Novel gas collection device and gas gettering system

Abstract

The application provides a novel gas collecting device and an air-breathing electric propulsion system, comprising a rotary wing and an air-breathing nozzle, the air-breathing nozzle is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet at two ends respectively, the radius of the air inlet is larger than that of the air outlet, the rotary wing is arranged on the inner wall of the air-breathing nozzle close to the air inlet; one end of the rotary wing is connected with the air-breathing nozzle, the other end of the rotary wing is arranged obliquely towards the air outlet, and there is an included angle β between the length direction of the rotary wing and the air-breathing nozzle. The application has simple structure, the number of particles in positive motion can be greatly increased through the change of the gas flow in the air-breathing nozzle by the rotary wing, the gas collecting rate of the device is improved, and the rotary wing is not contradictory to the existing strategies of "adding a rhombic cone" and "adding a front-end grid", so that multiple optimization strategies containing the rotary wing can be used at the same time, and the collecting rate of the air-breathing device is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aerospace propulsion technology, specifically to a novel gas collection device and an air-breathing electric propulsion system. Background Technology

[0002] Air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) is an electric propulsion technology that utilizes the atmospheric environment near a celestial body's orbit as a propellant. This technology is applicable to orbits at altitudes of 150–350 km. Its greatest advantage lies in the ability to replenish the propellant at any time, enabling long-term on-orbit service. Furthermore, the propulsion system can be simplified and made lighter. Although there is currently no on-orbit flight experience with ABEP technology, its popularity has been gradually increasing in the past five years due to its low cost and lack of specific impulse limitations. Currently, research on ABEP focuses on improving the air-breathing device's collection efficiency and the overall efficiency of the propulsion system.

[0003] To address the issue of improving the gas collection rate of ABEP technology, researchers have mainly focused on improving the intake device: (1) The paper "Thomas J M. Aero-Assisted Orbital Transfer Vehicles Utilizing Atmosphere Ingestion. Master Degree Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2001" proposes a simple funnel-shaped intake device. The gas collection rate of this structure is relatively low because the backflow near the wall is very severe, resulting in a large amount of gas escaping; (2) The paper "Jones C, et al. PHARO—Propellant Harvesting of Atmospheric Resources in Orbit. IEEE AC paper 2010, 3:1-8" proposes adding a rhomboid cone at the inlet of the intake device, which can improve the gas collection rate to a certain extent; (3) The paper "Stephen W, et al. Conceptual Design of an Air-Breathing Electric Thruster for CubeSat Applications. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 2018, 55(3):632-639” conducted a comparative analysis of three types of air intake devices: square pyramid, cone and parabolic cone, and found that the parabolic cone structure has the highest gas collection rate; (4) The literature “Romano F, et al. Intake Design for an Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion System (ABEP). Acta Astronautica, 2021, 187:225-235” proposed that adding a grid plate to the front end of the parabolic air intake can improve the gas collection rate.

[0004] In summary, researchers have conducted some research on optimization strategies for ABEP collection devices, but there is still a gap to be bridged for applications requiring a wide range of orbital altitudes. Therefore, further optimization of the gas collection rate requires the development of new gas intake devices. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the purpose of this invention is to provide a novel gas collection device and an air-breathing electric propulsion system.

[0006] The novel gas collection device provided by the present invention includes a rotating wing and an air intake nozzle. An air inlet and an air outlet are respectively provided at both ends of the air intake nozzle. The radius of the air inlet is larger than the radius of the air outlet. The rotating wing is disposed on the inner wall of the air intake nozzle near the air inlet.

[0007] One end of the rotating wing is connected to the intake nozzle, and the other end of the rotating wing is inclined toward the air outlet. There is an angle β between the rotating wing and the intake nozzle along their length.

[0008] Preferably, the included angle β is 18° to 47°.

[0009] Preferably, the length of the intake nozzle is L, and the distance between the end of the rotating side wing connected to the inner wall of the intake nozzle and the air inlet in the length direction of the intake nozzle is a;

[0010] The value of a is 0.1L to 0.2L.

[0011] Preferably, the length of the rotating side wing is b, and the radius of the air inlet is R;

[0012] The value of b is 0.19R to 0.29R.

[0013] Preferably, the rotating wing (1) is welded to the inner wall of the intake nozzle (2).

[0014] Preferably, the rotating side wing is integrally formed with the air intake nozzle.

[0015] Preferably, the air intake nozzle includes an inlet section, a parabolic section, and an outlet section connected in sequence on its radial projection, and the rotary wing is disposed at the connection between the inlet section and the parabolic section.

[0016] Preferably, the radius of the end of the inlet section that forms the air inlet is larger than the radius of the other end of the inlet section;

[0017] The outlet section is arranged parallel to the central axis of the intake nozzle.

[0018] Preferably, the slewing wing is made of nickel- and molybdenum-containing stainless steel.

[0019] The air-breathing electric propulsion system provided by the present invention employs the novel gas collection device described above.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0021] The present invention has a simple structure. By changing the gas flow inside the intake nozzle through the rotating side wings, the number of forward-moving particles can be greatly increased, thereby improving the gas collection rate of the device. Moreover, the rotating side wings do not contradict existing strategies such as "adding a rhomboid cone" and "adding a front-end grid". Multiple optimization strategies including rotating side wings can be used simultaneously to improve the collection rate of the intake device. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the gas flow principle of the present invention.

[0025] The diagram shows:

[0026] Rotating wing 1, air intake nozzle 2 Detailed Implementation

[0027] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. These embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the invention in any way. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several changes and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention. These all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0028] This invention discloses a novel gas collection device and an air-breathing electric propulsion system, which greatly increases the number of forward-moving particles and improves the gas collection rate of the device. It can also simultaneously adopt multiple optimization strategies including rotating winglets, such as "adding a rhomboid cone" and "adding a front-end grid" in the prior art, to enhance the collection rate of the air-breathing device.

[0029] The novel gas collection device provided by the present invention, such as Figure 1 As shown, the device includes a rotating wing 1 and an air intake nozzle 2. The air intake nozzle 2 has an air inlet and an air outlet at its two ends, with the radius of the air inlet being larger than the radius of the air outlet. The rotating wing 1 is located on the inner wall of the air intake nozzle 2 near the air inlet. One end of the rotating wing 1 is connected to the air intake nozzle 2, and the other end of the rotating wing 1 is inclined towards the air outlet. An angle β exists between the rotating wing 1 and the length direction of the air intake nozzle 2. The length of the air intake nozzle 2 is L. The distance a between the end of the rotating wing 1 connected to the inner wall of the air intake nozzle 2 and the air inlet in the length direction of the air intake nozzle 2 is a. The length of the rotating wing 1 is b, and the radius of the air inlet is R.

[0030] This invention can improve the gas collection rate of the device, wherein the gas collection rate η c for:

[0031]

[0032] Where, N out,total N represents the number of gas particles that leave the outlet within a certain time period. in,total This represents the number of gas particles entering the air inlet within the same time period.

[0033] like Figure 2 As shown, the principle by which this invention can improve the gas collection rate of the device is as follows: First, when the gas enters the intake nozzle 2 from the inlet, the central convergence of the gas is enhanced under the beam effect of the rotating side wing 1, allowing the gas to flow directly to the outlet and reducing the collision between the gas and the inner wall of the intake nozzle 2. This is the first mechanism that can increase the collection rate. Second, when a part of the gas undergoes a first deflection near the outlet, it forms a backflow along the wall. This backflow will collide with the rotating side wing 1, causing a second deflection, which increases the number of forward-moving particles. This mechanism can change some reverse (towards the inlet) moving particles into forward (towards the outlet) moving particles. This is the second mechanism that can increase the collection rate. Under the above two enhancement mechanisms, the collection rate of the intake device can be improved. However, a small portion of the incoming flow will collide directly with the slewing wing 1 after entering the intake nozzle 2, forming the first return of these gases. Therefore, the three design factors of the slewing wing 1, a, b and β, must be reasonably selected to maximize the gas collection rate.

[0034] Based on extensive theoretical analysis and experimental verification, an optimal structure (where the gas collection rate reaches its maximum value) exists when size a is between 0.1L and 0.2L, size b is between 0.19R and 0.29R, and angle β is between 18° and 47°.

[0035] Example 1:

[0036] This embodiment provides a novel gas collection device, wherein the rotating wing 1 is welded to the inner wall of the intake nozzle 2, or the rotating wing 1 and the intake nozzle 2 are integrally formed. Figure 1 As shown, the intake nozzle 2, projected radially, includes an inlet section, a parabolic segment, and an outlet section connected in sequence. The rotating wing 1 is located at the connection between the inlet section and the parabolic segment. The radius of the end of the inlet section that forms the air inlet is larger than the radius of the other end of the inlet section; the outlet section is arranged parallel to the central axis of the intake nozzle 2. The rotating wing 1 is made of nickel- and molybdenum-containing stainless steel.

[0037] The air-breathing electric propulsion system provided by the present invention employs the novel gas collection device described above.

[0038] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0039] Specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the essence of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

Claims

1. A novel gas collection device, characterized in that, It includes a rotating side wing (1) and an air intake nozzle (2). The air intake nozzle (2) has an air inlet and an air outlet at its two ends, respectively. The radius of the air inlet is larger than the radius of the air outlet. The rotating side wing (1) is located on the inner wall of the air intake nozzle (2) near the air inlet. One end of the rotating side wing (1) is connected to the air intake nozzle (2), and the other end of the rotating side wing (1) is inclined toward the air outlet. There is an angle β between the rotating side wing (1) and the air intake nozzle (2) in the length direction. The included angle β is 18°~47°; The length of the air intake nozzle (2) is L, and the distance between the end of the rotating side wing (1) connected to the inner wall of the air intake nozzle (2) and the air inlet in the length direction of the air intake nozzle (2) is a; The value of 'a' is 0.1L~0.2L; The length of the slewing wing (1) is b, and the radius of the air inlet is R; The value of b is 0.19R~0.29R.

2. The novel gas collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The slewing wing (1) is welded to the inner wall of the intake nozzle (2).

3. The novel gas collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rotating side wing (1) and the air intake nozzle (2) are integrally formed.

4. The novel gas collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The air intake nozzle (2) includes an inlet section, a parabolic section and an outlet section connected in sequence on its radial projection, and the rotary wing (1) is located at the connection between the inlet section and the parabolic section.

5. The novel gas collection device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The radius of the end of the inlet section that forms the air inlet is larger than the radius of the other end of the inlet section; The outlet section is arranged parallel to the central axis of the intake nozzle (2).

6. The novel gas collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The slewing wing (1) is made of nickel- and molybdenum-containing stainless steel.

7. An air-breathing electric propulsion system, characterized in that, The novel gas collection device according to any one of claims 1-6 is adopted.

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