Development of a steady-state microthrust measurement stand for microspacecrafts

A null-displacement thrust stand based on torsional pendulum configuration has been developed to characterize the steady-state microthrust for microspacecrafts. A pair of elastic transducers are applied to constrain the rotation of pendulum arm, so that the stand can maintain static with a small deflection under the loading thrust. The thrust can be obtained according to its linear relationship with the displacement difference with respect to the deflection, which can be detected by a laser displacement sensor. The thrust calibration is implemented via an electromagnetic coil collocated with a pair of permanent magnetic sheets. The repeatability, response time, position drift, noise, resolution and measuring range of the stand are analyzed. The stand features the resolution of 0.1 mN and the maximum available thrust of 2.7 N. Exhibiting the uncertainty less than 12.36%, both steadystate and throttleable thrusts produced by a laser-augmented combustion micromotor are characterized utilizing this stand.

Automated summary

The null-displacement thrust stand developed for microspacecrafts utilizes a torsional pendulum configuration and laser displacement sensor to accurately measure steady-state microthrust, featuring high resolution and maximum available thrust. Analysis of repeatability, response time, position drift, and other parameters were conducted to evaluate the performance of the stand.