Exhaust beam profiles of hall thrusters

The exhaust plume profiles of Hall thrusters are measured with Langmuir probes and beam-ion collectors. The results show that 95% of total beam-ion current exists within the angle of 70 degrees off the thruster centerline. The divergent angle decreased with an increase in the channel length of the thruster, due to the beam-collimation effect of the acceleration channel. The facility effect on plume diagnostics was examined using vacuum chambers from the University of Michigan (6 × 9 m) and Nagoya University (1.2 × 1.8 m). From the comparison of measured data, the plasma potential distribution was found to be almost independent of the chamber size.

Duke Scholars

Author Alec Gallimore Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materia ...