Performance of a permanent-magnet cylindrical hall-effect thruster

K. A. Polzin, E. S. Sooby, A. C. Kimberlin, Y. Raitses, E. Merino, N. J. Fisch

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The performance of a low-power cylindrical Hall thruster, which more readily lends itself to miniaturization and low-power operation than a conventional (annular) Hall thruster, was measured using a planar plasma probe and a thrust stand. The field in the cylindrical thruster was produced using permanent magnets, promising a power reduction over previous cylindrical thruster iterations that employed electromagnets to generate the required magnetic field topology. Two sets of ring-shaped permanent magnets are used, and two different field configurations can be produced by reorienting the poles of one magnet relative to the other. A plasma probe measuring ion flux in the plume is used to estimate the current utilization for the two magnetic topologies. The measurements indicate that electron transport is impeded much more effectively in one configuration, implying higher thrust efficiency. Thruster performance measurements on this configuration were obtained over a power range of 70-350 W and with the cathode orifice located at three different axial positions relative to the thruster exit plane. The thrust levels over this power range were 1.25-6.5 mN, with anode efficiencies and specific impulses spanning 4-21% and 400-1950 s, respectively. The anode efficiency of the permanent-magnet thruster compares favorably with the efficiency of the electromagnet thruster when the power consumed by the electromagnets is taken into account.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit
PublisherAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc.
ISBN (Print)9781563479762
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

Publication series

Name45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Space and Planetary Science
  • General Energy
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering

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