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

Xinwei CHEN (陈新伟); Zuo GU (顾左); Jun GAO (高俊); Shangmin WANG (王尚民); Tao CHEN (陈焘); Ning GUO (郭宁); Sanxiang YANG (杨三祥); Chao LIU (刘超)

doi:10.1088/2058-6272/ac15eb

Plasma Science and Technology > 2021 > 23(10): 104009. > DOI: 10.1088/2058-6272/ac15eb

Xinwei CHEN (陈新伟), Zuo GU (顾左), Jun GAO (高俊), Shangmin WANG (王尚民), Tao CHEN (陈焘), Ning GUO (郭宁), Sanxiang YANG (杨三祥), Chao LIU (刘超). The far-field plasma characteristics of LHT40 low-power Hall thruster for commercial aerospace applications[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2021, 23(10): 104009. DOI: 10.1088/2058-6272/ac15eb

Citation:

PDF (2000 KB)

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

Science and Technology on Vacuum Technology and Physics Laboratory, Lanzhou Institute of Physics, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China

Funds: The authors would like to acknowledge National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 12005087 and 61901204), the Science and Technology Plan of Gansu Province (No. 20JR10RA478), the Military Test Instruments Program (No. 2006ZCTF0054) and the Key Laboratory Funds for Science and Technology on Vacuum Technology and Physics Laboratory (No. HTKJ2019KL510003).

More Information

Received Date: March 04, 2021
Revised Date: July 08, 2021
Accepted Date: July 18, 2021

Graphical Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

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 time-averaged 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.
- low power Hall thruster,
- plasma characteristics,
- commercial aerospace,
- plasmadiagnostic system

FullText(HTML)

References (33)

References

[1]	Mazouffre S 2016 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 25 033002
[2]	Raitses Y and Fisch N J 2001 Phys. Plasmas 8 2579
[3]	Morozov A I and Savelyev V V 2000 Fundamentals of stationary plasma thruster theory ed B B Kadomtsev and V D Shafranov Reviews of Plasma Physics (Boston:Springer)
[4]	Pidgeon D et al 2006 Two years of on-orbit performance of SPT-100 electric propulsion Proc. 24th AIAA Int.Communications Satellite Systems Conf. (California)(AIAA) (https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2006-5353)
[5]	De Grys K et al 2017 Demonstration of 10,400 h of operation on 4.5 kW qualification model hall thruster Proc. 46th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conf. & Exhibit (Nashville TN) (AIAA) (https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2010-6698)
[6]	Dudeck M et al 2011 Rom. J. Phys. 56 3
[7]	Radtke J, Kebschull C and Stoll E 2017 Acta Astronaut. 131 55
[8]	Foust J 2019 IEEE Spectr. 56 50
[9]	Mazouffre S and Grimaud L 2018 IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.46 330
[10]	Conversano R W et al 2019 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 28 105011
[11]	Szabo J J et al 2017 Characterization of a one hundred Watt,long lifetime Hall effect thruster for small spacecraft Proc.53rd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conf. (Atlanta)(AIAA) (https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2017-4728)
[12]	Ducci C et al 2013 HT100D performance evaluation and endurance test results Proc. 33rd Int. Electric PropulsionConf. (Washington) (The George Washington University)
[13]	Lee D et al 2019 Development and performance test of a 50 W-class hall thruster Proc. 36th Int. Electric PropulsionConf. (Vienna) (The University of Vienna)
[14]	Watanabe H, Cho S and Kubota K 2019 Performance evaluation of a 100-W class hall thruster Proc. 36th Int.Electric Propulsion Conf. (Vienna) (The University of Vienna)
[15]	Brown D L and Gallimore A D 2009 Evaluation of plume divergence and facility effects on far-field faraday probe current density profiles Proc. 31st Int. Electric Propulsion Conf. (Michigan) (The University of Michigan)
[16]	Mazouffre S et al 2017 Evaluation of various probe designs for measuring the ion current density in a Hall thruster plume Proc. 35th Int. Electric Propulsion Conf. (Michigan) (Georgia Institute of Technology) (https://semanticscholar.org/paper/Evaluation-of-various-probe-designs-formeasuring-a-Mazouffre-Largeau/d49c48ddc6b85c3d06d4eb3cd35a4917d3851eb7)
[17]	Cusson S E, Dale E T and Gallimore A D 2017 J. Propul.Power 33 1037
[18]	Zhang Z et al 2016 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 87 113502
[19]	Lobbia R B and Beal B E 2017 J. Propul. Power 33 566
[20]	Cao S et al 2020 Acta Astronaut. 170 509
[21]	Hofer R R, Jankovsky R S and Gallimore A D 2006 J. Propul.Power 22 721
[22]	Chen T et al 2020 Plasma Sci. Technol. 22 094005
[23]	Hallouin T and Mazouffre S 2020 Aerospace 7 58
[24]	Brown D L et al 2017 J. Propul. Power 33 582
[25]	Fan H T et al 2020 Adv. Space Res. 66 2024
[26]	Ding Y J et al 2017 Phys. Lett. A 381 3482
[27]	Borthakur S et al 2018 Phys. Plasmas 25 013532
[28]	Diamant K D, Liang R and Corey R L 2014 The effect of background pressure on SPT-100 Hall thruster performance Proc. 50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conf.(Cleveland) (AIAA) (https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2014-3710)
[29]	Diamant K D et al 2016 Performance and plume characterization of the PPS 1350-G hall thruster Proc. 52nd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conf. (Salt Lake City) (AIAA) (https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2016-4543)
[30]	Nakles M R et al 2009 A plume comparison of xenon and krypton propellant on a 600 W hall thruster Proc. 31st Int.Electric Propulsion Conf. (Michigan) (The University of Michigan)
[31]	Reid B et al 2008 Angularly-resolved ExB probe spectra in the plume of a 6-kW hall thruster Proc. 44th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conf. & Exhibit (Hartford) (AIAA)(https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2008-5287)
[32]	Dannenmayer K and Mazouffre S 2009 Elementary scaling laws for sizing up and down hall effect thrusters: impact of simplifying assumptions Proc. 31st Int. Electric Propulsion Conf. (Michigan) (The University of Michigan)
[33]	Mazouffre S, Kulaev V and Luna J P 2009 Plasma Sources Sci.Technol. 18 034022

[1]	Xinwei CHEN, Jun GAO, Sanxiang YANG, Hai GENG, Ning GUO, Zuo GU, Juntai YANG, Hong ZHANG. Experimental and numerical simulation study of the effect for the anode positions on the discharge characteristics of 300 W class low power Hall thrusters[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2023, 25(1): 015504. DOI: 10.1088/2058-6272/ac7d42
[2]	Hong LI (李鸿), Xingyu LIU (刘星宇), Zhiyong GAO (高志勇), Yongjie DING (丁永杰), Liqiu WEI (魏立秋), Daren YU (于达仁), Xiaogang WANG (王晓钢). Particle-in-cell simulation for effect of anode temperature on discharge characteristics of a Hall effect thruster[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2018, 20(12): 125504. DOI: 10.1088/2058-6272/aaddf2
[3]	Wei YOU (尤玮), Hong LI (李弘), Wenzhe MAO (毛文哲), Wei BAI (白伟), Cui TU (涂翠), Bing LUO (罗兵), Zichao LI (李子超), Yolbarsop ADIL (阿迪里江), Jintong HU (胡金童), Bingjia XIAO (肖炳甲), Qingxi YANG (杨庆喜), Jinlin XIE (谢锦林), Tao LAN (兰涛), Adi LIU (刘阿娣), Weixing DING (丁卫星), Chijin XIAO (肖持进), Wandong LIU (刘万东). Design of the poloidal field system for KTX[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2018, 20(11): 115601. DOI: 10.1088/2058-6272/aac8d5
[4]	Yanhui JIA (贾艳辉), Juanjuan CHEN (陈娟娟), Ning GUO (郭宁), Xinfeng SUN (孙新锋), Chenchen WU (吴辰宸), Tianping ZHANG (张天平). 2D hybrid-PIC simulation of the two and three-grid system of ion thruster[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2018, 20(10): 105502. DOI: 10.1088/2058-6272/aace52
[5]	Yongjie DING (丁永杰), Hong LI (李鸿), Boyang JIA (贾伯阳), PengLI (李朋), Liqiu WEI (魏立秋), YuXU (徐宇), Wuji PENG (彭武吉), Hezhi SUN (孙鹤芝), Yong CAO (曹勇), Daren YU (于达仁). Simulation of the effect of a magnetically insulated anode on a low-power cylindrical Hall thruster[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2018, 20(3): 35509-035509. DOI: 10.1088/2058-6272/aa9fe7
[6]	Qingsong HE (何青松), Haixing WANG (王海兴). Nonequilibrium modeling study on plasma flow features in a low-power nitrogen/hydrogen arcjet thruster[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2017, 19(5): 55502-055502. DOI: 10.1088/2058-6272/aa5f12
[7]	DUAN Jianjin (段剑金), HU Jue (胡觉), ZHANG Chao (张超), WEN Yuanbin (温元斌), MENG Yuedong (孟月东), ZHANG Chengxu (张呈旭). Plasma Discharge Process in a Pulsed Diaphragm Discharge System[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2014, 16(12): 1106-1110. DOI: 10.1088/1009-0630/16/12/05
[8]	FU Bao(付豹), ZHANG Qiyong(张启勇), ZHU Ping(朱平), CHENG Anyi(成安义). The Application and Improvement of Helium Turbines in the EAST Cryogenic System[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2014, 16(5): 527-531. DOI: 10.1088/1009-0630/16/5/14
[9]	ZHU Zhe (朱哲), ZHU Yinfeng (朱银锋), HUANG Ronglin (黄荣林), FU Peng (傅鹏), DING Yixiao(丁逸骁). Study on the Current-sharing Control System of the TF Power Supply for a Superconducting Tokamak[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2012, 14(10): 941-946. DOI: 10.1088/1009-0630/14/10/16
[10]	DUAN Ping(段萍), LI Xi (李肸), SHEN Hongjuan (沈鸿娟), CHEN Long (陈龙), E Peng (鄂鹏). Characteristics of a Sheath with Secondary Electron Emission in the Double Walls of a Hall Thruster[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2012, 14(9): 837-841. DOI: 10.1088/1009-0630/14/9/12

Cited By

Cited by

Periodical cited type(8)

1.	Zhao, H., Dai, H., Yue, X. et al. Manipulating Tumbling Spacecraft by Hall Thruster. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 2025. DOI:10.1109/TAES.2025.3528916
2.	Li, J., Wei, L., Hu, Y. et al. Perturbation indicator for Hall effect thruster operating state based on statistical characteristics of breathing oscillation time scale signals. Advances in Space Research, 2023, 72(9): 3595-3605. DOI:10.1016/j.asr.2023.07.001
3.	Tang, X., Lin, Z., Zhou, Z. et al. Analysis and Experimental Validation of an Integrated Current-Source Power Supply With High Power Factor for DBD Applications. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 2023, 51(5): 1290-1301. DOI:10.1109/TPS.2023.3263052
4.	Chen, X., Zhao, Y., Tian, K. et al. Study of beam divergence and thrust vector eccentricity characteristics of the Hall thruster based on dual Faraday probe array planes and its applications. Plasma Science and Technology, 2023, 25(5): 055501. DOI:10.1088/2058-6272/aca94e
5.	Luo, W., Long, J., Xu, L. et al. Research progress of distribution and detection technology neutral gas in Hall thruster discharge channel \| [霍尔推力器放电通道中性气体分布及检测技术研究进展]. Guti Huojian Jishu/Journal of Solid Rocket Technology, 2023, 46(1): 158-166. DOI:10.7673/j.issn.1006-2793.2023.01.019
6.	Zeng, D., Li, H., Liu, J. et al. Numerical study of the effect of aft-loaded magnetic field on multiple ionizations in Hall thruster. Plasma Science and Technology, 2022, 24(7): 074005. DOI:10.1088/2058-6272/ac5788
7.	Chen, X., Gao, J., Yang, S. et al. Experimental and numerical simulation study of the effect for the anode positions on the discharge characteristics of 300 W class low power Hall thrusters. Plasma Science and Technology, 2022, 25(1): 015504. DOI:10.1088/2058-6272/ac7d42
8.	Tang, H., Yu, D., Wang, H. et al. Special issue on selected papers from CEPC 2020. Plasma Science and Technology, 2021, 23(10): 100101. DOI:10.1088/2058-6272/ac22f7

Other cited types(0)

Get Citation

PDF

XML

Article views (151) PDF downloads (166) Cited by(8)

Turn off MathJax

Article Contents

Abstract

References

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