Abstract
Recently, the application of ionic wind in atmospheric propulsion has gained significant attention, but existing devices face challenges in achieving sufficient thrust for practical applications. This study proposes a novel electrode structure combining a serrated single-ring emitter and multi-ring collector, which offers two key advantages: (1) The 1-2 times thrust increase is achieved through enhanced ion generation, improved ion drift efficiency, enabled by the sawtooth emitter and multi-ring collector design, (2) a compact, lightweight (17 g) design with good structural stability. We compared three electrode structures under varying conditions (voltage: 20-40 kV, electrode gaps: 60-120 mm, ring diameters: 60-100 mm). The sawtooth multi-ring structure achieved a maximum thrust of 164 mN/m under 40 kV and a 60 mm gap. Furthermore, through further optimization of the structural parameters of the sawtooth multi-ring, the thrust density achieved a 28.2% enhancement under equivalent operational conditions. This result highlight the potential of ionic wind propulsion for low-altitude flight, with further optimization promising greater efficiency.