Numerical Plasma Simulation on Advanced Space Propulsion Systems
JAXA Supercomputer System Annual Report April 2019-March 2020
Report Number: R19EU0904
Subject Category: Space and Astronautical Science
- Responsible Representative: Ikkoh Funaki, Associate Professor, ISAS
- Contact Information: Ikkoh Funaki(funaki.ikkoh@jaxa.jp)
- Members: Shitan Tauchi, Ryota Hara
Abstract
Due to the limitation of the existing spacecraft technology level, it is very difficult to enable solar system explorations in a quick and cost-effective mannger. Objective of this study is to obtain a breakthrough spacecraft propulsion technology that enables solar system exploration of the next generations.
Reference URL
N/A
Reasons and benefits of using JAXA Supercomputer System
Design optimization of spacecraft propulsion requires a huge computer resource, hence supercomputer usage is very important.
Achievements of the Year
For a self-field magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster, the numerical simulation was conducted to verify and validate the experimental result. The numerical simulation was performed at a discharge current of 9 kA for a hydrogen propellant (0.4 g/s). As a result, the numerical result was in good agreement qualitatively with the experimental result as shown in Fig. 1. Although this numerical simulation code has not been validated yet, it can be improved by incorporating with adequate electrode model.
In addition, magnetohydrodynamic analysis was performed on the magneto plasma sail to investigate the influence of plasma injection conditions on thrust characteristics. This year, we dealt with the magneto plasma sail in the case of performing the plasma injection which combined the dynamic pressure and the static pressure. As a result of numerical analysis, it was confirmed that the pressure condition (ratio between dynamic pressure and static pressure) of the injection plasma affected the thrust characteristics of the magneto plasma sail, and the thrust gain peaked. From this result, it was found that there was an optimal condition for the pressure condition of the injection plasma.
Publications
– Non peer-reviewed papers
Shitan Tauchi, Yuya Oshio, Akira Kawasaki, and Ikkoh Funaki, Characterization of a Quasi-Steady Self-Field MPD Thruster with Various Electrode Configurations, AIAA-2020-0191, AIAA SciTech Forum, Jan. 2020, Orlando.
Usage of JSS2
Computational Information
- Process Parallelization Methods: N/A
- Thread Parallelization Methods: Automatic Parallelization
- Number of Processes: 1
- Elapsed Time per Case: 10 Hour(s)
Resources Used
Fraction of Usage in Total Resources*1(%): 0.02
Details
Please refer to System Configuration of JSS2 for the system configuration and major specifications of JSS2.
System Name | Amount of Core Time(core x hours) | Fraction of Usage*2(%) |
---|---|---|
SORA-MA | 172,259.24 | 0.02 |
SORA-PP | 2,886.29 | 0.02 |
SORA-LM | 0.00 | 0.00 |
SORA-TPP | 0.00 | 0.00 |
File System Name | Storage Assigned(GiB) | Fraction of Usage*2(%) |
---|---|---|
/home | 42.92 | 0.04 |
/data | 429.15 | 0.01 |
/ltmp | 8,789.07 | 0.75 |
Archiver Name | Storage Used(TiB) | Fraction of Usage*2(%) |
---|---|---|
J-SPACE | 0.00 | 0.00 |
*1: Fraction of Usage in Total Resources: Weighted average of three resource types (Computing, File System, and Archiver).
*2: Fraction of Usage:Percentage of usage relative to each resource used in one year.
JAXA Supercomputer System Annual Report April 2019-March 2020