IMF Direction Derived from Cycloid-Like Ion Distributions Observed by Mars Express

Although the Mars Express (MEX) does not carry a magnetometer, it is in principle possible to derive the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientation from the three dimensional velocity distribution of pick-up ions measured by the Ion Mass Analyser (IMA) on board MEX because pick-up ions' orbits, in velocity phase space, are expected to gyrate around the IMF when the IMF is relatively uniform on a scale larger than the proton gyroradius. During bow shock outbound crossings, MEX often observed cycloid distributions (two dimensional partial ring distributions in velocity phase space) of protons in a narrow channel of the IMA detector (only one azimuth for many polar angles). We show two such examples. Three different methods are used to derive the IMF orientation from the observed cycloid distributions. One method is intuitive (intuitive method), while the others derive the minimum variance direction of the velocity vectors for the observed ring ions. These velocity vectors are selected either manually (manual method) or automatically using simple filters (automatic method). While the intuitive method and the manual method provide similar IMF orientations by which the observed cycloid distribution is well arranged into a partial circle (representing gyration) and constant parallel velocity, the automatic method failed to arrange the data to the degree of the manual method, yielding about a 30° offset in the estimated IMF direction. The uncertainty of the derived IMF orientation is strongly affected by the instrument resolution. The source population for these ring distributions is most likely newly ionized hydrogen atoms, which are picked up by the solar wind.     

Coupling plasma plume of a low-power magnetically shielded Hall thruster with a hollow cathode

The coupling region of a Hall thruster with a hollow cathode is the region between the cathode and the thruster plume. The characteristics of plasma in that region are complicated and strongly associated with the thruster working conditions and the cathode position. In this paper, a laboratory 100 W class magnetically shielded Hall thruster was coupled with a hollow cathode. Optical imaging and electrostatic probe were employed to monitor and scan the plasma plume. Plume characteristics in the coupling region in non-self-sustained mode and self-sustained mode were compared. Evolution of the coupling plume with the cathode position was studied. Experiments show that, when turning the thruster into self-sustained mode or moving the cathode further away axially, the discharge current can be reduced by 6.4–10.6% restraining the electron current and improving ionization. In particular, when the cathode is moved further, the electron conduction near the channel walls is suppressed. The electron current is reduced by 27.4% and the ion beam current is increased by 7%. Overall, this work shows that the working mode of the thruster and the position of the cathode greatly affect the coupling plasma plume. Both play an important role in improving the utilizations of propellant and current.     

阳极层霍尔推力器内轮辐效应不稳定性研究

为研究圆柱形阳极层霍尔推力器内轮辐效应的不稳定性,利用高速相机和静电探针得到1-2-1模式、1-2-3-1模式和1-2-3-2-1模式的轮辐分裂与合并现象。随着磁感应强度由205Gs增加到225Gs,轮辐个数m由1增加到3。轮辐的分裂与合并模式增多,且轮辐的旋转频率随之由25kHz提高到40kHz～50kHz。轮辐效应的存在是电子密度分布函数的宏观体现,动理论方程中力F的波动引起了轮辐的分裂,随着轮辐个数m的增加,电子分布的低频大幅度波动逐渐演变为小幅度高频率的波动。电子密度分布函数的波动引起的轮辐效应产生了角向分布的电场强度与磁场共同作用,增强了电子轴向漂移运动。     

毛细管放电型脉冲等离子体推力器输出特性分析

为了研究毛细管放电型脉冲等离子体推力器输出特性,借助电学诊断手段展开实验研究,获得了推力器典型放电波形,系统研究了不同毛细管内径和施加电压对等离子体等效阻抗、沉积能量效率的影响规律。利用微冲量测量台架,测试了不同参数下毛细管推力器输出元冲量,并通过计算获得了推力器比冲、总体效率的变化规律。实验结果表明,当毛细管内径不断增大时,能量沉积效率不断下降,元冲量下降,比冲降低。主电容电压增大时,放电能量不断增大,能量沉积效率降低,元冲量和单次等效烧蚀质量不断增大,但推力器比冲和总体效率均先增加并趋于稳定。当毛细管腔体长度为16mm,内径3mm,主电容2.5μF,充电电压为2kV时,输出元冲量350.79±7.50μN?s,比冲531s,总体效率可达18.3%。     

霍尔推力器不同壁面侵蚀对低频振荡特性影响研究

基于霍尔推力器一维准中性流体模型,对放电壁面侵蚀对低频振荡特性的影响进行了数值模拟研究。通过改变霍尔推力器放电通道的横截面积,研究了霍尔推力器寿命期内通道受离子溅射后,放电电流振荡特性变化。研究结果显示,横截面积从25cm2增大到37cm2时,放电电流振荡幅值增加,振荡频率基本不变;继续增加横截面积,放电电流振荡幅值减小,振荡频率增加。理论分析表明:通道侵蚀面积增大,导致离子碰撞频率变化,进而引起振荡特性变化。     

面向立方星变轨任务的机动控制策略

为了实现立方星在轨飞行与变轨,基于模块化推进器系统提出混合控制策略实现微小卫星轨道持续变化任务需求。首先,针对多单元立方星单一主推进器的结构部署,基于高斯变分方程采用连续低推进力实现轨道机动变化。为了实现对立方星主推进器的指向调整,基于姿态动力学模型利用PD连续姿态控制求得所需扭矩,实现对立方星的指向角和指向角速度调节。针对配置的微脉冲等离子推进器(μ-PPT)不连续的特点,通过搜寻μ PPT最优脉冲序列组合获得实际扭矩,满足对外部干扰的持续补偿以及立方星的姿态稳定和指向调整操作需求。此外,引入姿态误差敏感度阈值,使姿态控制器在能够提高系统鲁棒性的同时减少μ-PPT消耗。最后,通过对3U立方星在轨飞行与变轨的具体案例分析,表明所提出的基于微推进器系统的混合控制策略能够实现立方星轨道机动变化需求。     

适用于30cm离子推力器的5kW电源处理单元设计

为了满足更大范围的卫星应用需求,我国正在研制30cm离子推力器。30cm离子推力器瞄准全电推进卫星平台、近深空探测器对推进任务的需求,对提高卫星平台先进性和提升国际竞争力具有重要的意义。为了配合30cm离子推力器的研制,同时设计了输出功率达到5kW的电源处理单元。该设计实现了一种输出功率为1kW的模块,通过串联组合可以达到输出5kW功率要求,提出了一种"最佳"的平顶变换及软开关的全桥电路拓扑,达到了95%的转换效率,同时还能容易实现屏栅电源的N+1冗余设计。并且通过高压组件的完全灌封,有效提高产品的可靠性。     

基于动量轮转速标定的轨道控制方法研究

某地球同步三轴卫星因故障导致推力器工作效率不稳定,使得采用原有方案进行向西轨道控制时姿态变化大,控制准确度降低.针对上述问题,通过分析卫星用于姿态控制的偏置动量轮的控制规律,利用星体角动量守恒条件,建立了偏置动量轮转速变化与轨道半长轴变化之间的相关性数学模型,提出了一种改进的基于偏置动量轮转速标定的轨道控制方法,同时结合姿态的稳定变化制定了轨道控制实施方案,并将其应用于实际卫星轨道控制中,取得了良好的控制效果.改进的控制方法提高了轨道控制的准确率,使得半长轴误差幅度由最大60％提高到0.2％左右,增加了姿态的稳定性,使得俯仰姿态变化幅度由最大0.7°减小到0.2°左右,降低了控制风险,减轻了地面控制人员的负担.     

尚逸帆，康志宇，张庆展，杨东春

美国和苏联现有的舱外载人机动装置（MannedManeuveringUnit,MMU）推进系统设计均采用两套独立系统互为备份的方式,主系统故障后可以启动备用系统,但备用系统故障则无应对方案,因此制约航天员的安全性和舱外活动能力。文章在常规主备份推进模式基础上提出了应急推进模式,备份推进器发生故障后,根据失效发动机组相对位置关系采用不同应急策略,剩余有效推进器通过联合控制的方式保证航天员六自由度控制。经过可行性分析和仿真计算,证明了应急模式下MMU推进能力有一定降低,但能够为航天员返回提供动力,应急推进模式具有可行性。