On the radial oscillation of an electrodynamic tether

摘要

The dynamic simulation of a electrodynamic bare tether working as generator and following a circular inclined orbit shows a very complex motion influenced by a strong coupling between the radial motion of the end mass and the electrodynamic forces acting on the wire. The latter depend on the wire-collected current, the Earth magnetic field, the orbital velocity and the tether position. In order to calculate the tether current we adopt the orbital-motion-limited theory. The in plane libration of the tether is also coupled with the out of plane motion, and a strong transfer of energy takes place between the different degrees of freedom. This paper carries out a model to understand the main mechanism through which the energy transfer takes place in the radial motion of the end mass.