough that utility-scale solar electric power may someday be economical     

航天器太阳电池阵驱动装置的新进展

通常长寿命三轴稳定卫星都采用帆板式太阳电池阵进行能源供应,并使用太阳电池阵驱动装置使电池阵对日定向。国际上从20世纪60年代开始,不断开发研制太阳电池阵驱动装置,以满足在大功率、小型化、适应恶劣环境等方面的特殊需求,经过几代的发展,取得了长足的进步。根据国内收集的相关信息和资料,通过介绍国际该领域的发展及对应需求的典型产品,尝试分析该领域中相应的应用、研究的重点及发展的方向。