Open AccessElectrohydrodynamic thrust with no combustion emissions and noises in a centimeter-scale point-to-grid configuration
Author(s) -
Jiaming Leng,
Zhiwei Liu,
Xiaoyong Zhang,
Dawei Huang,
Jianmei Huang,
Mingjing Qi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/675/1/012015
Subject(s) - thrust , electrohydrodynamics , propulsion , ion wind , combustion , aerospace engineering , corona discharge , propeller , combustion chamber , mechanics , environmental science , materials science , marine engineering , physics , electrical engineering , engineering , chemistry , electric field , voltage , electrode , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Alternative propulsion systems are needed to overcome the combustion emissions and noises caused by the fossil-fuel combustion-based gas turbines and propeller-driven propulsion systems. The electrohydrodynamic (EHD) thrust produced by the corona induced ionic wind is an attractive choice because its generation needs no mechanical moving part and emits no combustion emissions and noises. In this investigation, the electrohydrodynamic thrust provided by the positive point-to-grid corona discharge at the centimeter scale is theoretically and experimentally analyzed. The previous one-dimensional theory is reviewed to understand the fundamental characteristics of the EHD thrust. The thrust performance of a 4.1 mg, centimeter-scale, laser-micromachined EHD thruster is experimentally quantified. The measured thrust reaches up to 0.68 mN, corresponding to a thrust density of 8.7 N/m 2 , a thrust-to-weight ratio of 17 and a thrust-to-power ratio of 2.1 N/kW.