Autophagy type space grading electric combination propulsion system and propulsion method

By reusing the structural material of the chemical propulsion module as an electrical propulsion working fluid, the problem of the propulsion system in the prior art is difficult to reuse after fuel is exhausted, and the effect of continuous propulsion and extended life of the spacecraft in orbit is achieved.

CN119429185AActive Publication Date: 2025-02-14PLA PEOPLES LIBERATION ARMY OF CHINA STRATEGIC SUPPORT FORCE AEROSPACE ENG UNIV
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202411733149.0
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-11-29
Publication Date
2025-02-14
Estimated Expiration
2044-11-29

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The existing space propulsion system is difficult to reuse after fuel is exhausted, resulting in a short spacecraft's orbital life and wasted space resources.

Method used

A ‘autophagy’ space-level electrical combined propulsion system is designed to achieve continuous propulsion on orbit by reusing the structural materials of the chemical propulsion module as electrical propulsion working fluid.

Benefits of technology

The system can perform space maneuvering tasks without using external working fluids, maximize the performance of the propulsion system, extend the spacecraft's on-orbit life, and realize the "win-win" development of space waste cleaning and propulsion technology.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The invention discloses an autophagy type space grading electric combination propulsion system and method. The autophagy type space grading electric combination propulsion system comprises a chemical propulsion module and an electric propulsion module which are coaxially arranged from inside to outside. The electric propulsion module comprises a cathode, an insulating sleeve, an anode, a power supply and a transmission device; the cathode is a metal structure of the chemical propulsion module except the propellant; the anode is coaxially and fixedly arranged on the periphery of the tail of the insulating sleeve in a sleeving mode and can synchronously and axially slide along with the insulating sleeve. A space chemical propulsion mode and an electric propulsion mode are ingeniously combined, the characteristic that a pulse plasma propulsion technology adopts metal and other solid working media as propellants is utilized, and after space chemical propulsion fuel is used up, the structural material of the space chemical propulsion fuel serves as an electric propulsion working medium to achieve re-propulsion of the autophagy type space grading electric combination propulsion system. The spacecraft can meet the requirements of high thrust, high specific impulse, long service life and the like, space pollution can be reduced, and environmental protection is promoted.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a space propulsion system, in particular to an "autophagic" space hierarchical electric combined propulsion system and a propulsion method. Background Art

[0002] The space propulsion system is crucial to the normal on-orbit operation of spacecraft. Its lifespan determines the on-orbit working life of spacecraft. Once the propulsion system fails, the spacecraft will not be able to work normally or even be scrapped. At present, the main propulsion methods for spacecraft are chemical propulsion and electric propulsion. Among them, chemical propulsion mainly uses chemical reactions to generate thrust. The technology is relatively mature and is the most widely used propulsion method in space propulsion. Its main characteristics are large thrust, high power, and relatively simple working mechanism. However, compared with electric propulsion, chemical propulsion has lower specific impulse and shorter life. At the same time, it has higher requirements for propellant. When its fuel is exhausted, the related structure will become an invalid load, causing a certain degree of waste of space resources of the spacecraft. Electric propulsion mainly uses electric energy to accelerate the propellant to form a high-speed jet to generate thrust. It has the advantages of high specific impulse, small thrust, precise adjustment, and long life. It has become one of the most effective ways for spacecraft in various countries in the world to reduce the total mass, improve the payload capacity, and extend the on-orbit life.

[0003] With the continuous development of space exploration technology, space exploration missions are developing towards integration and diversification, requiring spacecraft propulsion systems to achieve multi-mode and long-life operation. However, the current single propulsion technology is difficult to meet the needs of future space exploration missions. Therefore, the development of new high-performance space propulsion systems is crucial for future space exploration.

[0004] In response to this demand, the present invention designs a new type of space hierarchical electric combined propulsion system, which can effectively utilize the metal structural materials of the discarded propulsion system to serve the propulsion of space exploration spacecraft, realize "no working fluid" operation, and extend the on-orbit life of the spacecraft. The present invention is combined with on-orbit recycling technology to convert space junk metal materials into propulsion working fluids, achieving a "win-win" development of space junk cleaning and propulsion technology. Summary of the invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an "autophagic" space hierarchical electric combined propulsion system and propulsion method in view of the deficiencies of the above-mentioned prior art. The "autophagic" space hierarchical electric combined propulsion system and propulsion method cleverly combine the space chemical propulsion method with the electric propulsion method, and utilize the characteristics of pulsed plasma propulsion technology that can use solid working fluids such as metals as propellants. An "autophagic" space hierarchical electric combined propulsion system is designed that can use its structural materials as electric propulsion working fluids to achieve re-propulsion after the space chemical propulsion fuel is exhausted, so that the spacecraft can take into account the requirements of high thrust, high specific impulse, long life and the like.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0007] An "autophagic" space-graded electric combined propulsion system includes a chemical propulsion module and an electric propulsion module coaxially arranged in sequence from the inside to the outside.

[0008] The chemical propulsion module consists of the injection panel, nozzle and propellant tank.

[0009] The injection panel is arranged at the front end face of the nozzle and is used for injecting propellant into the nozzle.

[0010] The outer wall surface of the nozzle is provided with two parallel spiral flow channels, namely spiral flow channel A and spiral flow channel B.

[0011] The inlets of the two spiral flow channels are located at the tail end of the nozzle, and the outlets of the two spiral flow channels are connected to the corresponding propellant nozzles in the injection panel.

[0012] The propellant tank is coaxially sleeved on the outer periphery of the nozzle and has an annular metal cavity; two partitions are arranged in the annular metal cavity, thereby dividing the annular metal cavity into a sealed propellant A tank and a propellant B tank.

[0013] The propellant A storage tank stores propellant A and is connected to the inlet of the spiral flow channel A through a regulating valve 1.

[0014] The propellant B storage tank stores propellant B and is connected to the inlet of the spiral flow channel B through the second regulating valve.

[0015] The electric propulsion module includes a cathode, an insulating sleeve, an anode, a power supply and a transmission device; wherein the cathode, the insulating sleeve and the anode are coaxially arranged in sequence from the inside to the outside.

[0016] The cathode is the metal structure of the chemical propulsion module excluding the propellant.

[0017] The insulating sleeve is coaxially sleeved on the outer periphery of the propellant tank, the axial length of the insulating sleeve is greater than the axial length of the propellant tank, and the insulating sleeve is driven by the transmission device to slide axially along the outer wall of the propellant tank.

[0018] The anode coaxial fixing sleeve is arranged on the outer periphery of the tail portion of the insulating sleeve and can perform synchronous axial sliding with the insulating sleeve.

[0019] The power supply applies a pulse voltage to the anode through a discharge circuit.

[0020] The chemical propulsion module also includes a high-pressure gas storage tank, which can provide high-pressure gas to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank respectively.

[0021] The high-pressure gas storage tank is connected to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank respectively through high-pressure gas transmission pipelines.

[0022] The high-pressure gas delivery pipeline comprises a main delivery pipeline and two branch delivery pipelines which are connected via a three-way valve.

[0023] The input end of the main delivery pipeline is connected to the high-pressure gas storage tank, and a filling and discharging valve is arranged on the main delivery pipeline.

[0024] The output ends of the two branch delivery pipelines are connected to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank respectively; and pressure reducing valves are arranged on the two branch delivery pipelines.

[0025] The injection panel, nozzle, propellant tank and high-pressure gas tank are all made of metal materials and together form a cathode; the metal material used in the nozzle is molybdenum or molybdenum alloy; the anode material is aluminum, copper or stainless steel.

[0026] The chemical propulsion module adopts a single-component propulsion method. Propellant A and propellant B are the same propellant, and self-impact injection is adopted in the injection panel.

[0027] The chemical propulsion module adopts a two-component propulsion method, with propellant A as fuel and propellant B as oxidizer, and mutual impact injection is adopted in the injection panel.

[0028] A "autophagic" spatial hierarchical electric combined propulsion method includes the following steps.

[0029] Step 1: Chemical propulsion, specifically including the following steps.

[0030] Step 1-1, pressurization: The high-pressure gas storage tank provides high-pressure gas to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank respectively to form pressurization.

[0031] Step 1-2, propellant preheating: Propellant A and propellant B both enter the spiral flow channel, and while the nozzle is cooled, propellant A and propellant B themselves are preheated.

[0032] Step 1-3, combustion: Propellant A and propellant B in the spiral flow channel are injected into the combustion chamber through the injection panel for combustion to form chemical thrust.

[0033] Step 2, electric propulsion, specifically includes the following steps:

[0034] Step 2-1, adjusting the initial axial position of the anode: driving the transmission device to make the insulating sleeve and the anode slide axially synchronously, so that the anode overlaps axially with the cathode when it is in the initial axial position;

[0035] Step 2-2, induce electron field emission: When the propellant of the chemical propulsion module is exhausted, the power supply applies a pulse voltage to the anode, forming a strong electric field between the cathode and the anode, thereby inducing a cathode spot on the front end surface of the cathode that overlaps with the anode axially, causing electron field emission.

[0036] Step 2-3, cathode melting: During electron field emission, the cathode spot will emit high-speed electrons and generate Joule heat; the Joule heat will heat the cathode, causing the cathode spot to begin to melt and evaporate, thereby forming neutral metal vapor.

[0037] Step 2-4, metal vapor ionization: high-speed electrons collide with the metal vapor detached from the cathode surface, ionizing the metal vapor and forming a metal cationization area near the cathode.

[0038] Step 2-5, continuous ionization of metal vapor: metal cations close to the cathode side move toward the cathode under the action of the spatial electric field and continuously collide with the cathode surface, causing the temperature of the cathode surface to rise; when the local temperature of the cathode surface reaches the set temperature threshold, metal vapor will be continuously ejected, thereby achieving automatic and continuous maintenance of the collision ionization process.

[0039] Step 2-6, forming plasma: When electrons and metal vapor continuously collide and ionize, new metal ions and new electrons will be generated, thereby forming plasma;

[0040] Step 2-7, generating electric thrust: plasma is ejected along the nozzle axial direction of the insulating sleeve to form a plasma jet, thereby generating electric thrust;

[0041] Step 2-8, generating continuous electric thrust: as the cathode metal material is consumed, the transmission device is continuously driven to make the insulating sleeve and the anode slide axially synchronously, so that the anode and the cathode have axial overlap, and steps 2-2 to 2-8 are repeated to generate continuous electric thrust.

[0042] In step 2-1 and step 2-8, the axial overlapping length of the anode and the cathode is 1 / 3-1 / 2 of the axial length of the anode.

[0043] In step 2-2, the power supply applies a pulse voltage of 10-20 kV to the anode through the discharge circuit, and a strong electric field of 10 9 V / m.

[0044] In step 2-3, there is an uneven area of ​​metal material on the cathode surface. When the cathode spot electron field is emitted, the uneven area can cause the local electric field strength on the cathode surface to increase by 1-100 times, achieving a field enhancement effect, thereby accelerating cathode melting.

[0045] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0046] 1. Considering the limited space resources on the spacecraft and combining the characteristics of metal plasma propulsion, the present invention optimizes the volume design of the propulsion system structure layout. The overall structure adopts a cylindrical configuration, and the high-pressure gas storage tank adopts a cylindrical tank body; the propellant tank adopts a hollow sleeve structure, in which the partition structure is symmetrically arranged to realize the propellant partition; the chemical propulsion module is placed at the central axis of the sleeve-type propellant tank. The high-pressure gas enters from the top of the propellant tank, and the extruded propellant flows out from the bottom of the tank, and is transported to the liquid inlet through the pipeline spirally surrounding the nozzle. While cooling the nozzle, the propellant is preheated and the temperature rise is realized, further improving the performance of the propulsion system.

[0047] 2. The present invention realizes the reuse of the chemical propulsion module structure with exhausted fuel through metal plasma propulsion, breaking the traditional concept of "exhaustion means waste" and introducing an "autophagic" innovative method, so that the spacecraft can carry out space maneuvering missions without the help of other external working fluids, maximizing the performance of the propulsion system and extending the spacecraft's on-orbit life.

[0048] 3. The present invention maintains the metal ionization process by changing the positions of the insulating sleeve and the anode, thereby achieving full reuse of the discarded structure.

[0049] 4. The present invention adopts a bare anode electrode structure with an insulating sleeve, which can improve the injection performance of the plasma jet while reducing the discharge voltage.

[0050] 5. The present invention preferably uses molybdenum alloy as the main structural material of the chemical propulsion module, which can not only ensure the structural stability of each component during the combustion process of chemical propulsion, but also can be used as a metal working medium for electric propulsion to achieve secondary propulsion.

[0051] 6. The present invention utilizes vacuum discharge to directly ablate the cathode metal material, which can generate high ionization rate, supersonic speed (~10 4 m / s), and the metal plasma jet can be ejected in a directional manner, and the generated metal plasma can be further controlled by the design of the electromagnetic field. Metal plasma propulsion technology has the characteristics of simple structure and small size, low power input and small thrust, which is very suitable as a propulsion system for micro-satellites. It is also of great significance for tasks such as spacecraft space position maintenance, orbital altitude maintenance and future deep space exploration. In addition, in the future, combined with the waste spacecraft recovery technology, spacecraft will be able to use space debris to generate power, solve the space debris problem and realize the "fluid-free" navigation of spacecraft. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] Figure 1 A longitudinal section of an "autophagic" space-graded electric combined propulsion system of the present invention is shown.

[0053] Figure 2 A three-dimensional exploded diagram of an "autophagic" space-graded electric combined propulsion system of the present invention is shown.

[0054] Figure 3 Shown is a schematic diagram of the structure of the chemical propulsion module of the present invention.

[0055] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the three-dimensional layout of the spiral flow channel in the chemical propulsion module of the present invention is shown.

[0056] Among them are:

[0057] 10. Chemical propulsion module;

[0058] 11. Injection panel; 12. Nozzle; 121. Combustion chamber; 122. Tail nozzle; 123. Ignitor;

[0059] 13. Propellant tank; 131. Propellant A tank; 132. Propellant B tank; 133. Regulating valve 1; 134. Regulating valve 2; 135. Check valve 1; 136. Check valve 2;

[0060] 14. Spiral flow channel; 141. Spiral flow channel A; 142. Spiral flow channel B;

[0061] 20. Electric propulsion module;

[0062] 21. cathode;

[0063] 22. Insulating sleeve; 23. Anode; 24. Transmission device;

[0064] 30. High-pressure gas storage tank; 31. Filling and discharging valve; 32. Three-way valve; 33. Pressurizing valve one; 34. Pressurizing valve two. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0065] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific preferred embodiments.

[0066] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "left side", "right side", "upper part", "lower part" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. "First", "second" and the like do not indicate the importance of the components, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. The specific dimensions used in this embodiment are only for illustrating the technical solution, and do not limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0067] like Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, an "autophagic" space-graded electric combined propulsion system includes a chemical propulsion module 10 and an electric propulsion module 20 coaxially arranged in sequence from the inside to the outside.

[0068] like Figure 3 As shown, the chemical propulsion module includes an injection panel 11 , a nozzle 12 , a propellant tank 13 and a high-pressure gas storage tank 30 .

[0069] The nozzle 12 includes a combustion chamber 121 and a tail nozzle 122 which are coaxially and integrally arranged from front to rear, and an igniter 123 is arranged in the combustion chamber.

[0070] The injection panel 11 is arranged at the front end surface of the nozzle 12 and is used for injecting propellant into the combustion chamber.

[0071] like Figure 4 As shown, the outer wall surface of the nozzle is provided with two parallel spiral flow channels 14, namely spiral flow channel A141 and spiral flow channel B142.

[0072] The inlets of the two spiral flow channels are located at the tail end of the nozzle, and the outlets of the two spiral flow channels are connected to the corresponding propellant nozzles in the injection panel.

[0073] The propellant tank has an annular metal cavity; preferably, two partitions are symmetrically arranged in the annular metal cavity, thereby dividing the annular metal cavity into a sealed propellant A tank 131 and a propellant B tank 123.

[0074] The propellant A tank stores propellant A and is preferably connected to the inlet of the spiral flow channel A through a regulating valve 133 and a one-way valve 135. The regulating valve 1 can realize secondary regulation of the outlet flow of the propellant A tank; the setting of the one-way valve 1 can prevent the backflow of the propellant.

[0075] The propellant B tank stores propellant B and is preferably connected to the inlet of the spiral flow channel B through a second regulating valve 134 and a second one-way valve 136 .

[0076] The high-pressure gas storage tank can provide high-pressure gas to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank respectively. The high-pressure gas is preferably nitrogen, argon, etc., that is, an extrusion pressurization mode is realized.

[0077] It is respectively connected to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank through high-pressure gas delivery pipelines.

[0078] The high-pressure gas delivery pipeline includes a main delivery pipeline and two branch delivery pipelines which are connected via a three-way valve 32 .

[0079] The input end of the main delivery pipeline is connected to the high-pressure gas storage tank. A filling and discharge valve 21 is arranged on the main delivery pipeline to prevent the storage tank from over-pressure and release excess pressure.

[0080] The output ends of the two branch delivery pipelines are connected to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank respectively; pressure reducing valves are arranged on the two branch delivery pipelines, namely pressure reducing valve 1 33 and pressure reducing valve 2 34. The setting of the pressurizing valve can realize the injection and flow control of high-pressure gas.

[0081] The electric propulsion module includes a cathode 21 , an insulating sleeve 22 , an anode 23 , a power source and a transmission device 24 .

[0082] The cathode is the metal structure of the chemical propulsion module except the propellant, including metal materials such as the injection panel, nozzle, propellant tank and high-pressure gas tank, among which the metal material of the nozzle is preferably molybdenum or molybdenum alloy. The melting point of molybdenum itself is 2622°C, and molybdenum alloy has excellent properties such as high melting point and high strength, and is often used in various parts of spacecraft. Combined with the design practice of the present invention, molybdenum alloy can be preferably used as the preferred material for the chemical propulsion module structure.

[0083] The insulating sleeve is coaxially sleeved on the outer periphery of the cathode, and is preferably a cylindrical ceramic material; the axial length of the insulating sleeve is greater than the axial length of the cathode, and under the drive of the transmission device, it slides axially along the outer wall of the cathode. In this embodiment, the transmission device is preferably a threaded transmission, and a sliding spiral structure is set between the insulating sleeve and the spacecraft platform to control the forward and backward movement of the insulating sleeve and the anode to achieve the regulation and control of the metal plasma propulsion process. However, as an alternative, the transmission device can also be other linear drive mechanisms in the prior art.

[0084] The anode coaxial fixed sleeve is arranged on the outer periphery of the tail of the insulating sleeve and can slide axially synchronously with the insulating sleeve. Further, the anode material is preferably aluminum, copper or stainless steel.

[0085] The power supply applies a pulse voltage to the anode through a discharge circuit, and the pulse voltage ranges from 10 to 20 kV.

[0086] The chemical propulsion module can adopt a single-component propulsion method. In this case, propellant A and propellant B are the same propellant, and self-impact injection is adopted in the injection panel.

[0087] The chemical propulsion module can also adopt a bipropellant propulsion mode. In this case, propellant A is the fuel and propellant B is the oxidizer, and mutual impact injection is adopted in the injection panel. For the space propulsion bipropellant propulsion system, the combustion chamber temperature is between 1300℃-2200℃, the chamber pressure is between 1.8MPa-5MPa, the thrust generated is between 100-2000N, and the specific impulse is between 180-320s.

[0088] Based on the selection principles of propellants such as green and low toxicity, good performance, moderate cost, simplicity and light weight, for monopropellants, comprehensive consideration is given to the first choice of liquid room-temperature working fluids that are easy to store, reducing the additional structural costs such as gas leakage protection and thermal protection. Propellants with low freezing points, non-toxicity, high density specific impulse and high stability such as 85% hydrogen peroxide and hydroxylamine nitrate can be selected; for bipropellants, propellant combinations with low toxicity and high specific impulse such as liquid hydrogen / liquid oxygen combinations and nitrous oxide / kerosene combinations can be selected.

[0089] After the chemical propulsion module has finished working and the fuel is exhausted, its structural shell and other materials will be directly used as the solid working fluid of the electric propulsion module to achieve further propulsion.

[0090] A "autophagic" spatial hierarchical electric combined propulsion method includes the following steps.

[0091] Step 1, chemical propulsion, specifically includes the following steps:

[0092] Step 1-1, pressurization: The high-pressure gas storage tank provides high-pressure gas to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank respectively to form pressurization.

[0093] Step 1-2, propellant preheating: Propellant A and propellant B both enter the spiral flow channel, and while the nozzle is cooled, propellant A and propellant B themselves are preheated.

[0094] Step 1-3, combustion: Propellant A and propellant B in the spiral flow channel are injected into the combustion chamber through the injection panel for combustion to form chemical thrust.

[0095] Step 2, electric propulsion, specifically includes the following steps:

[0096] Step 2-1, adjust the initial axial position of the anode: drive the transmission device to make the insulating sleeve and the anode slide axially synchronously, so that when the anode is in the initial axial position, it has an axial overlap with the cathode (preferably the propellant tank here), and the axial overlap length is preferably 1 / 3-1 / 2 of the axial length of the anode.

[0097] Step 2-2, induce electron field emission: When the propellant of the chemical propulsion module is exhausted, the power supply applies a pulse voltage of 10-20 kV to the anode through the discharge circuit, so that a 10 9 The strong electric field of 100 V / m induces cathode spots on the front end of the cathode that overlaps with the anode axially, causing electron field emission.

[0098] Step 2-3, cathode melting: During electron field emission, the cathode spot will emit high-speed electrons and generate Joule heat; the Joule heat will heat the cathode, causing the cathode spot to begin to melt and evaporate, thereby forming neutral metal vapor.

[0099] Furthermore, the cathode surface preferably has an uneven area of ​​metal material. When the cathode spot electrons are field-induced emitted, the uneven area can cause the local electric field strength on the cathode surface to increase by 1-100 times, achieving a field enhancement effect, thereby accelerating cathode melting.

[0100] Step 2-4, metal vapor ionization: high-speed electrons collide with the metal vapor detached from the cathode surface, ionizing the metal vapor and forming a metal cationization area near the cathode.

[0101] Step 2-5, continuous ionization of metal vapor: metal cations close to the cathode side move toward the cathode under the action of the spatial electric field and continuously collide with the cathode surface, causing the temperature of the cathode surface to rise; when the local temperature of the cathode surface reaches the set temperature threshold, metal vapor will be continuously ejected, thereby achieving automatic and continuous maintenance of the collision ionization process.

[0102] Step 2-6, forming plasma: When electrons continuously collide and ionize metal vapor, new metal ions and new electrons will be generated, thus forming plasma.

[0103] Step 2-7, generating electric thrust: plasma is ejected axially along the nozzle of the insulating sleeve to form a plasma jet, thereby generating electric thrust.

[0104] Step 2-8, generating continuous electric thrust: as the cathode metal material is consumed, the transmission device is continuously driven to make the insulating sleeve and the anode synchronously slide axially, so that the anode and the cathode have axial overlap, and steps 2-2 to 2-8 are repeated to generate continuous electric thrust. In this step, the axial overlap length of the anode and the cathode is preferably 1 / 3-1 / 2 of the axial length of the anode.

[0105] The present invention adopts the idea of ​​using the remaining shell material of the chemical propulsion module as the ablation cathode, breaking through the limitations of traditional solid working fluids that have a regular geometric shape and need to be pushed into the ionization chamber with uniform force, providing a new idea for the recycling and reuse of discarded spacecraft.

[0106] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above; however, the present invention is not limited to the specific details in the above embodiments. Within the technical concept of the present invention, various equivalent transformations can be made to the technical solutions of the present invention, and these equivalent transformations all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An "autophagic" space-classified electric combined propulsion system, characterized by: It includes a chemical propulsion module and an electric propulsion module coaxially arranged in sequence from the inside to the outside; The chemical propulsion module includes the injection panel, nozzle and propellant tank; The injection panel is arranged on the front end surface of the nozzle and is used for injecting propellant into the nozzle; The outer wall of the nozzle is provided with two parallel spiral flow channels, namely spiral flow channel A and spiral flow channel B; The inlets of the two spiral flow channels are located at the tail end of the nozzle, and the outlets of the two spiral flow channels are connected to the corresponding propellant nozzles in the injection panel; The propellant tank is coaxially sleeved on the outer periphery of the nozzle and has an annular metal cavity; two partitions are arranged in the annular metal cavity, thereby dividing the annular metal cavity into a sealed propellant A tank and a propellant B tank; The propellant A storage tank stores propellant A and is connected to the inlet of the spiral flow channel A through a regulating valve 1; The propellant B storage tank stores propellant B and is connected to the inlet of the spiral flow channel B through the regulating valve 2; The electric propulsion module includes a cathode, an insulating sleeve, an anode, a power source and a transmission device; wherein the cathode, the insulating sleeve and the anode are coaxially arranged in sequence from the inside to the outside; The cathode is the metal structure of the chemical propulsion module excluding the propellant; The insulating sleeve is coaxially sleeved on the outer periphery of the propellant tank, the axial length of the insulating sleeve is greater than the axial length of the propellant tank, and the insulating sleeve is driven by the transmission device to slide axially along the outer wall of the propellant tank; The anode coaxial fixed sleeve is arranged on the outer periphery of the tail of the insulating sleeve and can perform synchronous axial sliding with the insulating sleeve; The power supply applies a pulse voltage to the anode through a discharge circuit.

2. The "autophagic" space-classified electric combined propulsion system according to claim 1 is characterized by: The chemical propulsion module also includes a high-pressure gas storage tank, which can provide high-pressure gas to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank respectively.

3. The "autophagic" space-classified electric combined propulsion system according to claim 2 is characterized by: The high-pressure gas storage tank is connected to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank respectively through high-pressure gas delivery pipelines; The high-pressure gas delivery pipeline includes a main delivery pipeline and two branch delivery pipelines connected through a three-way valve; The input end of the main delivery pipeline is connected to the high-pressure gas storage tank, and a filling and discharging valve is arranged on the main delivery pipeline; The output ends of the two branch delivery pipelines are connected to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank respectively; and pressure reducing valves are arranged on the two branch delivery pipelines.

4. The "autophagic" space-classified electric combined propulsion system according to claim 2 is characterized by: The injection panel, nozzle, propellant tank and high-pressure gas tank are all made of metal materials and together form a cathode; the metal material used in the nozzle is molybdenum or molybdenum alloy; the anode material is aluminum, copper or stainless steel.

5. The "autophagic" space-classified electric combined propulsion system according to claim 1 is characterized by: The chemical propulsion module adopts a single-component propulsion method. Propellant A and propellant B are the same propellant, and self-impact injection is adopted in the injection panel.

6. The "autophagic" space-classified electric combined propulsion system according to claim 1 is characterized by: The chemical propulsion module adopts a two-component propulsion method, with propellant A as fuel and propellant B as oxidizer, and mutual impact injection is adopted in the injection panel.

7. An "autophagic" spatial hierarchical electric combined propulsion method, characterized in that: The steps include: Step 1, chemical propulsion, specifically includes the following steps: Step 1-1, pressurization: the high-pressure gas storage tank provides high-pressure gas to the propellant A tank and the propellant B tank respectively to form pressurization; Step 1-2, propellant preheating: both propellant A and propellant B enter the spiral flow channel, and the propellant A and propellant B are preheated while cooling the nozzle; Step 1-3, combustion: propellant A and propellant B in the spiral flow channel are injected into the combustion chamber through the injection panel for combustion to form chemical thrust; Step 2, electric propulsion, specifically includes the following steps: Step 2-1, adjusting the initial axial position of the anode: driving the transmission device to make the insulating sleeve and the anode slide axially synchronously, so that the anode overlaps axially with the cathode when it is in the initial axial position; Step 2-2, inducing electron field emission: When the propellant of the chemical propulsion module is exhausted, the power supply applies a pulse voltage to the anode, so that a strong electric field is formed between the cathode and the anode, thereby inducing a cathode spot on the front surface of the cathode axially overlapping with the anode, and electron field emission occurs; Step 2-3, cathode melting: During electron field emission, the cathode spot will emit high-speed electrons and generate Joule heat; the Joule heat will heat the cathode, causing the cathode spot to begin to melt and evaporate, thereby forming neutral metal vapor; Step 2-4, metal vapor ionization: high-speed electrons collide with metal vapor detached from the cathode surface, ionizing the metal vapor and forming a metal cationization area near the cathode; Step 2-5, continuous ionization of metal vapor: metal cations close to the cathode side move toward the cathode under the action of the spatial electric field and continuously collide with the cathode surface, causing the temperature of the cathode surface to rise; when the local temperature of the cathode surface reaches the set temperature threshold, metal vapor will be continuously ejected, thereby realizing the automatic continuous maintenance of the collision ionization process; Step 2-6, forming plasma: When electrons and metal vapor continuously collide and ionize, new metal ions and new electrons will be generated, thereby forming plasma; Step 2-7, generating electric thrust: plasma is ejected along the nozzle axial direction of the insulating sleeve to form a plasma jet, thereby generating electric thrust; Step 2-8, generating continuous electric thrust: as the cathode metal material is consumed, the transmission device is continuously driven to make the insulating sleeve and the anode slide axially synchronously, so that the anode and the cathode have axial overlap, and steps 2-2 to 2-8 are repeated to generate continuous electric thrust.

8. The "autophagic" spatial hierarchical electric combined propulsion method according to claim 7 is characterized in that: In step 2-1 and step 2-8, the axial overlapping length of the anode and the cathode is 1 / 3-1 / 2 of the axial length of the anode.

9. The "autophagic" spatial hierarchical electric combined propulsion method according to claim 7 is characterized in that: In step 2-2, the power supply applies a pulse voltage of 10-20 kV to the anode through the discharge circuit, and a strong electric field of 10 9 V / m.

10. The "autophagic" spatial hierarchical electric combined propulsion method according to claim 7 is characterized in that: In step 2-3, there is an uneven area of ​​metal material on the cathode surface. When the cathode spot electron field is emitted, the uneven area can cause the local electric field strength on the cathode surface to increase by 1-100 times, achieving a field enhancement effect, thereby accelerating cathode melting.

Citation Information

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