Interaction of a plasma plume induced by a pulsed plasma thruster with an incident flow of rarefied magnetized plasma

Abstract

A three-dimensional computational model and the results of the calculation for the dynamics of a plasma plume induced by a pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) in a magnetized flow of the ambient plasma are presented. A nonstationary expansion process of a PPT-induced plasma plume is studied in the ionospheric plasma over 100 µs after the start of a 6-microsecond plasma pulse. The parameters of the plasma plume in the PPT outlet section simulate the performance characteristics of a pulsed thruster PPT-4 (Pulsed Plasma Thruster 4 [3]) utilizing solid Teflon propellant. The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of the process is based on the approximation of the ideal magnetic gas dynamics and makes it possible to predict the dynamics of a plasma bunch after the pulse termination during its interaction with the ambient medium and the magnetic field as well as the induced electric fields and currents in the vicinity of the expanding plasma