Computational Modeling of an Axial Ring Cusp Hybrid Discharge for the MiXI Thruster

Li, Gary Z.; Huerta, Cesar E.; Wirz, Richard E.

doi:10.2514/6.2018-4814

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The boundaries of the cylindrical discharge chamber include the tungsten cathode, the backplate wall, the anode wall, and the screen grid. The tungsten cathode is simplified as a rectangular area with a width of 3 mm and length of 9 mm [11]. The acceleration grid is not considered in this calculation domain.…”

Section: Discharge Chamber Model For the Miniature Ion Thrustermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…where K is the adjustable coefficient and ω ce = eB/m. For the miniature ion thrusters, a value of K = 0.25 is used for the simulations presented here and was found to produce good results in previous literatures [11]. The effect of the anomalous Bohm-type electron diffusion is then implemented in the MCC process of the simulation with the total electron scattering rate of ν e ′ = ν e + ν B , where ν e is the electron-neutral scattering rate [40].…”

Section: Pic/mcc Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For micro DC ion thrusters, SmCo permanent magnet is used to generate strong and short-range magnetic field to raise the ionization rate by increasing the path length of the primary electrons and reducing plasma and high energy electron losses to the walls in the discharge chamber [9,10], which is called the magnetostatic 'cusp confinement' [11]. The magnetostatic 'cusp confinement' has been used in the first micro DC ion thruster, MiXI (3-ring) developed by Conversano and Wirz [8], which could achieve 59% of cathode-free total efficiency at low power consumption (20-50 W) with the configuration of a 3-ring cusp magnetic field.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Experiments show that the thruster with ARCH discharge could achieve 59% cathode-free total discharge efficiency at the xenon beam current of 23.7 mA with filament cathodes and low temperature operation, corresponding to a discharge loss of 226 W A −1 and propellant utilization of 72% [17]. Li and Samples have presented several thruster sensitivity studies including neutral injection variation, outer magnet displacement, and discharge chamber aspect ratio [11,17], which provides actionable recommendations for further improving the thruster performance. However, the investigation into two primary methods for the ARCH discharge confinement, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Revealing the plasma confinement behavior of an axial ring cusp hybrid discharge in a miniature ion thruster using PIC/MCC simulation

Liu

Wang

et al. 2023

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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Micro DC ion thrusters have broad application prospects as the propulsion system of micro spacecrafts due to their advantages of high discharge reliability and efficiency. The experiments in the literature show that the plasma discharge under the Axial Ring Cusp Hybrid (ARCH) magnetic field has higher discharge efficiency in the discharge chamber of micro DC ion thruster. In this paper, a 2d-3v axisymmetric particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision (PIC/MCC) numerical model is developed for the ARCH discharge. This model takes the thermal electron emission including the Schottky effect, various collision processes including the Bohm-type anomalous conductivity and the uneven background gas density distribution in the cathode-anode gap into account. The spatial distributions of plasma characteristics are presented and the advantages of ARCH discharge compared with traditional 3-Ring discharge in the discharge chamber of the micro DC ion thruster are analyzed. The longer electron path length and the change of ionization region improve the discharge efficiency in small-scale discharge. Two primary methods for the discharge confinement in the miniature ion thrusters, that is, the magneto-static “cusp confinement” through magnetic cusps and the electrostatic “sheath refection confinement” through the backplate with the lower potential are investigated. The sensitivity of macroscopic current characteristics and microscopic plasma characteristics in the ARCH discharge to the magnetic field strength and backplate biased potential are explored. It is found that there is an optimal magnetic field to maximize the utilization of propellant and minimize the discharge loss. The electrostatic “sheath refection confinement” is conducive to the reduction of discharge loss, however, it is also accompanied by the decline of propellant utilization. The above results provide a further support for the design optimization of the micro DC ion thruster discharge chamber.

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Section: Discharge Chamber Model For the Miniature Ion Thrustermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pic/mcc Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Revealing the plasma confinement behavior of an axial ring cusp hybrid discharge in a miniature ion thruster using PIC/MCC simulation

Liu

Wang

et al. 2023

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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show abstract

“…The results of the improved model agreed with experimental data. Li et al [18] applied the improved model to study the recombination behavior of the primary electron and plasma in the ARCH-type miniature ion thruster, and the influence of the thruster configuration, such as the backplate potential, neutral gas injection method, magnet position, and cathode type, on the performance of the thruster.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical simulation of the start-up process of a miniature ion thruster

Yang¹,

Wei²,

Jiang³

et al. 2022

Plasma Sci. Technol.

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The particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision model of a discharge chamber is established to investigate the start-up process of a miniature ion thruster. We present the discharge characteristics at different stages (initial stage, development stage, and stable stage) according to the trend of the discharge current with time. The discharge current is the sum of the sidewall current and the backplate current. During the start-up process, the sidewall current lags behind the backplate current. The variation and distribution characteristics of the discharge current over time are determined by the electron density distribution and electric potential distribution.

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Development of the MiXI Thruster with the ARCH Discharge

Samples

Wirz

2020

Plasma Res. Express

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Computational Modeling of an Axial Ring Cusp Hybrid Discharge for the MiXI Thruster

Cited by 7 publications

References 9 publications

Revealing the plasma confinement behavior of an axial ring cusp hybrid discharge in a miniature ion thruster using PIC/MCC simulation

Revealing the plasma confinement behavior of an axial ring cusp hybrid discharge in a miniature ion thruster using PIC/MCC simulation

Numerical simulation of the start-up process of a miniature ion thruster

Development of the MiXI Thruster with the ARCH Discharge

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