A combined measurement method of thrust vector and roll torque for low power Hall-effect thrusters

Abstract

A combined method for measuring the thrust vector and roll torque of low-power Hall-effect thrusters is proposed, using a conventional torsional thrust pendulum, with a measurement accuracy of a few tens of micro-Newton meters. The 300–500 W class Hall-effect thruster is mounted horizontally on the pendulum, whose motion is determined only by the radial thrust vector and rolling torque of the thrusters. The contribution of the two components of a Hall-effect thruster is analyzed through the method of changing the position of accelerator and external hollow cathode, with the accelerator contributing a significant portion of the radial thrust vector and increasing linearly with thruster anode power. And the external hollow cathode contributing at a magnitude of one hundred micro-Newtons, in the direction opposite to the cathode. The combining method provides a way to measure the deviation angle of the stationary EP thrusters, an analysis of the contribution of the accelerator and the external hollow cathode, and a method for decreasing the deviation angle of a Hall-effect thruster by counteracting the effects of these two components.