2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Laboratory simulation of astrophysical phenomena via interaction between a low-pressure plasma and dynamic liquid metal
| Project/Area Number |
21K18611
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Review Section |
Medium-sized Section 14:Plasma science and related fields
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| Research Institution | Tohoku University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2021-07-09 – 2024-03-31
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| Keywords | 液体金属 / 低気圧プラズマ / 揺動 / 運動量放出 / スパッタリング |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
A laboratory experiment on coexistence of a plasma and a dynamic liquid metal is successfully constructed, implying the fluctuation of the dynamic liquid metal transmits to the plasma core, where the liquid metal container can be rotated at the maximum frequency of 3000 rpm inside the vacuum chamber. The fluctuations at the fundamental and harmonic frequencies are generated by the rotating liquid metal; the measurement shows the change in the fluctuation behavior between the liquid and solid metals. Relating to an plasma-liquid interaction under low pressure conditions, the research is extended to the fundamental study on an electric propulsion device using a liquid propellant, where a water is chosen as the propellant. The thruster performance is experimentally characterized by the thrust measurement and a compact liquid propellant supply system is developed for a miniaturized electric propulsion device.
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| Free Research Field |
プラズマ理工学
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
動的な液体金属とプラズマの相互作用は，天体内部の動的液体金属と惑星磁場の相互作用，そして周辺に存在するプラズマとの相互作用に直結する重要物理課題である．本研究で，室内実験において類似した環境を構築することで，惑星物理学の小型室内実験として展開できる可能性が見いだされたため，学術的な意義を有しているといえる．また，この発展研究として液体原料を用いた小型電気推進機の開発に着手し，安定した作動と推力発生を実証した．この成果は，近年開拓が進展する小型衛星を用いた宇宙開発・宇宙産業に対して貢献するものであり，通信網の構築などの展開の可能性がある．従って，社会的意義も大きいといえる．
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