Ideal performance of off-axis paraboloid concentrators for solar-thermal propulsion
- Phillips Lab., Edwards AFB, CA (United States)
Solar-Thermal Propulsion is a promising upper-stage concept that could double payload capacity. Conventional chemical thrusters exhaust propellants that are a product of a chemical reaction, thus limiting the choice of propellant. On the other hand, a solar-thermal thruster exhausts hydrogen, which gives the maximum thrust-to-propellant mass flow rate (Specific Impulse, Isp) for atomic or molecular propellants. Solar-Thermal Propulsion has the advantage that its energy source is available to the spacecraft in orbit. The use of solar energy constrains the solar-thermal thruster configuration in a way that favors off-axis paraboloid concentrators. Off-axis paraboloids focus light in a different distribution than do more conventional on-axis or near-on-axis paraboloids. This paper calculates and compares the flux distributions of several ideal off-axis concentrator configurations. This information is important to understanding the design problems of solar-thermal powered thrusters.
- OSTI ID:
- 438678
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9603117-; ISBN 0-7918-1765-2; TRN: IM9711%%139
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1996 American Society of Mechanical Engineers international solar energy conference, San Antonio, TX (United States), 31 Mar - 3 Apr 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of Solar engineering 1996; Davidson, J.H. [ed.] [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)]; Chavez, J. [ed.] [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)]; PB: 544 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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