A thrust formula for an MPD thruster with applied-magnetic field

Coletti, Michele

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.08.014

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…For the same reason the thrust was expected to increase with E for a fixed mass flow rate. In Figure 12 the increase in thrust due the application of the external magnetic field is compared to the predicted values obtained with the theoretical model developed for MPD thrusters [17]. The experimental and predicted values are in a good qualitative agreement, showing that the HCT with an external magnetic field applied behaves like a low power MPD.…”

Section: A Discharge Voltagementioning

confidence: 69%

Thrust of a Hollow Cathode Thrusters: Influence of the Applied Magnetic Field

Frollani¹,

Coletti²,

Gabriel³

2014

50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference

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Hollow Cathode Thrusters are small electric propulsion devices developed starting form hollow cathodes, used already in the '60s as sources of electrons for GIEs and HETs. A T6 HCT has been tested with a direct thrust balance with and without an external magnetic field in the orifice region. The discharge voltage, thrust and Isp increase with the application of the magnetic field while the thrust efficiency decreases. NOMENCLATURE E = Specific Energy ṁ = Mass Flow Rate HC = Hollow Cathode P m = Power needed by the coil HCT = Hollow Cathode Thruster T = Thrust I D = Discharge Current UoS = University of Southampton Isp = Specific Impulse V = Discharge Voltage MPD = Magneto Plasma Dynamic η = Thrust Efficiency

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Section: A Discharge Voltagementioning

confidence: 69%

Thrust of a Hollow Cathode Thrusters: Influence of the Applied Magnetic Field

Frollani¹,

Coletti²,

Gabriel³

2014

50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference

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“…In order to validate the electromechanical model, the predicted results are compared with the experimental data of MAI 130 KW thruster, and the TDHVL's thrust formula as described in the literature [11]. The results illustrated in Figure 6 indicate that the thrust is relatively independent of mass flow rate for the electromechanical model and the TDHVL's thrust formula.…”

Section: Lithium Propellant Thrustermentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The theoretical models of AF-MPDTs have recently been discussed in detail [11,12]. Coletti [11], of the Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory (TDHVL), analyzed the mechanism of swirling velocity converting to axial velocity into the magnetic nozzle, and developed a thrust formula to predict the thrust of AF-MPDTs. In order to validate the thrust formula, the predicted values of swirling angular velocity, thrust, and specific impulse were compared with experimental data from 5 thrusters.…”

Section: Of 16mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, a phenomenological or semi-empirical model is still required to predict the performance of MPDTs, and reveal the effect of several parameters (e.g., discharge current and applied magnetic field strength) on the thrust performance. To date, several theoretical models have been established for both self-field MPDTs (SF-MPDTs) [2,8,9] and applied-field MPDTs (AF-MPDTs) [5,6,[10][11][12][13][14][15]].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modified Electromechanical Modeling and Parameters Analysis of Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster

Wu¹,

Ou²,

Li³

et al. 2019

Energies

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To predict the thrust of magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters (MPDTs), a modified electromechanical model was proposed and a comparison with experimental results is presented in this paper. The motion of propellant in the thruster was divided into two portions: the axial motion which was accelerated by the interaction of current and induced self-field, and the swirling motion which was accelerated by the interaction of current and applied magnetic field. The electromechanical model was in good agreement with the experimental data, and the fitting degrees of the model were greater than 0.93. Furthermore, the influence of parameters on the performance of MPDT were investigated by utilizing the electromechanical model. The results indicate that the thrust performance of the thruster improved with the increase of discharge current, anode radius, applied magnetic field strength, and the decrease of mass flow rate. However, the large anode radius and low mass flow rate readily led to the failure of thruster function. Therefore, the model can not only predict the thrust performance of MPDTs, but also guide the design and operation optimization of the thruster.

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“…A number of theoretical studies were aimed at predicting dependencies of total thrust and working voltage on discharge current [22], [23]. Numerical simulations combined with theoretical analysis could become a powerful tool in optimization of thruster design, although great amounts of physical processes and external parameters that must be taken into account make it an uneasy task [24], [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

2-D Extended Fluid Model of Applied-Field Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster With Solid and Hollow Cathodes

Liu

Ning

et al. 2015

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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In this paper, a 2-D model for simulation of an applied-field magnetoplasmadynamic (AF-MPD) thruster with solid and hollow cathodes was built using COMSOL Multiphysics. Extended fluid model was used for self-consistent simulation of discharge processes in the thruster. Ion energy balance equation was developed and added to extended fluid model. A viscously dominated steady-state fully formed gas flow was considered with argon gas used as a propellant. Electron transport properties as well as rates of electron-impact reactions were calculated using electron energy distribution function. Plasmachemical reactions taken into account included direct and stepwise ionization of argon atoms, excitation of metastable levels, three-body and radiation recombination, and so on. Coupling fluid equations with Poisson equation for electric potential allowed for self-consistent description of plasma and sheaths.Distribution of such discharge parameters as charged and excited particle densities and fluxes, charged particles' mean energies and temperatures, and gas temperature and electric potential were obtained. Comparison of simulation results allowed for concluding that using hollow cathode in an AF-MPD thruster can contribute to power efficiency and lifetime of the device.

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A thrust formula for an MPD thruster with applied-magnetic field

Cited by 22 publications

References 11 publications

Thrust of a Hollow Cathode Thrusters: Influence of the Applied Magnetic Field

Thrust of a Hollow Cathode Thrusters: Influence of the Applied Magnetic Field

Modified Electromechanical Modeling and Parameters Analysis of Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster

2-D Extended Fluid Model of Applied-Field Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster With Solid and Hollow Cathodes

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