The paper reports the characterization results of a 20 kW-class magnetically shielded Hall thruster in three different configurations and operating with centrally mounted cathode. was carried out at two pumping speeds SITAEL’s IV10 vacuum chamber, resulting background pressure levels for each tested point. A linear behavior discharge current thrust values versus anode mass flow rate noticed bot...

Discharges in hydrogen, ignited by wire explosion, with current amplitude up to 1.5 MA were investigated. Channel diameter oscillations were observed on the photostreaks. Voltage and current curves correlated with the photostreaks. At initial gas pressure of 5-35 MPa the oscillation period was proportional to square root of atomic number of the initiating wire material. These oscillations were ...

The dynami~ cha~:-acteristics of scroll compresso~: operation have been demonstrated and analyzed in a number of papers over the past decade. This paper discusses the modeling methods used to describe the scroll ~ompressor discharge dynamics. Nume~:ous models are required to accurately represent this complex dynamic p~:-ocess. These include the differential mass continuity and polytropic compre...

Effective loss area is a key parameter in determining ion thruster discharge performance and stability. A 20 cm partial conic ion thruster discharge chamber was designed and constructed to investigate plasma collection at the anode in small thrusters. Discharge plasma conditions and discharge performance was characterized. Effective loss area was assessed by measuring plasma current density pro...

A new 18x18 cm(2) active area lanthanum hexaboride (LaB(6)) plasma source for use in a dc discharge has been developed at UCLA. The cathode consists of four tiled LaB(6) pieces indirectly heated to electron emission (1750 degrees C) by a graphite heater. A molybdenum mesh anode 33 cm in front of the LaB(6) accelerates the electrons, ionizing a fill gas to create a 20x20 cm(2) nearly square plas...

The operation of a laboratory version of the flight-qualified SPT-100 stationary plasma thruster is compared for four different discharge chamber wall materials: a boron nitride–silica mixture ~borosil!, alumina, silicon carbide, and graphite. The discharge is found to be significantly affected by the nature of the walls: changes in operating regimes, up to 25% variations of the mean discharge ...

Thirty years after the invention of the Multi-Wire Proportional Chamber, and twenty from the first Vienna Wire Chamber Conference, the interest and research efforts devoted to gas detectors are still conspicuous, as demonstrated by the number of papers submitted to this Conference. Innovative and performing devices have been perfected over the years, used in experiments, and still developed tod...