Study on the effect of auxiliary electrode materials on the performance of wire-to-plate ionic wind thrusters

Abstract Traditional wire-to-plate ionic wind thrusters often suffer from low thrust density and limited efficiency. Adding a passive auxiliary electrode upstream of the emitter improves performance, yet the intrinsic mechanisms governing different auxiliary electrode materials remain systematically unexplored. This study investigated four materials ranging from conductors to insulators (aluminum foil, carbon fiber, wood, and glass fiber) using comparative experiments and electrohydrodynamic (EH