Analytical model for electrohydrodynamic thrust

Ravi Sankar Vaddi; Yifei Guan; Alexander Mamishev; Igor Novosselov

doi:10.1098/rspa.2020.0220

Analytical model for electrohydrodynamic thrust

Proc Math Phys Eng Sci. 2020 Sep;476(2241):20200220. doi: 10.1098/rspa.2020.0220. Epub 2020 Sep 30.

Authors

Ravi Sankar Vaddi¹, Yifei Guan², Alexander Mamishev³, Igor Novosselov^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
³ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁴ Institute of Nano-Engineering Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

Abstract

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) thrust is produced when ionized fluid is accelerated in an electric field due to the momentum transfer between the charged species and neutral molecules. We extend the previously reported analytical model that couples space charge, electric field and momentum transfer to derive thrust force in one-dimensional planar coordinates. The electric current density in the model can be expressed in the form of Mott-Gurney law. After the correction for the drag force, the EHD thrust model yields good agreement with the experimental data from several independent studies. The EHD thrust expression derived from the first principles can be used in the design of propulsion systems and can be readily implemented in the numerical simulations.

Keywords: EHD thrust; Mott–Gurney law; corona discharge; electrohydrodynamics; ionic wind.