The plume diagnostics of 30 cm ion thruster with an advanced plasma diagnostics system

Chen, Tao; Yang, Juntai; Chen, Xinwei; Zhao, Yong

doi:10.1088/2058-6272/ab854f

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The dedicated and integrated PDS [22] consists of seventeen FC, two TLP, a rotary rake, an integrated control system, and an advanced post-processing system used to perform investigation of ICD, plasma potential, plasma density, and electron temperature. The rotary rake controlled by the motor is rotated around the z-axis defined by the thruster exit plane (the thruster coordinates are defined as shown in figure 3), and its rotation radius is 1000 mm.…”

Section: Plasma Diagnostic System (Pds)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The k, e, S, and m i represent the Boltzmann constant, the single electron charge, the ion collection area of the probe, and the mass of the xenon atom, respectively. The plasma potential (V sp ) can be written as the below [22]:…”

Section: Plasma Diagnostic System (Pds)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The TLP is widely used in plasma diagnostics for pulsed plasma thrusters, HT, ion thrusters, and other thrusters. Plasma potential (V sp ), plasma density (N e ), and electron temperature (T e ) are derived by a specially developed post-processing program.The electron temperature (T e ) and electron number density (N e ) can be represented as equations (3) and (4)[22], respectively…”

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confidence: 99%

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The far-field plasma characteristics of LHT40 low-power Hall thruster for commercial aerospace applications

Chen¹,

Zuo²,

Gao³

et al. 2021

Plasma Sci. Technol.

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To achieve a better insight into the far-field plasma spatial distribution and evolution characteristics of the 300 W class low-power Hall thruster (LHT) for commercial aerospace applications, a dedicated and integrated plasma diagnostic system composed of seventeen Faraday cups (FC) and two triple Langmuir probes (TLP) is established to investigate the timeaveraged in situ spatial distribution characteristics of far-field ions and electrons. The ion current density (ICD), plasma potential, plasma density, and electron temperature at 1000 mm downstream of 300 W class LHT for commercial aerospace applications in the azimuthal angle range of −90°to 90°were investigated under the conditions of different anode mass flow rates and discharge voltages. The results demonstrated that ICD, beam divergence angle, and mass utilization efficiency increased with increasing anode mass rate. The double-wings phenomenon was observed in the spatial distribution of ICD at large angles from the thruster axis, which is attributed to charge exchange collisions at increasing vacuum backpressure. The plasma electron temperature, electron density, and plasma potential parameters derived from the TLP decreased rapidly in the angle range from 0°to 30°and did not exhibit significant variations above 30°, which was also in good agreement with the results of the measured divergence angle of the FC. The discrepancy of average ion speed was calculated. The maximum error is better than 31.5% which checks the consistency between the TLP's results and that of FC to some extent.

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Section: Plasma Diagnostic System (Pds)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plasma Diagnostic System (Pds)mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The far-field plasma characteristics of LHT40 low-power Hall thruster for commercial aerospace applications

Chen¹,

Zuo²,

Gao³

et al. 2021

Plasma Sci. Technol.

Self Cite

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“…The ion backflow phenomenon is responsible for contamination issues such as spacecraft charging and surface erosion [8]. Various plume diagnostics have been conducted in vacuum facilities to investigate the exhaust plasma during EP operations [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Ground tests can accurately characterize the temporal and spatial distributions of the plasma plume.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma plume simulation of an atomic oxygen-fed ion thruster in very-low-earth-orbit

Moon,

Choe,

Jun

2023

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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The plasma plume flow of an atomic oxygen-fed (AO-fed) ion thruster is numerically investigated as a simplification of the atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP). A predictive analysis is conducted focusing on the ion backflow phenomenon and plume-background interaction in very-low-earth-orbit (VLEO). The computational framework employs two sequentially integrated numerical methods: a zero-dimensional (0-D) analytical model for the radio-frequency ion thruster and a hybrid method of the particle-in-cell (PIC) and direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) techniques. The 0-D analytic model is employed for the prediction of exhaust conditions, while the hybrid PIC-DSMC method adopts these predictions to conduct the plasma plume simulations. A generalized collision cross-section model is introduced to enable consistent kinetic simulations for both AO and xenon propellants in VLEO atmosphere. The plasma plume simulations are conducted in an axisymmetric domain, including a cylindrical satellite body to consider wake flow. The exhaust ions exhibit diffusive transport transverse to the ion beam direction, implying the ion backflow. The backflowing ion current density can be increased in AO-fed thrusters, which require a high propellant flow rate to achieve a practical thrust. The AO-fed ion thruster shows a more active interaction between its plasma plume and the VLEO atmosphere compared to conventional xenon-based thrusters. The intensified plume-background interaction modifies the backflowing ion current density and the kinetic energy of individual ions, factors related to the spacecraft’s surface contamination.

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“…Firstly, the emitted ions in ILISs are accelerated to a high velocity of the order of magnitude of 10 5 m s −1 , contributing to a high specific impulse. Besides, no gas discharge is required to produce charged particles compared with plasma sources [13][14][15]. The liquid propellant can be passively fed by capillary force.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy properties and spatial plume profile of ionic liquid ion sources based on an array of porous metal strips

Liu

Kang

Deng

et al. 2021

Plasma Sci. Technol.

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An ionic liquid ion source (ILIS) is a kind of high brightness ion source capable of providing high-speed positive or negative ion beams. This paper presents a miniaturized ILIS based on an array of porous metal strips. The porous emitter array, integrated with seven 10 mm long strips, is fabricated using wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) combined with electrochemical etching. The assembled ILIS is 30 mm×30 mm×17.5 mm in size and weighs less than 25 g. A series of experiments, including an I-V characteristic test, a retarding potential analyzer (RPA) test, and a spatial plume distribution test, have been conducted in vacuo to characterize the performance of the ILIS. Results show that the emitted current is up to about 800 μA and ion transparency is as high as 94%. Besides, RPA curves reveal that the total fragmentation rate of the emitted particles accounts for 48.8% in positive mode and 59.8% in negative mode. Further, with the increase in applied acceleration voltage, the voltage loss rises while the energy efficiency decreases. It is also found that the plume perpendicular to the strips has a higher divergence than the one parallel to the strips. A numerical simulation by COMSOL reveals that the electric field distribution between the two electrodes results in such a spatial plume profile.

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The plume diagnostics of 30 cm ion thruster with an advanced plasma diagnostics system

Cited by 5 publications

References 16 publications

The far-field plasma characteristics of LHT40 low-power Hall thruster for commercial aerospace applications

The far-field plasma characteristics of LHT40 low-power Hall thruster for commercial aerospace applications

Plasma plume simulation of an atomic oxygen-fed ion thruster in very-low-earth-orbit

Energy properties and spatial plume profile of ionic liquid ion sources based on an array of porous metal strips

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