Air suction type electric propulsion air suction chamber

Abstract

The invention provides an air suction type electric propulsion air suction chamber. The air suction type electric propulsion air suction chamber comprises grids, an air inlet channel and a rectifying device. The bottom of the grid is connected with the front end of the air inlet channel, the inner wall of the air inlet channel is of a parabola-shaped structure, the rear end of the air inlet channel is connected with the long pipe, the rectifying device is installed in the air inlet channel through the supporting frame, the rectifying device is of a convex-mirror-like structure, the inner wall of the rectifying device is of a parabola-shaped structure, and the focus of the rectifying device is the same as the focus of the parabola-shaped structure of the inner wall of the air inlet channel in position. The opening direction of the rectifying device is opposite to the opening direction of the air inlet channel. According to the invention, the incoming flow gas is refracted twice and is finally injected into the long pipe at the rear end of the air suction chamber in parallel, so that collision and corrosion of air particles to the wall surface of the long pipe are reduced, the service life and the performance of the air suction type electric propulsion are greatly improved, the gas collection rate is improved, and a new technical approach is provided for the development of the air suction type electric propulsion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of air-breathing electric propulsion, and in particular relates to an air-breathing electric propulsion air suction chamber. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the launch of numerous global constellation projects, such as Starlink, OneWeb, Hongyan, Hongyun, and Xingyun, has sparked a surge in satellite internet development and garnered widespread global attention. Satellite internet is also a key component of my country's emerging infrastructure and a major development area. Satellite internet utilizes a network of tens to thousands of satellites, providing broadband internet access to users worldwide via an aerial platform. It is particularly suitable for areas difficult to reach by traditional terrestrial network services, such as aircraft, ships, remote islands, and offshore platforms, demonstrating unique advantages in specific application scenarios. Compared to satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO), satellite networks in low Earth orbit (LEO) (160-2000 km) offer significantly lower latency, faster speeds, and comprehensive global coverage, demonstrating remarkable stability. Satellite networks not only provide peacetime civilian communications services but also play a critical role in ensuring wartime communications for military needs. Satellite internet is undoubtedly poised to become a rising national industry, following in the footsteps of major national aerospace projects such as the Beidou Navigation System and the High-Resolution Earth Observation System.

[0003] Furthermore, remote sensing satellites operating in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) offer significant advantages, significantly improving resolution and performance. my country's development of remote sensing satellites is of vital importance to national development and security. In land and resources management and environmental monitoring, remote sensing satellites can provide detailed information on land and resources, helping the country implement effective resource management and planning. For example, remote sensing technology can monitor changes in forest cover, water resource distribution, and land use, providing data support for environmental protection and sustainable development. In disaster prevention and mitigation, remote sensing satellites can provide timely monitoring of natural disasters such as floods, droughts, earthquakes, and typhoons, providing early warnings and mitigating losses. In urban planning and management, the high-resolution imagery provided by remote sensing technology is an indispensable tool for urban planning, traffic management, and urban expansion monitoring, helping to improve the scientific and effective nature of urban management.

[0004] This demonstrates the rapid development and promising prospects of my country's satellite industry in LEO orbit. Air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) technology, as a propulsion system for LEO satellites, offers significant advantages. ABEP utilizes atmospheric propellants from low-Earth orbit as propellant. The greatest advantage of ABEP is that the propellant can be replenished at any time, enabling long-term in-orbit service—a feature not possessed by many traditional electric propulsion technologies. Furthermore, since the ABEP system does not require propellant on board, instead utilizing air drawn in during propulsion to generate ionized thrust, it enables a simpler and lighter propulsion system. Over the past five years, ABEP research has focused on improving performance and enhancing on-orbit flight feasibility, particularly the design of the air intake duct within the air intake chamber. Due to the low air density in LEO, research both domestically and internationally has focused on improving gas collection efficiency by modifying the inlet wall structure to deflect and concentrate the incoming gas.

[0005] However, since the refracted air particles will continuously impact the long tube at the rear end of the intake chamber, continuously corroding its wall surface, this will lead to: (1) the refracted incoming gas will continuously impact the inner wall of the long tube connecting the intake chamber to the thruster, reducing its life; (2) local corrosion problems; (3) since the air particles are not injected into the long tube in a parallel manner, some gas will be reflected back into the intake chamber, which will reduce the gas collection efficiency. Therefore, the air particles that are not injected into the long tube at the rear end of the intake chamber in a parallel manner after refraction not only affect the gas collection performance, but also greatly limit the further development and application of air-breathing electric propulsion. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In order to change and eliminate the incoming gas that is not injected in parallel into the long tube at the rear end of the air-breathing chamber and to increase the life of the air-breathing electric propulsion system, the present invention aims to provide an air-breathing electric propulsion air-breathing chamber.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: An air-breathing electric propulsion air intake chamber comprises a grid, an air inlet duct and a rectifying device; the grid is the first device that the incoming gas contacts, and its bottom is connected to the front end of the air inlet duct, the inner wall of the air inlet duct is a parabolic structure, and the rear end of the air inlet duct is connected to a long tube, and the rectifying device is installed inside the air inlet duct through a support frame, and the rectifying device is a convex mirror-like structure, and the inner wall is a parabolic structure, and its focal point is at the same position as the focal point of the parabolic structure of the inner wall of the air inlet duct, and the opening direction of the rectifying device is opposite to the direction of the air inlet duct opening.

[0008] The grid is a honeycomb structure, and the outer diameter of the grid is the same as the outer diameter of the circular inlet at the front end of the air inlet.

[0009] The grid, the air inlet, the fairing, the long tube and the support frame are coaxially arranged.

[0010] The rectifier also includes a solid cylindrical base. One end of the support frame is connected to the bottom of the grid, and the other end is connected to the solid cylindrical base.

[0011] The support frame is a tripod support structure, and three support legs are connected to the bottom of the grid.

[0012] The grid is composed of 60-72 regular hexagons connected by their sides, with an outer diameter of 122-130 mm, an inner diameter of 112-120 mm, and a thickness of 8-10 mm.

[0013] The outer diameter of the circular inlet at the front end of the air inlet is 122-130 mm, the inner diameter is 112-120 mm, and the thickness of the inner wall of the air inlet is 1-2 mm.

[0014] The focus of the parabolic structure on the inner wall of the air intake head is 5 mm away from the rear end of the grid and 30-40 mm away from the front end of the long tube.

[0015] The length of the long tube is 20 mm and the diameter is 20 mm.

[0016] The air outlet of the rectifying device has an inner diameter of 8 mm, an outer diameter of 10 mm and a height of 4 mm.

[0017] The solid cylinder at the bottom of the rectifier has a thickness of 1 mm and a diameter of 4 mm.

[0018] The length of the support legs in the tripod support structure is 62 mm; the angle between each support leg and the bottom surface of the grid is 9°-12°.

[0019] The grid injects incoming air into the suction chamber at a speed of 7900m / s.

[0020] The rear end of the long tube is connected to a spiral wave thruster.

[0021] The grid, the air inlet, the long tube, the fairing device and the fairing device support frame are all made of metal materials.

[0022] The rectifier and the support frame are made of corrosion-resistant specular reflective material.

[0023] The working principle of the above-mentioned suction chamber is as follows: First, the entire intake chamber is placed beneath the satellite, with its opening facing the direction of the satellite's travel. As the satellite orbits Earth at the first cosmic velocity, incoming gas from near-space enters the intake duct at a speed of 7,900 m / s. As it passes through the parabolic inner wall of the intake duct, the airflow is refracted to a focal point. After passing through the focal point of the intake duct's parabolic inner wall (which also serves as the focal point of the fairing), the airflow contacts the parabolic inner wall of the fairing duct.

[0024] The inner wall of the rectifier refracts the incoming gas flow through the focal point and then emits it in parallel, thus ensuring that the airflow entering the long tube of the air inlet duct is parallel, greatly reducing the impact and corrosion of the long tube by non-parallel airflow.

[0025] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: first, it inherits the advantages of air-breathing electric propulsion, including: (1) It is equipped with a parabolic inlet inner wall, which greatly improves the collection efficiency of the incoming gas. Compared with the conical and pyramidal inlet inner walls, under the same conditions of inlet and outlet cross-sectional ratio, length, etc., the parabolic inlet has the highest collection efficiency and the best performance among the three different configurations of inlets. (2) A honeycomb grid is equipped at the front end of the inlet, which can effectively block the particles reflected back from the inlet and reduce particle loss. Compared with the rivet ring grid and the case without a grid, under the same thickness, the honeycomb grid has obvious advantages in gas collection efficiency and gas compression rate. (3) The rear end of the air intake chamber is connected to a spiral wave thruster. This thruster has low requirements on the type of working fluid and can make full use of the incoming gas in the near-Earth space for ionization acceleration. It also has the characteristics of long life and high specific impulse.

[0026] Based on this, the present invention innovatively designs a rectifier, effectively addressing the problem of damage and corrosion to the long tube caused by non-parallel airflow after being refracted by the parabolic inner wall of the inlet. The rectifier's focal point is aligned with the focal point of the parabolic inner wall of the inlet, and the openings of the two devices are positioned opposite each other. This refracts the incoming air twice before ultimately entering the long tube at the rear end of the intake chamber in parallel. This reduces the impact and corrosion of air particles on the long tube wall, significantly improving the lifespan and performance of air-breathing electric propulsion. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 This is a plan view of an air-breathing electric propulsion suction chamber after installation according to the present invention; Figure 2 This is a top view of an air-breathing electric propulsion air-breathing chamber after installation according to the present invention; Figure 3 This is a front view of an air-breathing electric propulsion inlet according to the present invention; Figure 4 A top view of an air-breathing electric propulsion grid according to the present invention; Figure 5 An enlarged top view of an air-breathing electric propulsion rectifier of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a reduced view of an air-breathing electric propulsion support frame of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 1 Middle: 1. Grid; 2. Air intake; 3. Long tube; 4. Fairing; 5. Support frame. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to make the purpose, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the present invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with specific embodiments, so that those skilled in the art can implement it with reference to the text of the specification. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments. Obviously, the embodiments described below are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] Example 1 like Figures 1 to 6 An air-breathing electric propulsion air intake chamber shown includes a honeycomb grid 1, an air inlet duct 2, a long tube 3, a rectifier 4 and a rectifier support frame 5 located on the same axis.

[0031] The bottom of the honeycomb grid 1 is connected to the front end of the air inlet duct 2. As the front end structure of the entire intake chamber, it first contacts the incoming gas. The honeycomb grid 1 is a regular hexagonal mesh structure with 60 regular hexagonal through holes connected on each side. The outer diameter of the grid 1 is 122 mm, the inner diameter is 120 mm, and the thickness of the grid is 10 mm.

[0032] The air inlet duct 2 is a parabolic structure, and its inner wall is a parabolic structure; the focus of the parabolic inner wall is 5 mm from the rear end of the grid 1 and 30 mm from the front end of the long tube 3 of the air inlet duct; the outer diameter of the circular inlet of the air inlet duct 2 is 122 mm, the inner diameter is 120 mm, and the thickness of the inner wall of the air inlet duct is 1 mm; the rear end of the air inlet duct 2 is connected to the front end of the long tube 3.

[0033] The long tube 3 is a component connecting the air inlet 2 and the spiral wave thruster, and is the last component at the rear end of the air intake chamber. The long tube has a length of 20 mm and a diameter of 20 mm.

[0034] The inner wall of the rectifier 4 is a parabolic structure, and the focus of the inner wall parabolic structure is at the same position as the focus of the inner wall parabolic structure of the air inlet duct 2; the opening direction of the rectifier 4 is opposite to the opening direction of the air inlet duct 2; the inner diameter of the air outlet of the rectifier 4 is 8 mm, the outer diameter is 10 mm, and the height is 4 mm, and it also includes a solid cylindrical base with a thickness of 1 mm and a diameter of 4 mm; the cylindrical base is connected to the rectifier support frame 5.

[0035] The rectifier support frame 5 is a tripod structure; three support legs are connected to the bottom of the grid 1; the other ends of the three support legs are connected to the cylindrical base of the rectifier 4; the angles between adjacent support legs are equal, and the length of each support leg is equal to 62mm; the angle between each support leg and the bottom surface of the grid is 9° The honeycomb grid 1 injects an air flow with a velocity of 7900 m / s, which is similar to the air content of the intake space.

[0036] The grid 1, the air inlet 2, the long tube 3, the rectifier 4 and the support frame 5 are all made of metal materials.

[0037] The rectifier 4 and the support frame 5 are made of corrosion-resistant specular reflective material.

[0038] The working principle of the above-mentioned suction chamber is as follows: First, the intake chamber is installed beneath the satellite, with the air intake duct 2 opening toward the satellite's path. As the satellite orbits Earth at the first cosmic velocity, approximately 7,900 m / s, airflow from near-Earth space is drawn into the intake duct 2 through the honeycomb grid 1. During this process, the airflow first encounters the parabolic structure of the inner wall of the intake duct 2. This unique inner wall shape effectively refracts the airflow toward a focal point within. This focal point serves not only as the focal point of the intake duct 2 but also as the focal point of the subsequent fairing device 4.

[0039] Next, as the airflow continues, it passes the focal point of the parabolic inner wall and immediately contacts the inner wall of the straightening device 4. The inner wall of the straightening device 4 also adopts a parabolic structure, which further straightens the airflow previously refracted by the focal point, causing it to exit in a parallel manner. This carefully designed process ensures that the airflow entering the long tube 3 enters in a parallel manner, significantly reducing the impact and corrosive damage that non-parallel airflow may cause on the inner wall of the long tube 3.

[0040] This setup effectively improves gas capture efficiency while also protecting the equipment from wear and tear caused by high-speed airflow. This series of design considerations not only increases the satellite's lifespan in orbit but also provides new insights for future space exploration and satellite propulsion system design.

[0041] The above description is only a preferred specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field, within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, who makes equivalent replacements or changes based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, should be covered by the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An air-breathing electric propulsion suction chamber, characterized in that: The invention comprises a grid (1), an air inlet duct (2) and a rectifying device (4); the bottom of the grid (1) is connected to the front end of the air inlet duct (2); the inner wall of the air inlet duct (2) is a parabolic structure; the rear end of the air inlet duct (2) is connected to the long tube (3); the rectifying device (4) is installed inside the air inlet duct (2) through a support frame (5); the rectifying device (4) is a convex mirror-like structure; the inner wall is a parabolic structure; the focal point thereof is at the same position as the focal point of the parabolic structure of the inner wall of the air inlet duct (2); the opening direction of the rectifying device (4) is opposite to the opening direction of the air inlet duct (2).

2. The air-breathing electric propulsion suction chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The grid (1) is a honeycomb structure, and the outer diameter of the grid (1) is the same as the outer diameter of the circular inlet at the front end of the air inlet (2).

3. The air-breathing electric propulsion suction chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The grid (1), the air inlet (2), the long tube (3), the rectifier (4) and the support frame (5) are coaxially arranged.

4. The air-breathing electric propulsion suction chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rectifying device (4) further comprises a solid cylindrical base, and one end of the support frame (5) is connected to the bottom of the grid (1), and the other end is connected to the solid cylindrical base.

5. The air-breathing electric propulsion suction chamber according to claim 4, characterized in that: The support frame (5) is a tripod support structure, and three support legs are connected to the bottom of the grid (1).

6. The air-breathing electric propulsion suction chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The grid (1) is composed of 60-72 regular hexagons connected by their sides, with an outer diameter of 122-130 mm, an inner diameter of 112-120 mm, and a thickness of 8-10 mm; the outer diameter of the circular inlet at the front end of the air inlet is 122-130 mm, the inner diameter is 112-120 mm, and the thickness of the inner wall of the air inlet is 1-2 mm.

7. The air-breathing electric propulsion suction chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The focus of the parabolic structure of the inner wall of the air inlet is 5 mm away from the rear end of the grid and 30-40 mm away from the front end of the long tube.

8. The air-breathing electric propulsion suction chamber according to claim 4, characterized in that: The air outlet of the rectifying device (4) has an inner diameter of 8 mm, an outer diameter of 10 mm, and a height of 4 mm.

9. The air-breathing electric propulsion suction chamber according to claim 5, characterized in that: The angle between each support leg and the bottom surface of the grid is 9°-12°.

10. The air-breathing electric propulsion suction chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rear end of the long tube (3) is connected to a spiral wave thruster.

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