ON THE THRUST OF A SINGLE ELECTRODE ELECTROHYDRODYNAMIC THRUSTER

Tomáš Iliť – Michal Váry – Pavol Valko

   Linear thrust generation by a single pin emitter electrode under AC excitation has been studied. Presented are thrust measurements of a single electrode thruster, in comparison with classical, two electrode electrohydrodynamic thruster. The experiments show comparable thrust for both configurations at low voltage levels, suggesting higher thrust-to-weight ratio of single electrode thrusters at low applied voltages. Further, a hypothesis of single electrode thrust creation is proposed.

Keywords: electrohydrodynamics, propulsion, corona discharge, asymmetric capacitor

[full-paper]