Numerical Investigation of Plasma Behavior and Anode Sheath in a Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster

Ahangar, Mahdy; Ebrahimi, Reza; Shams, Mehrzad

doi:10.2514/1.b35680

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Although theoretical and experimental studies on MPDTs have been developed for decades, MPDTs presently remain at the fundamental research stage due to the limiting issues of cathode ablation, "onset" phenomenon, and lifetime. Moreover, the complexity of the interlocking nature involved in MPDT acceleration has not been well identified [7]. Therefore, a phenomenological or semi-empirical model is still required to predict the performance of MPDTs, and reveal the effect of several parameters (e.g., discharge current and applied magnetic field strength) on the thrust performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modified Electromechanical Modeling and Parameters Analysis of Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster

Wu¹,

Ou²,

Li³

et al. 2019

Energies

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To predict the thrust of magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters (MPDTs), a modified electromechanical model was proposed and a comparison with experimental results is presented in this paper. The motion of propellant in the thruster was divided into two portions: the axial motion which was accelerated by the interaction of current and induced self-field, and the swirling motion which was accelerated by the interaction of current and applied magnetic field. The electromechanical model was in good agreement with the experimental data, and the fitting degrees of the model were greater than 0.93. Furthermore, the influence of parameters on the performance of MPDT were investigated by utilizing the electromechanical model. The results indicate that the thrust performance of the thruster improved with the increase of discharge current, anode radius, applied magnetic field strength, and the decrease of mass flow rate. However, the large anode radius and low mass flow rate readily led to the failure of thruster function. Therefore, the model can not only predict the thrust performance of MPDTs, but also guide the design and operation optimization of the thruster.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%