Anode power deposition in a MPD thruster with a magnetically annulled Hall parameter anode
- Princeton University, NJ (United States)
Results from previous studies indicate that the anode fall increases monotonically with the electron Hall parameter. In an attempt to reduce the anode fall by decreasing the local electron Hall parameter, a proof-of-concept test was performed in which an array of 36 permanent magnets were imbedded within the anode of a high power quasi-steady MPD thruster to decrease the local azimuthal component of the induced magnetic field. The modified thruster was operated at power levels between 150 kW and 4 MW with Ar and He propellants. Terminal voltage, triple probe, floating probe, and magnetic probe measurements were made to characterize the performance of the thruster with new anode. Incorporation of the modified anode resulted in a reduction of the anode fall by up to 15 V with Ar and 20 V with He, which corresponded to decreased anode power fractions of 40 and 45 percent with Ar and He, respectively. 26 refs.
- Research Organization:
- Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 6959263
- Report Number(s):
- AIAA-Paper--92-3461; CONF-920747--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
300100 -- Direct Energy Conversion-- MHD Generators
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
330000* -- Advanced Propulsion Systems
ANODES
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTRODES
ENERGY STORAGE
FLUID MECHANICS
HALL EFFECT
HEAT FLUX
HYDRODYNAMICS
INTERPLANETARY SPACE
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MECHANICS
MHD GENERATORS
PERFORMANCE
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
SPACE
SPACE VEHICLES
STORAGE
THRUSTERS
VEHICLES