A self-powered corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device and method

Abstract

This invention discloses a self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device and method, belonging to the field of aircraft propulsion technology. The device includes a high-voltage power supply, high-voltage electrodes, multi-stage auxiliary electrodes, a Venturi tube ground electrode, a potential adjustment resistor, a protection diode, and an arc detection and protection module. The multi-stage auxiliary electrodes employ a gradient tapered structure to achieve gradual electric field enhancement, avoiding field strength concentration that could lead to arc discharge. The potential adjustment resistor controls the gradual decrease of the auxiliary electrode potential, inducing the array to generate a large amount of space charge. The high-voltage electrodes form a directional electric field to accelerate the charge, while the ground electrode maintains the electric field and accelerates the ion wind. The arc detection and protection module independently monitors the current in each branch; when the current exceeds the corona-to-arc transition threshold, the MCU shuts off the switch transistor of that branch, cutting off the abnormal branch. This invention decouples the charge generation and acceleration processes, requiring no additional energy consumption, significantly increasing the ion wind speed, and reducing power supply requirements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aircraft propulsion technology, and in particular to a self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device and method. Background Technology

[0002] While significant progress has been made in ion wind propulsion technology, numerous challenges remain. The "blockage" characteristics of thrust and thrust-to-power ratio output in existing corona discharge ion wind propulsion devices, along with the self-limiting characteristics of corona discharge charge flow, are key factors restricting their performance. Therefore, addressing these two limiting characteristics is a research hotspot in the field of ion wind propulsion technology.

[0003] The thrust of ion wind propulsion devices increases with increasing voltage, while the thrust-to-power ratio decreases. This phenomenon means that under low thrust conditions, the thrust-to-power ratio of corona discharge-based ion wind propulsion devices can rival that of traditional aero engines. However, as thrust increases, the thrust-to-power ratio drops sharply, severely limiting the promotion and application of corona discharge-based ion wind propulsion devices. Furthermore, the Mott-Gurney limit of corona discharge also restricts the increase in thrust of ion wind propulsion devices. Increasing the magnitude of the corona discharge current is an important measure to increase thrust. However, the constraint of this limit causes the voltage required for a large discharge current to increase exponentially, leading to a further decrease in the thrust-to-power ratio. Therefore, current ion wind propulsion devices impose stringent requirements on high-voltage power supplies and electrode structures, severely limiting their widespread application.

[0004] In response, a multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device based on potential regulation discharge can effectively address the shortcomings of the aforementioned conventional devices. By employing a multi-stage auxiliary electrode array to induce corona discharge and generate a large amount of space charge, and then using high-voltage electrodes to directionally accelerate the space charge, it can perfectly overcome the thrust and thrust-to-power ratio output bottleneck characteristics, while also solving the self-limiting characteristic of corona discharge charge flow.

[0005] In existing technological explorations, some patents have attempted to improve ion wind-related devices from the perspectives of structural optimization or functional adaptation. However, none of these have addressed the core contradiction of decoupling charge generation and acceleration, making it difficult to balance thrust, thrust-to-power ratio, and stability. For example, the patent CN106961777A, titled "An Ion Wind Fan Without Mechanical Devices," uses a high-voltage power supply to drive dual corona discharge electrodes, along with a dielectric plate to isolate the positive and negative electrodes and a wind-collecting nozzle to guide the ion wind. The aim is to eliminate the mechanical noise of traditional fans and is mainly used in the field of anti-static applications. Although this device uses corona wind to replace a fan, it does not design any auxiliary discharge or potential control structure. Charge generation and acceleration are completely coupled, and the thrust output can only meet the needs of static electricity neutralization. Furthermore, it does not consider thrust-to-power ratio optimization, and the thrust-to-power ratio drops sharply under high voltage, making it unsuitable for the thrust density requirements of aircraft propulsion.

[0006] The "ion wind heat dissipation device" with publication number CN112153853A improves the wind speed and air volume of the ion wind for heat dissipation by superimposing a single-stage ion wind generating unit and using a grounding electrode with a mixed arrangement of conical and straight rings. However, its design focuses on heat dissipation of electronic equipment. The single-stage unit only contains high-voltage electrodes and grounding electrodes and has no auxiliary electrode structure. It cannot break through the Mott-Gurney limit. The large current still needs to rely on exponential voltage boost. Moreover, the superimposed structure only expands the heat dissipation coverage area and does not increase the thrust density per unit area. The thrust-to-power ratio blockage characteristic still exists and it is difficult to meet the power requirements of propulsion scenarios.

[0007] The patent application CN118793581A, entitled "A Ring-Shaped Ion Wind Propulsion Device and Its Operation Method," uses a structural design of a ring-shaped emitter and a ring-shaped grounding terminal to superimpose the ion wind thrust with the additional thrust of the ring structure, thereby achieving thrust enhancement in a small size. However, this device only relies on the ring geometry to enhance thrust, does not have a potential adjustment mechanism, cannot dynamically control the discharge intensity, and the charge flow self-limitation effect is not resolved. Furthermore, the thrust superposition depends on high voltage input, and discharge interruption is prone to occur under low voltage conditions. The thrust-to-power ratio still shows a decreasing trend as the voltage increases, failing to break through the performance bottleneck of traditional devices.

[0008] In response, a multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device based on potential regulation discharge can effectively address the shortcomings of the aforementioned conventional devices. By employing a multi-stage auxiliary electrode array to induce corona discharge and generate a large amount of space charge, and then using high-voltage electrodes to directionally accelerate the space charge, it can perfectly overcome the thrust and thrust-to-power ratio output bottleneck characteristics, while also solving the self-limiting characteristic of corona discharge charge flow. Summary of the Invention

[0009] To address the key problems existing in the aforementioned background technology, this invention proposes a self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device and method. By adding a multi-stage auxiliary electrode array between the high-voltage electrode and the ground electrode, the wind speed and efficiency of the ion wind propulsion device are improved, thereby increasing the thrust density.

[0010] The technical solution to achieve the effects of this invention is as follows:

[0011] A self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device includes a high-voltage power supply, a high-voltage electrode, an auxiliary electrode, a ground electrode, a potential adjustment resistor, a protection diode, and an arc detection and protection module.

[0012] The auxiliary electrodes are arranged in an array and fixed between the high-voltage electrode and the ground electrode; each auxiliary electrode uses a multi-level gradient tapered shape to achieve gradual electric field enhancement and avoid excessive concentration of field strength at a single tip, which could lead to arc discharge.

[0013] The high-voltage power supply is used to provide excitation to the high-voltage electrode and the auxiliary electrode to trigger corona discharge;

[0014] The high-voltage electrode is excited by high-voltage DC to form a directional electric field in space and to accelerate space charges in a directional manner.

[0015] The Venturi tubular ground electrode is kept at a low level to cooperate with the high-voltage electrode to form a stable spatial electric field, which promotes corona discharge of the auxiliary electrode array and accelerates the space charge. At the same time, the Venturi tubular air duct guides the airflow and accelerates the ion wind.

[0016] The potential adjustment resistors are arranged in the array branches of each auxiliary electrode to control the potential of each auxiliary electrode by adjusting the resistance value, thereby forming a progressively decreasing potential difference to adjust the discharge intensity.

[0017] The protection diode is disposed between each electrode to prevent the formation of a reverse electric field between the electrodes and to avoid damage to the device.

[0018] The arc detection and protection module is used to independently detect the current of each auxiliary electrode branch. When the current exceeds the critical threshold for the transition from corona discharge to arc discharge, the microcontroller (MCU) controls the switching transistor of that branch to shut down, thereby cutting off the abnormal branch and preventing arc discharge from damaging the device.

[0019] Furthermore, the output voltage range of the high-voltage power supply is 8kV~17kV, and the output current range is 4µA~17µA.

[0020] Furthermore, the auxiliary electrode is made of stainless steel and has a nano-tungsten oxide coating on its surface; when there are two high-voltage electrodes, the auxiliary electrode is located in the central region of the line connecting the two high-voltage electrodes.

[0021] Furthermore, the ground electrode is a smooth ring made of a conductive material, namely brass.

[0022] Furthermore, the ground electrode is fixed on an insulating barrel-shaped support; the insulating barrel-shaped support is used to stably support the ground electrode and does not affect the spatial electric field distribution.

[0023] Furthermore, the potential adjustment resistor controls the potential of the auxiliary electrodes so that the potential of each auxiliary electrode gradually decreases from the side closer to the ground electrode to the side closer to the high voltage electrode.

[0024] Furthermore, the arc detection and protection module includes a microcontroller, a switching transistor, a current sampling resistor, a drive circuit, and a signal conditioning circuit. In each auxiliary electrode branch, the auxiliary electrode is connected to the power supply sequentially via a potential adjustment resistor, the power path of the switching transistor, and the current sampling resistor. The current sampling resistor has a resistance of 10 kΩ, ensuring that the voltage drop it generates under normal corona discharge current (17 µA) is insufficient to trigger protection, while its voltage drop can be reliably detected by the microcontroller during the initial stage of arc discharge (when the branch current jumps to the hundreds of microamps to milliamps). The signal conditioning circuit includes a low-pass filter and a clamping protection network. The filter cutoff frequency is set in the range of 1 kHz to 100 kHz to filter out high-frequency noise while ensuring a fast response to arc current steps. The conditioned sampled voltage signal is connected to the on-chip analog input (ADC) of the microcontroller. The microcontroller presets an arc current threshold, and the sampling voltage reference corresponding to this threshold is set to 1.5 to 5 times the sampling voltage drop under the maximum operating current of normal corona discharge. When the sampling voltage exceeds the preset reference, the microcontroller determines that the branch has an arc discharge tendency, and then outputs a turn-off signal through the general purpose input / output port (GPIO). The drive circuit pulls the control terminal voltage of the switch transistor down to the cutoff level, so that the switch transistor is turned off within microseconds, physically cutting off the discharge circuit of the branch and forcing the arc to extinguish due to the loss of current path.

[0025] A self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion method, applied to a self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device, includes the following steps:

[0026] Step S1: Assemble the device and check the connection status;

[0027] Step S2: Start the high-voltage power supply and slowly adjust its output voltage to the corona discharge threshold.

[0028] Step S3: By adjusting the potential adjustment resistor, the potential of the auxiliary electrode decreases step by step from right to left, inducing the array to discharge and generate space charge;

[0029] Step S4: Accelerate space charge using the electric field of the high-voltage electrode, and maintain the electric field stability through the ground electrode to form an ion wind;

[0030] Step S5: Block the reverse electric field using a protection diode to prevent damage to the device;

[0031] Step S6: Fine-tune the power supply voltage or resistance value to dynamically control the intensity of the ion wind;

[0032] Step S7: Collect the current sampling signal of each auxiliary electrode branch, and input it to the microcontroller after filtering and clamping protection;

[0033] Step S8: The microcontroller compares the sampled signal with a preset arc current threshold;

[0034] Step S9: When the current in any auxiliary electrode branch exceeds the arc current threshold, the microcontroller outputs a shutdown control signal, which turns off the corresponding branch's switch via the drive circuit to cut off the discharge circuit of that branch.

[0035] Compared with the prior art, the present invention, employing the above technical solution, has the following beneficial effects:

[0036] (1) This invention solves the problem of thrust and thrust-to-power ratio blockage caused by the coupling of charge generation and acceleration processes in traditional ion wind propulsion devices by generating space charge through multi-stage auxiliary electrodes and combining it with high-voltage electrodes for directional acceleration. Traditional devices experience a sharp decrease in thrust-to-power ratio as thrust increases, while this invention can ensure that the thrust-to-power ratio remains stable across the entire thrust range while increasing thrust, achieving simultaneous optimization of high thrust and high propulsion efficiency, and effectively breaking through the performance bottleneck of traditional devices.

[0037] (2) In view of the limitation of the Mott-Gurney limit of corona discharge on thrust improvement, the present invention uses the potential adjustment resistor to gradually control the potential of the multi-stage auxiliary electrodes, avoiding the drawback of traditional devices that need to rely on exponential voltage boost to obtain a large discharge current.

[0038] (3) The present invention can flexibly adjust the potential of each auxiliary electrode by means of a potential adjustment resistor, optimize the corona discharge intensity without additional energy input, enable the device to work stably in a wider voltage range, and reduce the starting voltage compared with traditional devices, thus significantly reducing energy consumption. This dynamic potential control capability allows the device to flexibly adapt to different working conditions according to actual thrust requirements. Whether in low-thrust or high-thrust scenarios, it can maintain stable propulsion performance, and its adaptability to working conditions surpasses that of traditional devices.

[0039] (4) In terms of structural reliability and operational safety, the present invention uses conventional and mature materials such as stainless steel auxiliary electrodes with nano-tungsten oxide coating on the needle tip and brass ground electrodes. The processing technology is simple, the cost is controllable, and it is easy to achieve mass production. At the same time, the protection diodes in the device can effectively prevent the formation of reverse electric fields between the electrodes, avoiding device damage caused by reverse electric fields. With the potential adjustment mechanism, the device can still maintain stable discharge even under voltage fluctuations or different atmospheric environments, and has the ability to operate continuously for a long time, making it suitable for application scenarios with high requirements for reliability and safety, such as aircraft propulsion.

[0040] (5) The arc detection and protection module of this invention independently monitors each auxiliary electrode branch in real time through a current sampling resistor and a microcontroller. Once the branch current exceeds a preset threshold (i.e., the critical current for the transition from corona discharge to arc discharge), the microcontroller can turn off the switch of that branch within microseconds, physically cutting off the discharge circuit and extinguishing the abnormal arc quickly. This protection mechanism effectively prevents arc discharge from burning damage to the tip of the auxiliary electrode and the surrounding structure, avoids current surges to the high-voltage power supply, and supports self-recovery attempts for faulty branches and permanent fault isolation reporting. It significantly improves the reliability and safety of the device under long-term continuous operation and complex working conditions, meeting the stringent requirements of aircraft propulsion for fault tolerance. Attached Figure Description

[0041] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device proposed in this invention;

[0042] Figure 2 This is a detailed diagram of the electrode and circuit connection of a self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device proposed in this invention;

[0043] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion method proposed in this invention;

[0044] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of the high-voltage electrode and auxiliary electrode;

[0045] Figure 5 Detailed diagram of the auxiliary electrode structure;

[0046] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the ground electrode structure;

[0047] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the workflow of the arc detection and protection module. Detailed Implementation

[0048] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0049] A self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device, its overall structural diagram and detailed diagram of electrode and circuit connection are shown below. Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, it includes a high-voltage power supply 1, a high-voltage electrode 2, an auxiliary electrode 3, a ground electrode 4, a potential adjustment resistor 5, a protection diode 6, and an arc detection and protection module 7; the "self-generated corona" referred to in this invention means that the auxiliary electrode induces corona discharge under high-voltage excitation and gradient potential, and does not mean that the device does not require external power supply.

[0050] The auxiliary electrodes 3 are arranged in an array and fixed between the high voltage electrode 2 and the ground electrode 4;

[0051] The high-voltage power supply 1 is used to provide excitation to the high-voltage electrode 2 and the auxiliary electrode 3 to trigger corona discharge;

[0052] The high-voltage electrode 2 is excited by high-voltage DC to form a directional electric field in space and to accelerate space charges in a directional manner.

[0053] The ground electrode 4 is kept at a low level to cooperate with the high voltage electrode 2 to form a stable spatial electric field, which promotes the corona discharge of the auxiliary electrode 3 array and assists in the acceleration of spatial charge; the venturi tube-shaped air duct of the ground electrode guides the airflow and accelerates the ion wind; the distance between the high voltage electrode 2 and the ground electrode 4 can be flexibly set according to the requirements, with a typical value of 10mm to 80mm.

[0054] The potential adjustment resistor 5 is arranged in the array branch of each auxiliary electrode 3, and is used to control the potential of each auxiliary electrode 3 by adjusting the resistance value, so as to form a progressively decreasing potential difference to adjust the discharge intensity.

[0055] The protection diode 6 is disposed between each electrode to prevent the formation of a reverse electric field between the electrodes and to avoid damage to the device.

[0056] The arc detection and protection module 7 is equipped with a sampling resistor, a MOS transistor and its driving circuit in each auxiliary electrode branch. It independently detects the branch current and outputs a shutdown signal from the MCU to cut off the branch before it turns into an arc discharge.

[0057] Furthermore, the output voltage range of the high-voltage power supply 1 is 8kV~17kV, and the output current range is 4µA~17µA. Experimental verification shows that the aforementioned 8kV~17kV voltage range and 4µA~17µA current range are efficient and stable operating ranges determined based on the current optimal embodiment of this invention (including key parameters such as specific electrode geometry, electrode spacing, and material configuration), and are preferred application parameters. The complete range of acceptable parameters that can satisfy the core functions of corona discharge triggering and ion acceleration is: voltage 5kV~20kV, current 2µA~20µA, which can be flexibly selected according to the thrust requirements and operating conditions of the actual application scenario.

[0058] Furthermore, the auxiliary electrode 3 has a multi-level gradient taper shape, is made of stainless steel, and has a nano-tungsten oxide coating on its surface; when the high-voltage electrode 2 is set to two, the auxiliary electrode 3 is located in the central region of the line connecting the two high-voltage electrodes 2.

[0059] Furthermore, the ground electrode 4 is a smooth venturi tube made of a conductive material, namely brass.

[0060] Furthermore, the ground electrode 4 is fixed on an insulating conical support; the insulating conical support is used to stably support the ground electrode 4 without affecting the spatial electric field distribution.

[0061] Furthermore, the potential adjustment resistor 5 controls the potential of the auxiliary electrode 3 so that the potential of each auxiliary electrode 3 decreases step by step from the side closer to the ground electrode 4 to the side closer to the high voltage electrode 2.

[0062] Furthermore, in the arc detection and protection module, the current sampling resistor R of each branch is... s The resistance value is selected as 10kΩ. During normal corona discharge (≤17µA), the sampling voltage drop is less than 0.17V. When the current in any branch suddenly rises to more than 150µA due to tending towards arc discharge, the sampling voltage drop exceeds the 1.5V threshold. The microcontroller determines that the branch is abnormal and shuts down the corresponding MOS transistor to cut off the discharge circuit within microseconds. It can also attempt self-recovery after the deionization delay. If continuous recovery fails, it will be permanently isolated and the fault will be reported.

[0063] A self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion method, the process of which is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, the method applied to a self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device includes the following steps:

[0064] Step S1: Assemble the device and check the connection status to ensure that it meets the structural requirements of claim 1;

[0065] Step S2: Start the high-voltage power supply 1 and slowly adjust its output voltage to the corona discharge threshold.

[0066] Step S3: By adjusting the potential adjustment resistor 5, the potential of the auxiliary electrode 3 is gradually reduced from right to left, inducing the array to discharge and generate space charge.

[0067] Step S4: Accelerate space charge using the electric field of high-voltage electrode 2, and maintain electric field stability through ground electrode 4 to form ion wind;

[0068] Step S5: Block the reverse electric field by using protection diode 6 to prevent damage to the device;

[0069] Step S6: Fine-tune the power supply voltage or resistance value to dynamically control the intensity of the ion wind;

[0070] Step S7: Collect the current sampling signal of each auxiliary electrode branch, and input it to the microcontroller after filtering and clamping protection;

[0071] Step S8: The microcontroller compares the sampled signal with a preset arc current threshold;

[0072] Step S9: When the current in any auxiliary electrode branch exceeds the arc current threshold, the microcontroller outputs a shutdown control signal, which turns off the corresponding branch's switch via the drive circuit to cut off the discharge circuit of that branch.

[0073] like Figure 4 As shown, in a specific embodiment, the electrode structure is designed as follows, including a high-voltage electrode 2 and an auxiliary electrode 3; wherein, the high-voltage electrode 2 is set as two tungsten needle electrodes horizontally distributed with a spacing of 24mm; the auxiliary electrode 3 is located at the center of the line connecting the two high-voltage electrodes 2.

[0074] like Figure 5 The auxiliary electrode 3 is shown in the figure. The auxiliary electrode has a multi-level gradient taper shape, consisting of three consecutive tapered segments. The diameter decreases gradually from the root to the tip, with a root diameter of 2 mm, a second segment diameter of 1.2 mm, and a tip diameter of 0.1 mm. The taper angle of each segment is different, with a root taper angle of 15°, a middle segment of 25°, and a tip taper angle of 35°, forming a multi-level electric field concentration area. The material is stainless steel with a nano-tungsten oxide coating on the surface.

[0075] like Figure 6 The structure of ground electrode 4 is shown. The venturi tube inlet section has an inner diameter of 60 mm, a contraction section length of 30 mm, a throat inner diameter of 10 mm and a length of 10 mm, a diffuser section length of 30 mm, and an outlet section inner diameter of 40 mm. It is made of brass material with good conductivity. Furthermore, ground electrode 4 is fixed on a barrel-shaped support with an inner diameter of 10 mm.

[0076] Thanks to the synergistic effect of the aforementioned electrode structure, especially the control effect of the potential adjustment resistor 5 on the corona discharge intensity of the auxiliary electrode 3 array, the space charge generation and acceleration processes are decoupled, resulting in a significant enhancement of the ion wind generated between the high-voltage electrode 2 and the ground electrode 4. Under standard atmospheric pressure conditions, compared with traditional needle-ring type ion wind propulsion devices with the same input energy and size specifications, this structure can achieve an ion wind speed increase of 52% to 71%, demonstrating significant application potential.

[0077] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an arc detection and protection module is also included, the workflow of which is as follows: Figure 7As shown. Specifically, in each array branch of the auxiliary electrode, in addition to the original potential adjustment resistor, a switching transistor and a current sampling resistor are connected in series. The voltage across the sampling resistor is connected to the MCU's ADC pin after filtering and clamping protection circuitry. The gate of the MOSFET is controlled by the MCU's general-purpose input / output port via a driving circuit. During normal corona discharge operation, the branch current is at the microamp level, and the voltage drop across the sampling resistor is far below the voltage reference corresponding to the preset arc current threshold. The MCU cyclically collects the voltage of each branch's sampling resistor through a multi-channel ADC and converts it into a branch current value in real time. When a certain auxiliary electrode's discharge mode changes to arc discharge due to voltage fluctuations, circuit adjustments, or external disturbances, the branch current increases sharply, and the sampling voltage momentarily exceeds the arc current threshold. After determining this state, the MCU immediately outputs a control signal through GPIO, which, via the driving circuit, pulls the gate voltage of the MOSFET in the faulty branch down to the off level. The discharge circuit of this auxiliary electrode is physically disconnected, and the arc cannot be maintained and quickly extinguishes. Meanwhile, self-recovery logic can be set in the MCU: after being turned off for a period of time, it attempts to turn the MOSFET back on. If the current returns to normal, it remains on; if an overcurrent occurs again, it permanently turns off the branch and reports the fault information through the communication interface. The MCU refers to a microcontroller; the ADC input is the analog-to-digital converter input; GPIO is a general purpose input / output port; and the MOSFET is a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor.

[0078] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device, characterized in that, It includes a high-voltage power supply, high-voltage electrodes, auxiliary electrodes, ground electrodes, potential adjustment resistors, protection diodes, and an arc detection and protection module; The auxiliary electrodes are arranged in an array and fixed between the high-voltage electrode and the ground electrode, and have a multi-level gradient tapered shape to achieve progressive electric field enhancement. The high-voltage power supply is used to provide excitation to the high-voltage electrode and the auxiliary electrode to trigger corona discharge; The high-voltage electrode is excited by high-voltage DC to form a directional electric field in space and to accelerate space charges in a directional manner. The ground electrode is in the shape of a Venturi tube, and the Venturi tube air duct guides the airflow and accelerates the ion wind. The potential adjustment resistors are arranged in the array branches of each auxiliary electrode to control the potential of each auxiliary electrode by adjusting the resistance value, thereby forming a progressively decreasing potential difference to adjust the discharge intensity. The protection diode is disposed between each electrode to prevent the formation of a reverse electric field between the electrodes and to avoid damage to the device. The arc detection and protection module is used to independently detect the current of each auxiliary electrode branch, and when the current exceeds the threshold for the transition from corona discharge to arc discharge, the microcontroller controls the switching transistor of that branch to shut down the abnormal branch.

2. The self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The auxiliary electrode is made of stainless steel and has a nano-tungsten oxide coating on its surface.

3. The self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the high-voltage electrode is set to two, the auxiliary electrode is located in the central region of the line connecting the two high-voltage electrodes.

4. The self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The output voltage range of the high-voltage power supply is 8kV~17kV, and the output current range is 4µA~17µA.

5. The self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ground electrode is a smooth venturi tube made of a conductive material, namely brass.

6. The self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ground electrode is fixed on an insulating barrel-shaped bracket, which is used to stably support the ground electrode.

7. The self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ground electrode is kept at a low level to cooperate with the high-voltage electrode to form a stable spatial electric field, which causes the auxiliary electrode array to discharge corona and accelerate the space charge.

8. The self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The potential adjustment resistor controls the potential of the auxiliary electrodes, so that the potential of each auxiliary electrode decreases step by step from the side closer to the ground electrode to the side closer to the high voltage electrode.

9. The self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The arc detection and protection module includes a microcontroller, a switching transistor, a current sampling resistor, and a driving circuit. In each auxiliary electrode branch, the auxiliary electrode is connected to the power supply in sequence via a potential adjustment resistor, a switching transistor, and a current sampling resistor. The voltage of the current sampling resistor is connected to the analog input terminal of the microcontroller via a filtering and clamping protection circuit. The control terminal of the switching transistor is controlled by the general-purpose input / output port of the microcontroller through the driving circuit. When the microcontroller detects that the voltage of the sampling resistor exceeds the preset arc current threshold, it outputs a control signal to turn off the switching transistor of the faulty branch and cut off the discharge circuit of that branch.

10. A self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion method, applied to the self-generating corona multi-stage array ion wind propulsion device according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step S1: Assemble the device and check the connection status; Step S2: Start the high-voltage power supply and slowly adjust its output voltage to the corona discharge threshold. Step S3: By adjusting the potential adjustment resistor, the potential of the auxiliary electrode is gradually reduced along the direction from the ground electrode to the high voltage electrode, inducing the array to discharge and generate space charge. Step S4: Accelerate space charge using the electric field of the high-voltage electrode, and maintain the electric field stability through the ground electrode to form an ion wind; Step S5: Block the reverse electric field using a protection diode to prevent damage to the device; Step S6: Fine-tune the power supply voltage or resistance value to dynamically control the intensity of the ion wind; Step S7: Collect the current sampling signal of each auxiliary electrode branch, and input it to the microcontroller after filtering and clamping protection; Step S8: The microcontroller compares the sampled signal with a preset arc current threshold; Step S9: When the current in any auxiliary electrode branch exceeds the arc current threshold, the microcontroller outputs a shutdown control signal, which turns off the corresponding branch's switch via the drive circuit to cut off the discharge circuit of that branch.

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