Development and Testing of a Beam-Powered Thermal Propulsion Laboratory Model

Abstract

Beam-powered thermal propulsion, utilizing an external energy beam to heat a propellant, is proposed as a promising alternative to traditional chemical and electrical propulsion systems. This research aims to contribute to this technology’s numerical and experimental development, offering a comprehensive analysis of the receiver-absorber cavity
(RAC) performance and its optimization.
The work begins with a detailed background study of the principles of beam-powered propulsion. This sets the stage for the subsequent chapters, which investigate the numerical modelling and experimental testing of the thruster.
The numerical part of this thesis focuses on developing accurate prediction tools for the total absorbed beam power by the RAC. This information is added to a previously
developed RAC performance prediction tool and the development of a new tool considering spatial information is started. The optimization process regarding efficiency is
presented with an example case study with optimal values above 80% with a margin to improve.
The experimental component involves the design, manufacturing, and testing of a prototype beam-powered thermal thruster. Leak testing, test bench calibration and a
cold flow test are conducted. Detailed test procedures and setups for these are presented, alongside their results. The experimental findings are compared with the numerical predictions to assess the accuracy and reliability of the models.
The thesis concludes with evaluating the research questions, and discussing the successes and challenges encountered. Recommendations for future work are provided,
aiming to guide further advancements in beam-powered thermal propulsion technology. The combination of numerical and experimental insights gained through this research contributes to the feasibility and optimization of beam-powered thermal propulsion systems.