Designing and calibrating of a millinewton measurement system for thermal-vacuum conditions

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Space Thrusters Research Institute, Iranian Space Research Center, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Pendulum-based configuration thrust measurement systems are employed for measuring thrust force of the electrical thrusters in millinewton and smaller orders by separating thrust and weight forces. This paper comprises designing, modeling, manufacturing, calibrating and verifying of a thrust measurement system with inverted pendulum configuration in a range of 5 to 100 mN with resolution of 0.05 mN. Novelty of this system is associated with capability to operate in vacuum condition of 1e-5 mbar and in temperature range within -40°C to +80°C with the desired accuracy. In designing phase, structure of the system and its dimensions are established considering some predefined requirements and criteria using optimization techniques. After detailing modeling and manufacturing phases, an electromagnetic actuator is designing, manufacturing and verifying for calibration phase. At the last phase, system is verifying through experimental tests and overall uncertainty is calculating. Results show that uncertainty is less than 10% and 2% for the minimum and maximum of the measurement range.

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Iranian Journal of Mechanical Engineering Transactions of the ISME

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 14 April 2024

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