Sustained-arc control system on solar battery array
AssigneeKyusyu Institute of Technology
InventorsKazuhiro Toyoda, Meng Cho, Hikaru Kayano
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Abstract
A sustained-arc control system is constituted with a capacitance which is placed between a gap on a solar battery array, working to control or inhibit the sustained arc. A solar battery array has a plurality of solar cells to provide a power source onboard an artificial satellite. A plurality of series circuits each of which composed of the solar cells connected in series is connected in parallel. The sustained-arc control system on the solar battery array is constituted with a capacitance lying between a positive line and a negative line to be charged with a voltage oscillation arising from the sustained arc. Electrostatic capacity of the capacitance is in a range of from at least 33 nF to 10 μF.
Claims1
A system for controlling a sustained arc on a solar battery array, comprising:
- a plurality of series circuits having solar cells connected in series with one another, the series circuits being connected through a positive line and a negative line to a positive terminal and a negative terminal of a load carried on an artificial satellite to provide a power source;
- wherein capacitances to control the sustained arc are placed between the positive line and the negative line of the series circuit or between preselected series circuits;
- wherein the capacitances are connected in parallel with the positive terminal and the negative terminal,
- wherein the capacitances each have an electrostatic capacity which is determined to an optimal value in a range of from at least 33 of to 10 μF, and
- wherein the capacitance is charged with a voltage oscillation arising from the sustained arc to prevent a short circuiting between the solar cells, thereby preserving a potential difference between the solar cells,
- providing a disappeared current fed to the sustained arc, shortening duration of the sustained arc, and eventually leading the sustained arc to extinction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.