Magnetically Shielded Miniature Hall Thruster: Performance Assessment and Status Update
| Title | Magnetically Shielded Miniature Hall Thruster: Performance Assessment and Status Update |
| Publication Type | Conference Paper |
| Year of Publication | 2014 |
| Authors | Conversano, Ryan W., Dan M. Goebel, Ioannis G. Mikellides, Richard R. Hofer, Taylor S. Matlock, and Richard E. Wirz |
| Conference Name | 50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference |
| Conference Location | Cleveland, OH |
| ISBN Number | AIAA-2014-3896 |
| Abstract | The magnetically shielded miniature Hall thruster, originally tested at the University of California, Los Angeles, underwent performance validation experiments at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The thruster was operated over a range of discharge voltages, from 150 V – 300V, and currents, from 1 A – 2.3 A. It was discovered that the thruster operated in two distinct modes which were dependent on the thruster’s temperature: a “jet” mode and a “diffuse” mode. At the nominal condition of 275 V and 1.2 A in the jet mode, a thrust of approximately 12 – 13 mN was measured by a thrust stand with an anode efficiency of approximately24%. At the same nominal conditions, the diffuse mode showed a thrust of 11 – 12 mN and an anode efficiency of approximately 21%. Characterization of the plume in both operating modes was accomplished using a shielded Faraday probe, a retarding potential analyzer, and an ExB probe. Discharge current oscillations on the order of 2.5 – 4 times the mean current were observed during jet mode operation, while the oscillations in the diffuse mode were on the order of 20% of the mean current. Results from the plume characterization, post-operation discharge channel inspection, and discharge oscillations, combined with the temperature-dependent mode shift, suggest that changes to the magnetic field strength and topology caused by saturation of the thruster’s magnetic circuit may be occurring at elevated operating temperatures. |
| URL | http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2014-3896 |
| DOI | 10.2514/6.2014-3896 |
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