Electric propulsion device based on Biefeld-Brown effect

Abstract

The invention discloses an electric propulsion device based on a Biefeld-Brown effect. The electric propulsion device comprises a plurality of integrated electrode bar modules and an insulating bracket, the plurality of integrated electrode bar modules are connected through an insulating bracket; wherein each integrated electrode bar module comprises an electrode bar, a tungsten needle and a ceramic insulating bar; two ends of the electrode bar are connected with the ceramic insulating bar which is connected with the insulating support. The multiple tungsten needles are arranged on the electrode bar. The problem that thrust generated by a Biefeld-Brown effect electric pushing device is small can be solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of electric propulsion devices, and in particular to an electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect. Background Art

[0002] In order to make spacecraft have permanent endurance, engines that do not need to carry working fluids have been put on the agenda by space research institutions in various countries. Among them, electric thrusters that rely on the Biefeld-Brown effect have attracted the attention of NASA and the European Space Agency, and have been tested many times, proving that in addition to having thrust in the surface atmosphere, they also have thrust output and application value in 350km and 200km low-Earth orbits and near-space environments.

[0003] In 2005, Festo Bionics, a German company, invented an airship called B-ionic Airfish. The airship is filled with helium to balance its buoyancy with gravity. Its wings and tail are equipped with Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion engines with a total thrust of about 8-10 grams. The maximum flight time of the tail drive is 60 minutes, the maximum flight time of the wing drive is 30 minutes, and the maximum flight speed can reach 0.7m / s.

[0004] In 2018, MIT installed multiple asymmetric capacitor thrust modules in parallel on a lightweight aircraft, allowing an ion-propelled aircraft to complete a 60-meter stable flight in a stadium for the first time. The thruster can generate a maximum thrust of 3.2N and achieve a maximum thrust-to-power ratio of 5N / kW, which has reached the jet engine index.

[0005] The thrust generated by the existing Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion is relatively small, which limits its application scope. If the thrust of the thruster is simply increased by using a single module stacking technology, it will inevitably increase the size and gravity of the device, affecting its engineering practicality. In addition, how to effectively increase the breakdown voltage between the plates is also the key to significantly increase the thrust.

[0006] In the prior art, the invention patent with the patent publication number CN118220468A provides a new type of ion propulsion device. The technical solution of this patent is based on the Biefeld-Brown effect to realize a propellant-free ion propulsion device, and its structure uses the aerodynamic principle to generate lift. The emitter and the receiver of the Biefeld-Brown effect device of this structure are two independent structures, which mainly use the aerodynamic principle to generate lift, occupy a large space, and the thrust-to-weight ratio of the device is relatively low. Therefore, how to use the Biefeld-Brown effect to develop an electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect with a compact structure and relatively large thrust is the problem to be solved by the present invention. Summary of the invention

[0007] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect, which can meet the requirements of compact structure and adjustable thrust.

[0008] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0009] An electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect, comprising: a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 and an insulating support 20; the plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 are connected through the insulating support 20; wherein each integrated electrode rod module 10 comprises an electrode rod 11, a tungsten needle 12 and a ceramic insulating rod 13; the ceramic insulating rod 13 is connected to both ends of the electrode rod 11, and the ceramic insulating rod 13 is connected to the insulating support 20; a plurality of tungsten needles 12 are arranged on the electrode rod 11;

[0010] Furthermore, in the plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 , the embedded tungsten needles 12 have the same height, and the tips of the tungsten needles 12 are kept on a horizontal plane after being embedded.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the electrode rod 11 is made of a conductive metal round rod, which is hollow inside. A plurality of holes are opened on one side of the electrode rod 11, and tungsten needles 12 are embedded in the holes.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, the embedded tungsten needles 12 in a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 point in the same direction, and the tungsten needle 12 on the rear integrated electrode rod module 10 points to the back side of the front integrated electrode rod module 10 .

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 are sequentially arranged on the insulating support 20, the integrated electrode rod modules 10 in odd-numbered columns are connected to high voltage, and the integrated electrode rod modules 10 in even-numbered columns are grounded.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, the thrust of the electric propulsion device is adjusted by adjusting the distance between the needle tips of two tungsten needles 12 on the same horizontal plane on two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 and the distance between the electrodes of two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the tips of two tungsten needles 12 on the same horizontal plane on two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 and the thrust of the electric propulsion device have the following relationship:

[0016]

[0017] In the formula, F represents the thrust of the electric propulsion device, d represents the distance between the tips of two tungsten needles 12 on the same horizontal plane on two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10, and k and l represent two different coefficients greater than zero.

[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the electrodes of two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 and the thrust of the electric propulsion device have the following relationship:

[0019]

[0020] Wherein, D represents the electrode rod spacing between two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the present invention has a simple structure, and the two plates of the asymmetric capacitor based on the Biefeld-Brown effect are integrated on an electrode rod, which saves space and weight for the device. The needle tip spacing of the tungsten needle of the present invention and the electrode rod spacing of the integrated electrode rod module are adjustable, so that the thrust of the electric propulsion device can be adjusted. The present invention provides a relationship between the needle tip spacing, the electrode rod spacing and the thrust of the electric propulsion device, and the needle tip spacing and the electrode rod spacing can be dynamically adjusted according to the desired thrust size. Furthermore, while ensuring the compact structure of the electric propulsion device and reducing the weight, the thrust of the device is guaranteed to be maximum.

[0022] The present invention utilizes the Biefeld-Brown effect to design a bipolar integrated Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device, which solves the problem that the thrust generated by the Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device is small and the breakdown voltage between the plates is low. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of an electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 It is a partial enlarged view of the electric propulsion device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 3 Graph showing the relationship between the needle tip spacing and the thrust according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 4 Graph showing the relationship between the pole spacing and thrust according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In order to facilitate those skilled in the art to understand the technical solution of the present invention, the technical solution of the present invention is further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the specification.

[0028] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this application, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0029] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the present invention provides an electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect, including a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 and an insulating bracket 20, wherein the plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 are connected through the insulating bracket 20. Each integrated electrode rod module 10 includes an electrode rod 11, a tungsten needle 12 and a ceramic insulating rod 13. The ceramic insulating rod 13 is connected to both ends of the electrode rod 11, the ceramic insulating rod 13 is connected to the insulating bracket 20, and a plurality of tungsten needles 12 are arranged on the electrode rod 11.

[0030] In one embodiment of the present invention, two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 and insulating brackets 20 connected at both ends of a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 form a rectangular unit, and a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 and insulating brackets 20 form a Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device of a plurality of superimposed rectangular units.

[0031] In one embodiment of the present invention, the electrode rod 11 is made of a conductive metal round rod, which is hollow inside. A plurality of holes are opened on one side of the electrode rod 11, and tungsten needles 12 are embedded in the holes, so as to facilitate the assembly of integrated electrode rod modules 10 with different densities according to actual needs. The base of the tungsten needle 12 is connected to the electrode rod 11 by threaded connection, and the two ends of the electrode rod 11 are connected to the ceramic insulating rod 13 by threaded connection. The integrated electrode rod module 10 is connected to the insulating bracket 20 through the ceramic insulating rod 13, and finally fixed with a nut, and, according to actual needs, the assembly density of a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 on the insulating bracket 20 can be adjusted.

[0032] In this embodiment, the tungsten needle 12 has high strength and hardness, and the needle tip can be made extremely thin, which helps to improve the thrust of the electric propulsion device. The tungsten needle 12 can withstand high temperatures and prevent electrical corrosion. The ceramic insulating rod 13 has a high insulation property. Adding the ceramic insulating rod 13 at the end of the integrated electrode rod module 10 can effectively inhibit the adjacent electrode rods 11 from breaking through the insulating bracket 20 with low insulation strength from the end, and further improve the breakdown voltage between the electrode rods 11.

[0033] In one embodiment of the present invention, the height of the embedded tungsten needles 12 in several integrated electrode rod modules 10 is consistent, and the needle tips of the tungsten needles 12 are kept on the same horizontal plane after being embedded. The needle tips located on the same horizontal plane ensure that the breakdown voltage of the entire length of the integrated electrode rod module 10 is the same, avoiding the formation of the barrel effect. In addition, the high-strength and high-hardness tungsten needles 12 will not be greatly deformed due to the thrust, which is conducive to stabilizing the operating voltage.

[0034] In one embodiment of the present invention, the embedded tungsten needles 12 in a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 point in the same direction, and the tungsten needle 12 on the rear integrated electrode rod module 10 points to the back side of the front integrated electrode rod module 10 .

[0035] In one embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 are sequentially arranged on an insulating bracket 20, the integrated electrode rod modules 10 in odd-numbered columns are connected to high voltage, and the integrated electrode rod modules 10 in even-numbered columns are grounded. This structure ensures that one power supply can power the entire device.

[0036] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention utilizes the Biefeld-Brown effect. The Biefeld-Brown effect refers to the phenomenon that when a pair of asymmetric capacitors with electrodes of a specific geometric structure are placed opposite to each other, immersed in an insulating medium, and a suitable voltage is added, a force that attempts to move the device will be generated. Reversing the polarity of the electrode voltage will not change the direction of the force, but will change the magnitude of the force. Based on the principle of the Biefeld-Brown effect, the present invention utilizes the high insulation properties of ceramics to make the end ceramic insulating rod 13, which can effectively increase the breakdown voltage between adjacent electrode rods 11. The use of tungsten needles 12 as emitters utilizes the high temperature resistance and high strength of tungsten. The high-strength tungsten needle 12 can be made extremely thin, which helps to improve the thrust of the device. The high temperature resistance of the tungsten needle 12 helps to resist the long-term high temperature electrocorrosion of the Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device, which helps to increase the service life of the device. The two plates of the asymmetric capacitor of the Biefeld-Brown effect are integrated on an electrode rod, which saves space and weight for the device. In this embodiment, the asymmetric capacitor is an electrode rod 11 and a tungsten needle 12.

[0037] In one embodiment of the present invention, the thrust of the electric propulsion device is determined based on the distance between the tips of two tungsten needles 12 on the same horizontal plane on two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 and the distance between the electrodes of two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 .

[0038] In this embodiment, according to the experimental data, the following formula (1) can be summarized: Figure 3The distance between the tips of two tungsten needles 12 on the same horizontal plane on two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 and the thrust of the electric propulsion device have the following relationship:

[0039]

[0040] In the formula, F represents the thrust of the electric propulsion device, d represents the tip spacing of two tungsten needles 12 on the same horizontal plane on two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10, and k and l represent two different coefficients greater than zero. According to formula (1), according to the relationship between the tip spacing and the thrust of the electric propulsion device, the thrust can be adjusted. For example, in this embodiment, we hope that the thrust is the largest. According to formula 1, when the tip spacing is 2 cm, the thrust generated by the integrated electrode rod module 10 with the same spacing and the bipolar integrated Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device electrode rod module is the largest, so in practical applications, we choose the tip spacing of 2 cm.

[0041] See also Figure 4 The figure is a relationship between the thrust per unit length and the spacing of the integrated electrode rod module 10 in the experiment of the bipolar integrated Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device when the distance between the tips is 2 cm. Here, the unit length can be understood as an integrated electrode rod module 10 of one meter.

[0042] In this embodiment, based on the experimental data, the following formula (2) can be summarized. After the needle tip spacing is determined, the electrode spacing between two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 and the thrust of the electric propulsion device have the following relationship:

[0043]

[0044] Wherein, D represents the electrode distance between two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10. Figure 4 It can be seen from formula (2) that when the tip distance of the integrated electrode rod module 10 is 2 cm, the unit length thrust of the integrated electrode rod module 10 in the bipolar integrated Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device experiment shows a trend of first rapidly increasing with the increase of the distance between the poles, and then the rising rate decreases. The pole spacing D in the rate turning range is 5-8 cm. Therefore, according to the consideration of saving space in engineering applications, the pole spacing D of adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 is selected to be 5 cm.

[0045] It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be regarded as exemplary and non-limiting from any point of view, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the above description, and it is intended that all changes falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims are included in the present invention, and any reference numerals in the claims should not be regarded as limiting the claims involved.

[0046] The above-described embodiments merely represent implementation methods of the invention. The protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For those skilled in the art, several modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, which all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect, characterized in that: include: A plurality of integrated electrode rod modules (10) and an insulating support (20); the plurality of integrated electrode rod modules (10) are connected via the insulating support (20); wherein each integrated electrode rod module (10) comprises an electrode rod (11), a tungsten needle (12) and a ceramic insulating rod (13); both ends of the electrode rod (11) are connected to the ceramic insulating rod (13), and the ceramic insulating rod (13) is connected to the insulating support (20); and a plurality of tungsten needles (12) are arranged on the electrode rod (11); Furthermore, in a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules (10), the embedded tungsten needles (12) have the same height, and after being embedded, the needle tips of the tungsten needles (12) are kept on a horizontal plane.

2. The electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electrode rod (11) is made of a conductive metal round rod and is hollow inside. A plurality of holes are opened on one side of the electrode rod (11), and tungsten needles (12) are embedded in the holes.

3. The electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect according to claim 1, characterized in that: The embedded tungsten needles (12) in a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules (10) point in the same direction, and the tungsten needles (12) on the rear integrated electrode rod module (10) point to the back side of the front integrated electrode rod module (10).

4. The electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of integrated electrode rod modules (10) are sequentially arranged on an insulating support (20), wherein the integrated electrode rod modules (10) in odd-numbered columns are connected to high voltage, and the integrated electrode rod modules (10) in even-numbered columns are grounded.

5. The electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thrust of the electric propulsion device is adjusted by adjusting the distance between the needle tips of two tungsten needles (12) on the same horizontal plane on two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules (10) and the distance between the poles of two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules (10).

6. The electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect according to claim 5, characterized in that: The distance between the tips of two tungsten needles (12) on the same horizontal plane on two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules (10) and the thrust of the electric propulsion device have the following relationship: In the formula, F represents the thrust of the electric propulsion device, d represents the distance between the tips of two tungsten needles (12) on the same horizontal plane on two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules (10), and k and l represent two different coefficients greater than zero.

7. The electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect according to claim 6, characterized in that: After the needle tip spacing is determined, the electrode spacing between two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules (10) and the thrust of the electric propulsion device have the following relationship: In the formula, D represents the electrode rod spacing between two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules (10).

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