Fabrication of externally wetted emitter for ionic liquid electrospray thruster by low-speed wire cutting combined with electrochemical etching

The micro-newton thrust generated by an ionic liquid electrospray thruster (ILET) can be used for drag-free control, attitude precise control, networking, and formation flight of micro-nano-satellites or spacecraft. Fabrication of high-quality emitters is one of the key technologies for the applicat...

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Autores principales:	Senwen Xue, Li Duan, Qi Kang
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	AIP Publishing LLC 2021
Materias:	Physics QC1-999
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/43073d75257746468c8976eabeb80cfc
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:43073d75257746468c8976eabeb80cfc2021-12-01T18:52:06ZFabrication of externally wetted emitter for ionic liquid electrospray thruster by low-speed wire cutting combined with electrochemical etching2158-322610.1063/5.0072630https://doaj.org/article/43073d75257746468c8976eabeb80cfc2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0072630https://doaj.org/toc/2158-3226The micro-newton thrust generated by an ionic liquid electrospray thruster (ILET) can be used for drag-free control, attitude precise control, networking, and formation flight of micro-nano-satellites or spacecraft. Fabrication of high-quality emitters is one of the key technologies for the application of ILETs. A new method for fabricating externally wetted emitters is presented in this article. This method uses low-speed wire cutting (LSWC) combined with electrochemical etching, and the externally wetted emitter is fabricated in three steps. First, the tungsten cuboid is shaped by LSWC to get the geometry of the emitter. Second, the emitter is cleaned by superacid to remove the oxide layer that critically prevents the ionic liquid from wetting the emitter. Finally, microchannels are etched on the emitter surface by electrochemical etching. The tungsten emitter fabricated by the above-mentioned steps can obtain excellent wettability, and its microchannel can reduce the contact angle between the wall and the ionic liquid and enhance the capillary force that promotes the ionic liquid to climb along the emitter. The ionic liquid is spread into a uniform liquid film on the emitter surface to ensure a stable and continuous flow supply so that the thruster can work in pure ionic emission mode for a long time with low noise, high resolution, and a high thrust power ratio. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of all elements before and after the pickling emitter proves the feasibility of removing the oxide layer. The morphology features of the emitter are measured and observed using a metallographic microscope and profilometer, including the microchannel structure and its size and tip size and the thickness of the liquid film. Through repeated observation and evaluation, the etching parameters are recorded, including the amplitude and frequency of AC voltage, the etching time, the depth of emitter immersion in the solution, and the concentration of NaOH solution. In order to compare the performance of an externally wetted emitter and a porous emitter, the same process is used to fabricate two kinds of emitters. The conclusions on beam current, the resolution and noise of beam current, ignition reliability, and emission time are summarized during the emission testing. The emission tests indicate that the externally wetted emitter exhibits outstanding performance, which depends on its better wettability and the fact that the microchannels are not easily blocked by the products of electrochemical reaction.Senwen XueLi DuanQi KangAIP Publishing LLCarticlePhysicsQC1-999ENAIP Advances, Vol 11, Iss 11, Pp 115023-115023-14 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Physics QC1-999
spellingShingle	Physics QC1-999 Senwen Xue Li Duan Qi Kang Fabrication of externally wetted emitter for ionic liquid electrospray thruster by low-speed wire cutting combined with electrochemical etching
description	The micro-newton thrust generated by an ionic liquid electrospray thruster (ILET) can be used for drag-free control, attitude precise control, networking, and formation flight of micro-nano-satellites or spacecraft. Fabrication of high-quality emitters is one of the key technologies for the application of ILETs. A new method for fabricating externally wetted emitters is presented in this article. This method uses low-speed wire cutting (LSWC) combined with electrochemical etching, and the externally wetted emitter is fabricated in three steps. First, the tungsten cuboid is shaped by LSWC to get the geometry of the emitter. Second, the emitter is cleaned by superacid to remove the oxide layer that critically prevents the ionic liquid from wetting the emitter. Finally, microchannels are etched on the emitter surface by electrochemical etching. The tungsten emitter fabricated by the above-mentioned steps can obtain excellent wettability, and its microchannel can reduce the contact angle between the wall and the ionic liquid and enhance the capillary force that promotes the ionic liquid to climb along the emitter. The ionic liquid is spread into a uniform liquid film on the emitter surface to ensure a stable and continuous flow supply so that the thruster can work in pure ionic emission mode for a long time with low noise, high resolution, and a high thrust power ratio. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of all elements before and after the pickling emitter proves the feasibility of removing the oxide layer. The morphology features of the emitter are measured and observed using a metallographic microscope and profilometer, including the microchannel structure and its size and tip size and the thickness of the liquid film. Through repeated observation and evaluation, the etching parameters are recorded, including the amplitude and frequency of AC voltage, the etching time, the depth of emitter immersion in the solution, and the concentration of NaOH solution. In order to compare the performance of an externally wetted emitter and a porous emitter, the same process is used to fabricate two kinds of emitters. The conclusions on beam current, the resolution and noise of beam current, ignition reliability, and emission time are summarized during the emission testing. The emission tests indicate that the externally wetted emitter exhibits outstanding performance, which depends on its better wettability and the fact that the microchannels are not easily blocked by the products of electrochemical reaction.
format	article
author	Senwen Xue Li Duan Qi Kang
author_facet	Senwen Xue Li Duan Qi Kang
author_sort	Senwen Xue
title	Fabrication of externally wetted emitter for ionic liquid electrospray thruster by low-speed wire cutting combined with electrochemical etching
title_short	Fabrication of externally wetted emitter for ionic liquid electrospray thruster by low-speed wire cutting combined with electrochemical etching
title_full	Fabrication of externally wetted emitter for ionic liquid electrospray thruster by low-speed wire cutting combined with electrochemical etching
title_fullStr	Fabrication of externally wetted emitter for ionic liquid electrospray thruster by low-speed wire cutting combined with electrochemical etching
title_full_unstemmed	Fabrication of externally wetted emitter for ionic liquid electrospray thruster by low-speed wire cutting combined with electrochemical etching
title_sort	fabrication of externally wetted emitter for ionic liquid electrospray thruster by low-speed wire cutting combined with electrochemical etching
publisher	AIP Publishing LLC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/43073d75257746468c8976eabeb80cfc
work_keys_str_mv	AT senwenxue fabricationofexternallywettedemitterforionicliquidelectrospraythrusterbylowspeedwirecuttingcombinedwithelectrochemicaletching AT liduan fabricationofexternallywettedemitterforionicliquidelectrospraythrusterbylowspeedwirecuttingcombinedwithelectrochemicaletching AT qikang fabricationofexternallywettedemitterforionicliquidelectrospraythrusterbylowspeedwirecuttingcombinedwithelectrochemicaletching
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Fabrication of externally wetted emitter for ionic liquid electrospray thruster by low-speed wire cutting combined with electrochemical etching

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