The Performance Analyse of the Pulsed Plasma Thruster

Abstract

The pulsed plasma thruster plays an important role in the propulsion system of small satellite, because of its small bulk, light weight, compact framework, easy control and high reliability. The complex phenomena of electrothermal, electromagnetism and reciprocity of PPT make it difficult to improve the efficiency of the PPT. For this reason, the physics of PPT must be examined carefully. In this paper, a discharge model is used to simulate the physical process of plasma generation in the cavity of a parallel-plate PPT. Some results achieved by this model can help us to better understand plasma generation and energy balance in the PPT. Through this model, it is analyzed to the changes of performance on different operational parameters of the parallel-plate PPT.