PIC simulation of plasma properties in the discharge channel of a pulsed plasma thruster with flared electrodes

Qi LIU (刘祺); Lei YANG (杨磊); Yuping HUANG (黄玉平); Xu ZHAO (赵絮); Zaiping ZHENG (郑再平)

doi:10.1088/2058-6272/aaff2e

Plasma Science and Technology > 2019 > 21(7): 74005-074005. > DOI: 10.1088/2058-6272/aaff2e

Qi LIU (刘祺), Lei YANG (杨磊), Yuping HUANG (黄玉平), Xu ZHAO (赵絮), Zaiping ZHENG (郑再平). PIC simulation of plasma properties in the discharge channel of a pulsed plasma thruster with flared electrodes[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2019, 21(7): 74005-074005. DOI: 10.1088/2058-6272/aaff2e

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PIC simulation of plasma properties in the discharge channel of a pulsed plasma thruster with flared electrodes

Beijing Research Institute of Precise Mechatronics and Controls, Beijing 100076, People’s Republic of China

Funds: This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11602016).

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Received Date: November 13, 2018

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Abstract

Abstract

Plasma in the discharge channel of a pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) with flared electrodes is simulated by a self-developed two-dimensional code. The fully particle-in-cell method with Monte Carlo collision is employed to model the particle movement and collisions and investigate the plasma properties and acceleration process. Temporal and spatial variations of the electron density distribution and the ion velocity between electrodes are calculated and analyzed in detail. The computational results of the electron number density, which is in the order of 10²³ m⁻³, show good agreements with experimental results of a PPT named ADD SIMP-LEX. The ion velocity distributions along the center line of the channel lead to a comprehensive understanding of ions accelerated by electromagnetic field. The electron distributions of PPT with discharge voltages varying from 1300 to 2000 V are compared. The diffusion of electrons presents strong dependency on discharge voltage and implies higher degree of ionization for higher voltage.
- pulsed plasma thruster,
- discharge channel,
- PIC simulation,
- electron density distribution,
- ion acceleration

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PIC simulation of plasma properties in the discharge channel of a pulsed plasma thruster with flared electrodes