An atmospheric EHD thruster has been tested in a wind tunnel by the PoliMi laboratory group of the IPROP project, simulating low speed flight conditions and comparing the measurements with a theoretical model.
The results, on top of validating the theory, show an improvement of the produced thrust when the EHD thrusters operate in an external airstream, with a slight decrease of the thrust-to-power ratio. The test campaign also revealed that the maximum operating voltage increases with respect to still air conditions, leading to a further chance of creating a larger thrust.
A recent DOI n. 10.1088/1361-6463/ad7d9c has been assigned to the article “Wind Tunnel Testing and Performance Modeling of an Atmospheric Ion Thruster”
The full article is available at this link: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6463/ad7d9c
For more information, visit the project research page at this link: www.iprop-project.eu/research/