Collisionless electron cooling in unmagnetized plasma thruster plumes

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Merino-Martinez ◽  
Pablo Fajardo ◽  
Eduardo Ahedo
Keyword(s):  
Electron Cooling ◽  
Plasma Thruster ◽  
Unmagnetized Plasma

scholarly journals Collisionless electron cooling in a plasma thruster plume: experimental validation of a kinetic model

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 035029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Merino ◽  
Pablo Fajardo ◽  
Gabriel Giono ◽  
Nickolay Ivchenko ◽  
Jón-Tómas Gudmundsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Model ◽  
Experimental Validation ◽  
Electron Cooling ◽  
Plasma Thruster

scholarly journals BepiColombo: A Platform for Improving Modeling of Electric Propulsion-Spacecraft Interactions

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Félicien Filleul ◽  
Orson Sutherland ◽  
Fabrice Cipriani ◽  
Christine Charles
Keyword(s):  
Electric Propulsion ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Electron Cooling ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
Spacecraft Charging ◽  
Physical Description ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Plasma Thruster ◽  
First Results

This article provides the first results of a long-term study aimed at improving the validity of numerical modeling techniques for Electric Propulsion induced Spacecraft Charging using the Spacecraft Plasma Interaction System software. The preflight numerical model of the European Space Agency’s BepiColombo mission and its outputs are presented as a benchmark example of the present capabilities and limitations of the model. It is demonstrated that the code can obtain the spacecraft charging equilibrium by simulating the dynamic interactions between the electric propulsion system, the thruster-generated plasmas, and spacecraft systems exposed to space. The importance of including a physical description of the electron cooling in the freely expanding thruster plasmas is shown by comparing simulations with different polytropic indexes. It particularly highlights the inadequacy of treating the entire plasma as isothermal. The reported variability of the simulation outputs with numerical and physical parameters paves the way for future improvements in preflight design modeling and increased understanding of plasma thruster-induced charging processes through future comparison with available flight telemetries.

Experimental studies of iodine stationary plasma thruster

2019 ◽  
pp. 81-90
Author(s):  
Boris A. Sokolov ◽  
Pavel A. Shcherbina ◽  
Ivan B. Sishko ◽  
Aleksandr V. Shipovskiy Aleksandr ◽  
Aleksandr A. Lyapin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Economic Viability ◽  
Electron Drift ◽  
Experimental Facility ◽  
Operational Mode ◽  
Stationary Plasma Thruster ◽  
Stationary Plasma ◽  
Plasma Thruster ◽  
Closed Electron

The paper demonstrates the feasibility of using iodine as propellant for thrusters with closed electron drift and its economic viability. It describes a test setup for running experiments. It provides the results of experimental studies of the stationary plasma thruster using iodine as its propellant with xenon gas-passage hollow cathode, as well as of the operational mode of the thruster where a mixture of xenon and iodine is used. During tests gas dynamic and electrical properties of the thruster were analyzed. Thermal conditions in the iodine storage and supply system were studied. Conclusions were drawn on how the test object could be improved and upgraded. The paper describes the option to use a thermionic non-flow cathode as the compensator cathode for the operation of the iodine thruster. The paper provides the results of an experimental study of the prototype non-flow compensator cathode in diode mode. Based on the results of the studies an experimental facility was built for testing a thruster with non-flow compensator cathode. Key words: cathode, compensator cathode, thruster with closed electron drift, stationary plasma thruster, iodine.

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