Three-dimensional particle simulation of back-sputtered carbon in electric propulsion test facility

Zheng, Hongru; Cai, Guobiao; Liu, Lihui; Shang, Shuo; He, Bijiao

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2016.12.016

Cited by 25 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…In addition, EX-PWS can accurately calculate the plume flow field and its effects. In [15,16], the authors have introduced the applications of EX-PWS on the double-layer anti-sputtering targets. Cai et al [17] shows its application on ion thruster plume impingement research.…”

Section: Simulation Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Three-dimensional particle simulation of ion thruster plume flows with EX-PWS

Zheng

Cai

Wang³

2018

Plasma Sci. Technol.

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Ion thruster plumes from a multi-thruster array of different working configurations are simulated by a hybrid fluid-particle software. The particle in cell method is employed to model the transports of ions. The direct simulation Monte Carlo method is used to model momentum and charge exchange (CEX) collisions. The software is based on unstructured grids which make it easy to handle with complex geometry. The results of chamber simulation are compared with experimental data in ion current density and number density, which show good agreements. The maximum difference of current density along the thruster centerline is less than 9.30%. The interaction effects of plumes when multiple thrusters are operating in vacuum are predicted. Distributions of single charged xenon ions are significantly different in the near-field plume flow, however, merge into one in the far downstream region. Moreover, the interaction effect on the spatial distribution of CEX xenon ions is displayed as well.

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Section: Simulation Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The virtual particles are created temporarily with the uniform and static parameters, and their trajectories and particle parameters are not tracked. There is a detail introduction of the collision cross sections for both MEX and CEX collisions in [15].…”

Section: Particle Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three-dimensional particle simulation of ion thruster plume flows with EX-PWS

Zheng

Cai

Wang³

2018

Plasma Sci. Technol.

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“…The EX-PWS simulates particle injection, particle movement, and particle collision physics processes of the LIPS-200 thruster as detailed in the published literatures [4,13,21,22]. This article does not duplicate excessive descriptions, it just presents the calculation method for heat flow based on the Maxwell model in the EX-PWS.…”

Section: Numerical Simulation Of Heat Flowsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation into the thermal effect of the LIPS-200 ion thruster plume

Chen¹,

He²,

Zuo³

et al. 2022

Plasma Sci. Technol.

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The distributions of the thermal effects of the ion thruster plume are essential for estimating the influence of the thruster plume, improving the layout of the spacecraft, and the thermal shielding of critical sensitive components. In order to obtain the heat flow distribution in the plume of the LIPS-200 xenon ion thruster, an experimental study of the thermal effects of the plume was conducted in this work with a total heat flow sensor and a radiant heat flow sensor over an axial distance of 0.5–0.9 m and an angle of 0°–60° of the thruster. Combined with a Faraday probe and a retarding potential analyzer, the thermal accommodation coefficient of the sensor surface in the plume is available. The results of the experiment show that the xenon ion thruster plume heat flow is mainly concentrated within the range of 15°. The total and radial heat flow of the plume downstream of the thruster gradually decreases along the axial and radial directions, with the corresponding values of 11.78 kW/m2 and 0.3 kW/m2 for the axial 0.5 m position respectively. At the same position, the radiation heat flow accounts for a very small part of the total heat flow, approximately 3%–5%. The thermal accommodation factor is 0.72–0.99 over the measured region. Furthermore, the PIC and DSMC methods based on the Maxwell thermal accommodation coefficient model (EX-PWS) show a maximum error of 28.6% between simulation and experiment for LIPS-200 ion thruster plume heat flow, which on one hand provides an experimental basis for studying the interaction between the ion thruster and the spacecraft, on the other hand provides optimization of the ion thruster plume simulation model.

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“…A detailed analysis of backsputtering on thruster testing is given by van Noord and Soulas and with a stronger focus on various beam dump geometries using a DSMC-PIC code by Zheng and co-workers. 264,265 In addition to the vacuum system, the EP test facility provides a number of typical diagnostic tools for analyzing the thruster or the ion beam. In the test setup shown in Fig.…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A major issue of spacecraft EP interaction is related to the interaction of the neutralized ion plume with parts of the thruster itself, 129,[344][345][346][347][348][349][350][351][352] other components of the spacecraft, [353][354][355] other spacecrafts in the case of debris removal employing EP for momentum transfer, 92 or with parts of the test facility in the case of terrestrial testing. 265,356 One has to distinguish between the damage induced by material sputtering by the ion beam itself and effects due to the deposition of either the propellant itself or its sputter products on surfaces of the spacecraft. Examples of internal sputter damage are grid erosion in the case of RIT and Kaufman-type engines 345,347,348 or channel erosion in the case of Hall thrusters.…”

Section: J Sc/ep Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ion thrusters for electric propulsion: Scientific issues developing a niche technology into a game changer

Holste

Dietz

Scharmann

et al. 2020

Review of Scientific Instruments

138

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The transition from OLD SPACE to NEW SPACE along with increasing commercialization has a major impact on space flight, in general, and on electric propulsion (EP) by ion thrusters, in particular. Ion thrusters are nowadays used as primary propulsion systems in space. This article describes how these changes related to NEW SPACE affect various aspects that are important for the development of EP systems. Starting with a historical overview of the development of space flight and of the technology of EP systems, a number of important missions with EP and the underlying technologies are presented. The focus of our discussion is the technology of the radio frequency ion thruster as a prominent member of the gridded ion engine family. Based on this discussion, we give an overview of important research topics such as the search for alternative propellants, the development of reliable neutralizer concepts based on novel insert materials, as well as promising neutralizer-free propulsion concepts. In addition, aspects of thruster modeling and requirements for test facilities are discussed. Furthermore, we address aspects of space electronics with regard to the development of highly efficient electronic components as well as aspects of electromagnetic compatibility and radiation hardness. This article concludes with a presentation of the interaction of EP systems with the spacecraft.

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Three-dimensional particle simulation of back-sputtered carbon in electric propulsion test facility

Cited by 25 publications

References 18 publications

Three-dimensional particle simulation of ion thruster plume flows with EX-PWS

Three-dimensional particle simulation of ion thruster plume flows with EX-PWS

Investigation into the thermal effect of the LIPS-200 ion thruster plume

Ion thrusters for electric propulsion: Scientific issues developing a niche technology into a game changer

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