Analysis of effective parameters on ablative PPT performance

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively review most of the significant works ever done worldwide to study the effects of essential parameters on pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) performance and to analyze the effects of each parameter on PPT performance. Design/methodology/approach – All the important works studying PPT performance are categorized by the parameter they have studied and its effect on the thruster performance, and their works have been reviewed to analyze the influence of each parameter. Findings – The analysis leads to elucidation of the effects of different geometrical parameters including aspect ratio, electrode width, electrode spacing, electrode shape, electrode length, and flare angle, in addition to the effects of other parameters such as electrode material, propellant type, propellant temperature, spark distance from propellant, pulse repetition frequency, discharge energy, capacitance, and hood angle on PPT performance. Research limitations/implications – The analysis is mainly focused on parallel‐rail breech‐fed PPTs and side‐fed PPTs and does not deal with co‐axial PPTs. Originality/value – The paper reviews and analyses many of the considerable works ever done to contribute to clarify the effects of different parameters on PPT performance. The results of the current analysis can be of invaluable assistance in PPT design and optimization procedure and help the designer to develop a system with better performance characteristics.