Design and Experiments of a 100 Watt Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster

Zhang, Guangchuan; Ren, Junxue; Jiang, Yiwei; Lü, Chao; Tang, Haibin; Xie, Kan; Yuan, Haoxiang; Yang, Xinyu

doi:10.2514/6.2018-4587

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The anode serves as the positive electrode and the gas distributor simultaneously. An assembled structure with multiple venting grooves is employed to improve the distribution of the propellant atoms inside the ceramic discharge channel [42].…”

Section: Low-power Hall Thruster With Permanent Magnetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Magnetic field deflection in a 100 W Hall thruster with permanent magnets

Zhang

Ren

Tang

et al. 2022

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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The compact structure restrains the application of magnetic shielding in low-power Hall thrusters, leading to an asymmetric magnetic field or partial magnetic shielding of the channel wall. This study employs a trim coil to implement an asymmetric magnetic configuration in a 100 W laboratory Hall thruster. The locations of the maximum curvature of magnetic lines are deflected toward the inner and outer channel wall corresponding to the inward and outward deflected magnetic field configurations. Effects of the magnetic field deflection on the position of the ionization zone, efficiency of the thruster, discharge oscillations, and wall erosion are studied. Optical imaging and electrostatic probes are employed to monitor and scan the plasma beam. Experimental results show that the outward deflection induces a change in the magnetic mirror effect and alters the location of the ionization zone. The radial movement of the ionization zone away from the inner channel wall decreases the near-wall conductivity, reducing the election current by 13.5% and promoting the current efficiency. Discharge oscillations are suppressed, and the propellant utilization efficiency is improved by 8.2%. Erosion of the channel wall shows an improvement of 40%. Generally, an outward deflected magnetic configuration can significantly improve the performance of low-power Hall thrusters.

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Section: Low-power Hall Thruster With Permanent Magnetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a series of tests [42], the thruster could work stably below 263 W, generating the thrust ranging from 2.9 mN to 10.8 mN and the anode specific impulse between 729 s and 1576 s. The anode efficiency higher than 30% could be achieved with the highest efficiency reaching 37.8%.…”

Section: Low-power Hall Thruster With Permanent Magnetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Magnetic field deflection in a 100 W Hall thruster with permanent magnets

Zhang

Ren

Tang

et al. 2022

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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“…Because high-energy ions are produced outside the channel owing to the outward shift of the acceleration zone, wall erosion caused by high-energy ions can be avoided. It has been found that in a magnetically shielded Hall thruster, a wall profile that is parallel to the magnetic field lines can protect the wall from ion bombardment [21,22]. A chamfered wall in a 50 kW high-power magnetically shielded Hall thruster reduced the interaction intensity between the plasma and wall [23,24], and the wall was protected from ion bombardment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Matching characteristics of magnetic field configuration and chamfered channel wall in a magnetically shielded Hall thruster

Wang

Zhong

et al. 2021

Plasma Sci. Technol.

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To date, the selection of the magnetic field line used to match the chamfered inner and outer channel walls in a magnetically shielded Hall thruster has not been quantitatively studied. Hence, an experimental study was conducted on a 1.35 kW magnetically shielded Hall thruster with a xenon propellant. Different magnetic field lines were chosen, and corresponding tangentially matched channel walls were manufactured and utilized. The results demonstrate that high performance and a qualified anti-sputtering effect cannot be achieved simultaneously. When the magnetic field lines that match the chamfered wall have a strength at the channel centerline of less than 12% of the maximum field strength, the channel wall can be adequately protected from ion sputtering. When the magnetic field lines have a strength ratio of 12%-20%, the thruster performance is high. These findings provide the first significant quantitative design reference for the match between the magnetic field line and chamfered channel wall in magnetically shielded Hall thrusters.

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“…With the characteristics of the higher specific impulse and the ability to operate in a wide range of power (Conversano et al 2014), hall thrusters are attractive for a wide range of space missions. Especially low-power hall thrusters working under a few hundred Watts have attracted much attention in the field of small satellite (Grimaud et al 2016;Smirnov et al 2002;Zhang et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Owing to inherently larger surface-to-volume ratios compared to the kilowatt class hall thruster (Grimaud et al 2016;Zhang et al 2018), the interaction between the plasma and the discharge channel wall is also lager, consequently, in low-power hall thruster, which will decrease the efficiency. Therefore, the magnetic field of the low-power hall thruster needs to be optimized to ensure its efficiency and the reliability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of Magnetic Flux Density on Discharge Characteristics of Low-Power Hall Thruster

Guo

Gao

Zuo

et al. 2021

J. Aerosp. Technol. Manag.

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The design of the magnetic field is crucial to the performance of the hall thruster. This paper investigates the effects of magnetic field on the discharge characteristics of the low-power hall thruster in the method of combining simulation and experiment. Based on a 40-mm-diameter hall thruster (LHT-40) operating with hundreds of Watts, a two-dimensional axisymmetric model is established in fluid method to investigate the mechanism, how the magnetic field influences the performance of the thruster, and the experiments are also carried out to investigate the performance effected by magnetic field. Both the numerical and the experimental results indicate that there is an optimal magnetic flux density in which the thruster could achieve a higher efficiency compared with other conditions. And in order to maintain its high efficiency, the line of magnetic-curve inflexion inside the discharge channel should coincide with the center line of the channel to decrease the interaction between the plasma and the wall. The LHT-40 could generate about 12.2 mN of thrust at an optimal efficiency of 27% when the maximum magnetic flux density along the center line of the channel is about 200 Gs.

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Design and Experiments of a 100 Watt Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster

Cited by 5 publications

References 8 publications

Magnetic field deflection in a 100 W Hall thruster with permanent magnets

Magnetic field deflection in a 100 W Hall thruster with permanent magnets

Matching characteristics of magnetic field configuration and chamfered channel wall in a magnetically shielded Hall thruster

Influences of Magnetic Flux Density on Discharge Characteristics of Low-Power Hall Thruster

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