The Development of CAM200 - Low Power Hall Thruster

Lev, Dan; Eytan, Raanan; Alon, Gal; Warshavsky, A.; Appel, Leonid; Kapulkin, Alexander; Rubanovych, Maxim

doi:10.2322/tastj.14.pb_217

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Early Development Models (DM) and Engineering Models (EM) of the R-200 underwent a development program that included proof-of-concept tests, experimental and numerical validation of physical mechanisms, wall material selection, performance testing, thruster engineering model structural, thermal, and magnetic simulations followed by an engineering model production as well as full performance mapping [14]. Following these development phases a Quali cation Model (QM) of the thruster was produced.…”

Section: A Test Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

96 kN-sec Endurance Test of the R-200 Low Power Hall Thruster

Lev

Franco

Zimmerman

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The R-200 low power Hall thruster unit passed a 96 kNs endurance test in which it operated at one operating point of 250 W (275 V) while anode mass flow rate adjusted over time to maintain constant power. The test was performed at Rafael, while the initial performance validation was conducted at ESTEC. At the end of the endurance test the thruster exhibited nearly unchanged performance and did not reach its end-of-life. Throughout the endurance test performance was characterized 5 times in the 100-250 W discharge power range, ceramic channel profile was measured 6 times to assess the erosion rate, thrust was continuously tracked multiple times a day, an ignition test was conducted after 60 kNs to assess continuous operation impact on ignition capability, and sensitivity to magnetic field changes was checked twice (12 kNs and 65 kNs). Two notable events occurred during the test – a cathode keeper breach and a ceramic channel breach. The keeper electrode was replaced, and cathode position adjusted. following the ceramic channel breach the thruster continued to operate regularly, and with no performance degradation, even after the inner pole was exposed to the plasma discharge. The thruster generated a constant thrust of 13 mN throughout the entire test while the Isp decreased from 1,250 sec at the beginning of life to 1,160 sec at the end of test. Performance degradation of less than 10% was spotted at all operating points in the 100-250 W discharge power range throughout the experiment. The ignition test validated 300 successful thruster ignition cycles. Using channel profile geometry data a simple semi-empirical erosion model was constructed to predict possible breaching points and allow for an improved future channel design. The information gathered during this endurance test campaign was used to redesign the cathode keeper and inner ceramic channel profile. A subsequent test of the improved thruster unit design showed an expected lifetime of over 200 kNs.

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Section: A Test Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

96 kN-sec Endurance Test of the R-200 Low Power Hall Thruster

Lev

Franco

Zimmerman

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…This unique configuration enables close to full ionization of the propellant in the anode cavity even at low mass flow rates. 4,5 During the past few years CAM200, was designed and tested by Rafael in cooperation with the Asher Space Research Institute (ASRI) 6 implementing the gained knowledge of previous ASRI work on Hall Thrusters. During development tests CAM200 Hall thruster exhibited outstanding performance at the low power operating range, from 100 to 300 W. Following the preliminary laboratory model tests phase CAM200 thruster entered the next development phase in which an Engineering Model (EM) was designed, manufactured and tested at Rafael, Israel (Table 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Validation and Plume Divergence of the CAM200 Low Power Hall Thruster

Franco¹,

Lev²,

Appel³

2018

AAOAJ

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CAM200 is a low power Hall thruster operating in the 100-250 W power range. We present two recent activities in the development of the CAM200 Hall thruster-performance validation in an independent facility and measurement of the ion flux in the thruster plume. We show that the thruster performance, measured throughout six different operation points, is in line with the performance recorded at the Technion in past experiments (At 250W: Thrust of 13.9±0.6 mN, Isp of 1570±73 sec and efficiency of 43±3.7%). We also present ion flux curves for each operation point and show that the beam divergence angle is less than 40° for discharge power of 160W and higher.

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“…Since low power Hall thrusters already existed in the world at that time [7] a different thruster configuration was conceived, and later patented [8] to give the thruster better attributes compared with his low power Hall thruster cousins. The CAM200 Hall thruster, developed by Rafael, consists of co-axial anodes [9] (Figure 3). The special anode configuration enables more efficient thruster operation than conventional Hall thrusters -making the thruster more attractive to potential customers.…”

Section: Innovation Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovation in the development of plasma propulsion devices in Israel

Lev

2017

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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Abstract. In this paper we review plasma propulsion development approach which focuses on innovation. We then bring the example of the state of Israel in general, and Rafael in particular, and show how it has adopted an innovative approach to develop a low power Hall thruster and a low current cathode. To present one special test-case of innovation we elaborate upon the development process of a heaterless hollow cathode that was developed at Rafael. In particular, by presenting the cathode characterization and wear test results we demonstrate that the heaterless cathode developed has a sufficiently wide operational range and may operate continuously for 1,500 hours without any measurable degradation in performance.

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The Development of CAM200 - Low Power Hall Thruster

Cited by 13 publications

References 6 publications

96 kN-sec Endurance Test of the R-200 Low Power Hall Thruster

96 kN-sec Endurance Test of the R-200 Low Power Hall Thruster

Performance Validation and Plume Divergence of the CAM200 Low Power Hall Thruster

Innovation in the development of plasma propulsion devices in Israel

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