A two-dimensional (azimuthal-axial) particle-in-cell model of a Hall thruster

Coche, Philippe; Garrigues, Laurent

doi:10.1063/1.4864625

Cited by 79 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Ohm's law is solved in the frame of reference of the magnetic field with the electrical resistivity accounting for contributions from collisions of electrons with all other species. It has also been argued that the diffusion of electrons in Hall thrusters is enhanced in a non-classical manner by plasma turbulence [21][22][23][24][25][26]. In numerical simulations this enhancement has typically been modeled using an effective or "non-classical" collision frequency.…”

Section: B Computational Modelmentioning

confidence: 98%

Assessment of Pole Erosion in a Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster

Mikellides

Ortega²

2014

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

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Numerical simulations of a 6-kW laboratory Hall thruster called H6 have been performed to quantify the erosion rate at the inner pole. The assessments have been made in two versions of the thruster, namely the unshielded (H6US) and magnetically shielded (H6MS) configurations. The simulations have been performed with the 2-D axisymmetric code Hall2De which employs a new multi-fluid ion algorithm to capture the presence of lowenergy ions in the vicinity of the poles. It is found that the maximum computed erosion rate at the inner pole of the H6MS exceeds the measured rate of back-sputtered deposits by ~4.5 times. This explains only part of the surface roughening that was observed after a 150-h wear test, which covered most of the pole area exposed to the plasma. For the majority of the pole surface the computed erosion rates are found to be below the back-sputter rate and comparable to those in the H6US which exhibited little to no sputtering in previous tests. Possible explanations for the discrepancy are discussed and a mitigation technique is proposed.ince their inception over several decades ago the application of Hall thrusters has been constrained to near-Earth missions largely due to their limited throughput capability. The source of this limitation has been erosion of the acceleration channel walls, which can lead to exposure of critical magnetic circuit components to the high-energy ion beam and, eventually, to engine failure. A new technique has been demonstrated to eliminate channel erosion in Hall thrusters [1-3] based on findings from physics-based numerical simulations with a magnetic-field-aligned-mesh (MFAM) code called Hall2De [4] and results from a Qualification Life Test (QLT) of the BPT-4000 [5]. The BPT-4000 is a commercial Hall thruster designed and built by Aerojet-Rocketdyne that reached a zero-erosion state upon conclusion of the QLT [6]. Termed "magnetic shielding" [5] the technique enforces the equipotentialization of specific magnetic field lines called "grazing lines" which, in turn, protect the channel walls from ion bombardment. The demonstration of the first principles of magnetic shielding took place at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 2010-2012. During this 2-yr, proof-of-principle effort a 6-kW laboratory Hall thruster called H6 [7], was modified from its original configuration -called hereinafter the unshielded configuration or H6US -based on the guidance of numerical simulations with the Hall2De code. The magnetically shielded configuration, or H6MS, was then wear tested for 150 h at 300 V, 6 kW (20 A) and the erosion rates of the acceleration channel were found to be 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than those in the H6US. These measured rates were in agreement with the numerical simulation predictions. More recently, numerical simulations of the H6MS were performed for the discharge voltage range of 400-700 V at constant power (6 kW) and at 800 V, 9 kW [8]. The simulations were followed by performance and wear testing at the 800-V, 9-kW operating condition [9]. The combinat...

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Section: B Computational Modelmentioning

confidence: 98%

Assessment of Pole Erosion in a Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster

Mikellides

Ortega²

2014

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

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“…Techniques have been developed for PIC methods to handle particles traversing cells with non-uniform volumes, including: specialized weighting and interpolation [27][28][29][30], procedures involving recurring mapping from Cartesian to cylindrical or to curvilinear geometry [31][32][33], advancing particles in three dimensions for axisymmetric configurations to circumvent problems at the axis [34], and combinations of these techniques [35]. Applications of various PIC methods to axisymmetric and cylindrically symmetric configurations include high-power microwaves [36][37][38][39][40], Hall thrusters [41][42][43], wakefield accelerators [44,35], particle beams [45][46][47], pulsed-power configurations [48][49][50][51], Z-pinches [52][53][54][55][56], and field-reversed configurations [57,58]. Research literature on continuum kinetic methods for discretizing cylindrical phase space coordinates is extremely sparse and typically does not include convergence studies, making it difficult to assess generalizability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservative fourth-order finite-volume Vlasov–Poisson solver for axisymmetric plasmas in cylindrical (r,v,v) phase space coordinates

Vogman

Shumlak

Colella

2018

Journal of Computational Physics

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Conservative fourth-order finite-volume Vlasov-Poisson solver for axisymmetric plasmas in cylindrical (r,vr,vθ) phase space coordinates Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/37n7912d Journal A fourth-order finite-volume Vlasov-Poisson algorithm is developed for simulating axisymmetric plasma configurations in (r, v r , v θ ) phase space coordinates. The Vlasov equation for cylindrical phase space coordinates is cast into conservation-law form and is discretized on a structured grid. The conservative finite-volume discretization is based on fifth-order upwind reconstructions of the distribution function and a fourth-order quadrature rule that accounts for transverse variations of fluxes along control volume surfaces. High-order specular reflection boundary conditions enable high-fidelity treatment of plasma distribution functions at the axis and at wall boundaries. The numerical method is applied to simulate a confined uniform neutral gas to assess convergence properties for an equilibrium system in which effects of finite-temperature and acceleration due to centrifugal and Coriolis forces are present. The discretization is also applied to a Z-pinch configuration to study electrostatic ion confinement and the dynamics of the associated breathing mode. Simulations show that the ion distribution function exhibits non-Maxwellian features and that a temperature anisotropy develops and is sustained. The finite-volume implementation is demonstrated to converge at fourth-order for both applications.

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“…In addition, with the Table VII. progress made in the high-performance computer (HPC) technology, the high fidelity of reproduction and fast execution time of numerical models are rapidly improving. Due to the small size of micro-HTs, the questionable scaling schemes 155,156 and frequently used implicit algorithms 157 are no longer necessary. Finally, EP experiments in vacuum chambers are also very expensive and do not allow to reproduce typical Space environments like numerical models do.…”

Section: Virtual Thrusters: Modeling Miniaturized Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Different two-dimensional (azimuthal-axial, 156,157 radial-axial, 171 and radial-azimuthal 172,173 ) models have also been developed that highlight the importance of the correlations between the different components.…”

Section: Kinetic Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Space micropropulsion systems for Cubesats and small satellites: From proximate targets to furthermost frontiers

Levchenko

Bazaka

Ding

et al. 2018

Applied Physics Reviews

269

104

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Rapid evolution of miniaturized, automatic, robotized, function-centered devices has redefined space technology, bringing closer the realization of most ambitious interplanetary missions and intense near-Earth space exploration. Small unmanned satellites and probes are now being launched in hundreds at a time, resurrecting a dream of satellite constellations, i.e., wide, all-covering networks of small satellites capable of forming universal multifunctional, intelligent platforms for global communication, navigation, ubiquitous data mining, Earth observation, and many other functions, which was once doomed by the extraordinary cost of such systems. The ingression of novel nanostructured materials provided a solid base that enabled the advancement of these affordable systems in aspects of power, instrumentation, and communication. However, absence of efficient and reliable thrust systems with the capacity to support precise maneuvering of small satellites and CubeSats over long periods of deployment remains a real stumbling block both for the deployment of large satellite systems and for further exploration of deep space using a new generation of spacecraft. The last few years have seen tremendous global efforts to develop various miniaturized space thrusters, with great success stories. Yet, there are critical challenges that still face the space technology. These have been outlined at an inaugural International Workshop on Micropropulsion and Cubesats, MPCS-2017, a joint effort between Plasma Sources and Application Centre/Space Propulsion Centre (Singapore) and the Micropropulsion and Nanotechnology Lab, the G. Washington University (USA) devoted to miniaturized space propulsion systems, and hosted by CNR-Nanotec—P.Las.M.I. lab in Bari, Italy. This focused review aims to highlight the most promising developments reported at MPCS-2017 by leading world-reputed experts in miniaturized space propulsion systems. Recent advances in several major types of small thrusters including Hall thrusters, ion engines, helicon, and vacuum arc devices are presented, and trends and perspectives are outlined.

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A two-dimensional (azimuthal-axial) particle-in-cell model of a Hall thruster

Cited by 79 publications

References 28 publications

Assessment of Pole Erosion in a Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster

Assessment of Pole Erosion in a Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster

Conservative fourth-order finite-volume Vlasov–Poisson solver for axisymmetric plasmas in cylindrical (r,v,v) phase space coordinates

Space micropropulsion systems for Cubesats and small satellites: From proximate targets to furthermost frontiers

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