Bin Gao and Zhongkai Zhang from JLPP went to Shanghai Institute of Space Propulsion, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, for the installation and delivery of the 1 N elastic thrust measurement system, and the testing process was conducted at Shanghai Institute of Space Propulsion. The work included the installation of the vacuum system of the elastic thrust stand, electrical signal measurement and processing, etc. The elastic thrust frame is capable of responding to the thrust of the engine, using a closed-loop control method to generate an electromagnetic feedback force equal to the magnitude of the thrust, and a circuit unit to extract the signal and calculate the magnitude of the thrust of the engine. The installation process lasted for about two working days, and the measurement results on the same day showed stable engine performance, accurate transmission values and precise measurement values, which finally completed the testing task successfully. Both sides exchanged views on common concerns such as thrust stand working status, working characteristics, working mode and stability of the thrust measurement stand.

After this trip, we will optimize the measurement system for the potential problems and hidden dangers exposed during the test, and improve the thrust measurement system in further work to make it more stable and accurate to ensure the engine measurement process is accurate and reliable. We would like to thank Director Wang and the test team of Shanghai Institute of Space Propulsion for their support during the testing process.

Article: Ruojian Pan

Photo: Zhongkai Zhang