Comparison of Numerical and Experimental Time-Resolved Near-Field Hall Thruster Plasma Properties

Abstract

The breathing mode of a xenon 600W Hall effect thruster has been studied using both temporally resolved experimental data and numerical modeling. Fluctuations in xenon neutral NIR (810-835 nm) emission in the near field thruster plume have been measured at 1 μs resolution using a high-speed intensified charge coupled device (ICCD). Oscillations in electron temperature, 3-9 eV, have been inferred using a collisional-radiative model and a two-line ratio method. The time-resolved emission and electron temperature measurements are then used to assess the accuracy of the numerical model HPHall.Simulations were found to be consistent with a -68̊ phase delay measured between discharge current and electron temperature cycles, but were unable to predict the magnitude of oscillations observed.