Lorentz Force Characteristics of a Bare Electrodynamic Tether System with a Hollow Cathode

Xie, Kan; Yuan, Haoxiang; Liang, Fuwen; Wang, Wei; Xia, Qimeng

doi:10.1007/s40295-021-00256-1

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…EP is mainly based on the three kinds of acceleration method: electrothermal acceleration, electrostatic acceleration and electromagnetic acceleration [2]. After more than one hundred years of research, EP has been developed into a variety of propulsion devices, including the Arcjet, Hall thruster, ion thruster, magnetoplasmadynamic thruster, variable specific impulse magnetoplasma rocket [3], electrodynamic tether [4][5][6], pulsed plasma thruster [7], vacuum arc thruster [8], electrospray thrusters [9] and other members in the micro thruster family [10], etc. In recent years, the application of EP on satellites has been attracting increeasing attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma diagnosis of an unclosed E × B drift thruster with a visible ionization zone

Zhang¹,

Ren²,

Tang³

et al. 2022

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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Traditional annular closed-loop E×B drifting Hall thruster is limited by the compact structure. Two-dimensional (2D) distribution of the plasma parameters inside the discharge channel cannot be accurately measured directly hindering further understanding of discharge process. In this paper, it is proposed to employed the Unclosed E×B Drift Thruster with visible ionization zone (UDTv) to conduct research about effect of the crossed electric field and magnetic field on the plasma distribution inside the discharge channel. Experiment showed UDTv presented discharge similar to Hall thruster, especially the low-frequency oscillation related to discharge voltage. A 2D symmetrically crescent-shaped distribution of plasma inside the channel with a hollow zone located near the maximum of the magnetic field was clearly captured by optical imaging and emission spectrometer. Correlation between the location of maximal magnetic gradient and the 2D ionization zone configuration was verified. Decreased magnetic mirror effect at the location of maximum magnetic field enhanced electron-wall interaction inducing near-wall conduction and secondary electrons emission. Electron temperature presented a canyon distribution resulting in a bimodal configuration of the plasma density. Increased flowrate lowered the ionization inside the channel and transformed the plasma distribution into unimodal structure because of enhanced electron conduction and lower electron temperature. Generally, the feasibility to capture the correlation between 2D plasma distribution and magnetic field inside the discharge channel was successfully demonstrated proposing new ideas for further research about internal plasma of Hall thruster.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma diagnosis of an unclosed E × B drift thruster with a visible ionization zone

Zhang¹,

Ren²,

Tang³

et al. 2022

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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show abstract

“…Electric propulsion (EP) has flourished with various propulsion devices in the past few decades [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Hall thrusters are one of the most widespread electrostatic acceleration EP devices generating and accelerating ions with orthogonal electric and magnetic fields.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

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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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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Plasma diagnosis inside the discharge channel of a low-power Hall thruster working on Xe/Kr mixtures

et al. 2023

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Lorentz Force Characteristics of a Bare Electrodynamic Tether System with a Hollow Cathode

Cited by 7 publications

References 37 publications

Plasma diagnosis of an unclosed E × B drift thruster with a visible ionization zone

Plasma diagnosis of an unclosed E × B drift thruster with a visible ionization zone

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

Plasma diagnosis inside the discharge channel of a low-power Hall thruster working on Xe/Kr mixtures

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