• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.03b
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• pp.405-408
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• 2008

From the previous researches about flow characteristic of micro-nozzle, we found that viscosity and back pressure induced heavy losses in micro nozzle. To overcome thess losses, we began to study new conceptual micro propulsion system that is thermal transpiration based micro propulsion system. It has no moving parts and can pump the gaseous propellant by temperature gradient only (cold to hot). Most of previous research on thermal transpiration is in its early stage and mainly studied for application to small vacuum facility or gas chromatography in ambient condition using nanoporous material like aerogel. In this study, we focus on basic research of propulsion system based on thermal transpiration using polyimide material in vacuum conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.145-152
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• 2005

Worldwide there is strong interest in the field of commercial space business, especially 100km altitude sub-orbital Space Tourism. This was soared to by the two-times flight success of SpaceShipOne by Scaled Composites Inc. It reached an altitude of 100km at Oct. 4, 2004. This demonstrates a paradigm change from government-driven space challenge and exploration to commercial space business. Therefore this report provides various insights into the commercial space tourism market, such as current demand for space travel, size of the market, growth potential of the market, technology, etc.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.182-186
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• 2008

Fundamental experiments with single row heat exchanger were conducted for the purpose of validating new defrosting method using jet impingement. The coolant temperature were varied from 83 to 250 K. We used the jet periodically, once in 50 second and the duration of the jet is 0.1 second. The effect of the coolant temperature in the effectiveness of the jet defrosting was investigated.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.40-46
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• 2022

Hall thrusters are one of the electric propulsion, where ions are accelerated to generate thrust and are widely utilized in space missions due to their high specific impulses. Recently, as the utilization of small and micro satellites with the mass of similar or less than 100 kg is highly increasing, the importance of research and development of the low-power electric propulsion is also raised. In this study, we developed two sub-200 W or less class, laboratory model Hall thrusters and measured the thrust and analyzed the discharge characteristics. Consequently, we obtained 2.5-9.0 mN of thrust, 600-1,150 s of specific impulse, and 15-28% of anode efficiency at 50-175 W of anode power.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.467-474
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• 2012

UAVs for reconnaissance and intelligence operations require long endurance capability, which demands high efficiency of the propulsion system. The distributed propulsion system(DPS) generates the thrust by replacing a large propulsion system with a number of small propulsion systems. A DPS distributed along the wing span can produce gains in propulsion efficiency by reducing ejection velocity. Also, the ingestion of boundary layers through the distributed DPS inlet and ejecting flow from the outlet can improve the lift to drag ratio of the vehicle. This study investigates the effects of locations and size of the inlet and outlet of the DPS on the blended-wing-body design based on Eppler 337 airfoil, with a CFD tool. The fans in the DPS are modeled as actuator disks for computational efficiency. The best location and aspect ratio of the inlet and outlet are found from lift-to-drag ratio and pitching moment considerations.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.121-125
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• 2007

In late 1960's, engineers of the engine manufacturer experienced that the distortion of inlet flow of turbofan and turbojet engine could cause the surge in compressor and affect overall engine operational performance, which result in the deterioration of stability of the engine. In this study, block type of inlet distortion simulating device has been developed in order to investigate the effect of inlet distortion on the deterioration of overall engine operational performance. The inlet distortion simulating device was installed in front of engine inlet in order to simulate distortion of inlet flow. The degree of inlet distortion was measured by rakes installed upstream the inlet distortion simulating device and between the engine inlet and inlet distortion simulating device. Before applying the inlet distortion simulating device to real engine, preliminary tests were performed with a simulated engine in order to verify the degree of inlet distortion by the device. Preliminary inlet distortion tests were performed in Altitude Engine Test Facility(AETF) of Korea Aerospace Research Institute(KARI) and results showed that the inlet distortion simulating device could be used in simulating various inlet distortion cases.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.25-36
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• 2023

Since interstellar objects like 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov originate from exoplanetary systems, even if we do not visit the exoplanetary systems, flyby, rendezvous, and sample return missions of interstellar objects can provide clues to solve the mysteries of cosmic life phenomena such as the origin of exoplanetary systems, galactic evolution, biosignatures (or even technosignatures), and panspermia. In this paper, we review space missions for interstellar object exploration in the stage of mission design or concept study such as Project Lyra, Bridge, Comet Interceptors, and Lightcraft^TM. We also review space missions, OSIRIS-REx and NEA Scout, designed for Near Earth Asteroids(NEA) explorations, to investigate the current state of basic technologies that can be extended to explore interstellar objects in a velocity of ~ 6AU/year. One of the technologies that needs to be developed for interstellar object exploration is a spacecraft propulsion method such as solar sail, which can catch up with the fast speed of interstellar objects. If this kind of propulsion becomes practical for space explorations, interstellar object explorations will mark a new era and serve as a driving force to provide evidences of cosmic life.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.331-334
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• 2009

An air-independent propulsion (AIP) system based on fuel cell technologies was developed for space and underwater applications in the present study. Hydrogen peroxide was selected as an oxidizer for space and underwater power applications where air independence is a must. Catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide was used to generate oxygen and water. The pure oxygen was provided to a fuel cell and the water was stored separately. Sodium borohydride in the solid state was used as a hydrogen source in the present study. Pure hydrogen can be generated by a catalytic hydrolysis reaction. A fuel cell system was fabricated to validate the fuel cell based air-independent power system and was evaluated at the various conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.827-829
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• 2011

Vacuum facility is required for high altitude space environment test to develop satellites or space launch vehicles. We, at Chungnam, National University, developed turbo molecular pump vacuum test facility up to $1.0{\times}10-6$ torr to simulate 200 km altitude environment. In this paper, we present some preliminary vacuum performance test results.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.54-61
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• 2004

Miniaturization of subsystems including propulsion systems is recent trends in spacecraft technology. Small space vehicle propulsion is not only a technological challenge of a scaling system down, but also a combination of fundamental flow/combustion constraints. In this paper, physical constraints of micronozzle for cold gas micro-thruster are reviewed and discussed. Method to measure small thrust are also described.