Plume Characterisation Testing of European Thrusters, Test Report

Abstract

An experimental study has been performed to get a first insight into thruster plume shield functioning and efficiency. The shield was mounted on an Astrium 10N bipropellant thruster and was designed to protect the backflow region from contaminants. A nozzle collar made of plexiglass was installed behind the shield and thus served as a witness plate. Its light transmission after firing with and without plume shield was used to assess the shielding effect. Moreover the mass of contaminants collected on collar and shield was determined. The experiments were carried out in the Contamination Chamber Göttingen (CCG). The pure gaseous backflow has been investigated by means of simulated N2-plumes emanating from a smaller nozzle with the shield scaled down. These experiments were carried out in the high vacuum plume test facility STG, where space-like vacuum conditions are realised.