It is shown from the experimental results of existing Hall thrusters that erosion phenomena occur in the magnetic poles when the maximum magnetic field is located in the plume region. The developed Particle-in-Cell model is used in this paper for simulation research on magnetic pole erosion of Hall thrusters. The simulation results show that when the maximum magnetic field is located in the plume region, there is a large potential drop between the channel outlet and the magnetic pole. Therefore, low-energy ions close to the outlet plane are accelerated to bombard the magnetic pole surface, which is an important reason for the magnetic pole erosion. Moreover, the ion flux and energy bombarded on the magnetic pole under two conditions (magnetic pole grounding and floating) are calculated and compared. It is shown from the simulation results that grounding the magnetic pole can reduce the potential drop between the channel outlet and magnetic pole, thereby reducing the ion energy and flux bombarded on the magnetic pole and effectively alleviating the erosion of the magnetic pole.

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