Film-Evapora,on

MEMS Tunable
Water Microthruster Array
(FEMTA)

By

Tony Cofer
FISO Telecon 7/20/16

7/20/16

Tony Cofer

Outline
Introduction
Microfabrication
Testing and results
Current Work

16-08-11

Tony Cofer

INTRODUCTION

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Mo3va3on
Thrust Requirement
Op3ons
Thermal Valve Concept

Tony Cofer

Mo,va,on
Miniaturiza3on of satellite systems provides
poten3al for reduced launch and opera3ons
costs
Small sats i.e. micro, pico, nanosats are emerging
technologies.
Cubesats (4 inches cube) are low cost alterna3ve for
some applica3ons.

Propulsion systems resist miniaturiza3on

Viscous losses at small scale
Low mass frac3on due to power processing mass
Excessive power demands for small sat applica3ons
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Tony Cofer

Cubesat Minimum Thrust

Requirement
1.33 kg cubesat
0.1 meter cube
Need 180 degree slew in 1 minute = 0.1047 rad/s

= 2/6 = 0.0022 kgm2 = moment of iner3a

= = 0.000230 Nms = = angular momentum
F = necessary thrust
d = distance from center of mass = 0.0707m
t = ring 3me = 60 s

= / = 54 N
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Tony Cofer

Power vs Thrust for smallsat

propulsion
Power (W)

1000
100

PPT

VAT

Electrothermal

FEEP

Hall/Ion

10

Electro-Spray

1
0.1

Cold Gas
Max powermin thrust for
1U cubesat*

FEMTA

0.01
0.000001

0.00001

0.0001

0.001

Solid/MEMS

0.01

0.1

Thrust (N)
* Assuming 180 degree/ 1 minute slew requirement see slide 54
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Tony Cofer

Comparison of Cubesat Thrusters

Cold Gas[1]

FEMTA

Cat Arc[3]

Electrospray[2]

1.1'cm'

Minimum Power ~5 W
Liquid butane propellant
Dry mass 456 grams
propellant 55 grams
Max thrust 53 mN
Min impulse bit 0.53 mNs
Total impulse 23 N s
Nominal Isp = 43 s
Eec3ve Isp = 4.6 s

Minimum Power 1.5 W

Ionic Liquid propellant
Dry mass 100 grams
propellant 12 grams
Max thrust 100 N
Min impulse bit NA 2hr
startup
Total impulse 140 N s
Nominal Isp = 1200 s
Eec3ve Isp = 137 s

Minimum Power 0.1 W

Metal propellant
Dry mass 200 grams
propellant 40 grams
Max thrust ~35 N
Min impulse bit 0.1 Ns
Total impulse 1370 Nsec
Nominal Isp = 3500 s
Eec3ve Isp = 583 s

9'Wire'Ribbon'
Minimum Power 0.01 W
Connectors'
Water propellant
Dry mass 1.5grams
propellant 1 grams
Max thrust ~230 N
Min impulse bit 3 Ns
Total impulse 1 Nsec/g
Nominal Isp = 95 s
Eec3ve Isp = 38 s 80s

[1]hip://www.vacco.com/images/uploads/pdfs/MicroPropulsionSystems_0714.pdf
[2] Krejci, David, Fernando Mier-Hicks, Corey Fucetola, Paulo Lozano, Andrea Hsu Schouten, and Francois Martel. "Design and Characteriza3on of a Scalable
ion Electrospray Propulsion System." (2015).
[3] Keidar, Michael, Samudra Haque, Taisen Zhuang, Alexey Shashurin, Dereck Chiu, George Teel, Elwood Agasid, Oriol Tintore, and Eddie Uribe. "Microcathode arc thruster for PhoneSat propulsion." (2013).

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Tony Cofer

FEMTA Concept
Pressure vs Surface Tension

Under proper condi3ons pressure can be oset by surface

tension, micron size screens have been used to lter vapor from
liquid in resistojet systems.
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Tony Cofer

Cri,cal Capillary Size

Young-Laplace Equa3on

= Surface tension
Pvap = Vapor Pressure
= Contact angle
d = gap width

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Tony Cofer

FEMTA Concept
~10 microns

~40 microns

Heater

Meniscus

Liquid is contained by hydrophobic surfaces, evapora3on is

temperature controlled at the meniscus
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Tony Cofer

10

Proposed Device and Applica,on

Cubesat with 3
axis rota3onal
control using 12
FEMTAs
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10 by 10
element FEMTA
array propellant
reservoir is
integrated
Tony Cofer

Single FEMTA
nozzle featuring
substrate heater
if waste heat is
not available
11

Proposed Device and Applica,on

Yaw +/-

Pitch +/-

Roll +/-

Cubesat with 3 axis rota3onal control using 12 FEMTAs

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12

MICROFABRICATION
1st Genera3on
2nd Genera3on
3rd Genera3on

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13

Congura,on
Gold conductor 3750
micron long x 200
micron wide x 1 micron
thick

Silicon Slot Nozzle 2500

microns long 200 microns
deep 60 microns wide
(entrance) 10 microns wide
(exit)
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Nichrome heater 2400 micron long x 6.6

micron wide x 0.5 micron thick
Tony Cofer

14

st
1 Genera,on: AR~2
Lateral Cross Sec,on

35 microns
9 microns

250 microns
140 microns

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15

st
1 Genera,on: AR~2
Type A Sample A1-5 G Longitudinal Cross Sec,on

Heater Element

Gold Overlap

Broken by
rst design
hold down
washer
Split along
longitudinal
axis of nozzle

Roughness in
throat
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16

st
1 Genera,on AR~8

48 m
28 m

7.9m

88 m

275 m

Cross Sec,on

Nichrome Heaters

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17

1st Genera,on Failure Modes and

Reliability Considera,ons

Galvanic corrosion due to reac3ve heater metals

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18

2nd Genera,on FEMTA Units

Built with Throat Aspect Ra,os
(AR) of 2-8
Nichrome
1.4 m thick

Oxide 1.9
m thick

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AR~2

AR~4

AR~8

AR~6

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19

3rd Genera,on FEMTA Units

Built with Throat Aspect Ra,os
(AR) of 2-8

Nozzle Inlet and Throat

AR=2

AR=6

AR=8

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Tony Cofer

20

FEMTA Congura,ons
Heater
H e a t e r
Thickness
Fabrication
Material
(m)

Insulator
Thickness
(m)

Heater
Wafer
Resistance Thickness
(ohms)
(m)

First
Generation

Nichrome

0.7

0.5

200 - 400

200

Second
Generation

Nichrome

1.4

1.9

100 - 200

200

Third
Generation

Vanadium

0.7-1.4

1.8

800 2k

500

Third
Generation*

Platinum

0.14

1.8

60 - 80

500

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21

TESTING

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Evapora3ve Loss Measurement

Thrust Measurement
Mass Flow Measurement
Isp Calcula3on

Tony Cofer

22

1st Genera,on Test Vessel

Miniature pressure vessel
Water leak rate 7 mg/hr
Power available to FEMTA for
mass ow determina3on
Thermocouple (not shown)
monitors uid temperature

Moun,ng Washer
Retaining Washer

FEMTA

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50 mm

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23

Test Set Up
100 Torr
Baratron

Power
Valve

Test vessel

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Vacuum Chamber

24

Evapora,ve Loss @ 22 C
Evapora,on Rate (g/hr)

0.07

Isentropic rate = 0.349 g/hr

Free molecular rate = 0.206 g/hr

0.06

Numerically calculated rate

0.05
0.04

0.030 0.015 g/hr

0.03
0.02
0.01
0

15

48

Test Dura,on (hrs)

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25

MicroNewton Thrust Stand at

Purdue
Torsion Springs

Linear Variable Dieren3al

Transformer (LVDT)

Electrosta3c Fins

+++++
-- - - - -

Base on design by Dr. Andrew Ketsdever* and constructed by Dr. Ivana

Hrbud
*Development of a Thrust Stand Micro-Balance to Assess Micropropulsion; Pancov, Lilly, Ketsdever et.al AIAA 2005-4415

Performance

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26

Diusion Pump Speed Curve

Pump speed curve for the Varian HS-20

diffusion pump.

16-08-11

Pumping speed is
constant below 1 milliTorr
Maximum test pressure is
0.1 milliTorr
Mass ow out of the
chamber is propor3onal
to

Tony Cofer

27

Diusion Pump Conductance

Transconductance is treated as
parallel resistances
Conductance 1 is conductance of
duct
Conductance 2 sonic limit of duct
aperture
= /

1/ = 1/ + 1/1+1/
2 ..
1 = 12.13/ =++1.33/180
2 = 11.6/42

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28

Mass Flow Measurement

10 known masses of nitrogen
injected into vacuum chamber on
pressure history recorded.
2 tests each of increasing,
decreasing, and random mass
ows 60 data points.
Pressure change and mass ows
integrated from beginning of a
pulse to the beginning of the next

Pressure change integrated

from start of one pulse to
start of next

Pressure history for 30 second mass flow pulses with 60

second delays from 5 50 sccm nitrogen in 5 sccm
increments, integration interval for third pulse in green.
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29

Mass Flow Measurement

Mass vs Pt for water vapor@50 C

Conversion Factor = 5342 mg/Torrs

Mass vs Pt for nitrogen @ 22C

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30

Measurement Uncertainty
Calculated using Taylor Series Method

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Measurement

Measurement
Device

Repetitive
Error

Measurement
Error

Total Error

Power

DAQ

1 LSB

15 ppm

negligible

Thrust@8.7 N

LVDT

1.7%

7%

7.2%

Thrust@32.7 N

LVDT

0.4%

3.5%

3.5%

Thrust@72.7 N

LVDT

0.2%

1%

1.0%

Mass

Ion Gauge

7.2%

5.1%

8.8%

Isp@8.7N N

Calculated

11.4%

Isp@32.7 N

Calculated

9.5%

Isp@72.7 N

Calculated

8.9%

Tony Cofer

31

2nd Genera,on Thrust

Test Setup
Test vessel from Gen 1
experiments mounted
horizontally on a
microNewton thrust stand
Internal pressure controlled
via 0.5 psi relief valve
Power provided by Labview
square wave generator
passed through a unity gain
power amplier
Only AR~8 heaters provided
any data

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32

 Maximum Expected
Performance
For 10 x 2500 micron throat
= 540 g/s mass ow
= 67.7 mW input power
= 1.15 W cooling power

= 74 seconds
= 392 N Thrust

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Tony Cofer

33

Thrust Histories for Gen 2 AR~8

Nozzles Test 1
Powered
Interval

211 mW powered tests on Gen 2 AR~8 nozzle

7 Volt 100 Hz square wave applied for 60 seconds
Miniscule barely measureable thrust
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Tony Cofer

34

Thrust Histories for Gen 2 AR~8

Nozzles Test 2
Powered
Interval

349 mW powered tests on Gen 2 AR~8 nozzle

9 Volt 100 Hz square wave applied for 60 seconds
Miniscule barely measureable thrust
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Tony Cofer

35

Gen 3 Test Vessel

Teon construc3on to reduce galvanic corrosion

Can hold up to 8 grams of water

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36

Gen 3 Thrust Test Setup

Thrust stand mounted
in a 4.2 cubic meter
vacuum chamber
Base pressure ~ 10
microTorr
Thrust stand calibrated
from 8 768 N

FEMTA Test
Vessel

MicroNewton
Thrust Stand

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Tony Cofer

37

Gen 3 AR~2 Thrust History for 30

Second 65 mW Pulse
Powered
Interval

Thrust levels higher than expected

Delay before ring
Erra3c behavior shuts o prematurely
Unwanted impulse bits in other tests

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Tony Cofer

38

Gen 3 AR~2 Isp Summary

80

Seems to indicate peak

performance at around
50 mW
Due to excessive mass
ow at higher power
levels

70
60

Specic Impulse (s)

50
40
30
20
test 9

10

test 6
test 5

0
0

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20

40
60
Applied Power (mW)

80

Tony Cofer

100

39

Gen 3 AR~2 Thrust and Bulk Fluid

Temperature Histories for 30
second 50 mW pulse

Thermocouple measurement of bulk uid shows temperature drop due to vaporiza3on

energy drawn from water reservoir
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Tony Cofer

40

Entropy Genera,on
=(2 1) +(2 1)
(2 1) = 0
=23
Where 0=3886 / is the specic entropy
change for liquid water. The entropy change for the gas has
two parts; the change of the liquid to FEMTA ring
temperature and the change from liquid to gas, and is given
by
(2 1) = (0+
0)= 43
Assuming the phase change occurred at T = 323 K which is
=30 K , and 0=2.1 / is the
specic entropy change of vaporiza3on, then = +20

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Tony Cofer

41

Gen 3 AR~4 Thrust and Power

Histories for 10 Pulses @ 75 mW

Tests performed at 25, 50, 75, 125, 150, 200, and 300 mW
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42

75 mW Test

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43

150 mW Thrust Test

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44

Gen 3 AR~4 Thrust vs Power

Thrust to power ra3o nearly constant at around 230 N/W

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45

Gen 3 AR~4 Mass Flow vs Power

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46

Gen 3 Specic Impulse vs Power

AR~2 nozzles provide
comparable Isps to AR~4
at low power
AR~4 nozzles provide
consistent Isp ~90 s at
higher power levels

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Tony Cofer

47

Gen 3 Thrust/Power Ra,o vs

Power
AR~2 nozzles provide
higher thrust/power up
to 6000 N/W but with
unstable performance
AR~4 nozzles provide
consistent 230 N/W

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Tony Cofer

48

Gen 3 Coecient of
Performance vs Power
= /

AR~4 nearly constant ~0.4
twice as much heat in as
out
AR~2 variable high ~11
theore3cal limit is 18

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Tony Cofer

49

Flow Characteris,cs
Based on ring temperature 50 C or 323 K
Assume sonic ow M = 1 = =445 /
Vapor pressure = 12 kPa sonic pressure = 6.4 kPa
Assume ideal gas - density at throat = / = 0.043 kg/m3
Characteris3c length = gap size = L = 8 microns
Reynolds number = / = 13.6
Knudsen number = //2 = 0.1
Mean Free Path = ~0.8 microns
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50

CURRENT WORK

16-08-11

Shuiers
Integrated RTDs
Arrays
Packaging

Tony Cofer

51

Electrosta,c Actuated
Shukers
Top View

Serpen3ne
Springs

Shuier

Sec3on View

Nozzle
Throat
+

Insulator
Powered

Unpowered

Nozzle cover to inhibit quiescent state evapora3ve losses

Normally closed opened for ring
Electrosta3cally actuated < 20 Volts
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Tony Cofer

52

Bimorph Actuated Shukers

Thruster

FEMTA
Note: Step height in poly
greatly exaggerated. The
total dierence will be no
more than the total metal
thickness ~ 1um.

Aluminum
Tungsten

Silicon Lid

.
.
.
.

7.) RIE front etch thermal

oxide & XeF2 front etch
silicon device layer.
Mask 6.

* Image by Carl Kotecki at GSFC

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Tony Cofer

53

Current Work: Nozzle Arrays

microshutter

120 microns
1 cm

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Serpentine
Springs

200 nm
Heater
and RTD

Mul3ple nozzles would increase maximum thrust

Nozzles can be actuated individually
Possible to implement mul3ple aspect ra3os for op3mized performance
Supplies redundancy feature in case of nozzle failure
Tony Cofer

54

Integrated Resistance
Temperature Detector
Gold Conductor

Oxide Insulator

10 micron wide platinum heaters

3 micron wide platinum RTD

3 micron wide strips separated from main pla3num heater

elements using focused ion beam
Hoping to pin meniscus on RTD so that temperature can be
determined by resistance change
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Tony Cofer

55

Zero G Propellant Delivery

System
Pressure'
Relief'Valve'

Water'

1.1'cm'

Casing'
9'Wire'Ribbon'
Connectors'

Elas*c'
Bladder'

FEMTA'
device'

Current system gravity fed wont work in zero G environment

Elas3c bladder or else collapsible hydrophilic membrane to provide feed
pressure
Either connectors for control ribbon cable or solder lugs for printed circuit
board moun3ng
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Tony Cofer

56

Acknowledgements
Prof. Dmitrios Peroulis
Prof. Andrew Ketsdever
Bill ONeill
Andrew Weaver
Mihal Sinani
Andrew Strongrich
Graham Webster
Steve Graham
The work was supported by the NASA Small Sat Program grant #
NNX13AR02A
The development of vacuum facility at ASL was supported by
Purdue School of Aeronau3cs and Astronau3cs


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57