BPT-4000 Multi-Mode 4.5 KW Hall Thruster Qualification Status

Grys, Kristi de; Rayburn, Christopher; Wilson, Fred; Fisher, Jack; Werthman, Lance; Khayms, Vadim

doi:10.2514/6.2003-4552

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…To a great extend, the history of the HET has been about optimizing the magnetic field. Current thrusters such as the Busek BHT-1000, Aerojet BPT-4000, and the 6 kW Hall thruster at Michigan all generate high T=P levels at low voltages [2][3][4][5]. The BHT-1000 has a similar dual electrode design inside the discharge channel.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plume Characterization of an Ion-Focusing Hall Thruster

Walker

2012

Journal of Propulsion and Power

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The T-220HT Hall-effect thruster is modified to include in-channel electrodes and additional magnetic coils to study ion focusing. The goal of this work is to decrease energy losses from ion-wall neutralization and plume divergence to increase the thrust-to-power ratio. In this paper, thrust and plume measurements on xenon are presented. The thruster was tested from 125 to 300 V at 9 A discharge, with the electrodes either floating or biased to 10 or 30 V above anode potential. The mass flow rate was varied from 9.8 to 10:4 mg=s to maintain constant discharge current. The maximum operating chamber pressure was 7:7 10 6 Torr-Xe. Performance measurements on xenon show the best overall increase in performance at 150 V discharge and 10 V electrodes with an increase of 7.69 mN of thrust, 4:6 mN=kW thrust-to-power ratio, 123 s I SP , and 5.3% anode efficiency. The plume ion energy distribution function indicates an ion energy increase up to 25 V. The ion number density and propellant efficiency both show increases. The different electrode currents and ion energy distribution functions at 10 V compared with 30 V electrodes suggest different electrode-plasma interaction at the two electrode biases. Nomenclature

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plume Characterization of an Ion-Focusing Hall Thruster

Walker

2012

Journal of Propulsion and Power

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“…Current state of the art HETs such as the NASA-173M, BHT-1000, BPT-4000, and the H6 generate high T=P ratios at low voltages [3][4][5][6]. To date, the BHT-1000 has achieved 96 mN=kW at the 100 V, 2.5 A operating condition [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technique to Collimate Ions in a Hall-Effect Thruster Discharge Chamber

Walker

2011

Journal of Propulsion and Power

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High thrust-to-power ratio on Hall-effect thrusters allows for more efficient thrust generation and better overall performance. It allows Hall-effect thrusters to perform more thrust-intensive maneuvers such as orbit raising, thus saving the mass of a second engine purely for those maneuvers. This paper presents the initial performance measurements of a Hall-effect thruster using in-channel electrodes to collimate ions in the discharge channel in order to increase thrust-to-power. The thruster is tested in the range of 100-300 V discharge voltage, at 9 and 20 A discharge current, and with 0-30 V electrode potential on krypton propellant. Xenon propellant is used briefly. A null-type, inverted pendulum thrust stand is used to acquire thrust measurements. Improvements of 3 mN=kW, 200 s specific impulse, and 4% anode efficiency are observed with energized electrode, supporting the ion collimation hypothesis. Improvements exist primarily at low voltages (<200 V), which indicates a behavior different from the two-stage Hall-effect thruster. Extending the inner channel wall causes a tilt of the magnetic field and severely decreases performance. Plume and in-channel measurements to determine ion collimation are forthcoming.

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“…The thruster is designed to operate at 3-4.5 kW and 300-400 V. It is a multi-mode thruster, operating at lower voltage with a higher thrust-to-power ratio for orbit raising maneuvers and then switching to a higher voltage, higher specific impulse mode for station keeping. 15 Recently, lifetime evaluation testing of the BPT-4000 has been extended to permit the demonstration of a greater propellant throughput capability. In addition, this testing aims to assess the performance of the thruster at lower power operation.…”

Section: Bpt-4000mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mission Assessment of the Faraday Accelerator with Radio-Frequency Assisted Discharge (FARAD)

Dankanich¹,

Polzin

2008

44th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference &Amp;amp; Exhibit

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Pulsed inductive thrusters have typically been considered for future, high-power, missions requiring nuclear electric propulsion. These high-power systems, while promising equivalent or improved performance over state-of-the-art propulsion systems, presently have no planned missions for which they are well suited. The ability to efficiently operate an inductive thruster at lower energy and power levels may provide inductive thrusters near term applicability and mission pull. The Faraday Accelerator with Radio-frequency Assisted Discharge concept demonstrated potential for a high-efficiency, low-energy pulsed inductive thruster. The added benefits of energy recapture and/or pulse compression are shown to enhance the performance of the pulsed inductive propulsion system, yielding a system that con compete with and potentially outperform current state-of-the-art electric propulsion technologies. These enhancements lead to mission-level benefits associated with the use of a pulsed inductive thruster. Analyses of low-power near to mid-term missions and higher power farterm missions are undertaken to compare the performance of pulsed inductive thrusters with that delivered by state-of-the-art and development-level electric propulsion systems. I.Introduction For decades, high-power pulsed plasma thrusters have claimed equivalent or improved performance over state-of-the-art (SOA) steady-state electric propulsion (EP) systems. After considerable work the Northrop-Grumman Space Technology (formerly TRW) Pulsed Inductive Thruster (PIT), which represents the SOA in inductive thruster technology, has obtained relatively high performance in the laboratory environment.1 However, it still requires additional advancements in switching technology and energy storage before becoming practical for high-power in-space applications. While high power pulsed systems have performance advantages over SOA systems, these systems-level limitations mean that there are currently few planned missions where this high-power thruster could even be applicable. A high-performance pulsed inductive thruster operating at lower power could be used on many planned missions, overcoming several of the technical issues associated with higher-power operation and permitting greater near-term acceptance of the technology. The Faraday Accelerator with Radio-frequency Assisted Discharge (FARAD) 2 is a lower-power alternative to the PIT that has the potential for in-space operation using current SOA power storage and switching. In the present paper we investigate a range of science and exploration missions (at both low and high power) to find the niche that is best suited for pulsed inductive thrusters. While this study is specifically focused on FARAD, the methodology and general conclusions should extend to other pulsed inductive accelerators like the PIT and compact toroid-based thrusters.

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BPT-4000 Multi-Mode 4.5 KW Hall Thruster Qualification Status

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Plume Characterization of an Ion-Focusing Hall Thruster

Plume Characterization of an Ion-Focusing Hall Thruster

Technique to Collimate Ions in a Hall-Effect Thruster Discharge Chamber

Mission Assessment of the Faraday Accelerator with Radio-Frequency Assisted Discharge (FARAD)

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