Magnetic shielding of the channel walls in a Hall plasma accelerator

In a qualification life test of a Hall thruster it was found that the erosion of the acceleration channel practically stopped after ∼ 5600   h . Numerical simulations using a two-dimensional axisymmetric plasma solver with a magnetic field-aligned mesh reveal that when the channel receded from its e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics of plasmas 2011-03, Vol.18 (3), p.033501-033501-18
Main Authors: Mikellides, Ioannis G., Katz, Ira, Hofer, Richard R., Goebel, Dan M., de Grys, Kristi, Mathers, Alex
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ION DENSITY
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETIC SHIELDING
PLASMA GUNS
PLASMA SHEATH
PLASMA SIMULATION
SHIELDING
SIMULATION
THRUSTERS
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
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Summary:In a qualification life test of a Hall thruster it was found that the erosion of the acceleration channel practically stopped after ∼ 5600   h . Numerical simulations using a two-dimensional axisymmetric plasma solver with a magnetic field-aligned mesh reveal that when the channel receded from its early-in-life to its steady-state configuration the following changes occurred near the wall: (1) reduction of the electric field parallel to the wall that prohibited ions from acquiring significant impact kinetic energy before entering the sheath, (2) reduction of the potential fall in the sheath that further diminished the total energy ions gained before striking the material, and (3) reduction of the ion number density that decreased the flux of ions to the wall. All these changes, found to have been induced by the magnetic field, constituted collectively an effective shielding of the walls from any significant ion bombardment. Thus, we term this process in Hall thrusters "magnetic shielding."
ISSN:1070-664X
1089-7674
DOI:10.1063/1.3551583