2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Studies of variable-pitch helical antenna for plasma thruster
| Project/Area Number |
16K13920
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Plasma science
|
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| Research Institution | Kobe University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
|
| Keywords | ロケット / プラズマ推進 / ヘリカルアンテナ |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
The group of the researcher proposed a plasma thruster with a single helical antenna in which thrust and specific impulse could be controlled independently. As it consists of a single antenna, efficiency is not necessarily high. The researcher inspired an idea of a variable-pitch helical antenna which had a function of variable axial length to improve the efficiency. The purpose of the project is to examine the effectiveness of the antenna.
A prototype antenna was manufactured to be applied to an experimental simulator. The dependence of produced plasma density on rf power or external magnetic field varied according to antenna length, suggesting an effect of variable antenna length. An excitation of waves, however, was not found by rf magnetic field measurement. The physical mechanism of the effect should be examined in the future.
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| Free Research Field |
プラズマ理工学
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