Detailed experimental investigations were conducted to define the operating characteristics of a 30-kW type, arcjet engine with a contoured nozzle. The experiments were conducted in a fully instrumented facility with the engine mounted on a thrust stand. Engine performance was mapped over a power range of 10.6 to 23.0 kW with a mass flow range of 0.175 to 0.350 g/s. The data is presented in graphical form with the relationships between arc potential, arc current, power, thrust, specific impulse and thrust efficiency presented. This paper provides the first detailed accounting of arcjet operation with a contoured nozzle. Further theoretical and experimental work needs to be done to fully explain many of the features exhibited by the data.

Date Published: 9 May 1988
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 0872, Propulsion, (9 May 1988); doi: 10.1117/12.943763

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0872:
Propulsion
Joseph Flanagan, Editor(s)