Numerical investigation on performance of electrohydrodynamic thruster with needle-ring electrode

doi:10.1088/1674-1056/adf829

Abstract The electrohydrodynamic (EHD) thruster is a propulsion system characterized by its propellant-free operation. This paper employs a plasma chemical model to systematically investigate three critical parameters affecting EHD propulsion performance: oxygen concentration, secondary electron emission coefficient (SEEC), and voltage polarity. Results show that optimizing the nitrogen-to-oxygen concentration ratio from 4:1 to 5:1 under positive corona discharge enhances the thrust-to-power ratio by 41.3%. Furthermore, increasing the SEEC from 0.001 to 0.01 produces significant performance improvements, with thrust increasing by 34.5% and thrust-to-power ratio surging by 142.2%. Notably, negative corona discharge exhibits substantially reduced efficiency, as the accumulation of positive charges near the emitter electrode induces aerodynamic resistance, resulting in thrust values less than 1% of those achieved in positive discharge configurations.

Keywords: electrohydrodynamic (EHD) thruster corona discharge oxygen concentration secondary electron emission coefficient voltage polarity

Received: 16 May 2025
Revised: 30 June 2025
Accepted manuscript online: 06 August 2025

PACS:	52.65.-y	(Plasma simulation)
	52.75.Di	(Ion and plasma propulsion)
	47.85.L-	(Flow control)
	82.33.Xj	(Plasma reactions (including flowing afterglow and electric discharges))

Fund: Project supported by the Aeronautical Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 2023Z037052002).

Corresponding Authors: Hu-Lin Huang
E-mail: hlhuang@nuaa.edu.cn

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Chun-Yan Wang(王春岩), Hu-Lin Huang(黄护林), Hao Li(李灏), Tian-Tian Chen(陈田田), and Xi-Jing Hu(胡锡精) Numerical investigation on performance of electrohydrodynamic thruster with needle-ring electrode 2026 Chin. Phys. B 35 035205

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Numerical investigation on performance of electrohydrodynamic thruster with needle-ring electrode

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