Design of a cold gas propulsion nozzle for microsatellites using computational fluid dynamics and response surface optimization
In this paper, the process of designing, validating, and testing the nozzle of a cold gas thruster will be described. The thruster in question is meant to reduce the rotational velocity of a 50kg microsatellite after its deployment by repeatedly unloading propellant to generate thrust. The key desig...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | text |
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Animo Repository
2019
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| Online Access: | https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/1206 https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/faculty_research/article/2205/type/native/viewcontent |
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| Institution: | De La Salle University |
| Summary: | In this paper, the process of designing, validating, and testing the nozzle of a cold gas thruster will be described. The thruster in question is meant to reduce the rotational velocity of a 50kg microsatellite after its deployment by repeatedly unloading propellant to generate thrust. The key design driver for the nozzle is to achieve an optimal combination of the performance parameters thrust, exit velocity, specific impulse, and delta-v with the means at hand given economic limitations. An initial nozzle geometry was designed with SolidWorks and MATLAB. ANSYS Fluent and its response surface optimization option was used to simulate environments at Ambient (sea level) and Low Earth Orbit (620km above sea level) conditions and verify the design. Given the input parameters, the simulation software then generated the Sparse Grid Response Surface. This was all in aid of generating the proper nozzle profile required for an optimized system. Using this information, the optimized nozzle with different dimensions was designed on SolidWorks. This was then synthesized with a 3D printer. Testing involved using compressed air in a tank as the propellant to determine thrust, mass flow rate, and exit velocity, an air reservoir to ensure the gas is expelled in small bursts, and a solenoid valve to control the release of gas. After comparing the performance parameter values of both the initial and final nozzle, it can be concluded that the latter has a significantly higher thrust efficiency than the former with almost all performance parameters increasing despite not meeting the simulated standards. © 2019 IEEE. |
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