{"title":"线对二滴等离子推进器:用于微型飞行器推进的电空气动力射流的实验和数值研究","authors":"Mahdy Ahangar, Narges Alebrahim","doi":"10.1063/5.0222640","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Conventional micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) have primarily relied on complex, flapping-wing mechanisms for propulsion, often exhibiting limitations in terms of reliability and efficiency. To overcome these challenges, this study explores the potential of electroaerodynamic (EAD) thrusters as a novel propulsion system. By accelerating air molecules through ion collisions, EAD jet flow generates thrust, offering advantages such as noiseless operation and zero emissions due to its moving-part-free design. This research presents a comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation of a wire-to-two-drop thruster configuration to elucidate its electromechanical performance, plasma flow dynamics, and EAD jet characteristics. Experimental measurements of key parameters, including current, thrust, power, and effectiveness, were correlated with numerical simulations, demonstrating excellent agreement with a maximum error below 5%. These findings align strongly with established theoretical frameworks, revealing an inverse square root relationship between effectiveness and thrust. To optimize thruster performance, optimal operating voltages were identified at approximately 8.2, 9.4, and 11.6 kV for inter-electrode gap distances of 10, 15, and 20 mm, respectively, achieving a balanced trade-off between thrust and effectiveness. Detailed numerical visualizations of the plasma flow field, including velocity distribution, jet morphology, potential distribution, and electric field lines, provided valuable insights into the thruster's operation. Building upon these insights, a proof-of-concept EAD flier was constructed and tested, incorporating a serrated emitter electrode and lightweight materials. This flier achieved a mass of 0.5 g and generated a thrust of 0.77 g at 15 kV, resulting in a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.54 and successful liftoff. This demonstration highlights the potential of EAD propulsion for practical MAV applications.","PeriodicalId":20066,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Fluids","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Wire-to-two-drop plasma thruster: Experimental and numerical investigation of electroaerodynamic jet flow for micro aerial vehicle propulsion\",\"authors\":\"Mahdy Ahangar, Narges Alebrahim\",\"doi\":\"10.1063/5.0222640\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"Conventional micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) have primarily relied on complex, flapping-wing mechanisms for propulsion, often exhibiting limitations in terms of reliability and efficiency. To overcome these challenges, this study explores the potential of electroaerodynamic (EAD) thrusters as a novel propulsion system. By accelerating air molecules through ion collisions, EAD jet flow generates thrust, offering advantages such as noiseless operation and zero emissions due to its moving-part-free design. This research presents a comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation of a wire-to-two-drop thruster configuration to elucidate its electromechanical performance, plasma flow dynamics, and EAD jet characteristics. Experimental measurements of key parameters, including current, thrust, power, and effectiveness, were correlated with numerical simulations, demonstrating excellent agreement with a maximum error below 5%. These findings align strongly with established theoretical frameworks, revealing an inverse square root relationship between effectiveness and thrust. To optimize thruster performance, optimal operating voltages were identified at approximately 8.2, 9.4, and 11.6 kV for inter-electrode gap distances of 10, 15, and 20 mm, respectively, achieving a balanced trade-off between thrust and effectiveness. Detailed numerical visualizations of the plasma flow field, including velocity distribution, jet morphology, potential distribution, and electric field lines, provided valuable insights into the thruster's operation. Building upon these insights, a proof-of-concept EAD flier was constructed and tested, incorporating a serrated emitter electrode and lightweight materials. This flier achieved a mass of 0.5 g and generated a thrust of 0.77 g at 15 kV, resulting in a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.54 and successful liftoff. This demonstration highlights the potential of EAD propulsion for practical MAV applications.\",\"PeriodicalId\":20066,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Physics of Fluids\",\"volume\":\"23 1\",\"pages\":\"\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":4.1000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-09-17\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Physics of Fluids\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"5\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0222640\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"工程技术\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"MECHANICS\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Physics of Fluids","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0222640","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MECHANICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
Wire-to-two-drop plasma thruster: Experimental and numerical investigation of electroaerodynamic jet flow for micro aerial vehicle propulsion
Conventional micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) have primarily relied on complex, flapping-wing mechanisms for propulsion, often exhibiting limitations in terms of reliability and efficiency. To overcome these challenges, this study explores the potential of electroaerodynamic (EAD) thrusters as a novel propulsion system. By accelerating air molecules through ion collisions, EAD jet flow generates thrust, offering advantages such as noiseless operation and zero emissions due to its moving-part-free design. This research presents a comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation of a wire-to-two-drop thruster configuration to elucidate its electromechanical performance, plasma flow dynamics, and EAD jet characteristics. Experimental measurements of key parameters, including current, thrust, power, and effectiveness, were correlated with numerical simulations, demonstrating excellent agreement with a maximum error below 5%. These findings align strongly with established theoretical frameworks, revealing an inverse square root relationship between effectiveness and thrust. To optimize thruster performance, optimal operating voltages were identified at approximately 8.2, 9.4, and 11.6 kV for inter-electrode gap distances of 10, 15, and 20 mm, respectively, achieving a balanced trade-off between thrust and effectiveness. Detailed numerical visualizations of the plasma flow field, including velocity distribution, jet morphology, potential distribution, and electric field lines, provided valuable insights into the thruster's operation. Building upon these insights, a proof-of-concept EAD flier was constructed and tested, incorporating a serrated emitter electrode and lightweight materials. This flier achieved a mass of 0.5 g and generated a thrust of 0.77 g at 15 kV, resulting in a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.54 and successful liftoff. This demonstration highlights the potential of EAD propulsion for practical MAV applications.
期刊介绍:
Physics of Fluids (PoF) is a preeminent journal devoted to publishing original theoretical, computational, and experimental contributions to the understanding of the dynamics of gases, liquids, and complex or multiphase fluids. Topics published in PoF are diverse and reflect the most important subjects in fluid dynamics, including, but not limited to:
-Acoustics
-Aerospace and aeronautical flow
-Astrophysical flow
-Biofluid mechanics
-Cavitation and cavitating flows
-Combustion flows
-Complex fluids
-Compressible flow
-Computational fluid dynamics
-Contact lines
-Continuum mechanics
-Convection
-Cryogenic flow
-Droplets
-Electrical and magnetic effects in fluid flow
-Foam, bubble, and film mechanics
-Flow control
-Flow instability and transition
-Flow orientation and anisotropy
-Flows with other transport phenomena
-Flows with complex boundary conditions
-Flow visualization
-Fluid mechanics
-Fluid physical properties
-Fluid–structure interactions
-Free surface flows
-Geophysical flow
-Interfacial flow
-Knudsen flow
-Laminar flow
-Liquid crystals
-Mathematics of fluids
-Micro- and nanofluid mechanics
-Mixing
-Molecular theory
-Nanofluidics
-Particulate, multiphase, and granular flow
-Processing flows
-Relativistic fluid mechanics
-Rotating flows
-Shock wave phenomena
-Soft matter
-Stratified flows
-Supercritical fluids
-Superfluidity
-Thermodynamics of flow systems
-Transonic flow
-Turbulent flow
-Viscous and non-Newtonian flow
-Viscoelasticity
-Vortex dynamics
-Waves