A working medium-free propulsion system based on topological genus number regulation and a control method thereof

Abstract

The application discloses a working medium-free propulsion system based on topological Chern number regulation and a control method thereof. The system comprises a topological nontrivial material core element (with a non-zero topological Chern number), a projection angle modulation system, a propulsion force generation unit, a propulsion direction control unit, a thrust vector monitoring and feedback system and a power management unit. The method modulates the projection angle of the core element by an external field, generates local space-time metric distortion by using the time rate of change of the projection angle, and further generates a working medium-free propulsion force. The direction of the propulsion force is controlled by the direction control unit. The application does not depend on propellant injection, can realize long-term on-orbit work, and is suitable for the fields of spacecraft on-orbit propulsion, deep space exploration, satellite attitude control and orbit maintenance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the fields of aerospace propulsion technology and topology field control technology, specifically to a propellantless propulsion system and its control method based on topology Chern number control. This invention can be applied to spacecraft on-orbit propulsion, deep space exploration, satellite attitude control, orbit maintenance and adjustment, and is particularly suitable for novel propulsion scenarios that do not require propellant and can achieve long-term on-orbit operation. Background Technology

[0002] The spacecraft propulsion system is a core subsystem of a space mission, directly determining the spacecraft's maneuverability, on-orbit lifespan, and mission scope. Current space propulsion technologies are mainly divided into two categories: chemical propulsion and electric propulsion. Both rely on propellant jetting to generate thrust and have the following fundamental limitations: (I) Chemical Propulsion Thrust is generated by burning chemical fuels to produce high-temperature, high-pressure gas jets. This method has the following problems: (1) low specific impulse (about 300–450 s), resulting in limited propulsion efficiency; (2) the need to carry a large amount of fuel, increasing the launch mass and reducing the effective payload; (3) the propellant cannot be replenished after consumption, limiting the spacecraft's on-orbit lifespan; and (4) the risk of explosion and leakage, resulting in insufficient safety. (ii) Electric propulsion Thrust is generated by ionizing and accelerating a working fluid (such as xenon), resulting in a relatively high specific impulse (approximately 1000–5000 s). This method has the following problems: (1) it still requires carrying the working fluid, and cannot continue to work after the working fluid is depleted; (2) the thrust is small (millinewtons to Newtons) and the acceleration is slow; (3) a high-power power supply system is required; and (4) the working fluid (such as xenon) is expensive and has a limited supply. (III) Exploration of Propellantless Propulsion In recent years, propellantless propulsion has become a research hotspot in the field of aerospace propulsion. Solar sails, electric sails and other schemes utilize solar radiation pressure or solar wind particles to achieve propellantless propulsion, but they have the following problems: (1) extremely small thrust and extremely long acceleration period; (2) limited by the distance from the sun, the thrust drops sharply after moving away from the sun; (3) difficult to control direction, making it difficult to achieve precise orbital maneuvers; (4) dependent on external environmental conditions, and cannot work at arbitrary orbital positions. (iv) Novel propulsion based on topological effects The development of topological state theory has provided a new physical foundation for novel propulsion technologies. The quantum Hall effect of topological nontrivial materials and the surface states of topological insulators reveal the possibility of generating macroscopic mechanical effects through topological field manipulation. However, current research remains in the theoretical exploration stage, and no engineering-feature-free propulsion system based on topological Chern number manipulation has yet been proposed. The common limitation of existing technologies is that: Relying on propellant injection, propellant consumption limits on-orbit lifespan; There is an inherent contradiction between thrust and specific impulse, making it difficult to balance both. The propellant-free solution has extremely low thrust and cannot meet the requirements of actual missions; There is a lack of a proactively controllable and engineerable propellant-free propulsion generation mechanism; Topological effects have not yet been applied to the engineering implementation of propulsion systems. To address the aforementioned problems, this invention provides a propellantless propulsion system and its control method based on topological Chern number control. Summary of the Invention

[0003] (a) Purpose of the invention This invention aims to solve the technical problems in existing aerospace propulsion technologies, such as reliance on propellant consumption, limited on-orbit lifespan, minimal thrust in propellantless schemes, and lack of controllable propulsion mechanisms. It provides a propellantless propulsion system and its control method based on topological Chern number control. By adjusting the projection angle of topologically nontrivial materials to generate local gravitational field anomalies or spacetime metric distortions, controllable propulsion without carrying propellant can be achieved. (II) Technical Solution This invention provides a propellantless propulsion system based on topological Chern number control, characterized in that it includes: A topologically nontrivial material core component with a nonzero topological Chern number. It is located inside or outside the main body of the spacecraft; A projection angle modulation system for modulating the projection angle of the core element via an external field. ; A propulsion generating unit utilizes the time rate of change of the projection angle. This can cause local spatiotemporal metric distortion or gravitational field anomalies, thereby generating propellantless propulsion. A propulsion direction control unit is used to control the vector direction of the propulsion force by adjusting the spatial gradient direction of the projection angle; A thrust vector monitoring and feedback system is used to monitor the magnitude and direction of the thrust in real time and feed it back to the projection angle modulation system; A power management unit is used to supply power to the various modules of the system. Core mathematical formula: In this invention, the projection angle Defined as: in and The radial and axial projection weights are respectively, satisfying the projection constraints: Local spatiotemporal metric distortion Spatial gradient with respect to the time rate of change of the projection angle The following relationship must be satisfied: in The time rate of change of the projection angle. It is a geometric temperature scale (determined by the torsion parameter). The propellantless propulsion force generated by this invention is determined by the following formula: in The equivalent mass of the spacecraft (including the coupled mass of the topological field). The spatial gradient of the rate of change of the projection angle over time. Geometric temperature scale, For topological Chern numbers The relevant coupling coefficients. The direction of propulsion is determined by the direction of the projection angle gradient: By adjusting the projection angle distribution of each array element or region, the magnitude and direction of the propulsion force can be controlled independently. The external field is an electric field, magnetic field, or microwave field, and the modulation frequency range is [range missing]. to . The topologically nontrivial material is at least one of a topological insulator (such as Bi2Se3, Sb2Te3), a magnetic topological insulator, or a topological superconductor, and the size of the core component is determined according to the spacecraft size and thrust requirements. (III) Beneficial Effects No propellant consumption: It does not rely on propellant injection, breaking through the on-orbit lifespan limitations of traditional propulsion. Continuous operation: It can continuously generate thrust as long as there is a power supply, making it suitable for long-term on-orbit missions. Adjustable thrust: The magnitude and direction of thrust can be continuously adjusted by controlling the projection angle, achieving precise orbit control; No plume pollution: It does not emit any substances and does not pollute the external environment or optical components of the spacecraft; Low energy consumption: Topological phase transition energy consumption is extremely low, and the total power consumption of the system is controllable; The system is relatively simple: it does not rely on large fuel tanks and complex propellant piping, which can significantly reduce the system mass; Compatible with existing platforms: The system can be integrated using existing spacecraft power and thermal control interfaces. Attached Figure Description

[0004] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a propellantless propulsion system based on topological Chern number control, provided for an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the core element of the topologically nontrivial material provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 A graph showing the variation of propulsion force with the rate of change of projection angle θ̇, provided for an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the propellantless propulsion control provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0005] Example 1: Propellantless Propulsion System Based on Topological Insulator Thin Film Step 1: Select a topologically nontrivial material. High-quality three-dimensional topological insulators, such as Bi₂Se₃ or Sb₂Te₃ single-crystal thin films, are selected as core components and placed inside or outside the spacecraft. The films are grown on sapphire or Si(111) substrates using molecular beam epitaxy, with the film thickness controlled within the range of 10–100 nm. This material possesses a non-zero topological Chern number. . Step 2: Construct the projection angle modulation system. Integrate gate electrode arrays on both sides of the topological insulator thin film, and modulate the projection angle of the thin film by applying an adjustable vertical electric field. By adjusting the gate voltage, the projection angle is... Change over time . Step 3: Generate propulsion. Time rate of change of the projection angle. Local spatiotemporal metric distortion occurs This generates propulsion. The magnitude of the propulsion force can be continuously adjusted by regulating the amplitude of the external field. Step 4: Propulsion Direction Control. This is achieved by adjusting the spatial gradient direction of the projection angle in each region. This controls the vector direction of the thrust. When it is necessary to change the thrust direction, the asymmetry of the projection angle distribution is adjusted to... Pointing in the direction of the target. Step 5: Thrust Monitoring and Feedback. The magnitude and direction of the thrust are monitored in real time using accelerometers and force sensors integrated on the spacecraft. A stability criterion is used to determine the thrust, and feedback adjustments are triggered when the criterion is not met. The beneficial effect of this embodiment is that it generates continuously adjustable propellantless propulsion by modulating the projection angle with an electric field, thus realizing on-orbit propulsion without carrying propellant. Example 2: Enhanced Propellantless Propulsion System Based on Multilayer Topological Heterojunction Step 1: Fabrication of a multilayer topological heterojunction. Multiple layers of materials with different topological Chern numbers (such as Bi₂Se₃, Cr-doped Bi₂Se₃, topological superconductors, etc.) are sequentially stacked to form a multilayer heterojunction structure. Total topological Chern number. . Step 2: Multi-channel projection angle modulation. Each material layer is independently connected to electrodes, and the projection angle of each layer is controlled separately by a multi-channel signal generator. This allows the projection angles of each layer to change synchronously or asynchronously. Step 3: Chern number coherence enhancement. When the Chern numbers of each layer are superimposed in the same direction, the total coupling coefficient... The propulsion force is amplified compared to a single layer. times ( (Number of floors). Steps 4–6: Same as steps 3–5 in Example 1. The beneficial effect of this embodiment is that the coherent superposition of Chern numbers of multilayer topological heterojunctions can amplify the thrust of a single layer by several to tens of times, which is suitable for aerospace missions that require large thrust. Example 3: Fast-response propulsion system based on terahertz resonance excitation Step 1: Selecting the topology material. A magnetic topological insulator Cr-doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3 thin film was selected, which is highly sensitive to terahertz radiation. Step 2: Integrate the terahertz resonance excitation system. Arrange terahertz emission modules on both sides of the material, with the emission frequency matching the resonance frequency of the material's topological surface states. – ). Step 3: Ultrafast Projection Angle Modulation. Terahertz pulses resonate to excite electron-hole pairs in topological surface states, modulating the projection angle within a femtosecond to picosecond timescale. Ultrafast modulation generates The maximum value of significantly improves the propulsion response speed. Steps 4–6: Same as steps 3–5 in Example 1. The beneficial effects of this embodiment are: terahertz resonance excitation realizes femtosecond-level projection angle modulation, which shortens the response time of the propulsion system from the millisecond level to the microsecond level, making it suitable for rapid orbital maneuvers and attitude adjustments. Example 4: Integrated Propellantless Propulsion Unit Step 1: System Integration. Integrate the core components of the topologically nontrivial material, the projection angle modulation system, the thrust generation unit, the thrust direction control unit, and the thrust vector monitoring and feedback system into a standardized propulsion unit. Step 2: Multi-unit array arrangement. In scenarios requiring high thrust or redundant configuration, multiple propulsion units are arranged, each unit is independently controlled, enabling thrust vector synthesis and redundancy backup. Step 3: Adaptive Propulsion Control. The propulsion unit is connected to the spacecraft's attitude and orbit control system, and automatically adjusts the projection angle parameters of each unit according to navigation commands to achieve precise orbit control and attitude adjustment. Terminology Explanation

[0006] Terminology Meaning A topological Chern number (C) is a topological invariant that describes the topological nontriviality of a band and takes integer values. The projection angle (θ) is a geometric parameter describing the projection direction in fiber bundle projection mapping, where θ = arctan(β_s / β_r). Propulsion without working fluid is a type of propulsion that does not rely on injected working fluid to generate thrust. Spatiotemporal metric distortion (δg_μν): Local spatiotemporal metric disturbance caused by changes in projection angle. Geometric temperature scale (Θ_"geo") is a dimensional constant of temperature determined by the torsion parameter. Topological insulators are insulating materials with nontrivial topological electronic band structures. Topological superconductors are superconducting materials with nontrivial topological properties. A stacked structure of multilayer heterojunction topological materials, with Chern number coherent superposition.

Claims

1. Claim 1 (Independent claim, system) A propellantless propulsion system based on topological Chern number control, characterized in that it comprises: A topologically nontrivial material core component with a nonzero topological Chern number. ; A projection angle modulation system for modulating the projection angle of the core element via an external field. The projection angle Defined as ,in and satisfy ; A propulsion generating unit utilizes the time rate of change of the projection angle. Generate propulsion ; A propulsion direction control unit is used to control the vector direction of the propulsion force by adjusting the spatial gradient direction of the projection angle; A thrust vector monitoring and feedback system is used to monitor the magnitude and direction of the thrust in real time and feed it back to the projection angle modulation system; A power management unit is used to supply power to the various modules of the system.

2. Claim 2 (dependent claim) The system according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The topologically nontrivial material is a topological insulator, a magnetic topological insulator, or a topological superconductor.

3. Claim 3 (dependent claim) The system according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The external field is an electric field, a magnetic field, or a microwave field.

4. Claim 4 (dependent claim) The system according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The topologically nontrivial material core element is a multilayer heterojunction structure, containing at least two material layers with different topological Chern numbers, and a total topological Chern number of... .

5. Claim 5 (dependent claim) The system according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The direction of the propulsion force is determined by the direction of the projection angle gradient: .

6. Claim 6 (dependent claim) The system according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The thrust vector monitoring and feedback system includes at least one of an accelerometer and a force sensor.

7. Claim 7 (Independent claim, method) A propellantless propulsion method based on topological Chern number control, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: (1) Provide a topologically nontrivial material core element with a nonzero topological Chern number. ; (2) Modulate the projection angle of the core element by an external field. This causes it to change over time; (3) Utilizing the time rate of change of the projection angle Local spatiotemporal metric distortion occurs ; (4) Utilizing the aforementioned spatiotemporal metric distortion to generate propulsion. ; (5) The vector direction of the propulsion force is controlled by adjusting the spatial gradient direction of the projection angle; (6) Monitor the magnitude and direction of the propulsion force in real time and provide feedback to adjust the external field.

8. Claim 8 (dependent claim) The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The projection angle described in step (2) changes periodically over time: .

9. Claim 9 (dependent claim) The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The propulsion force described in step (4) and It is directly proportional to the thrust, and the magnitude of the thrust can be continuously adjusted by adjusting the amplitude and frequency of the external field.

10. Claim 10 (dependent claim) The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The method is applicable to at least one scenario in spacecraft on-orbit propulsion, deep space exploration, satellite attitude control, and orbit maintenance.

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