Study of Energy Loss Mechanisms in the BPT-4000 Hall Thruster
Abstract
Aerojet has developed a high performance multi-mode flightweight Hall thruster for orbit raising and stationkeeping on geo-synchronous satellites. In order to further understand and improve upon the performance of this state of the art Hall thruster and other next generation thrusters being planned, a detailed study of the energy loss mechanisms has been conducted. Calculations of each loss mechanism have been performed using experimental data as input. A comparison of the relative magnitude of each loss mechanism shows that energy deposition in the anode and radial kinetic energy are the dominant losses in this thruster followed by energy deposition in the insulator rings. The calculations also show that the propellant utilization efficiency is only 70% but the voltage losses are minimal. These results indicate potential for improved performance of this and other next generation thrusters if the electron- neutral collision frequency can be increased and the ion beam acceleration focused with improved magnetic field and anode designs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 30, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA416555
Entities
People
- Chris Rayburn
- James Haas
- Kristi De Grys
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory