|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
TITLE AND SUBTITLE:
Structural Analysis of Pyrolytic Graphite Optics for the HiPEP Ion Thruster
AUTHOR(S):
Meckel, Nicole; Polaha, Jonathan; Juhlin, Nils
REPORT DATE:
2006-12-31
FUNDING NUMBERS:
WBS-22-982-10-02
PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES):
Aerojet Corporation P.O. Box 97009 Redmond, Washington 98073
PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER:
E-14744
SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES):
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, DC 20546-0001
REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED:
Final Contractor Report
SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER:
NASA/CR-2006-213297; AIAA-2004-3629
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES:
Prepared for the 40th Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit cosponsored by the AIAA, ASME, SAE, and ASEE, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, July 11-14, 2004. Nicole Meckel and Jonathan Polaha, Aerojet Corporation, P.O. Box 97009, Redmond, Washington 98073; and Nils Juhlin, NovaComp Engineering, Inc., 0116 Main Street, Suite 106, Bothell, Washington 98011. Project Manager, John Foster, Power and On-Board Propulsion Technology Division, NASA Glenn Research Center, organization code 5430, 216-433-6131.
ABSTRACT:
The long lifetime requirements of interplanetary exploration missions is driving the need to develop long-life components for the electric propulsion thrusters that are being targeted for these missions. One of the primary life-limiting components of ion thrusters are the optics, which are continuously eroded during the operation of the thruster. Pyrolytic graphite optics are being considered for the High Power Electric Propulsion (HiPEP) ion thruster because of their very high resistance to erosion. This paper describes the structural analysis of the HiPEP pyrolytic graphite. A description of the development of the grid model, as well as the development of the effective properties and stress concentrations in the apertured area of the grids is included. An evaluation of the use of curved grids shows that the increased stiffness (compared to flat grids) prevents intergrid impact during launch, however, the residual stresses introduced by curving the grids pushes the resulting peak stresses beyond the critical stress. As a result, flat grids are recommended as the design solution. Thermally induced grid displacements during normal thruster operation are also presented.
SUBJECT TERMS:
Electric propulsion; Ion propulsion
NUMBER OF PAGES:
17
PDF AVAILABLE FROM URL:
2006/CR-2006-213297.pdf ( 393 KB )
|
|
|
|