Experimental Study on the Propulsion Performance of Laser Ablation Induced Pulsed Plasma

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of electromagnetic fields on the propulsion performance of laser plasma propulsion. Based on the principle of pulsed plasma thrusters, an electromagnetic field is utilized to accelerate laser plasma, achieving enhanced propulsion performance. This approach represents a novel method for the electromagnetic enhancement of laser propulsion performance. In this paper, pulsed plasma thrusters induced by laser ablation are employed. The generated plasma is subjected to the Lorentz force under the influence of an electromagnetic field to obtain higher speed, thus increasing impulse and specific impulse. An experimental platform for laser-ablation plasma electromagnetic acceleration was constructed to explore the enhancement effect of discharge characteristics and propulsion performance. The results demonstrate that increased laser energy has little effect on discharge characteristics, while the trend of propulsion performance parameters initially rises and then declines. After coupling the electromagnetic field, the propulsion performance is significantly enhanced, with stronger electromagnetic fields yielding more pronounced effects.

Keywords

• laser ablation propulsion
• electromagnetic enhancement
• impulse
• specific impulse