Abstract
Microthrusters for nano satellites using liquid propellant are under development by MEMS technology. In order to observe the flow in vaporizing chamber, a new vaporizing microthruster is build and tested, which consists of silicon wafer and Pyrex glass with transparent ITO film resistor. The size of this thruster is 30mm×40mm and the weight is less than 4g. Obtained maximum thrust is 0.37mN with 4.8W and flow rate 5.5mg/s. Dry-out starts on thin film heater at first and appears on the opposite channel wall later. These complex phase change phenomena effect in thrust fluctuating. Several self-reactive-type monopropellant thrusters are fabricated similarly using Pt deposited on silicon wafer as a catalyst. The flow difference due to channel geometry is being explored.
