A study of ignition and simulation circuits for arcjet thrusters, part 1

A 1 kW electronic load was programmed to simulate the nonlinear i-v (volt-ampere) characteristics of an arcjet, both ignited and unignited. The simulator was tested and found to closely resemble an arcjet both for large transients and small perturbances up to about 40 kHz. No attempt was made to simulate the ignition process itself. The dynamic behavior of the arcjet (and the simulator) was shown to differ significantly from that of a resistor bank. Previous research led to the design and construction of a 1 kW arcjet power supply. A high voltage ignition circuit was added to this hardware, and tests on a 1 kW arcjet were performed at NASA-Lewis. All tests were successful and no ignition failures were observed. Circuit documentation and test results are included.