缓解航天器带电方法的研究

空间等离子体和航天器表面的相互作用常会导致航天器带电,造成危害。近年来,有人提出或试验了一些缓解的办法。文章对现有的缓解方法进行评论,讨论每一种方法的优缺点,并举SCATHA和DSCS卫星的例子对取得的结果加以说明。     

脉冲爆震发动机(PDE)引射增推装置试验

PDE设计了两种结构的排气引射增推装置,通过对两种结构排气引射增推装置的试验对比,研究了排气引射增推装置对PDE推力贡献,试验结果表明在合理的结构设计下,采用排气引射增推装置可使PDE平均推力增加50%左右。理论分析了排气引射增推装置的工作机理,及不同结构参数对PDE排气引射增推装置的影响,为PDE排气引射增推装置优化设计提供了理论和试验依据。      

大气等离子加工系统设计及实验验证

建立了面向复杂光学表面的大气等离子抛光系统,并用该系统进行硅片表面加工的实验研究.研究了CF_4、SF_6两种气体的放电特性以及加工效果,得到了加工速率与功率,流量间的关系,并通过原子力显微镜观察了加工后的表面质量.     

等离子体合成射流的理论模型与重频激励特性

等离子体合成射流(PSJ)具有激励强度大、响应速度快等优点,在超声速流动控制领域应用前景广阔。鉴于此,基于传热学和气体动力学的相关理论,建立了考虑喉道内部气流惯性、腔体内外热交换以及吸气恢复阶段的PSJ全周期理论模型,实现了射流速度峰值时刻、吸气过程和振荡过程等关键特性的预测。基于该模型,分析了等离子体合成射流激励器的重复频率工作特点,研究了能量沉积、激励频率和射流孔径对于重频激励特性的影响。重频条件下,激励器存在过渡和稳定两种典型状态。过渡状态下,腔内平均温度不断升高、射流速度峰值逐渐增大。稳定状态下,腔内气体参数呈周期性变化。随着能量沉积和激励频率的增加,激励器腔体内壁温度、射流速度峰值和时均冲力均增加。受腔体材料耐温极限的制约,激励器存在安全工作的参数区间(SOA)。随着孔径的增加,SOA增大,但稳定工作状态下的射流速度峰值和射流持续时间减小。     

等离子体气动激励控制超声速边界层分离的实验研究

等离子体气动激励与超声速气流相互作用已成为高速流动控制领域的研究热点。激波与边界层相互作用现象广泛存在于超声速飞行器之中。本文进行了等离子体气动激励控制压缩角区和激波诱导边界层分离的实验,通过流场纹影显示和壁面静压测量,研究等离子体气动激励如何影响激波、激波如何影响边界层特性的科学问题。实验结果表明:施加毫秒量级表面电弧放电能够前移压缩角区的诱导斜激波,使分离区后移,分离区域增加,但激波强度减弱,流场总压增加;施加微秒量级表面电弧放电能够抑制激波诱导边界层分离,使分离区减小,流场总压减小。基于实验结果,认为毫秒量级表面电弧放电激励控制超声速气流的主要机理为放电过程的焦耳热效应;微秒量级表面电弧放电激励控制超声速气流的主要机理为焦耳热效应和冲击波效应共同作用。     

等离子体对GPS信号载噪比的影响

飞行器再入过程产生等离子体,等离子体中电子密度的变化对电磁波信号造成幅度衰减和相位偏移,严重时导致通信中断。理论分析了等离子体对GPS信号载噪比的影响;利用实验室环境下的等离子体模拟装置,设计了GPS二键相控(BPSK)调制信号透过等离子体的地面模拟方案,进行了等离子体对GPS接收机性能影响的实验研究,获得了不同电子密度下的衰减和导航信号载噪比的数据。实验结果与理论分析一致,不仅证明了等离子体下衰减与导航信号载噪比的变化是一致的结论,而且验证了实验方法的有效性。     

Effects of adiabaticity and non-adiabaticity of dust charge fluctuation on the propagation of the dust ion acoustic waves in inhomogeneous dusty plasma

A theoretical investigation has been made for adiabatic positive and negative dust charge fluctuations on the propagation of dust-ion acoustic waves (DIAWs) in a weakly inhomogeneous, collisionless, unmagnetized dusty plasmas consisting of cold positive ions, stationary positively and negatively charged dust particles and isothermal electrons. The reductive perturbation method is employed to reduce the basic set of fluid equations to the variable coefficients Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation. Either compressive or rarefactive solitons are shown to exist depending on the critical value of the ion density, which in turn, depends on the inhomogeneous distribution of the ion. The dissipative effects of non-adiabatic dust charge variation has been studied which cause generation of dust ion acoustic shock waves governed by KdV-Burger (KdVB) equation. The results of the present investigation may be applicable to some dusty plasma environments, such as dusty plasma existing in polar mesosphere region.     

Cassini Plasma Spectrometer Investigation

The Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) will make comprehensive three-dimensional mass-resolved measurements of the full variety of plasma phenomena found in Saturn’s magnetosphere. Our fundamental scientific goals are to understand the nature of saturnian plasmas primarily their sources of ionization, and the means by which they are accelerated, transported, and lost. In so doing the CAPS investigation will contribute to understanding Saturn’s magnetosphere and its complex interactions with Titan, the icy satellites and rings, Saturn’s ionosphere and aurora, and the solar wind. Our design approach meets these goals by emphasizing two complementary types of measurements: high-time resolution velocity distributions of electrons and all major ion species; and lower-time resolution, high-mass resolution spectra of all ion species. The CAPS instrument is made up of three sensors: the Electron Spectrometer (ELS), the Ion Beam Spectrometer (IBS), and the Ion Mass Spectrometer (IMS). The ELS measures the velocity distribution of electrons from 0.6 eV to 28,250 keV, a range that permits coverage of thermal electrons found at Titan and near the ring plane as well as more energetic trapped electrons and auroral particles. The IBS measures ion velocity distributions with very high angular and energy resolution from 1 eV to 49,800 keV. It is specially designed to measure sharply defined ion beams expected in the solar wind at 9.5 AU, highly directional rammed ion fluxes encountered in Titan’s ionosphere, and anticipated field-aligned auroral fluxes. The IMS is designed to measure the composition of hot, diffuse magnetospheric plasmas and low-concentration ion species 1 eV to 50,280 eV with an atomic resolution M/ΔM ∼70 and, for certain molecules, (such asN ₂ ⁺ and CO⁺), effective resolution as high as ∼2500. The three sensors are mounted on a motor-driven actuator that rotates the entire instrument over approximately one-half of the sky every 3 min.This revised version was published online in July 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Thin Current Sheets in the Magnetotail Observed by Cluster

The dynamics of the current sheet is one of the most essential elements in magnetotail physics. Particularly, thin current sheets, which we define here as those with a thickness of less than several ion inertia lengths, are known to play an important role in the energy conversion process in the magnetotail. With its capability of multi-point observation, Cluster succeeded to obtain the current density continuously and therefore identify structures of thin current sheets. We discuss characteristics of the thin current sheets by showing their temporal evolution and the spatial structures based on several Cluster observations.     

Space Weather in the Equatorial Ionosphere

The ‘scintillations’ observed on signals received in the equatorial region from GPS satellites are due to plasma instabilities in the F region of the ionosphere, also detected as spread F. These instabilities give rise to depletions of ionisation or ‘bubbles’. The occurrence of these events and their relation to the equatorial electrojet are reviewed. Possibilities of short-term forecasting are examined with particular attention to problems encountered in modelling the equatorial electrojet. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.