Effect of electron temperature anisotropy on near-wall conductivity in Hall thrusters
- College of Aerospace and Civil Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001 (China)
- College of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)
The electron velocity distribution in Hall thrusters is anisotropic, which not only makes the sheath oscillate in time, but also causes the sheath to oscillate in space under the condition of low electron temperatures. The spatial oscillation sheath has a significant effect on near-wall transport current. In this Letter, the method of particle-in-cell (2D + 3 V) was adopted to simulate the effect of anisotropic electron temperatures on near-wall conductivity in a Hall thruster. Results show that the electron-wall collision frequency is within the same order in magnitude for both anisotropic and isotropic electron temperatures. The near-wall transport current produced by collisions between the electrons and the walls is much smaller than experimental measurements. However, under the condition of anisotropic electron temperatures, the non-collision transport current produced by slow electrons which reflected by the spatial oscillation sheath is much larger and closes to measurements.
- OSTI ID:
- 22299940
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 21, Issue 6; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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