Preheating Cold Gas Thruster Flow Through a Thermal Energy Storage Conversion System.

摘要

A thermal energy storage system capable of receiving, absorbing, and collecting solar energy, and storing it within a phase change material, has been designed as part of a power and propulsion system for use in low Earth orbit. The design includes thermophotovoltaic cells for the conversion of stored heat to electrical energy for various satellite systems, as well as a heat exchanger imbedded in the phase change material for propellant heating during thrust maneuvers. Through computational analysis, the likely thrust was evaluated as well as the impact of the propellant flow on the thermal to electric conversion. For the scenario analyzed, a propellant exit temperature of 1500 K, translating to an Isp of 300 seconds, was achieved. Passing the propellant through the phase change material decreases the temperature of the emitter used to power the thermophotovoltaics and resulted in a 20% decrease in electric power output.