[AR] Re: Tesla Thruster Specs?
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2019 14:57:01 -0400 (EDT)
On Fri, 20 Sep 2019, Galejs, Robert - 1007 - MITLL wrote:
I guess I was trying to figure out where other things start not being
equal. Given the other Henry's 14000 lb-s thrust number, is it just as
easy to get 14000 lb thrust for 1 second as his 400 lb thrust for 35?
Probably not. As you go for more thrust, not only does the thruster get
bigger, but other things have to change to match. The plumbing gets
bigger and the valves get bigger (and their actuators too, if you want the
same actuation speed). Startup transients start to become a significant
fraction of the total "burn" time, so overall performance may suffer and
analysis of the system gets more complicated. If you try to cheap out on
the plumbing :-) by increasing flow velocities, gas drag becomes an issue
and ultimately you could get sonic choking in the plumbing. To say
nothing of the noise and blast effects on the spectators. :-)
Henry
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