Electric Micropropulsion

Martı́nez-Sánchez, Manuel

doi:10.21236/ada411680

Cited by 2 publications

References 1 publication

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Particle‐in‐cell simulation of the effect of curved magnetic field on wall bombardment and erosion in a hall thruster

Liu

Hu³

et al. 2019

Contributions to Plasma Physics

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A curved, convex towards the channel bottom magnetic field is an important feature of an advanced Hall thruster that allows confining the plasma flow in the channel center, reducing the divergence angle of the ejected ion beam, and improving the discharge performance. In this article, the discharge behaviour of a Hall thruster in magnetic fields with different degrees of curvature is simulated with a particle‐in‐cell numerical method, and the effect of curved magnetic field on the ion bombardment and wall erosion and the associated mechanisms are studied and analysed. The results show that, as the curvature of the magnetic field increases, the propellant ionization becomes more confined at the channel center, the potential drop inside the channel decreases, and the acceleration region shifts outside the channel, which lead to the attenuation of the ion energy bombarding the wall and the deviation of the bombardment angle from the optimal sputtering angle. Conversely, the ion flux bombarding the wall near the channel exit increases. Nevertheless, the bombardment energy and angle are the dominant factors for the wall erosion, and the wall erosion rate clearly decreases with the increasing curvature of the magnetic field. These findings are closely related to the behaviour of electron conduction under a curved magnetic field; the relevant mechanisms are clarified in this article.

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Particle‐in‐cell simulation of the effect of curved magnetic field on wall bombardment and erosion in a hall thruster

Liu

Hu³

et al. 2019

Contributions to Plasma Physics

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Effects of Sheath Instability on Properties of a Hall Thruster

Sydorenko¹,

Kaganovich²,

Raitses³

et al. 2008

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

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Recent analytical studies and particle-in-cell simulations suggested that the electron velocity distribution function in a Hall thruster plasma is non-Maxwellian and anisotropic. The electron average kinetic energy in the direction parallel to the walls of a thruster is several times larger than the electron average kinetic energy in the direction normal to the walls. Electrons are stratified into several groups depending on their origin and confinement. These kinetic effects lead to many new properties of plasma in a Hall thruster. In particular, the sheath near the electron-emitting surface may become unstable if it is characterized by the negative electron conductivity. In this paper, the negative conductivity effects in Hall thrusters are studied making use of a one-dimensional particle-in-cell code. In case of intense turbulent heating, a new regime with relaxation sheath oscillations is observed. In this regime, the plasma switches between a state with non-space charge limited emission and a state with space charge limited emission. Transition to the latter state occurs when the negative conductivity appears due to modification of the velocity distribution of the plasma bulk Nomenclature

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Electric Micropropulsion

Cited by 2 publications

References 1 publication

Particle‐in‐cell simulation of the effect of curved magnetic field on wall bombardment and erosion in a hall thruster

Particle‐in‐cell simulation of the effect of curved magnetic field on wall bombardment and erosion in a hall thruster

Effects of Sheath Instability on Properties of a Hall Thruster

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