Experimental study of laser propulsion by using polymer propellant doped with metal powders

The metal particles of different elements, concentrations and diameters are doped in PVC and the targets are tested by using a high-power pulsed TEA-CO2 laser. The results show that: the coupling coefficient changes slightly with elements and diameters of metal particles doped in PVC, but the specific impulse is significantly improved for different laser power densities. The doped nano-Fe powder PVC shows the best performance; the maximum specific impulse appears at 50% nano-Fe power concentration for the energy density of 5×106 W/cm2. At the atmospheric environment, the coupling coefficient for PVC target containing 20% nano-zinc powder increases first and then decreases with the increase of laser power density, and the specific impulse is not even better than that for PVC targets doped