Dynamic Gas Flow Effects On The Esd Of Aerospace Vehicle Surfaces

Abstract

An aerospace vehicle traveling through the atmosphere is subject to triboelectrically induced electrostatic charge build-up caused by dust and ice crystal impingement. Electrostatic discharges between an antenna housing and the exterior of the vehicle may interfere with system operation. Paschen's Law, derived for stationary, charged surfaces, fails to account for the loss of electron-ion pairs with high gas velocity between the electrodes. The purpose of this work is to develop a version of Paschen's Law that takes into account the flow of ambient gas past electrode surfaces. The basic hypothesis of this work is that the number of electron-ion pairs created per unit distance between electrode surfaces is mitigated by the electron-ion pairs removed per unit distance by the flow of gas. The revised theoretical model must be a function of the mean velocity, vxm, of the ambient gas and reduce to Paschen's law when the gas mean velocity, vxm = 0. This model has been evaluated by wind tunnel experimentation. Initial data of the baseline wind tunnel experiments show results consistent with the hypothesis. Based on the results of this work, it is hoped that the safety of aerospace vehicles will be enhanced with a redefinition of electrostatic launch commit criteria. It is also possible that new products, such as anti-static coatings, may be formulated from this data.

Publication Date

2-1-2018

Publication Title

Journal of Electrostatics

Volume

91

Number of Pages

21-27

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elstat.2017.12.001

Socpus ID

85042269761 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85042269761

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