Numerical Analysis of Hall Thruster Firing Tests

Abstract

Numerical analysis of the firing tests of several xenon Hall thrusters over the ranges 200-800 V and 0.5-92.7 mg/s anode mass flow rate is presented. The full form of the specific impulse equation is presented. New approximated equations are presented for anode specific impulse and anode efficiency in which a hyperbolic tangent is used as the basic approximating function. Discharge voltage and normalized mass flow are proposed as input performances. The resultant equations characterize small, medium, and large Hall thrusters with the same accuracy. Flow density and normalized mass flow are proposed as scaling factors for correlating anode mass flow rate and thruster geometrical dimensions. Intrathruster parameter values are estimated based on accepted input performances. The ionization degree is shown to be an increasing function of voltage and normalized mass flow. The average voltage ratio is shown to be a decreasing function of voltage. The electron loss parameter is shown to be a decreasing function of voltage and a peculiar V-shaped function of normalized mass flow, with minimums near 50 (mg/s)/m. The average ion charge is shown to be an increasing function of voltage and a parabola-shaped function of normalized mass flow, with maximums near 100 (mg/s)/m. These results will be useful for future analytical investigations.