Magnetic reconnection electric thruster magnetic circuit structure

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of spaceflight electric propulsion, in particular to a magnetic reconnection electric thruster magnetic circuit structure which comprises a supporting table, an air supply flange, a discharge chamber, a sliding rail and a shielding cover, the discharge chamber comprises a straight cylinder section and a conical cylinder section, and the straight cylinder section and the conical cylinder section are connected through a connecting flange; the air supply flange is connected with the front end of the straight cylinder section; a plurality of spiral wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils are arranged around the outer wall of the straight cylinder section, and a plurality of rotary acceleration magnetic field coils are arranged around the outer wall of the conical cylinder section; the shielding case comprises a first shielding case and a second shielding case; the first shielding cover is arranged on the sliding rail through a first sliding bracket; the spiral wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coil is arranged on the sliding rail through a second sliding support. According to the invention, the overall magnetic field structure is optimized by using the step-by-step decreasing spiral wave ion source steady-state magnetic field and the step-by-step increasing rotation acceleration magnetic field, the shielding case with high magnetic conductivity is added, and the interference to the external environment is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of aerospace electric propulsion technology. Specifically, it relates to a magnetic circuit structure of a magnetic reconnection electric thruster. Background Art

[0002] Space electric propulsion technology is recognized as the most advanced propulsion technology in the international aerospace community. Compared with traditional chemical propulsion, electric propulsion can significantly reduce the propellant carrying capacity. Whether to apply electric propulsion has become an important symbol to measure the advancement and competitiveness of spacecraft.

[0003] Currently, medium-power electric propulsion technology has been relatively mature, while there are still multiple key technical difficulties in high-power electric propulsion technology that have not been overcome. The magnetic reconnection electric thruster has attracted extensive attention from domestic and foreign research institutions due to its characteristics such as high specific impulse, large thrust, and no cathode. However, due to the existence of multiple magnetic fields in the magnetic reconnection electric thruster, the interference problem between the magnetic fields will not only affect the performance of the thruster but also have an impact on the testing of precision instruments on the spacecraft.

[0004] The magnetic reconnection electric thruster uses magnetic reconnection to release energy to accelerate the plasma, so that it sprays out from the nozzle of the discharge chamber at an extremely high speed to generate thrust. The magnetic topological configuration inside the thruster will affect the motion trajectory of the plasma, and thus affect the ionization process of the working medium. An optimized magnetic circuit structure can improve the ionization efficiency and better confine the plasma, enabling the plasma to move orderly inside the thruster and reducing energy loss. The magnetic reconnection electric thruster generates high-density plasma through a helicon wave ion source. This process requires strong magnetic confinement of the plasma. The rear-end magnetic reconnection thruster arranges a steady-state accelerating magnetic field to provide a radial velocity for the plasma. Then, the internal magnetic field structure of the discharge chamber is changed through a rotating field antenna to convert magnetic energy into the kinetic energy of the plasma for acceleration and ejection. An additional set of electromagnetic coils is added at the outlet of the discharge chamber to confine the plasma and reduce the beam divergence angle of the thruster, thereby improving the energy conversion efficiency of the thruster. Therefore, the optimized design between each magnetic circuit structure is the key difficulty in improving the performance of the magnetic reconnection electric thruster. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a magnetic circuit structure of a magnetic reconnection electric thruster, which optimizes the overall magnetic field structure by using a steadily decreasing helicon wave ion source steady magnetic field and a steadily increasing rotating acceleration magnetic field, and solves the problem that multiple magnetic poles of the existing magnetic reconnection electric thruster interfere with each other and it is difficult to form plasma clusters.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present application provides a magnetic reconnection electric thruster magnetic circuit structure, including a support table, a gas supply flange, a discharge chamber, a slide rail, and a shielding cover, where: The discharge chamber includes a straight cylinder section and a conical cylinder section, and the straight cylinder section and the conical cylinder section are connected by a connecting flange; The gas supply flange is connected to the front end of the straight cylinder section; A plurality of helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils are arranged around the outer wall of the straight cylinder section, and a plurality of rotating acceleration magnetic field coils are arranged around the outer wall of the conical cylinder section; The shielding cover includes a first shielding cover and a second shielding cover, the first shielding cover is arranged outside the plurality of helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils, and the second shielding cover is arranged outside the plurality of rotating acceleration magnetic field coils; The first shielding cover is arranged on the slide rail through a first sliding bracket; The helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils are arranged on the slide rail through a second sliding bracket; The slide rail is fixed on the support table through a support frame; The second shielding cover is directly fixed on the support table through a support frame.

[0007] Further, a magnetic confinement coil is arranged on the outer wall around the rear end of the conical cylinder section, and the magnetic confinement coil is located outside the second shielding cover.

[0008] Further, a rotating field antenna is arranged inside the second shielding cover, and the rotating field antenna is located outside the plurality of rotating acceleration magnetic field coils.

[0009] Further, a helicon wave antenna is arranged inside the first shielding cover, and the helicon wave antenna is located between the outer wall of the straight cylinder section and the helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils.

[0010] Further, the magnetic field intensity of the plurality of helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils decreases step by step from front to back; The magnetic field intensity of the plurality of rotating acceleration magnetic field coils increases step by step from front to back.

[0011] Further, both the first shielding cover and the second shielding cover are made of high magnetic permeability materials, and connecting wires are arranged between the first shielding cover, the second shielding cover, and the support table, and the connecting wires are grounded.

[0012] Further, the material of the discharge chamber is quartz glass; The connecting flange is made of a conductive material.

[0013] Further, the slide rail, the support frame, and the support table are all made of low magnetic permeability materials.

[0014] The magnetic reconnection electric thruster magnetic circuit structure provided by the present application has the following beneficial effects:

[0015] (1) The present application optimizes the overall magnetic field structure by using a helicon wave ion source steady-state magnetic field that decreases step by step and a rotating acceleration magnetic field that increases step by step; High magnetic permeability shielding covers are added outside the helicon wave ion source steady-state magnetic field and the rotating acceleration magnetic field respectively, reducing the interference to the external environment.

[0016] (2) In this application, the steady magnetic field of the helicon wave ion source and the first shielding cover are set into a slidable and translatable structure. According to the magnetic field intensity environment under different working conditions, the spatial distance between the steady magnetic field of the helicon wave ion source and the rotating acceleration magnetic field can be flexibly changed to achieve physical isolation.

[0017] (3) In this application, the connection flange made of conductive material divides the discharge chamber into a straight cylinder section and a conical cylinder section. The conductive material can form an equipotential surface to reflect the magnetic field back. At the same time, the eddy current effect will also generate a magnetic field opposite to the incident magnetic field to achieve magnetic field shielding. By means of good grounding treatment, the induced charges on the two shielding covers can be conducted away in time to avoid charge accumulation and generate an electric field, thereby reducing the interference to the magnetic field.

[0018] (4) By using different combinations of the currents of multiple coils of the steady magnetic field of the helicon wave ion source, the magnetic field can be more evenly distributed in the discharge chamber to achieve a highly uniform distribution of the plasma. Secondly, by stretching or compressing the magnetic topology, the controlled transportation of high-density plasma can be realized. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] The drawings forming a part of this application are used to provide a further understanding of this application, making other features, objectives, and advantages of this application more obvious. The schematic embodiments and descriptions of the drawings of this application are used to explain this application and do not constitute an improper limitation to this application. In the drawings:

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the magnetic circuit structure of the magnetic reconnection electric thruster provided by the embodiment of this application;

[0021] In the figure: 1 - support platform, 11 - first sliding bracket, 12 - second sliding bracket, 13 - support frame, 2 - gas supply flange, 3 - discharge chamber, 31 - straight cylinder section, 32 - conical cylinder section, 33 - connection flange, 4 - steady electromagnetic coil of helicon wave ion source, 5 - rotating acceleration magnetic field coil, 6 - first shielding cover, 61 - helicon antenna, 7 - second shielding cover, 71 - rotating field antenna, 8 - slide rail, 9 - magnetic confinement coil, 10 - connecting wire. Detailed Description of the Embodiment

[0022] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solution of this application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0023] It should be noted that in the description and claims of this application and the above-mentioned drawings, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so as to implement the embodiments of this application described here. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units does not necessarily have to be limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0024] In this application, the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "middle", "vertical", "horizontal", "lateral", "longitudinal", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. These terms are mainly used to better describe this application and its embodiments, and are not used to limit that the indicated devices, elements or components must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation.

[0025] Moreover, in addition to being able to represent an orientation or positional relationship, some of the above terms may also be used to represent other meanings. For example, the term "upper" may also be used to represent a certain attachment relationship or connection relationship in some cases. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of these terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0026] In addition, the meaning of the term "plurality" should be two or more.

[0027] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments in this application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. The following will refer to the drawings and combine the embodiments to detail this application.

[0028] Such as Figure 1As shown in the figure, the present application provides a magnetic reconnection electric thruster magnetic circuit structure, including a support platform 1, a gas supply flange 2, a discharge chamber 3, a slide rail 8, and a shielding cover, where: The discharge chamber 3 includes a straight cylinder section 31 and a conical cylinder section 32, and the straight cylinder section 31 and the conical cylinder section 32 are connected by a connecting flange 33; The gas supply flange 2 is connected to the front end of the straight cylinder section 31; A plurality of helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils 4 are arranged around the outer wall of the straight cylinder section 31, and a plurality of rotating acceleration magnetic field coils 5 are arranged around the outer wall of the conical cylinder section 32; The shielding cover includes a first shielding cover 6 and a second shielding cover 7. The first shielding cover 6 is arranged outside the plurality of helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils 4, and the second shielding cover 7 is arranged outside the plurality of rotating acceleration magnetic field coils 5; The first shielding cover 6 is arranged on the slide rail 8 through a first sliding bracket 11; The helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils 4 are arranged on the slide rail 8 through a second sliding bracket 12; The slide rail 8 is fixed on the support platform 1 through a support frame 13; The second shielding cover 7 is directly fixed on the support platform 1 through the support frame 13.

[0029] Specifically, the magnetic circuit structure of the magnetic reconnection electric thruster provided by the embodiment of the present application mainly optimizes the magnetic field structure of the high-density and high-uniformity magnetic reconnection electric thruster by using a gradually decreasing helicon wave ion source steady-state magnetic field and a gradually increasing rotating acceleration magnetic field, and high-permeability shielding covers are respectively added outside the helicon wave ion source steady-state magnetic field and the rotating acceleration magnetic field, reducing the interference to the external environment and solving the problem that multiple magnetic poles of the existing magnetic reconnection electric thruster interfere with each other and it is difficult to form plasma clusters.

[0030] More specifically, in the embodiment of the present application, the gas supply flange 2 is used for the supply of working medium gas; The discharge chamber 3 is used for plasma discharge, and is divided into a straight cylinder section 31 and a conical cylinder section 32, and the two sections are connected by a connecting flange 33; The helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils 4 are preferably 6, and the 6 ion source steady-state coils are arranged around the outer wall of the straight cylinder section 31. The rotating acceleration magnetic field coils 5 are preferably 5, and the 5 acceleration magnetic field coils are arranged around the outer wall of the conical cylinder section 32. The overall magnetic field size is controlled by electromagnetic coils, and each electromagnetic coil is independently connected to a DC power supply. By adjusting the current value applied to the electromagnetic coil, different magnetic topologies can be constructed, enabling the magnetic field to be more evenly distributed in the discharge chamber 3, realizing a high-uniform distribution of plasma. Secondly, by stretching or compressing the magnetic topology, controlled transportation of high-density plasma is realized; The shielding cover is used to reduce the interference of the magnetic field structure to the external environment; The plurality of helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils 4 and the first shielding cover 6 are arranged on the slide rail 8 through sliding brackets and can move on the slide rail 8. Through the slide rail 8, the axial distance between the helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils 4 and the first shielding cover 6 can be controlled, and the spatial distance between the helicon wave ion source steady-state magnetic field and the rotating acceleration magnetic field can be adjusted according to the change of the magnetic field intensity environment, realizing physical isolation of the magnetic field.

[0031] Furthermore, a magnetic confinement coil 9 is provided on the outer wall around the rear end of the conical cylinder section 32. The magnetic confinement coil 9 is located outside the second shield 7. The magnetic confinement coil 9 is provided at the rear end of the conical cylinder section 32, that is, at the outlet of the discharge chamber 3, and is used for the confinement and protection of the plasma, and optimizing its ionization and acceleration processes.

[0032] Furthermore, a rotating field antenna 71 is provided inside the second shield 7. The rotating field antenna 71 is located outside the plurality of rotating acceleration magnetic field coils 5. The rotating field antenna 71 is installed outside the rotating acceleration magnetic field coils 5 and changes the internal magnetic field structure of the discharge chamber 3 by driving a KA-level large current, so as to realize the reconnection or reconstruction of magnetic field lines.

[0033] Furthermore, a helical wave antenna 61 is provided inside the first shield 6. The helical wave antenna 61 is located between the outer wall of the straight cylinder section 31 and the helical wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coil 4. The helical wave antenna 61 is made of copper material and is used to excite the plasma and maintain the plasma density and uniformity.

[0034] Furthermore, the magnetic field intensity of the plurality of helical wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils 4 decreases step by step from front to back; the magnetic field intensity of the plurality of rotating acceleration magnetic field coils 5 increases step by step from front to back. The magnetic field intensity of the helical wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils 4 decreases step by step from front to back ( Figure 1 from left to right therein) step by step, and the magnetic field intensity of the rotating acceleration magnetic field coils 5 increases step by step from front to back ( Figure 1 from left to right therein). Through the above magnetic field layout, the mutual interference between the helical wave ion source steady-state magnetic field and the rotating acceleration magnetic field can be reduced.

[0035] Furthermore, both the first shield 6 and the second shield 7 are made of high magnetic permeability materials. A connecting wire 10 is provided between the first shield 6, the second shield 7 and the support table 1, and the connecting wire 10 is grounded. The shield is made of high magnetic permeability materials to prevent interference between the magnetic field and the external environment; at the same time, the induced charges on the two shields are timely conducted away by good grounding treatment, avoiding the accumulation of charges to generate an electric field, thereby reducing the interference to the magnetic field.

[0036] Furthermore, the material of the discharge chamber 3 is quartz glass; the connecting flange 33 is made of conductive material. The discharge chamber 3 made of quartz glass material is sealed by squeezing the side wall of the discharge chamber 3 with a rubber ring; the connecting flange 33 is made of conductive material, and the conductive material can form an equipotential surface to reflect the magnetic field back. At the same time, the eddy current effect will also generate a magnetic field opposite to the incident magnetic field to achieve magnetic field shielding.

[0037] Furthermore, the slide rail 8, the support frame 13 and the support table 1 are all made of low magnetic permeability materials and are used for the connection or support between various components, which are not easily magnetized and avoid magnetic field interference.

[0038] Specifically, the magnetic circuit structure principle of the magnetic reconnection electric thruster provided by the embodiments of the present application is simple and reliable. The magnetic field structure of the high-density and high-uniformity magnetic reconnection electric thruster is optimized by using the steady-state magnetic field of the helicon wave ion source that decreases step by step and the rotating acceleration magnetic field that increases step by step. Moreover, shielding covers with high magnetic permeability are respectively added outside the steady-state magnetic field of the helicon wave ion source and the rotating acceleration magnetic field, reducing the interference to the external environment and solving the problem that multiple magnetic poles of the existing magnetic reconnection electric thruster interfere with each other and it is difficult to form plasma clusters. At the same time, by using different combinations of the coil currents of the steady-state magnetic field of the helicon wave ion source, the magnetic field can be more evenly distributed in the discharge chamber 3, realizing a high-uniform distribution of plasma.

[0039] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application can have various changes and modifications. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A magnetic circuit structure of a magnetic reconnection electric thruster, characterized in that: It includes a support platform, a gas supply flange, a discharge chamber, a slide rail and a shielding cover, wherein: The discharge chamber comprises a straight section and a conical section, and the straight section and the conical section are connected via a connecting flange; The air supply flange is connected to the front end of the straight tube section; A plurality of helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils are arranged around the outer wall of the straight cylinder section, and a plurality of rotating accelerating magnetic field coils are arranged around the outer wall of the conical cylinder section; The shielding cover comprises a first shielding cover and a second shielding cover, wherein the first shielding cover is arranged outside the plurality of helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils, and the second shielding cover is arranged outside the plurality of rotating accelerating magnetic field coils; The first shielding cover is arranged on the slide rail through a first sliding bracket; the helicon wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coil is arranged on the slide rail through a second sliding bracket; the slide rail is fixed on the support platform through a support bracket; The second shielding cover is directly fixed on the supporting platform through a supporting frame.

2. The magnetic circuit structure of the magnetic reconnection electric thruster according to claim 1, characterized in that: A magnetic confinement coil is arranged on the outer wall surrounding the rear end of the cone cylinder section, and the magnetic confinement coil is located outside the second shielding cover.

3. The magnetic circuit structure of the magnetic reconnection electric thruster according to claim 2 is characterized in that: A rotating field antenna is arranged inside the second shielding cover, and the rotating field antenna is located outside the plurality of rotating accelerating magnetic field coils.

4. The magnetic circuit structure of the magnetic reconnection electric thruster according to claim 3 is characterized in that: A helical wave antenna is arranged inside the first shielding cover, and the helical wave antenna is located between the outer wall of the straight tube section and the helical wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coil.

5. The magnetic circuit structure of the magnetic reconnection electric thruster according to claim 4, characterized in that: The magnetic field strength of the plurality of helical wave ion source steady-state electromagnetic coils decreases step by step from front to back; the magnetic field strength of the plurality of rotating acceleration magnetic field coils increases step by step from front to back.

6. The magnetic circuit structure of the magnetic reconnection electric thruster according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first shielding cover and the second shielding cover are both made of high magnetic permeability materials. A connecting wire is provided between the first shielding cover, the second shielding cover and the supporting platform, and the connecting wire is grounded.

7. The magnetic circuit structure of the magnetic reconnection electric thruster according to claim 6, characterized in that: The material of the discharge chamber is quartz glass; the connecting flange is made of conductive material.

8. The magnetic circuit structure of the magnetic reconnection electric thruster according to claim 7, characterized in that: The slide rail, the support frame and the support platform are all made of low magnetic permeability materials.

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