Preliminary ionic liquid propellant selection for dual‑mode micro-propulsion systems

Fonda-Marsland, Ewan Alexander Patrick and Ryan, Charles (2017) Preliminary ionic liquid propellant selection for dual‑mode micro-propulsion systems. In 53rd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Atlanta Georgia, 10-12th July 2017. (In Press)

Abstract

Propulsion systems for CubeSats and other small satellites are still in their infancy. Many are in development, and use both chemical and electric propulsion technologies. Two simple systems, chemical monopropellant and electrospray thrusters can both use ionic liquids as propellants, lending themselves to the development of a dual-mode system. Combining both architectures into a single package allows small satellite operators to utilize the advantages of both elements to optimize or add flexibility for any given mission. Using a top down method, considering the impact of the chemical structure and composition on the physiochemical properties of a large range of Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids, this study identifies several promising propellant candidates for a dual-mode electrospray-monopropellant micro-propulsion system. Several selection metrics for estimating the performance of each propellant in both modes are proposed
It has been found that reducing the number and size of hydrocarbon groups and increasing the highly electronegative species, such as oxygen and nitrogen, reduces the propensity of formation of solid carbon in the monopropellant exhaust.
This also increases the surface tension and specific conductivity of the propellant, improving the thrust level for a given applied voltage in the electrospray mode. This work demonstrates that a dual-mode system based on monopropellant and electrospray thrusters is feasible. Some promising propellant candidates that warrant further investigation are suggested, however this work acknowledges further research is required to enable engineering of optimal ionic liquid propellants for use in micro-propulsion.

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Contributors

Author: Ewan Alexander Patrick Fonda-Marsland

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