Atmospheric propellant fed Hall thruster discharges: 0D-hybrid model and experimental results

Ferrato, Eugenio; Giannetti, Vittorio; Califano, Francesco; Andreussi, Tommaso

doi:10.1088/1361-6595/ac7904

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 37 publications

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“…Tumuklu and Levin indicated that the ion backflow of an EP plasma plume can be modified by the ambient flow in the VLEO, potentially leading to additional contamination [24]. Because ABEP uses atmospheric gas as an alternative propellant, the composition and behavior of the plasma plume can differ from those of conventional EP systems [42,44]. Moreover, owing to the presence of atomic oxygen (AO) in the ABEP plasma plume and its homogeneous chemical composition with ambient flow, the plume-background interaction and surface contamination may be more severe, compared to EP systems using noble gases [45].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma plume simulation of an atomic oxygen-fed ion thruster in very-low-earth-orbit

Moon,

Choe,

Jun

2023

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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The plasma plume flow of an atomic oxygen-fed (AO-fed) ion thruster is numerically investigated as a simplification of the atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP). A predictive analysis is conducted focusing on the ion backflow phenomenon and plume-background interaction in very-low-earth-orbit (VLEO). The computational framework employs two sequentially integrated numerical methods: a zero-dimensional (0-D) analytical model for the radio-frequency ion thruster and a hybrid method of the particle-in-cell (PIC) and direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) techniques. The 0-D analytic model is employed for the prediction of exhaust conditions, while the hybrid PIC-DSMC method adopts these predictions to conduct the plasma plume simulations. A generalized collision cross-section model is introduced to enable consistent kinetic simulations for both AO and xenon propellants in VLEO atmosphere. The plasma plume simulations are conducted in an axisymmetric domain, including a cylindrical satellite body to consider wake flow. The exhaust ions exhibit diffusive transport transverse to the ion beam direction, implying the ion backflow. The backflowing ion current density can be increased in AO-fed thrusters, which require a high propellant flow rate to achieve a practical thrust. The AO-fed ion thruster shows a more active interaction between its plasma plume and the VLEO atmosphere compared to conventional xenon-based thrusters. The intensified plume-background interaction modifies the backflowing ion current density and the kinetic energy of individual ions, factors related to the spacecraft’s surface contamination.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma plume simulation of an atomic oxygen-fed ion thruster in very-low-earth-orbit

Moon,

Choe,

Jun

2023

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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A review of air-breathing electric propulsion: from mission studies to technology verification

2022

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Air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) allows for lowering the altitude of spacecraft operations below 250 km, in the so-called Very Low Earth Orbits (VLEOs). Operations in VLEOs will give radical advantages in terms of orbit accessibility, payload performance, protection from radiations, and end-of-life disposal. ABEP combines an intake to collect the residual atmosphere in front of the spacecraft and an electric thruster to ionize and accelerate the atmospheric particles. Such residual gas can be exploited as a renewable resource not only to keep the spacecraft on a VLEO, but also to remove the main limiting factor of spacecraft lifetime, i.e., the amount of stored propellant. Several realizations of the ABEP concept have been proposed, but the few end-to-end experimental campaigns highlighted the need to improve the concept functional design and the representativeness of simulated atmospheric flows. The difficulty in recreating the VLEO environment in a laboratory limits the data available to validate scaling laws and modelling efforts. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the main research and development efforts on the ABEP technology.

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A study of an air-breathing electrodeless plasma thruster discharge

Zhou,

Taccogna,

Fajardo

et al. 2024

Propulsion and Power Research

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Atmospheric propellant fed Hall thruster discharges: 0D-hybrid model and experimental results

Cited by 5 publications

References 37 publications

Plasma plume simulation of an atomic oxygen-fed ion thruster in very-low-earth-orbit

Plasma plume simulation of an atomic oxygen-fed ion thruster in very-low-earth-orbit

A review of air-breathing electric propulsion: from mission studies to technology verification

A study of an air-breathing electrodeless plasma thruster discharge

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