Performance Study of a Solid Fuel-Pulsed Electric Microthruster

A study of the over-all operating characteristics of a parallel rail solid fuel-pulsed microthruster is presented. Specifically, the effect of several electrical circuit parameters (capacitance, inductance, resistance) on performance (impulse bit, specific impulse, efficiency) has been investigated. The experimental results, combined with a simple model for the mass ablation and the acceleration mechanisms, provide useful correlations between thruster geometrical and electrical circuit parameters and its performance. These results should be useful in improving the performance and optimizing the design of a thruster for a given mission.