Fundamental Studies on MPD Thrusters.

Abstract

A theory has been developed which predicts onset and erosion in MPD thrusters. The theory predicts onset currents which are in quantitative agreement with experiment. Erosion rates are predicted for a steady-state hot cathode thruster. This theory is the first to model the viscous and thermal electrode boundary layers in MPD thrusters. Stability criteria for diffuse-mode electrode current conduction have been found. Keywords: Two temperature flow; Electrode plasma interactions, Magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 02, 1987
Accession Number
ADA190307

Entities

People

  • J. L. Lawless

Organizations

  • Carnegie Mellon University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boltzmann Equation
  • Boundary Layer
  • Boundary Layer Flow
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Differential Equations
  • Electric Propulsion
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Energy
  • Energy Transfer
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Flow
  • Heat Transfer
  • Steady Flow
  • Thermal Conductivity
  • Thermodynamics
  • Transport Properties

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Propulsion Engineering.
  • Fluid Dynamics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster