Why chemical propulsion needS to be studied?
Chemical propulsion has been around for decades, but despite the fact that electric propulsion is now a mature technology, chemical thrusters are still commonly used to maneuver spacecraft in orbit due to their reliability and robustness. Nevertheless, just like electric propulsion chemical propulsion also has its drawbacks. Regardless of the type of thruster (monopropellant or bipropellant), undesirable effects are induced that make the positioning of the thrusters on the spacecraft somewhat tricky.
What is plume impingement due to chemical thrusters?
The combustion within the thrusters leads to the emission of gases and droplets. These emissions (known as plume) can interact with the rest of the satellite and cause several undesired effects which include thermal fluxes, contamination (gas condensation or deposition of droplets) as well as unaccounted for forces and torques.
Plume impingement due to chemical propulsion plays an important role in the design of satellites, since it affects several other subsystems. The thermal design, for example, is impacted since any interaction between the plume and the MLI can lead to a change in the thermal budget. The disturbance forces and torques caused by plume impingement must be considered when designing the AOCS. The power subsystem can suffer from power loss if the solar arrays are impacted by the plume. The performance of optical payloads and antennas can degrade due to the deposition of droplets.
This means that even though chemical propulsion has been around for a long time, the analysis of plume impingement is still hot!
Where can I download openPlumeCP?
openPlumeCP can be downloaded here for free. The source code is also included under GNU-GPL v3.0 distribution and modification conditions. A user manual is provided within the zipped file
Is it really for free?
Yes! openPlumeCP’s philosophy is based on an open-source approach. The numerical tool is distributed under a GNU-GPL license with the source code available to the user.
We aim to bring the space community together and get different people to work towards the same goal. We hope to raise awareness for the importance of plume modeling and build the next generation of simulation tools.
Is openPlumeCP validated?
Validation and application to industrial cases have been done extensively within our team. However, these validations can only be provided in dedicated trainings. If you are interested, contact us or go to this page (link to memberships and offers).
Meanwhile, some information is available in publications from several conferences that took place over the last few years.