Experimental study of magnetohydrodynamic power generation system in arc heater

The high power electric propulsion and energy system is in urgent demand for the next generation space exploration. This paper presents ground-based tests on the high-temperature magnetohydrodynamic(MHD) power generation system by utilizing arc heater. The required temperature and pressure conditions for power generation are provided by the arcjet and the conductivity of the testing gas is improved by injecting the seeding cesium. Linear and disk MHD power generation is successfully carried out respectively:the maximum output power of the linear MHD power generator reaches 196 W under the test condition of 1 T magnetic-field intensity, and the maximum output power of the disc generator reaches 10.5 kW under the test condition of 7 T magnetic-field intensity. It demonstrates the prospect of the MHD power generation technology and lays foundations for the research of the higher power MHD generator and space application.