Performance Improvement of Hall Thrusters Using a Pulse-Synchronous Driver System

A new pulse-synchronous driver system is proposed for Hall thrusters. By applying a pulsating drive voltage with a frequency close to that of the discharge oscillation, the stable and synchronized operation of a Hall thruster can be realized. A pulsating boost chopper circuit is also proposed that i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of propulsion and power 2015-05, Vol.31 (3), p.956-961
Main Authors: Tamida, Taichiro, Osuga, Hiroyuki, Yamamoto, Naoji, Takegahara, Haruki, Aoyagi, Junichiro, Kuriki, Kyoichi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Circuits
Driver circuits
Electric potential
Hall thrusters
Oscillations
Performance enhancement
Thrust
Voltage
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Summary:A new pulse-synchronous driver system is proposed for Hall thrusters. By applying a pulsating drive voltage with a frequency close to that of the discharge oscillation, the stable and synchronized operation of a Hall thruster can be realized. A pulsating boost chopper circuit is also proposed that is suitable for use as a pulse-synchronous drive and has many attractive features as the driver circuit for Hall thrusters. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the thrust performance is improved approximately 30% at 200 W input power by using the driver circuit. Pulse-synchronous driving is a new driving method optimized for thruster operation, and it is expected to become an essential technology for high-power Hall thrusters.
ISSN:0748-4658
1533-3876
DOI:10.2514/1.B35273