Impact of Propellant Species on Hall Effect Thruster Electrical Facility Effects

Frieman, Jason D.; Brown, Nathan P.; Liu, Connie Y.; Liu, Thomas M.; Walker, Mitchell L. R.; Khayms, Vadim; King, D. Q.

doi:10.2514/1.b36566

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Additionally, the pressure significantly influences the localized electric fields that may influence the measured spatial ion densities. Facility backpressure is also known to induce the production of other components in the plume, which include slow propellant ions, neutral atoms and other excited species which may not otherwise be present under lower pressure conditions found in space [44]. These additional species in the plume interact with the plume, the bulk discharge, channel walls, diagnostic equipment, and chamber walls in the far field of the test setup through collisions, surface chemical interactions and resonant charge exchange collisions (CEX), as proposed in a previous work [45].…”

Section: Space Environment Simulation Facility For An Integrated Modu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma parameters and discharge characteristics of lab-based krypton-propelled miniaturized Hall thruster

Lim

Levchenko

Huang

et al. 2019

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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The lowered costs for operational deployment in space, as well as the ability to implement sophisticated peripherals with integrated systems on-board satellites in orbit has catalysed the recently seen rapid growth in space industry. This growth has been driven mainly by the proliferation of miniaturized space systems, which include satellites, rockets and other payloads, with expanded our ability to acquire and analyse data in orbit. Of great interest to the community working on the continued miniaturization of satellites and other components for space is the provision of micro-propulsion modules for in-orbit manoeuvres. In this work, we report performance parameters of lab-based Kr propelled miniaturized Hall effect plasma thrusters developed at SPC-S, which include thrust, efficiencies, and specific impulse, made possible through a bimodal quadfilar suspended thrust measurement system. Additionally, the plume profiles are studied through a spatially actuated Faraday probe system. Finally, non-invasive plasma diagnostics through analysis of discharge current oscillations as well as optical emission spectroscopy is presented to give a holistic overview of possible diagnostic methods for real-time measurements pertaining to the evaluation of plasma thruster systems. This work explicitly evaluates the effect of the propellant flow rate on the data obtained through the aforementioned diagnostic methods.

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Section: Space Environment Simulation Facility For An Integrated Modu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma parameters and discharge characteristics of lab-based krypton-propelled miniaturized Hall thruster

Lim

Levchenko

Huang

et al. 2019

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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show abstract

“…Previous studies conducted at the Georgia Institute of Technology High Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory (HPEPL) focus on identifying and characterizing these charge recombination pathways [6][7][8][9][10][11]. Results from these studies demonstrate that both the body of a HET and conductive surfaces in the test facility serve as recombination pathways for the neutralization of ions produced by the thruster.…”

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confidence: 99%

Electrical characteristics of a Hall effect thruster body in a vacuum facility testing environment

et al. 2022

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The operational characteristics of Hall effect thrusters are altered by conductive surfaces in vacuum facilities. Conductive surfaces alter charge distribution in the plume by providing pathways for electron-ion recombination that do not exist in the spaceflight environment. Charge recombination pathways impact thruster performance and plume behavior through mechanisms that are not entirely understood. The incomplete understanding of the relationship between charge recombination pathways and thruster behavior limits the ability to characterize thruster performance through ground testing. This paper quantifies the effect of polarity and magnitude of body-to-cathode voltage on coupling between the thruster body and the local plasma environment. The effort operates the T-140 Hall thruster at a single, fixed operating condition of 300 V, 3.5 kW, with anode and cathode xenon flow rates of 11.6 ± 0.03 mg/s and 1.61 ± 0.12 mg/s, respectively. During data collection, the chamber was maintained at a pressure of 8.7 × 10–6 Torr-Xe. The thruster body-to-ground voltage is manipulated by varying body-to-ground resistance. Results show the thruster pole face and body circumference couple to the local plasma environment through distinct sheaths. The polarity of the body-to-cathode voltage determines the characteristics of these sheaths. Therefore, the body-to-cathode voltage controls the interaction between the thruster body recombination pathway and the local plasma environment.

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Effect of relative position between cathode and magnetic separatrix on the discharge characteristic of Hall thrusters

Ding

et al. 2018

Vacuum

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Impact of Propellant Species on Hall Effect Thruster Electrical Facility Effects

Cited by 5 publications

References 40 publications

Plasma parameters and discharge characteristics of lab-based krypton-propelled miniaturized Hall thruster

Plasma parameters and discharge characteristics of lab-based krypton-propelled miniaturized Hall thruster

Electrical characteristics of a Hall effect thruster body in a vacuum facility testing environment

Effect of relative position between cathode and magnetic separatrix on the discharge characteristic of Hall thrusters

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