Injection system and method for injecting cylindrical array of discrete liquid jets

Abstract

An injection system includes a reservoir for containing liquid, and a gating plate having a circular array of gating plate apertures. The injection system additionally includes a faceplate positionedadjacent to the gating plate and having a circular array of faceplate orifices. The injection system also has a motor to rotate the gating plate, and a controller to control the motor for rotating thegating plate into an aligned clocking orientation in which the gating plate apertures and the faceplate orifices are aligned to initiate the formation of a cylindrical array of liquid jets, and rotate the gating plate into a non-aligned clocking orientation terminate formation of the liquid jets after a predetermined discrete quantity of the liquid is injected.

Description

technical field [0001] The present disclosure relates generally to liquid ejectors, and more particularly, to an ejector system and method for repeatably ejecting liquid in discrete quantities to repeatably form a cylindrical array of liquid jets capable of conducting electrical current. Background technique [0002] Fusion propulsion holds the potential for interplanetary space travel on human-practical timescales. One way of fusion propulsion is the z-pinch plasma approach, in which high-amplitude current pulses are passed through a column of conductive material extending between the anode and cathode of a z-pinch device. Over a relatively short period of time (for example, 10 -6 seconds), the current heats the material into a high-temperature plasma and generates a magnetic flux that interacts with the current, resulting in the Lorentz force that compresses the plasma radially to a very high density. The hot plasma can expand in the nozzle and be expelled to generate pr...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Building new z-pinch reactions using metal wires is a time-consuming process

Furthermore, z-pinch reactions using metal wires cannot be applied to pulsed fusion propulsion systems, which require the repeated introduction of new columns of conductive material between the anode and cathode, and the application of current pulses to each new column.

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