Hall thruster is a kind of plasma optics device, which used mainly in space propulsion. To study the influence magnetic field on performance 5 kW hall thruster, two-dimensional PIC-MCC model was built. The Bohm diffusion modeled by using Brownian motion instead collision method and near-wall conduction secondary electron emission model. When mass flow rate mg/s, like thrust, efficiency discharg...

The role of inelastic collisions in Hall thruster operation is studied through simulation of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) inside the thruster channel. The electron Boltzmann equation is solved using the Lorentz approximation (two-term expansion) and the "local-field" approximation. The resultant zero-dimensional Boltzmann equation takes into account inelastic losses due to i...

A colloid thruster functions by electrostatically generating and accelerating sub-micron droplets of propellant to high velocities. The technology is attractive because of the weight and size of the integrated package, its high efficiency, low power consumption and inert propellant. The development of the thruster prototype at Stanford University is aimed for a proof-of-concept flight-testing o...

A spatiotemporal study of neutral gas temperature during the first 100 s of operation for a radio-frequency electrothermal plasma micro-thruster operating on nitrogen at 60 W and 1.5 Torr is performed to identify the heating mechanisms involved. Neutral gas temperature is estimated from rovibrational band fitting of the nitrogen second positive system. A set of baffles are used to restrict the ...

Hall thrusters are an attractive form of electric propulsion that are being developed and implemented to replace chemical systems for many on orbit propulsion tasks on communications satellites. One concern in the use of these devices is the possible damage their plumes may cause to the host spacecraft. Computer models of Hall thruster plumes play an important role in integration of these devic...

The finite pressure present in vacuum chamber testing of space propulsion systems such as Hall thrusters can have a number of undesirable effects. For example, the thrust generated by the thruster is higher and the plume divergence angle larger in ground tests in comparison to space operation. To try to quantify these effects, the direct simulation Monte Carlo method is applied to model a cold ...

We present the initial results from a cavity ring-down sensor for measuring the density of sputtered boron atoms originating from the discharge channel of a 6-kW Hall thruster. The sensor traps 250 nm light in a high-finesse cavity to greatly increase its sensitivity to boron atoms. Measurements were obtained with the thruster operating at seven conditions spanning discharge voltages from 150 t...

The Hall thruster cluster is an attractive propulsion approach for spacecraft requiring very high-power electric propulsion systems. Plasma density, electron temperature, and plasma potential data collected with a combination of triple langmuir probes and floating emissive probes in the plume of a low-power, four-engine Hall thruster cluster are presented. Simple analytical formulas are introdu...

An end-to-end model is presented of the transient plume created by a micro laser-ablation plasma thruster. In this paper we describe a model of the plasma generation and expansion for a microlaser plasma thruster operated in transmission-mode (T-mode). The laser ablation and plasma formation processes are modeled using a kinetic ablation model. This procedure provides boundary conditions at the...