Velocity and Density Characterization around Ionic Thrusters in Wire-to-Airfoil Configuration

The flow field around an ionic thruster models are investigated experimentally by means of particle image velocimetry (PIV) and Mach-Zehnder Interferometry (MZI), supported by additional thrust information from load-cell recording and electrical measures. The investigation of density distributions builds upon the divergence determination of the PIV data and indicates the necessity to also consider density information for advanced evaluation of the thruster configurations under consideration. Both distribution and magnitude of the density variations will be discussed for a range of operation conditions and the impact of the variations on the resulting thruster performance will be outlined.