The far-field plasma characterization in a 600W Hall thruster plume by laser-induced fluorescence

Non-intrusive characterization of the singly ionized xenon velocity in Hall thruster plume using laser induced fluorescence(LIF) is critical for constructing a complete picture of plume plasma,deeply understanding the ion dynamics in the plume, and providing validation data for numerical simulation. This work presents LIF measurements of singly ionized xenon axial velocity on a grid ranging from 100 to 300 mm in axial direction and from 0 to 50 mm in radial direction for a600 W Hall thruster operating at the nominal condition of discharge voltage 300 V and discharge current 2 A, the influence of discharge voltage is investigated as well. The ion velocity distribution function(IVDF) results in the far-field plume demonstrate a profile of bimodal IVDFs, especially prominent at radial distances greater than channel inner radius of 22 mm at axial position of 100 mm, which is quite different from that of the near-field plume where bimodal IVDFs occur in the central core region for the same power Hall thruster when compared to previous LIF measurements of BHT-600 by Hargus(2010 J. Propulsion Power 26 135).Beyond 100 mm, only single-peak IVDFs are measured. The two-dimensional ion velocity vector field indicates the bimodal axial IVDF is merely a geometry effect for the annular discharge channel in the far-field plume. Results about the IVDF, the most probable velocity and the accelerating potential profile along the centerline all indicate that ions are still accelerating at axial distances greater than 100 mm, and the maximum most probable velocity measured at300 mm downstream of the exit plane is about 19 km s-1. In addition, the most probable velocity of ions along radial direction changes a little except the lower velocity ion populations in the bimodal IVDF cases. The ion temperature at axial distances of 10 and 300 mm oscillates along the radial direction, while the ion temperature first increases, and then decreases for the 200 mm case. Finally, the axial position for the ion peak axial velocity on the thruster centerline is shifted upstream for higher discharge voltages, and the velocity curve is becoming steeper with the discharge voltage before reaching the maximum. This observation can be used as a criterion to optimize the thruster performance.     

Performance of a 4 cm iodine-fueled radio frequency ion thruster

The performance of an iodine radio ion thruster with a 4 cm diameter(IRIT4) was studied experimentally in this paper. Regulation of the mass flow rates of the iodine propellant is achieved by using a temperature control method of the iodine reservoir. Performance of the thruster using iodine as propellants is obtained at different total thruster powers of 40.6–128.8 W,different grid voltages of 1000–1800 V and the iodine flow rate of 100 μgs~(-1). Results show that thrust and specific impulse increase approximately linearly with the increasing total thruster power and the screen grid voltage. The thrust of 2.32 mN and the specific impulse of 2361 s are obtained at the nominal total thruster power of 95.8 W and the screen grid voltage of 1800 V. It is also indicated that performance of the iodine propellant is comparable to that of the xenon propellant; and a difference between them is that the iodine thrust is slightly higher than xenon when the total thruster power is more than 62 W. At the nominal 95.8 W total thruster power, the thrust values of them are 2.32 m N and 2.15 mN respectively, and the thrust-to-power ratios of them are 24.2 mN kW~(-1) and 23.5 mN kW~(-1), respectively.     

Study of the key factors affecting the triple grid lifetime of the LIPS-300 ion thruster

In order to ascertain the key factors affecting the lifetime of the triple grids in the LIPS-300 ion thruster,the thermal deformation,upstream ion density and component lifetime of the grids are simulated with finite element analysis,fluid simulation and charged-particle tracing simulation methods on the basis of a 1500 h short lifetime test.The key factor affecting the lifetime of the triple grids in the LIPS-300 ion thruster is obtained and analyzed through the test results.The results show that ion sputtering erosion of the grids in 5 kW operation mode is greater than in the case of 3 kW.In 5 kW mode,the decelerator grid shows the most serious corrosion,the accelerator grid shows moderate corrosion,and the screen grid shows the least amount of corrosion.With the serious corrosion of the grids in 5 kW operation mode,the intercept current of the acceleration and deceleration grids increases substantially.Meanwhile,the cold gap between the accelerator grid and the screen grid decreases from 1 mm to 0.7 mm,while the cold gap between the accelerator grid and the decelerator grid increases from 1 mm to 1.25 mm after 1500 h of thruster operation.At equilibrium temperature with 5 k W power,the finite element method(FEM)simulation results show that the hot gap between the screen grid and the accelerator grid reduces to 0.2 mm.Accordingly,the hot gap between the accelerator grid and the decelerator grid increases to 1.5 mm.According to the fluid method,the plasma density simulated in most regions of the discharge chamber is 1?×?10~(18)-8?×?10~(18)m~(-3).The upstream plasma density of the screen grid is in the range 6?×?10~(17)-6?×?10~(18)m~(-3)and displays a parabolic characteristic.The charged particle tracing simulation method results show that the ion beam current without the thermal deformation of triple grids has optimal perveance status.The ion sputtering rates of the accelerator grid hole and the decelerator hole are 5.5?×?10~(-14)kg s~(-1)and 4.28?×?10~(-14)kg s~(-1),respectively,while after the thermal deformation of the triple grids,the ion beam current has over-perveance status.The ion sputtering rates of the accelerator grid hole and the decelerator hole are 1.41?×?10~(-13)kg s~(-1)and 4.1?×?10~(-13)kg s~(-1),respectively.The anode current is a key factor for the triple grid lifetime in situations where the structural strength of the grids does not change with temperature variation.The average sputtering rates of the accelerator grid and the decelerator grid,which were measured during the 1500 h lifetime test in5 k W operating conditions,are 2.2?×?10~(-13)kg s~(-1)and 7.3?×?10~(-13)kg s~(-1),respectively.These results are in accordance with the simulation,and the error comes mainly from the calculation distribution of the upstream plasma density of the grids.     

The plume diagnostics of 30 cm ion thruster with an advanced plasma diagnostics system

In order to achieve a better understanding of plume characteristics of LIPS-300 ion thruster, the beam current density, ion energy and electron number density of LIPS-300 ion thruster plume are studied with an Advanced Plasma Diagnostics System(APDS) which allows for simultaneous in situ measurements of various properties characterizing ion thruster, such as plasma density, plasma potential, plasma temperature and ion beam current densities, ion energy distribution and so on. The results show that the beam current density distribution has a double‘wing' shape. The high energy ions were found in small scan angle, while low energy ions were found in greater scan angle. Electron number density has a similar shape with the beam current density distribution.     

Plume diagnostics of BUSTLab microwave electrothermal thruster using Langmuir and Faraday probes

This study presents the Langmuir and Faraday probe measurements conducted to determine the plume characteristics of the BUSTLab microwave electrothermal thruster (MET). The thruster, designed to operate at 2.45 GHz frequency, is run with helium, argon and nitrogen gases as the propellant. For the measurements, the propellant volume flow rate and the delivered microwave power levels are varied. Experiments with nitrogen gas revealed certain operation regimes where a very luminous plume is observed. With the use of in-house-built Langmuir probes and a Faraday probe with guard ring, thruster plume electron temperature, plasma density and ion current density values are measured, and the results are presented. The measurements show that MET thruster plume effects on spacecraft will likely be similar to those of the arcjet plume. It is observed that the measured plume ion flux levels are very low for the high volume flow rates used for the operation of this thruster.     

Experimental and numerical simulation study of the effect for the anode positions on the discharge characteristics of 300 W class low power Hall thrusters

Low-power Hall thruster(LHT) generally has poor discharge efficiency characteristics due to the large surface-to-volume ratio.Aiming to further refine and improve the performance of 300 W class LHT in terms of thrust and efficiency,and to obtain the most optimal operating point,the experimental study of the discharge characteristics for three different anode positions was conducted under the operation of various discharge voltages(100-400 V) and anode mass flow rates(0.65 mg·s^-1 and 0...     

Analysis of Numerical Simulation Results of LIPS-200 Lifetime Experiments

Accelerator grid structural and electron backstreaming failures are the most important factors affecting the ion thruster's lifetime.During the thruster's operation,Charge Exchange Xenon(CEX) ions are generated from collisions between plasma and neutral atoms.Those CEX ions grid's barrel and wall frequently,which cause the failures of the grid system.In order to validate whether the 20 cm Lanzhou Ion Propulsion System(LIPS-200) satisfies China's communication satellite platform's application requirement for North-South Station Keeping(NSSK),this study analyzed the measured depth of the pit/groove on the accelerator grid's wall and aperture diameter's variation and estimated the operating lifetime of the ion thruster.Different from the previous method,in this paper,the experimental results after the 5500 h of accumulated operation of the LIPS-200 ion thruster are presented firstly.Then,based on these results,theoretical analysis and numerical calculations were firstly performed to predict the on-orbit lifetime of LIPS-200.The results obtained were more accurate to calculate the reliability and analyze the failure modes of the ion thruster.The results indicated that the predicted lifetime of LIPS-200's was about 13218.1 h which could satisfy the required lifetime requirement of 11000 h very well.     

Microchannel cooling technique for dissipating high heat flux on W/Cu flat-type mock-up for EAST divertor

As an important component of tokamaks, the divertor is mainly responsible for extracting heat and helium ash, and the targets of the divertor need to withstand high heat flux of 10 MW m⁻² for steady-state operation. In this study, we proposed a new strategy, using microchannel cooling technology to remove high heat load on the targets of the divertor. The results demonstrated that the microchannel-based W/Cu flat-type mock-up successfully withstood the thermal fatigue test of 1000 cycles at 10 MW m⁻² with cooling water of 26 l min⁻¹, 30 °C (inlet), 0.8 MPa (inlet), 15 s power on and 15 s dwell time; the maximum temperature on the heat-loaded surface (W surface) of the mock-up was 493 °C, which is much lower than the recrystallization temperature of W (1200 °C). Moreover, no occurrence of macrocrack and 'hot spot' at the W surface, as well as no detachment of W/Cu tiles were observed during the thermal fatigue testing. These results indicate that microchannel cooling technology is an efficient method for removing the heat load of the divertor at a low flow rate. The present study offers a promising solution to replace the monoblock design for the EAST divertor     

Three-dimensional particle simulation of ion thruster plume flows with EX-PWS

Ion thruster plumes from a multi-thruster array of different working configurations are simulated by a hybrid fluid-particle software. The particle in cell method is employed to model the transports of ions. The direct simulation Monte Carlo method is used to model momentum and charge exchange (CEX) collisions. The software is based on unstructured grids which make it easy to handle with complex geometry. The results of chamber simulation are compared with experimental data in ion current density and number density, which show good agreements. The maximum difference of current density along the thruster centerline is less than 9.30%. The interaction effects of plumes when multiple thrusters are operating in vacuum are predicted. Distributions of single charged xenon ions are significantly different in the near-field plume flow, however, merge into one in the far downstream region. Moreover, the interaction effect on the spatial distribution of CEX xenon ions is displayed as well.     

Wide-range characteristics of beam perveance and saddle point potential of LIPS-200 ion thruster

Both the long-life and multi-mode versions of LIPS-200 ion thruster are under investigation in LIP (Lanzhou Institute of Physics). To confirm the feasible ranges of the beam current and accel (abbreviation for accelaration) grid potential to apply to the thruster, the wide-range beam perveance (the state of beam focus) and saddle point potential (the lowest potential along beamlet centerline) characteristics of LIPS-200 are studied with a test-verified PIC-MCC (Particle in Cell-Monte Carlo Collisions) model. These characteristics are investigated with both the initial and the eroded states of the accel grid aperture diameter. The results show that the feasible ranges of these parameters with respect to perveance/crossover (overfocused) limit extend as the operating time accumulates, while the feasible range of accel grid potential narrows due to a reduced EBSF (electron backstreaming failure) margin. The feasible ranges determined by the initial condition are: (i) the beam current up to 0.981 A, and (ii) the accel grid potential up to −85 V. A 23% enlargement of the aperture diameter would bring up to 48 V of EBSF margin loss.     

快堆钠-水直流蒸汽发生器七管样机热工水力特性分析

钠-水直流蒸汽发生器是钠冷快堆主热传输系统的关键设备之一,其结构及内部的传热现象是十分复杂的。管内外侧的介质及压力不同,管内侧为高温高压的水/蒸汽,存在复杂的两相流动传热传质现象;管外侧为高温液态金属钠,沿换热管高度方向存在较大的钠温变化。本文以钠-水直流蒸汽发生器七管样机为研究对象,对其热工水力特性进行了CFD分析和实验研究,CFD分析结果和实验结果吻合较好,验证了CFD分析所采用的数学模型和数值方法的可靠性。结果表明,钠-水直流蒸汽发生器七管样机的传热面积是足够的,达到了设计指标要求,其界限质量含汽率约为0.42,临界热流密度约为451.98 kW/m²,从而确定了蒸干点的位置。     

Study on the influence of three-grid assembly thermal deformation on breakdown times and an ion extraction process

In order to study the influence of three-grid assembly thermal deformation caused by heat accumulation on breakdown times and an ion extraction process,a hot gap test and a breakdown time test are carried out to obtain thermal deformation of the grids when the thruster is in 5 k W operation mode.Meanwhile,the fluid simulation method and particle-in-cell-Monte Carlo collision(PICMCC) method are adopted to simulate the ion extraction process according to the previous test results.The numerical calculation results are verified by the ion thruster performance test.The results show that after about 1.2 h operation,the hot gap between the screen grid and the accelerator grid reduce to 0.25–0.3 mm,while the hot gap between the accelerator grid and the decelerator grid increase from 1 mm to about 1.4 mm when the grids reach thermal equilibrium,and the hot gap is almost unchanged.In addition,the breakdown times experiment shows that 0.26 mm is the minimal safe hot gap for the grid assembly as the breakdown times improves significantly when the gap is smaller than this value.Fluid simulation results show that the plasma density of the screen grid is in the range 6?×10~(17)–6?×?10~(18) m~(13) and displays a parabolic characteristic,while the electron temperature gradually increases along the axial direction.The PIC-MCC results show that the current falling of an ion beam through a single aperture is significant.Meanwhile,the intercepted current of the accelerator grid and the decelerator grid both increase with the change in the hot gap.The ion beam current has optimal perveance status without thermal deformation,and the intercepted current of the accelerator grid and the decelerator grid are 3.65 m A and 6.26 m A,respectively.Furthermore,under the effect of thermal deformation,the ion beam current has over-perveance status,and the intercepted current of the accelerator grid and the decelerator grid are 10.46 m A and 18.24 m A,respectively.Performance test results indicate that the breakdown times increase obviously.The intercepted current of the accelerator grid and the decelerator grid increases to 13 m A and 16.5 m A,respectively,due to the change in the hot gap after 1.5 h operation.The numerical calculation results are well consistent with performance test results,and the error comes mainly from the test uncertainty of the hot gap.     

Comparison of Reynolds average Navier-Stokes turbulence models in numerical simulations of the DC arc plasma torch

Five turbulence models of Reynolds average Navier-Stokes(RANS),including the standard k-ω model,the RNG k-e model taking into account the low Reynolds number effect,the realizable k-ω model,the SST k-ω model,and the Reynolds stress model(RSM),are employed in the numerical simulations of direct current(DC)arc plasma torches in the range of arc current from 80 A to 240 A and air gas flow rate from 10 m^3 h^-1 to 50 m^3 h^-1.The calculated voltage,electric field intensity,and the heat loss in the arc chamber are compared with the experiments.The results indicate that the arc voltage,the electric field,and the heat loss in the arc chamber calculated by using the standard k-ω model,the RNG k-ωmodel taking into account the low Reynolds number effect,and the realizable k-ω model are much larger than those in the experiments.The RSM predicts relatively close results to the experiments,but fails in the trend of heat loss varying with the gas flow rate.The calculated results of the SST k-ω model are in the best agreement with the experiments,which may be attributed to the reasonable predictions of the turbulence as well as its distribution.     

A study of the influence of different grid structures on plasma characteristics in the discharge chamber of an ion thruster

The grid structure has significant effects on the discharge characteristics of an ion thruster.The discharge performances of a 30 cm diameter ion thruster with flat,convex and concave grids are studied.The analysis results show that the discharge chamber with a convex grid has a larger’magnetic-field free area’ than the others,and the parallelism of the magnetic-field isopotential lines and anode is generally the same in the three models.Plasma densities of the three structures at the grid outle...     

Investigation of electron cyclotron current drive efficiency on the J-TEXT tokamak

Electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) efficiency research is of great importance for the neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) stabilization. Improving ECCD efficiency is beneficial for the NTM stabilization and the ECCD power threshold reduction. ECCD efficiency has been investigated on the J-TEXT tokamak. The electron cyclotron wave (ECW) power scan was performed to obtain the current drive efficiency. The current drive efficiency is derived to be approximately η₀ = (0.06–0.16) × 10¹⁹ A m⁻² W⁻¹ on the J-TEXT tokamak. The effect of the residual toroidal electric field has been included in the determination of the current drive efficiency, which will enhance the ECCD efficiency. At the plasma current of I_p = 100 kA and electron density of n_e = 1.5 × 10¹⁹ m⁻³, the ratio of Spitzer conductivity between omhic (OH) and ECCD phases is considered and the experimental data have been corrected. The correction results show that the current drive efficiency η1 caused by the fast electron hot conductivity decreases by approximately 79%. It can be estimated that the driven current is approximately 24 kA at 300 kW ECW power.     

耦合一、二次侧换热的蒸汽发生器二次侧流场分析

蒸汽发生器（SG）内三维两相流场可为流致振动分析提供输入条件。本文基于FLUENT采用多孔介质模型对SG二次侧流场进行求解。在动量方程中添加管束附加阻力,分别计算横流和顺流管束阻力,同时考虑了下降段、支承板和汽水分离器阻力。在能量方程中,将一、二次侧换热量三维分布作为二次侧流场的能量源项,在计算中采用耦合迭代求解。计算结果与总体设计值符合较好。计算结果同时显示,二次侧流场分布极不均匀;进入第一级汽水分离器的工质最大、最小流动含汽率分别为0.75和0.07;一、二次侧平均换热系数分别为15 856.5和63 623.0 W/(m²•K),二次侧最大换热系数为122 862.9 W/(m²•K),U型管外壁面平均热流密度为149.9 kW/m²;U型管弯管段最大横流速度约为4.06 m/s;冷侧冲刷U型管的横流能量(ρu²)大于热侧,其值为1145 J/m³。     

棒束通道内过冷沸腾起始点的实验研究

本文以去离子水为实验介质,在进口温度80～100 ℃、质量流速0～100 kg/(m²•s)、热流密度0～80 kW/m²的条件下对棒束通道内的过冷沸腾起始点（ONB）进行了实验研究。分析了部分热工参数和棒束特殊的几何结构对ONB的影响,通过引入雷诺数,对棒束通道内ONB的数据进行非线性回归分析,得到适用于棒束通道ONB的经验关系式。结果表明：新拟合得到的关系式能较准确地预测棒束通道内ONB的热流密度,其预测值的相对误差为14.75%。     

Production of a High-Mach-Number Plasma Flow for an Advanced Plasma Space Thruster

A higher specific impulse and a larger thrust are required for a manned interplanetary space thruster. Prior to a realization of a fusion-plasma thruster, a magneto-plasma-dynamic arcjet (MPDA) powered by a fission reactor is one of the promising candidates for a manned Mars space thruster. The MPDA plasma is accelerated axially by a self-induced j × B force. Thrust performance of the MPDA is expected to increase by applying a magnetic nozzle instead of a solid nozzle. In order to get a much higher thruster performance, two methods have been investigated in the HITOP device, Tohoku University. One is to use a magnetic Laval nozzle in the vicinity of the MPDA muzzle for converting the high ion thermal energy to the axial flow energy. The other is to heat ions by use of an ICRF antenna in the divergent magnetic nozzle. It is found that by use of a small-sized Laval-type magnetic nozzle, the subsonic flow near the muzzle is converted to be supersonic through the magnetic Laval nozzle. A fast-flowing plasma     

The effect of anode axial position on the performance of a miniaturized cylindrical Hall thruster with a cusp-type magnetic field

A 200 W cylindrical Hall thruster with a cusp-type magnetic field was proposed, manifesting convergent plume and high specific impulse. In this paper, a series of ring-shaped anodes are designed and the influence of anode axial position on the performance of CHT with a cusp-type magnetic field is studied. The experimental results indicate that the thruster keeps stable operation at the condition of 140–270 W discharge power. When the anode moves axially towards the upstream cusp field, the thrust enhances from 6.5 mN to 7.6 mN and specific impulse enhances from 1658 s to 1939 s significantly. These improvements of thruster performance should be attributed to the enhancement of current utilization, propellant utilization and acceleration efficiency. According to the analyses on the discharge characteristics, it is revealed that as the anode moves upstream, the electron transport path could be extended, the magnetic field in this extended path could impede electron cross-field transport and facilitate the ionization intensity, yielding to the enhancement of current utilization and propellant utilization efficiency. Moreover, along with this enhancement of upstream ionization at the given anode flow rate, the main ionization region is thought to move upstream and then separate more apparently from the acceleration region, which has been demonstrated by the narrowing of ion energy distribution function shape. This change in acceleration region could decrease the ion energy loss and enhance acceleration efficiency. This work is beneficial for optimizing the electrode structure of thruster and recognize the ionization and acceleration process under the cusp magnetic field.     

Experimental Study of Liquid Sodium Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics Along Hexagonal 7-rod Bundle Channel

The flow and heat transfer characteristics of single-phase liquid sodium were experimentally investigated in a hexagonal 7-rod bundle channel with the velocity of 0-4 m/s, the heat flux of 0-120 kW/m² and the absolute pressure of 1.5-200 kPa. The corresponding Reynolds number ranges from 4 000 to 60 000, and the Peclet number varies from 0 to 340. The influence of some thermal parameters on the heat transfer characteristics of liquid sodium flow in a hexagonal 7-rod bundle channel was analyzed in depth. Empirical correlations of liquid sodium flow and heat transfer in a hexagonal 7-rod bundle channel were obtained by nonlinear regression analysis for experimental data. The results show that these correlations can accurately predict the friction coefficient and Nu in a hexagonal 7-rod bundle channel. The prediction error for flow and heat transfer is less than 5% and 6%, respectively. The new equation was compared with other results, and the error is within 30%. It is shown that the new empirical correlation is suitable for the flow heat transfer of liquid sodium in a hexagonal 7-rod bundle channel.