The purpose of this study was to design an experimental apparatus that could accurately test and measure the thrust efficiency of conical shaped microthrusters with varying divergence half angles. The experimental apparatus measured the thrust of micronozzles for various feed pressures in vacuum (to duplicate in space operation) as well as ambient. Calibration experiments confirmed the force measurement accuracy of the setup while gas thrust experiments were used to help determine the most efficient divergence half angle. Thrust results were compared to findings from two separate scientific studies that sought to optimize microthruster nozzles using CFD software.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to design an experimental apparatus that could accurately test and measure the thrust efficiency of conical shaped microthrusters with varying divergence half angles. The experimental apparatus measured the thrust of micronozzles for various feed pressures in vacuum (to duplicate in space operation) as well as ambient. Calibration experiments confirmed the force measurement accuracy of the setup while gas thrust experiments were used to help determine the most efficient divergence half angle. Thrust results were compared to findings from two separate scientific studies that sought to optimize microthruster nozzles using CFD software.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Richards, Amy Denise"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Aerospace Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["R.R. Mankbadi","David J. Sypeck","L.L. Narayanaswami"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2007,"date_issued":"2007-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2007-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:37Z","subjects":["microthrusters","Aerospace Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/174","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["R.R. Mankbadi","David J. Sypeck","L.L. Narayanaswami"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Richards, Amy Denise"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aerospace Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["microthrusters","Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/174"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to design an experimental apparatus that could accurately test and measure the thrust efficiency of conical shaped microthrusters with varying divergence half angles. The experimental apparatus measured the thrust of micronozzles for various feed pressures in vacuum (to duplicate in space operation) as well as ambient. Calibration experiments confirmed the force measurement accuracy of the setup while gas thrust experiments were used to help determine the most efficient divergence half angle. Thrust results were compared to findings from two separate scientific studies that sought to optimize microthruster nozzles using CFD software.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Microthruster Experimental Analysis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["R.R. Mankbadi","David J. Sypeck","L.L. Narayanaswami"],"dc:creator":["Richards, Amy Denise"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to design an experimental apparatus that could accurately test and measure the thrust efficiency of conical shaped microthrusters with varying divergence half angles. The experimental apparatus measured the thrust of micronozzles for various feed pressures in vacuum (to duplicate in space operation) as well as ambient. Calibration experiments confirmed the force measurement accuracy of the setup while gas thrust experiments were used to help determine the most efficient divergence half angle. Thrust results were compared to findings from two separate scientific studies that sought to optimize microthruster nozzles using CFD software.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/174"],"dc:subject":["microthrusters","Aerospace Engineering"],"dc:title":["Microthruster Experimental Analysis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aerospace Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:37Z"}