In this work, a krypton Hall thruster is used to study the influence of low-frequency oscillation on the focusing characteristics of the plasma beam. The experiment results show that the plume divergence half-angle of the krypton thruster is sensitive to the low-frequency oscillation. Through monitoring the ionization process inside the discharge channel, it is found that the low-frequency oscillation leads to extending of the propellant ionization region downstream and, at the same time, the electron temperature is increased near the channel exit. As a result, the deviation of space potential lines from the magnetic lines is enhanced. These are the dominant physical mechanisms to affect the plasma beam focusing characteristics for the krypton Hall thruster.
Effect of Low-Frequency Oscillation on Plasma Focusing in Krypton Hall Thruster
Journal of Propulsion and Power ; 36 , 1 ; 25-32
2020-01-01
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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