Micro Thruster Development with Green Propellant at mN and microN levels

The objective is to develop a high-efficiency micro-thruster using green propellant with electrospray injector that will ultimately provide micro-satellites with the performance required to enable the replacement of large, expensive, multi-role satellites with inexpensive, short-lead time, distributed systems of micro-satellites.

The objectives of the project is the development of single emitter and multiple emitter injectors for doped kerosene; to develop a fundamental understanding of droplet transport, evaporation, and mixing in the complex swirling flow fields required for meso-scale flame stabilization; and the system integration of meso-scale thrust chamber with electrospray fuel injection system. A single emitter electrospray configuration will be developed and the performance benchmarked using Phase Doppler Particle Analysis to determine the droplet size distribution as a function of flow rate. The nature of droplet transport and evaporation at the meso-scale will be studied using non-intrusive laser based techniques. The electrospray injector will be integrated into the existing heat regenerating thrust chamber and fired with kerosene/H2O2.