Electric propulsion device

Abstract

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

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of electric propulsion, in particular to an electric propulsion device. Background Art

[0002] To ensure permanent spacecraft endurance, fluid-free engines are being considered by space research agencies worldwide. Electric thrusters based on the Biefeld-Brown effect have attracted the attention of agencies including NASA and the European Space Agency. Numerous tests have demonstrated their thrust output and application value, not only in Earth's atmospheric environment but also in low-Earth orbits (LEOs) of 350km and 200km, as well as in near-space.

[0003] In 2005, German biomimetic company Festo invented the B-ionic Airfish, an airship. Filled with helium to balance its buoyancy with gravity, the airship's wings and tail are equipped with Biefeld-Brown electric propulsion engines, generating a total thrust of approximately 8-10g. The tail-driven version has a maximum flight time of 60 minutes, while the wing-driven version has a maximum flight time of 30 minutes, with a maximum speed of 0.7m / s.

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

[0005] Existing Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion can only generate relatively low thrust, limiting its application. Simply increasing thrust by stacking a single module would inevitably increase the device's size and weight, hindering its practical application. Furthermore, effectively increasing the breakdown voltage between the plates is crucial for significantly increasing thrust.

[0006] In the prior art, a utility model patent with publication number CN118220468A provides a novel ion propulsion device. This patent's technical solution utilizes the Biefeld-Brown effect to achieve a propellant-free ion propulsion device. Its structure utilizes aerodynamic principles to generate lift. This Biefeld-Brown effect device has two separate emitter and receiver electrodes, primarily utilizing aerodynamic principles to generate lift. This occupies a large space and results in a relatively low thrust-to-weight ratio. Therefore, the present utility model aims to address the problem of utilizing the Biefeld-Brown effect to develop a compact, high-thrust electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect. Utility Model Content

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

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

[0009] An electric propulsion device includes: a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 and an insulating bracket 20; the plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 are connected through the insulating bracket 20; wherein each integrated electrode rod module 10 includes an electrode rod 11, a tungsten needle 12 and a ceramic insulating rod 13; the ceramic insulating rods 13 are connected to both ends of the electrode rod 11, and the ceramic insulating rod 13 is connected to the insulating bracket 20; a plurality of tungsten needles 12 are arranged on the electrode rod 11; and the assembly density of the plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 on the insulating bracket 20 and the assembly density of the tungsten needles 12 on the electrode rod 11 are adjustable.

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

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

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

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

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

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the present invention has a simple structure, and the two plates of the asymmetric capacitor based on the Biefeld-Brown effect are integrated on an electrode rod, which saves space and weight for the device. The needle tip spacing of the tungsten needle and the electrode rod spacing of the integrated electrode rod module of the present invention are adjustable, thereby achieving adjustable thrust of the electric propulsion device. The present invention provides a relationship between the needle tip spacing, the electrode rod spacing and the thrust of the electric propulsion device, and the needle tip spacing and the electrode rod spacing can be dynamically adjusted according to the desired thrust size. Furthermore, the thrust of the device is maximized while ensuring that the electric propulsion device has a compact structure and reduces weight.

[0016] The utility model utilizes the Biefeld-Brown effect to design a bipolar integrated Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device, which solves the problems of small thrust generated by the Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device and low breakdown voltage between the plates. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an electric propulsion device based on the Biefeld-Brown effect according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a partially enlarged view of the electric propulsion device according to an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing the relationship between the needle tip spacing and the thrust in an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0020] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the relationship between the pole spacing and thrust according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] In order to facilitate those skilled in the art to understand the technical solution of the present invention, the technical solution of the present invention is further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0022] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or implicitly specify the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature specified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this application, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0023] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the electric propulsion device provided by the present invention includes a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 and an insulating bracket 20, wherein the plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 are connected by the insulating bracket 20. Each integrated electrode rod module 10 includes an electrode rod 11, a tungsten needle 12, and a ceramic insulating rod 13. The ceramic insulating rod 13 is connected to both ends of the electrode rod 11, and the ceramic insulating rod 13 is connected to the insulating bracket 20. A plurality of tungsten needles 12 are provided on the electrode rod 11.

[0024] In one embodiment of the present invention, two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 and the insulating supports 20 connected at both ends of several integrated electrode rod modules 10 form a rectangular unit, and multiple integrated electrode rod modules 10 and insulating supports 20 form a Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device with multiple superimposed rectangular units.

[0025] In one embodiment of the present invention, the electrode rod 11 is made of a conductive metal round rod with a hollow interior. Several holes are formed on one side of the electrode rod 11, into which tungsten needles 12 are inserted. This facilitates assembly of integrated electrode rod modules 10 with varying densities, depending on actual needs. The base of the tungsten needles 12 is threadedly connected to the electrode rod 11, and both ends of the electrode rod 11 are threadedly connected to ceramic insulating rods 13. The integrated electrode rod modules 10 are connected to the insulating bracket 20 via the ceramic insulating rods 13 and secured with nuts. Furthermore, the assembly density of multiple integrated electrode rod modules 10 on the insulating bracket 20 can be adjusted according to actual needs.

[0026] In this embodiment, the tungsten needle 12 exhibits high strength and hardness, allowing for an extremely fine tip, which contributes to increased thrust in the electric propulsion device. The tungsten needle 12 is also heat-resistant and prevents electrical corrosion. The ceramic insulating rod 13, with its high insulating properties, is incorporated into the end of the integrated electrode rod module 10 to effectively prevent adjacent electrode rods 11 from puncturing through the weaker insulating support 20, further increasing the breakdown voltage between the electrode rods 11.

[0027] In one embodiment of the present invention, the tungsten needles 12 embedded in several integrated electrode rod modules 10 are of uniform height, maintaining the tips of the tungsten needles 12 on the same horizontal plane after insertion. This leveling of the tips ensures a consistent breakdown voltage across the entire length of the integrated electrode rod module 10, preventing the "barrel effect." Furthermore, the high-strength and high-hardness tungsten needles 12 are protected from significant deformation by thrust, facilitating stable operating voltage.

[0028] In one embodiment of the present invention, the embedded tungsten needles 12 in the plurality of integrated electrode rod modules 10 point in the same direction, and the tungsten needle 12 on the subsequent integrated electrode rod module 10 points to the back of the previous integrated electrode rod module 10 .

[0029] In an embodiment of the utility model, a plurality of integrated electrode stick modules 10 are arranged on the insulating support 20 in sequence, the integrated electrode stick modules 10 in odd-numbered columns are connected to high voltage, and the integrated electrode stick modules 10 in even-numbered columns are connected to ground, which ensures that one power supply can supply power to the entire device.

[0030] Please refer to Figure 1 And Figure 2 In an embodiment of the utility model, the utility model utilizes Biefeld-Brown effect, Biefeld-Brown effect refers to when a pair of asymmetric capacitors with specific geometric structure of electrode is placed oppositely, is immersed in insulating medium, then is added with suitable voltage, a kind of force that attempts to move device will be generated phenomenon, the polarity of electric level voltage is reversed, will not change the direction of force, but will change the size of force. The utility model is based on Biefeld-Brown effect principle, utilizes the high insulation characteristic of ceramic and makes end ceramic insulating stick 13, can effectively improve the breakdown voltage between adjacent electrode stick 11. Use tungsten needle 12 as emitter and utilize the high temperature resistant and high strength characteristics of tungsten, the high strength tungsten needle 12 needle tip can be made very thin, help to improve the thrust of device, the high temperature resistant property of tungsten needle 12 helps to resist Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device long time high temperature electric erosion, helps to improve the service life of device. The two plates of asymmetric capacitor of Biefeld-Brown effect are integrated on an electrode stick, save the space and weight of device. In the embodiment, the asymmetric capacitor is electrode stick 11, tungsten needle 12.

[0031] In an embodiment of the utility model, according to the needle tip spacing of two tungsten needles 12 on two adjacent integrated electrode stick modules 10 in the same horizontal plane and the electrode stick spacing of two adjacent integrated electrode stick modules 10, the thrust of electric propulsion device is determined.

[0032] In the embodiment, according to the data measured in experiment, the following formula (1) can be summarized, as shown in Figure 3 The needle tip spacing of two tungsten needles 12 on two adjacent integrated electrode stick modules 10 in the same horizontal plane and the thrust of electric propulsion device exist the following relationship:

[0033]

[0034] Where F represents the thrust of the electric propulsion device, d represents the distance between the tips of two tungsten needles 12 on the same horizontal plane on two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10, and k and l represent two different coefficients greater than zero. According to Formula 1, the thrust can be adjusted based on the relationship between the tip spacing and the thrust of the electric propulsion device. In this embodiment, we hope to maximize the thrust. According to Formula (1), when the tip spacing is 2 cm, the thrust generated by the integrated electrode rod modules 10 with the same spacing and the bipolar integrated Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device electrode rod module is the largest. Therefore, in practical applications, we choose a tip spacing of 2 cm.

[0035] See also Figure 4 This figure shows the relationship between the thrust per unit length and the spacing of the integrated electrode rod module 10 in a bipolar Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device experiment when the inter-tip distance is 2 cm. Here, the unit length can be understood as a one-meter-long integrated electrode rod module 10.

[0036] In this embodiment, based on the experimental data, the following formula (2) can be summarized. After the tip spacing is determined, the distance between the electrodes of two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 and the thrust of the electric propulsion device have the following relationship:

[0037]

[0038] Where D represents the distance between two adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10. Figure 4 From formula (2), it can be seen that when the tip distance of the integrated electrode rod module 10 is 2 cm, the unit length thrust of the integrated electrode rod module 10 in the bipolar integrated Biefeld-Brown effect electric propulsion device experiment shows a trend of first rapidly increasing as the distance between the poles increases, and then the rising rate decreases. The pole spacing D in the rate turning range is 5-8 cm. Therefore, based on the consideration of saving space in engineering applications, the pole spacing D of adjacent integrated electrode rod modules 10 is selected to be 5 cm.

[0039] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative and non-restrictive, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. It is intended that all variations within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims be encompassed within the present invention, and any reference numerals in the claims should not be construed as limiting the claims to which they relate.

[0040] The above-mentioned embodiments only represent the implementation methods of the utility model. The protection scope of the utility model is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. For those skilled in the art, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the utility model, which all fall within the protection scope of the utility model.

Claims

1. An electric propulsion device, characterized in that: include: A plurality of integrated electrode rod modules (10) and an insulating support (20); the plurality of integrated electrode rod modules (10) are connected via the insulating support (20); wherein each integrated electrode rod module (10) comprises an electrode rod (11), a tungsten needle (12) and a ceramic insulating rod (13); both ends of the electrode rod (11) are connected to the ceramic insulating rod (13), and the ceramic insulating rod (13) is connected to the insulating support (20); a plurality of tungsten needles (12) are arranged on the electrode rod (11); and the assembly density of the plurality of integrated electrode rod modules (10) on the insulating support (20) and the assembly density of the tungsten needles (12) on the electrode rod (11) are adjustable.

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

3. The electric propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: In a plurality of integrated electrode rod modules (10), the embedded tungsten needles (12) have the same height, and after being embedded, the needle tips of the tungsten needles (12) are kept on a horizontal plane.

4. The electric propulsion device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The embedded tungsten needles (12) in the plurality of integrated electrode rod modules (10) are directed in the same direction, and the tungsten needles (12) on the rear integrated electrode rod module (10) point to the back side of the front integrated electrode rod module (10).

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

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