Project information
- Title: Modified Paschen’s Law and DC gas discharges in an Earth-to-Mars atmosphere
- Category: Discharge Physics
- Location: Science Tower, Hasselt University, Belgium
- Project date: Spring 2022
- Promoter: Prof. Dr. Jean Manca
- Grade: 17/20
- This thesis can be shared upon reasonable request.
Abstract
Aerospace vehicles can be triboelectrically charged due to dust or ice when moving through the atmosphere. Electrostatic discharges can occur, which pose a direct risk for system operation of the vehicle. It is therefore important to understand Paschen’s Law, and use it to derive modifications to predict breakdown voltages for certain circumstances and materials. The purpose of this work is to measure a safe lower limit for electrical breakdowns over a 5 mm discharge gap, which is an internal dimension of a space mission proposal for the European Space Agency (ESA), called Daedalus. Furthermore, the measured data is analysed using a modified Paschen’s Law. Finally, this work attempts to measure the evolution of discharge curves for an Earth-to-Mars atmosphere, which is a growing interest in this field of physics, since the rising enthusiasm for a future Mars colony.