Numerical Analysis of a Two-Dimensional Magnetoplasmadynamic Arcjet

Comparison of Simulated Plasma Flow Field in a Two-Dimensional Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster With Experimental Data

“…2. In accordance with the geometry used in the experiments [6]- [9], the inner interval between the anodes is set to 28 mm at the inlet, and 56 mm at the outlet of the thruster. The cathode has a thickness of 8 mm.…”

“…Using the 2D-MPDT, an optical access to the two-dimensional flow became possible. Also, measurements of the magnetic field distribution corresponding to current contours could also be performed [6]- [9]. Actually, the 2D-MPDT was contrived mainly for the purpose of observations of plasma flows, but two-dimensional imaging data of plasma in a 2D-MPDT are very fruitful not only to comprehend accelerating thermochemical non-equilibrium flows within MPDTs but also to construct a physical model, although it may be difficult for 2D-MPDTs to precisely reproduce the features of coaxial MPDTs.…”

“…Although thrust performance data as well as plasma flow data for a variety of experimental conditions are available, intensive numerical investigations for 2D-MPDTs with a detailed physical model have not been performed, whereas a number of investigations on coaxial MPDTs have been conducted [10]- [13]. There exist some comparisons of the simulated flowfieds of coaxial thrusters to the experimental results [10]- [12], but the counterpart for 2D-MPDTs is limited to the work of [9] in which a fairly simple model was used. Recently, the effects of thruster geometry on flowfields and performance of 2D-MPDT were A examined by the authors [14].…”

“…Recently, the effects of thruster geometry on flowfields and performance of 2D-MPDT were A examined by the authors [14]. The present effort focuses on comparison of the available experimental data with the numerical results obtained from our advanced code which was originally developed in the work of [9]. The flowfield of a 100-kW-class 2D-MPDT with Ar propellant is simulated by the code in which non-equilibrium single-level of ionization, thermal non-equilibrium, viscosity, thermal conduction, and the Hall effect, all of which were ignored in [9], are incorporated.…”

“…The present effort focuses on comparison of the available experimental data with the numerical results obtained from our advanced code which was originally developed in the work of [9]. The flowfield of a 100-kW-class 2D-MPDT with Ar propellant is simulated by the code in which non-equilibrium single-level of ionization, thermal non-equilibrium, viscosity, thermal conduction, and the Hall effect, all of which were ignored in [9], are incorporated. Additionally, the present model includes collisional-radiative (CR) processes of Ar-II, which has not been taken into account in the other numerical studies.…”