Abstract
Plasma acceleration processes in an ablative pulsed plasma thruster (APPT) were investigated. APPTs have recently attracted much attention because of their low electric power requirements and simple, compact propellant system. The plasma acceleration mechanism, however, has not been well understood. In the present work, emission spectroscopy, high speed photography, and magnetic field measurements are conducted inside the electrode channel of an APPT with rectangular geometry. The successive images of neutral particles and ions give us a comprehensive understanding of their behavior under electromagnetic acceleration. The magnetic field profile clarifies the location where the electromagnetic force takes effect. As a result, it is shown that high density, ablated neutral gas stays near the propellant surface, and only a fraction of the neutrals is converted into plasma and electromagnetically accelerated, leaving the residual neutrals behind. In addition, these diagnostic techniques were applied to a liquid propellant pulsed plasma (LPPPT), which use liquid propellant instead of the solid propellant and have high specific impulse. The plasma acceleration of a LP-PPT was compared with the APPT, and higher plasma acceleration was observed.
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