scholarly journals Influence of the Decelerator Grid on the Optical Performance of the Ion Thruster

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Chang Lu ◽  
Yide Zhao ◽  
Jie Wan ◽  
Yuchuan Chu ◽  
Liang Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Previous Experiment ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Optical Performance ◽  
Number Density ◽  
Ion Thruster ◽  
Immersed Finite Element Method ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
Immersed Finite Element ◽  
Simulation Results

In order to reduce the erosion of the ion thruster accelerator grid, which is caused by charge-exchange (CEX) ions, the 2-grid optical system is added to a decelerator grid to block the reflux CEX ions. The previous experiment and simulation results have proven that the decelerator grid can effectively reduce the Pit and Groove erosion. However, the influence of the decelerator grid on the optical performance has not yet been studied well. In this paper, a three-dimensional Immersed Finite Element Method-Particle in Cell-Monte Carlo Collision (IFE-PIC-MCC) algorithm was adopted to investigate the effect of the decelerator grid on the optical performance under crossover and normal circumstances. Results show that the decelerator grid has no effect on the focusing state and the distribution of beam ions. It also has little effect on the CEX ions from the upstream and extraction (center) regions. However, it has great influence on the downstream CEX ions. When the upstream plasma number density is small, the decelerator grid will cause most of the downstream reflux CEX ions to impinge on the accelerator grid aperture barrel, resulting in the significant increase of the Barrel erosion of the accelerator grid. With the increase of the upstream plasma number density, the downstream reflux CEX ions tend to impact the downstream surface of the decelerator grid, which means the decelerator grid begins to block the downstream backflow of CEX ions.

scholarly journals Electric Propulsion Plume Simulations Using Parallel Computer

2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Wang ◽  
Yong Cao ◽  
Raed Kafafy ◽  
Viktor Decyk
Keyword(s):  
Electric Propulsion ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Particle Simulation ◽  
Parallel Computer ◽  
Solar Array ◽  
Electron Mass ◽  
Ion Thruster ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
Pic Code

A parallel, three-dimensional electrostatic PIC code is developed for large-scale electric propulsion simulations using parallel supercomputers. This code uses a newly developed immersed-finite-element particle-in-cell (IFE-PIC) algorithm designed to handle complex boundary conditions accurately while maintaining the computational speed of the standard PIC code. Domain decomposition is used in both field solve and particle push to divide the computation among processors. Two simulations studies are presented to demonstrate the capability of the code. The first is a full particle simulation of near-thruster plume using real ion to electron mass ratio. The second is a high-resolution simulation of multiple ion thruster plume interactions for a realistic spacecraft using a domain enclosing the entire solar array panel. Performance benchmarks show that the IFE-PIC achieves a high parallel efficiency of ≥ 90%

scholarly journals Effects on magnetic reconnection of a density asymmetry across the current sheet

2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 2471-2483 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. G. Tanaka ◽  
A. Retinò ◽  
Y. Asano ◽  
M. Fujimoto ◽  
I. Shinohara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Electric Field ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Current Sheet ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flow Region ◽  
Electron Acceleration ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
Line Structure ◽  
Simulation Results

Abstract. The magnetopause (MP) reconnection is characterized by a density asymmetry across the current sheet. The asymmetry is expected to produce characteristic features in the reconnection layer. Here we present a comparison between the Cluster MP crossing reported by Retinò et al. (2006) and virtual observations in two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation results. The simulation, which includes the density asymmetry but has zero guide field in the initial condition, has reproduced well the observed features as follows: (1) The prominent density dip region is detected at the separatrix region (SR) on the magnetospheric (MSP) side of the MP. (2) The intense electric field normal to the MP is pointing to the center of the MP at the location where the density dip is detected. (3) The ion bulk outflow due to the magnetic reconnection is seen to be biased towards the MSP side. (4) The out-of-plane magnetic field (the Hall magnetic field) has bipolar rather than quadrupolar structure, the latter of which is seen for a density symmetric case. The simulation also showed rich electron dynamics (formation of field-aligned beams) in the proximity of the separatrices, which was not fully resolved in the observations. Stepping beyond the simulation-observation comparison, we have also analyzed the electron acceleration and the field line structure in the simulation results. It is found that the bipolar Hall magnetic field structure is produced by the substantial drift of the reconnected field lines at the MSP SR due to the enhanced normal electric field. The field-aligned electrons at the same MSP SR are identified as the gun smokes of the electron acceleration in the close proximity of the X-line. We have also analyzed the X-line structure obtained in the simulation to find that the density asymmetry leads to a steep density gradient in the in-flow region, which may lead to a non-stationary behavior of the X-line when three-dimensional freedom is taken into account.

scholarly journals Design and Analysis of Broadband LiNbO3 Optical Waveguide Electric Field Sensor with Tapered Antenna

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 3672
Author(s):  
Haiying Lu ◽  
Yingna Li ◽  
Jiahong Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Resonance Frequency ◽  
Optical Waveguide ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Substrate Thickness ◽  
Electric Field Sensor ◽  
Field Sensor ◽  
Simulation Results

The three-dimensional (3D) simulation model of a lithium niobate (LiNbO3, LN) optical waveguide (OWG) electric field sensor has been established by using the full-wave electromagnetic simulation software. The influences of the LN substrate and the packaging material on the resonance frequency of the integrated OWG electric field sensor have been simulated and analyzed. The simulation results show that the thickness of the LN substrate has a great influence on the resonant frequency of the sensor (≈33.4%). A sensor with a substrate thickness of 1 mm has been designed, fabricated, and experimentally investigated. Experimental results indicate that the measured resonance frequency is 7.5 GHz, which nearly coincides with the simulation results. Moreover, the sensor can be used for the measurement of the nanosecond electromagnetic impulse (NEMP) in the time domain from 1.29 kV/m to 100.97 kV/m.

scholarly journals Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation of a miniature plasma source for a microwave discharge ion thruster

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 064004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshinori Takao ◽  
Hiroyuki Koizumi ◽  
Kimiya Komurasaki ◽  
Koji Eriguchi ◽  
Kouichi Ono
Keyword(s):  
Microwave Discharge ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Plasma Source ◽  
Ion Thruster ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
Cell Simulation

scholarly journals Thrust calculation of electric solar wind sail by particle-in-cell simulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 845-855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kento Hoshi ◽  
Hirotsugu Kojima ◽  
Takanobu Muranaka ◽  
Hiroshi Yamakawa
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Pic Simulation ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
Thrust Characteristics ◽  
Potential Structure ◽  
Cell Simulation ◽  
Simulation Results ◽  
Present Simulation ◽  
Electric Solar Wind Sail

Abstract. In this study, thrust characteristics of an electric solar wind sail were numerically evaluated using full three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. The thrust obtained from the PIC simulation was lower than the thrust estimations obtained in previous studies. The PIC simulation indicated that ambient electrons strongly shield the electrostatic potential of the tether of the sail, and the strong shield effect causes a greater thrust reduction than has been obtained in previous studies. Additionally, previous expressions of the thrust estimation were modified by using the shielded potential structure derived from the present simulation results. The modified thrust estimation agreed very well with the thrust obtained from the PIC simulation.

scholarly journals Three-dimensional particle in cell simulation of multi-mode ion thruster optics system

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (18) ◽  
pp. 182901
Author(s):  
Chen Mao-Lin ◽  
Xia Guang-Qing ◽  
Mao Gen-Wang
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Ion Thruster ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
Cell Simulation ◽  
Multi Mode
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