Propulsion method and propulsion device based on phase change of liquid carbon dioxide by high-voltage discharge

Abstract

The present invention discloses a propulsion method and a propulsion device based on phase change of liquid carbon dioxide by high-voltage discharge. The method comprises the following steps: carbon dioxide is contained in a heat-insulating container in liquid phase, high-voltage discharge is performed in the liquid carbon dioxide to generate plasma to instantly heat the carbon dioxide so that the carbon dioxide is converted from liquid phase to gas phase, and the carbon dioxide gas after phase change is ejected in a predetermined direction in a predetermined amount to obtain thrust.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of aerospace and extraterrestrial exploration propulsion technology, and in particular to a propulsion method and a propulsion device thereof based on liquid carbon dioxide phase change via high-voltage discharge. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the rapid development of extraterrestrial exploration technology, humanity's demand for the exploration, development, and utilization of extraterrestrial resources has become increasingly strong. In this extraterrestrial exploration, propulsion technology is fundamental to the transportation of various types of spacecraft. Currently, mature technologies include launch vehicle technology and electric propulsion technology. Launch vehicle thrust primarily comes from the energy conversion of propellants. Depending on the type of propellant, these technologies can be categorized as liquid rocket propulsion and solid rocket propulsion. While both technologies offer high thrust, they also present several drawbacks, such as environmental hazards caused by ultra-high-temperature ablative materials, toxic and hazardous waste, single-use, and low fuel controllability (for example, solid propellants). Electric propulsion technology, due to its low thrust, repeatable ignition, and long flight time, is widely used for propulsion, deceleration, and attitude adjustment of small and medium-sized vehicles in near-Earth and deep space exploration. However, it struggles to achieve high thrust and high-efficiency propulsion. All of these propulsion technologies are chemical propulsion, while electric propulsion primarily generates acceleration and thrust through the electromagnetic field of a plasma generated by the ionization of a working fluid.

[0003] The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In response to the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention proposes a propulsion method and a propulsion device based on liquid carbon dioxide phase change via high-voltage discharge. The temperature and pressure response time is rapid, on the sub-millisecond and microsecond levels, and the thrust can be matched according to different application requirements, avoiding high-temperature ablation and environmental pollution, achieving the goals of high reliability and reusability, and meeting the requirements for promoting physical propulsion in different fields.

[0005] The object of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solution: a propulsion method based on liquid carbon dioxide phase change through high-voltage discharge comprises the following steps:

[0006] In the first step, carbon dioxide is contained in a heat-insulated container in liquid form.

[0007] In the second step, high-voltage discharge is used to generate plasma in liquid carbon dioxide to instantly heat the carbon dioxide, converting it from liquid to gas.

[0008] In the third step, the carbon dioxide gas after the phase change is ejected in a predetermined direction and in a predetermined amount to obtain thrust.

[0009] In the method, in the first step, carbon dioxide is contained in a thermally insulated container in liquid form at a predetermined temperature, and the predetermined temperature is room temperature which is lower than the liquid-gas phase transition temperature of carbon dioxide.

[0010] In the method, in the first step, the predetermined temperature is 10°C.

[0011] In the method, in the second step, the instantaneous heating takes time of microseconds.

[0012] In the method, in the second step, the temperature rise of instantaneous heating does not exceed 21°C.

[0013] In the method, in the second step, plasma is generated by high voltage discharge based on driving voltage parameters, wherein the driving voltage parameters include waveform parameters, pulse parameters, DC parameters, AC parameters, frequency parameters or amplitude parameters.

[0014] In the method, in the third step, the carbon dioxide gas after phase change enters the buffer chamber through the pressure relief valve provided in the insulation container, and the buffer chamber controllably ejects the carbon dioxide gas to obtain thrust.

[0015] In the method, in the third step, the thrust is a continuous force that lasts for a predetermined time.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, a propulsion device comprises:

[0017] an insulated container containing carbon dioxide in liquid phase, wherein the insulated container is provided with a pressure relief valve,

[0018] A plasma generating unit that generates plasma by high-voltage discharge in liquid carbon dioxide to instantly heat it.

[0019] The buffer chamber is connected to the insulation container via the pressure relief valve to introduce carbon dioxide gas. The buffer chamber is provided with a plurality of relief valves for ejecting carbon dioxide gas. The relief valves adjust the ejection amount of carbon dioxide gas in response to a predetermined thrust.

[0020] In the propulsion device, the insulating container includes an insulating tank that withstands a predetermined pressure, the plasma generating unit includes an electrode arranged in the insulating container for high-voltage discharge, and the injection control module is electrically connected to a plurality of valves with different directions. In response to a predetermined thrust in a predetermined direction, the injection control module selects the discharge valve corresponding to the predetermined direction to inject carbon dioxide gas in an amount corresponding to the predetermined thrust.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0022] 1. Advanced features: The present invention generates plasma by high-voltage discharge, rapidly heating liquid carbon dioxide to the phase transition temperature point, achieving phase transition with precise control;

[0023] 2. Temperature: The temperature rise of the present invention is only about 21°C, which has almost no thermal effect on the engine and avoids ablation damage to the material;

[0024] 3. Environmental protection: The present invention is a purely physical process, without any chemical reaction, without any emission of toxic and harmful substances, and is green and environmentally friendly;

[0025] 4. Economic aspects: The propellant used in this invention is only carbon dioxide, which is very low in cost and easy to obtain. At the same time, the thrusters based on this technology are reusable, which can significantly reduce the cost of use;

[0026] 5. Reliability: The present invention can achieve phase change process in microsecond to millisecond level, with rapid temperature and thrust response time. After phase change, carbon dioxide is ejected in gas form on demand to obtain thrust for different applications, greatly improving reliability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Various other advantages and benefits of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are intended only to illustrate preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. It should be understood that the drawings described below are merely examples of the present invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to derive other drawings from these drawings without inventive effort. Throughout the drawings, identical reference numerals are used to denote identical components.

[0028] In the attached figure:

[0029] Figure 1 1 is a schematic diagram of the steps of a propulsion method based on liquid-phase carbon dioxide phase change through high-voltage discharge according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 1 is a flow chart of a propulsion method based on phase change of liquid carbon dioxide by high-voltage discharge according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 3 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a propulsion device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] The present invention will be further explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following will refer to the attached Figures 1 to 3Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail. Although specific embodiments of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present invention may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to facilitate a more thorough understanding of the present invention and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0034] It should be noted that certain words are used in the specification and claims to refer to specific components. Those skilled in the art should understand that technicians may use different nouns to refer to the same component. This specification and claims do not use the difference in nouns as a way to distinguish components, but use the difference in the functions of the components as the criterion for distinction. As mentioned throughout the specification and claims, "including" or "comprising" is an open term, so it should be interpreted as "including but not limited to". The subsequent description of the specification is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the description is based on the general principles of the specification and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The scope of protection of the present invention shall be as defined in the attached claims.

[0035] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, further explanation will be given below using specific embodiments as examples in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the accompanying drawings do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present invention.

[0036] For better understanding, Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the steps of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, the propulsion method based on liquid carbon dioxide phase change of high-voltage discharge includes the following steps:

[0037] In the first step S1, carbon dioxide is contained in a heat-insulating container in liquid form.

[0038] In the second step S2, high voltage discharge is generated in the liquid phase carbon dioxide to generate plasma to instantly heat the carbon dioxide so that the carbon dioxide is converted from liquid phase to gas phase.

[0039] In the third step S3 , the carbon dioxide gas after the phase change is ejected in a predetermined direction and in a predetermined amount to obtain thrust.

[0040] The liquid carbon dioxide of the present invention can be stored at 10°C, and its liquid-to-gas phase transition temperature is 31°C, which is close to room temperature. When the liquid-to-gas phase transition occurs, the volume or pressure instantly increases by 500-600 times, and the liquid turns into gas. This process is a purely physical process and does not produce any toxic or harmful substances. The gas after the phase change is ejected in a directional manner to generate huge thrust, which can in principle meet any propulsion requirements, such as the launch of the first and second stages of ground-based carrier rockets, the continued propulsion of aircraft after rocket separation, the efficient deceleration and re-launch of aircraft during the landing stage on the surfaces of the moon, Mars, Venus and even some asteroids, and the take-off, landing and propulsion of long-distance surface exploration aircraft based on motherships on the surface of Mars.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment of the method, in the first step S1, carbon dioxide is contained in a thermally insulated container in liquid form at a predetermined temperature, and the predetermined temperature is room temperature which is lower than the liquid-gas phase transition temperature of carbon dioxide.

[0042] In a preferred embodiment of the method, in the first step S1, the predetermined temperature is 10°C.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment of the method, in the second step S2, the instantaneous heating takes time in microseconds.

[0044] In a preferred embodiment of the method, in the second step S2, the temperature rise of instantaneous heating does not exceed 21°C.

[0045] In a preferred embodiment of the method, in the second step S2, plasma is generated by high voltage discharge based on driving voltage parameters, wherein the driving voltage parameters include waveform parameters, pulse parameters, DC parameters, AC parameters, frequency parameters or amplitude parameters.

[0046] In a preferred embodiment of the method, in the third step S3, the carbon dioxide gas after phase change enters the buffer chamber through the pressure relief valve, and the buffer chamber controllably ejects the carbon dioxide gas to obtain thrust.

[0047] In a preferred embodiment of the method, in the third step S3, the thrust is a continuous force that lasts for a predetermined time.

[0048] In a preferred embodiment of the method, the thermally insulated container is a high-pressure-resistant sealed container.

[0049] In a preferred embodiment of the method, the buffer chamber is a sealed container resistant to high pressure.

[0050] To further understand the present invention, in one embodiment, a propulsion method based on high-voltage discharge of liquid carbon dioxide phase transition includes: high-voltage discharge technology in liquid carbon dioxide, discharge-triggered liquid-gas phase transition realization technology, and propulsion control technology; wherein,

[0051] The high voltage discharge technology in liquid carbon dioxide mainly includes different electrode structures such as needles, plates, balls, rods, meshes and their combinations, different driving voltage parameter waveforms: pulse, DC, AC, various modulated waveforms; different frequencies; different amplitudes; different waveform parameters; different liquid pressures, different capacities and other conditions of high voltage discharge realization technology;

[0052] The discharge-triggered liquid-gas phase transition technology mainly generates a plasma channel through high-voltage discharge. The charged particles collide and react with each other at high frequencies in the electric and thermal fields, releasing huge energy instantly, heating the liquid carbon dioxide to achieve phase transition.

[0053] The propulsion control technology mainly uses automatic valve control technology to eject the carbon dioxide gas after phase change in the gas phase storage part on demand to obtain the target thrust.

[0054] like Figure 2 As shown, in one embodiment, a propulsion method for liquid carbon dioxide phase change based on high-voltage discharge includes injecting liquid carbon dioxide into an insulated container such as a specific insulated tank body, providing electrodes on the tank body, generating plasma through high-voltage discharge, instantaneously heating the liquid carbon dioxide in the tank, and achieving phase change by reaching a temperature phase change point. An automatically controlled pressure relief valve is provided at the tail of the tank body to release the gas after phase change into a buffer chamber, and an intelligent program controls the gas ejection to obtain target thrust.

[0055] A propulsion device comprising:

[0056] An insulated container 1 contains carbon dioxide in liquid form, and the insulated container is provided with a pressure relief valve.

[0057] The plasma generating unit 2 generates plasma by high-voltage discharge in liquid carbon dioxide to instantly heat the liquid carbon dioxide.

[0058] The buffer chamber 3 is connected to the insulation container via the pressure relief valve to introduce carbon dioxide gas. The buffer chamber is provided with a plurality of relief valves for ejecting carbon dioxide gas. The valves respond to a predetermined thrust to adjust the ejection amount of carbon dioxide gas.

[0059] In a preferred embodiment of the propulsion device, the insulating container 1 includes an insulating tank that withstands a predetermined pressure, the plasma generating unit 2 includes an electrode for high-voltage discharge arranged in the insulating container, and the injection control module is electrically connected to a plurality of discharge valves with different directions. In response to a predetermined thrust in a predetermined direction, the injection control module selects the discharge valve corresponding to the predetermined direction to inject carbon dioxide gas in an amount corresponding to the predetermined thrust.

[0060] like Figure 3In the illustrated embodiment, the inner diameter of the insulated container 1 of the thruster tank body is adjustable from 5 cm to 50 cm, and the height, i.e., the distance from the plane where the buffer chamber 3 including the pressure relief valve 5 is located at the rear to the minimum curvature radius of the thruster head, is adjustable from 10 cm to 150 cm. The insulated container 1 is made of insulating materials, such as insulating carbon steel or alloys, to maintain the temperature of the liquid carbon dioxide in the tank below the phase transition point at all times. When heated by high-voltage discharge plasma, the temperature can be rapidly raised to the phase transition point.

[0061] In one embodiment, the head of the insulation container 1 is ellipsoidal, that is, the thruster head is ellipsoidal, the minor axis length of the ellipse is adjustable from 5cm to 50cm, and the semi-major axis length is adjustable from 6cm to 100cm; reducing wind resistance, facilitating the formation of a stable flow field and heat dissipation during the propulsion process.

[0062] In one embodiment, the plasma generating unit 2 includes an electrode (4), a good conductor with an adjustable diameter of 0.1mm-2mm, made of materials not limited to copper or stainless steel. The electrode is introduced into the thruster tank via an insulator bushing. A high voltage (e.g., adjustable from several hundred volts to tens of thousands of volts) is applied across the electrode 4 to generate a discharge plasma across the highly thermally sensitive electrode gap within the tank. The high-voltage insulator bushing is designed with an arc-shaped shed structure to increase creepage distance and enhance insulation rating. The electrode is positioned in the center to provide insulation from the inner and outer walls of the thruster tank.

[0063] In one embodiment, the insulating container 1 is provided with a protective structure for protecting the plasma generating unit 2, wherein the strength of the protective structure is greater than the pressure generated by the phase change, and further, the pressure difference is 10MPa-500MPa. Furthermore, the protective structure is integrally formed with the insulating container 1.

[0064] In one embodiment, the protective structure is an arc-shaped shielding structure.

[0065] In one embodiment, in the electrode structure, the electrode structures between every two horizontal high-thermal-sensitive electrodes are designed as needle-needle, rod-rod, etc., and 1-20 pairs of electrode structures can be arranged inside the tank according to the thrust requirements; so that when a high voltage is applied to the electrodes, a discharge plasma can be generated in the gap; and when the discharge plasma channel is generated, a higher current is formed, heating the high-thermal-sensitive electrode material.

[0066] In one embodiment, two electrode ends inside the thruster tank are connected to a highly heat-sensitive material. When a discharge plasma is generated, a large current flows through the highly heat-sensitive material, causing the highly heat-sensitive material to heat instantaneously. The response time ranges from a few microseconds to a few milliseconds, and a huge amount of heat is released instantaneously to heat the liquid carbon dioxide and achieve phase change.

[0067] In one embodiment, the buffer chamber 3 includes a relief valve 5 provided at the tail of the insulated container 1 and a nozzle 6 connected to the relief valve 5. In one embodiment, an automatic pressure relief valve 5 is provided at the tail of the thruster, and the pressure relief threshold is adjustable from 15MPa to 100MPa. The pressure release threshold is automatically controlled according to the pressure of the phase change process inside the thruster tank and the required thrust.

[0068] In one embodiment, the inner diameter of the nozzle 6 is adjustable from 1 cm to 15 cm; the nozzle 6 structure is designed to have geometric shapes such as conical, bell-shaped, plug-shaped, expansion-biased flow, etc., and an adjustable angle nozzle 6 is provided at the tail of the thruster to guide the gaseous carbon dioxide released from the discharge valve 5 to generate directional thrust.

[0069] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned specific embodiments and application fields. The above-mentioned specific embodiments are merely illustrative and instructive, and are not restrictive. A person skilled in the art, guided by this specification and without departing from the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention, may also devise various forms, all of which fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A propulsion device for a propulsion method based on phase change of liquid carbon dioxide by high-voltage discharge, comprising: an insulated container containing carbon dioxide in liquid phase, wherein the insulated container is provided with a pressure relief valve, The plasma generating unit generates plasma by high-voltage discharge in liquid carbon dioxide to heat instantly, and the temperature rise of instant heating is 21°C. a buffer chamber, which is connected to the insulation container via the pressure relief valve to introduce carbon dioxide gas, the buffer chamber is provided with a plurality of relief valves for ejecting carbon dioxide gas, and the relief valves are responsive to a predetermined thrust to adjust the ejection amount of carbon dioxide gas; A propulsion method based on phase change of liquid carbon dioxide by high-voltage discharge, the method comprising the following steps: In the first step (S1), carbon dioxide is contained in a heat-insulating container in liquid form. The head of the heat-insulating container 1 is ellipsoidal, the minor axis length of the ellipsoid is adjustable from 5 cm to 50 cm, and the semi-major axis length is adjustable from 6 cm to 100 cm. In the second step (S2), a high voltage discharge is generated in the liquid phase carbon dioxide to generate plasma to instantly heat the carbon dioxide so that the carbon dioxide is converted from the liquid phase to the gas phase. The instantaneous heating temperature rise is 21°C. In the third step (S3), the carbon dioxide gas after phase change is sprayed in a predetermined direction with a predetermined amount to obtain a thrust, wherein the thrust is a continuous force that lasts for a predetermined time; In the first step (S1), carbon dioxide is contained in a heat-insulating container in a liquid state at a predetermined temperature, wherein the predetermined temperature is 10°C. In the second step (S2), the instantaneous heating takes microseconds. In the second step (S2), plasma is generated by high voltage discharge based on driving voltage parameters, wherein the driving voltage parameters include waveform parameters, pulse parameters, DC parameters, AC parameters, frequency parameters or amplitude parameters. In the third step (S3), the carbon dioxide gas after phase change enters the buffer chamber through the pressure relief valve provided in the thermal insulation container, and the buffer chamber controllably sprays the carbon dioxide gas to obtain thrust; in, The thermal insulation container includes a thermal insulation tank that withstands a predetermined pressure, the plasma generating unit includes an electrode disposed in the thermal insulation container for high-voltage discharge, the injection control module is electrically connected to a plurality of discharge valves with different directions, and in response to a predetermined thrust in a predetermined direction, the injection control module selects the discharge valve corresponding to the predetermined direction to inject a discharge amount of carbon dioxide gas corresponding to the predetermined thrust; in, Liquid carbon dioxide is stored at 10°C, and its liquid-gas phase transition temperature is 31°C; when the liquid-gas phase transition occurs, the volume or pressure instantly increases by 500-600 times, and the liquid turns into gas. This process is purely physical and no toxic or harmful substances are produced; the gas after the phase change is ejected in a directional manner; The inner diameter of the insulation container is adjustable from 5cm to 50cm. The insulated container uses insulating materials, including insulating carbon steel and alloys, to maintain the temperature of the liquid carbon dioxide in the tank always below the phase transition point. When the heating is triggered by high-voltage discharge plasma, it can quickly rise to the phase transition point. The plasma generating unit includes an electrode, which is a good conductor with an adjustable diameter of 0.1mm-2mm. The material includes copper and stainless steel. It is introduced into the thruster tank through an insulator bushing. A certain high voltage is applied to both ends of the electrode. The voltage amplitude is adjustable from hundreds of volts to tens of thousands of volts, so as to generate discharge plasma in the high-thermal sensitive electrode gap inside the tank. High-voltage insulator bushing: designed as an arc-shaped umbrella skirt structure to increase the creepage distance and improve the insulation level; the electrode is placed in the middle to achieve insulation from the inner and outer walls of the thruster tank. The insulating container is provided with a protective structure for protecting the plasma generating unit, the strength of the protective structure is greater than the pressure generated by the phase change, the pressure difference is 10MPa-500MPa, and the protective structure is integrally formed with the insulating container; The protective structure is an arc-shaped shielding structure; In the electrode structure, the arrangement between every two horizontal high-thermal-sensitive electrodes is designed as a needle-needle or rod-rod electrode structure. 1-20 pairs of electrode structures are arranged inside the tank according to the thrust requirements; so that when a high voltage is applied to the electrodes, a discharge plasma can be generated in the gap; while the discharge plasma channel is generated, a higher current is formed to heat the high-thermal-sensitive electrode material; The two electrode ends inside the thruster tank are connected to a highly heat-sensitive material. When discharge plasma is generated, a large current flows through the highly heat-sensitive material, causing the highly heat-sensitive material to heat up instantaneously. The response time is a few microseconds to a few milliseconds, and the heat is released instantly to heat the liquid carbon dioxide to achieve phase change. The buffer chamber includes a discharge valve disposed at the rear of the insulation container and a nozzle connected to the discharge valve; The inner diameter of the nozzle is adjustable from 1cm to 15cm; a nozzle with an adjustable angle is provided at the tail of the thruster to guide the gaseous carbon dioxide released from the discharge valve to generate directional thrust.

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