The far-field plasma characteristics of LHT40 low-power Hall thruster for commercial aerospace applications

Self Cite

Low-power Hall thruster (LHT) generally has poor discharge efficiency characteristics due to the large surface-to-volume ratio. Aiming to further refine and improve the performance of 300 W class LHT in terms of thrust and efficiency, and to obtain the most optimal operating point, the experimental study of the discharge characteristics for three different anode positions was conducted under the operation of various discharge voltages (100–400 V) and anode mass flow rates (0.65 mg s−1 and 0.95 mg s−1). The experimental results indicated that the thruster has the most excellent performance in terms of thrust and efficiency etc. at a channel length of 27 mm for identical operating conditions. In addition, Particle in Cell (PIC) simulations, employed to reveal the underlying physical mechanisms, show that the ionization and acceleration zone is pushed downwards towards the channel exit as the anode moves towards the exit. At the identical operating point, when the channel length is reduced from 32 to 27 mm, the ionization and acceleration zone moves towards the exit, and the parameters such as thrust and efficiency increase due to the high ionization rate (IR), ion number density, and axial electric field. When the channel length is further moved to 24 mm, the parameters in terms of thrust (F) and efficiency ( ) are reduced as a result of the decreasing ionization efficiency ( ) and the larger plume divergence angle ( ). In this paper, the results indicated that an optimum anode position ( mm) exists for the optimum performance.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental and numerical simulation study of the effect for the anode positions on the discharge characteristics of 300 W class low power Hall thrusters

Chen

Gao

Yang

et al. 2022

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“…However, a number of problems [4][5][6] must be addressed and resolved if Hall thrusters are to be successfully integrated into spacecraft. One of these issues is the interaction of its beam with the spacecraft.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study of beam divergence and thrust vector eccentricity characteristics of the Hall thruster based on dual Faraday probe array planes and its applications

Chen

Zhao²,

Tian

et al. 2023

Self Cite

The accurate knowledge of the thrust vector eccentricity and beam divergence characteristics of Hall thrusters are of significant engineering value for the beneficial integration and successful application of Hall thrusters on spacecraft. For the characteristics of the plume bipolar diffusion owing to the annular discharge channel of the Hall thruster, a Gaussian fitted method for thrust vector deviation angle and beam divergence of Hall thrusters based on dual Faraday probe array planes was proposed in respect of the Hall thruster beam characteristics. The results show that the ratios of the deviation between the maximum and minimum values of the beam divergence angle and the thrust vector eccentricity angle using a Gaussian fit to the optimized Faraday probe dual plane to the mean value are 1.4% and 11.5%, respectively. The optimized thrust vector eccentricity angle obtained has been substantially improved, by approximately 20%. The beam divergence angle calculated using a Gaussian fitting to the optimized Faraday probe dual plane is approximately identical to the non-optimized one. The beam divergence and thrust vector eccentricity angles for different anode mass flow rates were obtained by averaging the beam divergence and thrust vector eccentricity angles calculated by the two-plane, Gaussian-fitted ion current density method for different cross-sections. The study not only allows for an immediate and effective tool for determining the design of thrust vector adjustment mechanisms of spacecraft with different power Hall thrusters but also for characterizing the three-dimensional spatial distribution of the Hall thruster plume.

“…Hall thrusters have the advantage of being highly efficient, of having highly specific impulses and a simple structure. In addition, with the rapid development of the commercial aerospace industry, Hall thrusters will become more widely used in aerospace fields such as the propulsion of small or microsatellites [3,4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical study of the effect of aft-loaded magnetic field on multiple ionizations in Hall thruster

Zeng¹,

Liang²,

LIU³

et al. 2022

It is assumed that the shift of a strong magnetic field region with a positive gradient from exit plane to outside, namely the transit from a normal loaded magnetic field to an aft-loaded one, enhances the multiple ionization process in the magnetically shielded Hall thruster. To confirm this conjecture, a comparative study is carried out numerically with a particle-in-cell method. The simulation results prove that compared with the normal loaded magnetic field, the application of aft-loaded magnetic field enhances the multiple ionization process. This study further analyzes the ionization characteristics of the transition from low-charged ions to high-charged ions under two magnetic field conditions and the influence of the magnetic strength of aft-loaded magnetic field on the multiple ionization characteristics. The study described herein is useful for understanding the discharge characteristics of Hall thruster with an aft-loaded magnetic field.