TY - JOUR
T1 - Magnetic detachment and plume control in escaping magnetized plasma
AU - Schmit, P. F.
AU - Fisch, N. J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Ilya Dodin, Jean Marcel Rax, and Andrey Zhmoginov for useful discussions. This work was supported by US DoE contract No. DE-AC02-76-CH03073. One of us (PFS) was supported by the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.
PY - 2009/6
Y1 - 2009/6
N2 - The model of two-fluid, axisymmetric, ambipolar magnetized plasma detachment from thruster guide fields is extended to include plasmas with non-zero injection angular velocity profiles. Certain plasma injection angular velocity profiles are shown to narrow the plasma plume, thereby increasing exhaust efficiency. As an example, we consider a magnetic guide field arising from a simple current ring and demonstrate plasma injection schemes that more than double the fraction of useful exhaust aperture area, more than halve the exhaust plume angle, and enhance magnetized plasma detachment.
AB - The model of two-fluid, axisymmetric, ambipolar magnetized plasma detachment from thruster guide fields is extended to include plasmas with non-zero injection angular velocity profiles. Certain plasma injection angular velocity profiles are shown to narrow the plasma plume, thereby increasing exhaust efficiency. As an example, we consider a magnetic guide field arising from a simple current ring and demonstrate plasma injection schemes that more than double the fraction of useful exhaust aperture area, more than halve the exhaust plume angle, and enhance magnetized plasma detachment.
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U2 - 10.1017/S0022377808007666
DO - 10.1017/S0022377808007666
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:69749101722
SN - 0022-3778
VL - 75
SP - 359
EP - 371
JO - Journal of Plasma Physics
JF - Journal of Plasma Physics
IS - 3
ER -