Magnetic nozzle performance in a cluster of helicon plasma thrusters
A numerical study of the plasma dynamics in a Helicon Plasma Thrusters’ (HPT) cluster is presented. For the first time in the literature, the three-dimensional (3D) plasma dynamics occurring in the plume of a HPTs’ cluster is analyzed. The physical investigation relies on ProPic, a 3D particle-in-ce...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2024
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/174275 |
| _version_ | 1826113338497564672 |
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| author | Di Fede, Simone Manente, Marco Comunian, Paolo João Magarotto, Mirko |
| author2 | School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering |
| author_facet | School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Di Fede, Simone Manente, Marco Comunian, Paolo João Magarotto, Mirko |
| author_sort | Di Fede, Simone |
| collection | NTU |
| description | A numerical study of the plasma dynamics in a Helicon Plasma Thrusters’ (HPT) cluster is presented. For the first time in the literature, the three-dimensional (3D) plasma dynamics occurring in the plume of a HPTs’ cluster is analyzed. The physical investigation relies on ProPic, a 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) code specifically designed to simulate the plasma dynamics in magnetic nozzles and in a non-axi-symmetric domain. The code has been validated against experiments reported in the literature and cross-validated with Starfish, an open-source two-dimensional PIC software. The physical investigation has revealed an interesting mutual influence between the thrusters that constitute the cluster. Three significant phenomena that affect the cluster’s performance have been identified. The first phenomenon is related to the effect that clustering has on the shape of the magnetic field lines and, in turn, on the divergence angle of the plume. The second phenomenon is related to electron currents flowing among different thrusters, which affect the potential drop across the plume. The third phenomenon is related to the effect that neighboring thrusters have on the plasma potential map and, in turn, on the expansion of the ions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:21:35Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/174275 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:21:35Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1742752024-03-30T16:47:51Z Magnetic nozzle performance in a cluster of helicon plasma thrusters Di Fede, Simone Manente, Marco Comunian, Paolo João Magarotto, Mirko School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Engineering Clustering electric propulsion Helicon plasma thruster A numerical study of the plasma dynamics in a Helicon Plasma Thrusters’ (HPT) cluster is presented. For the first time in the literature, the three-dimensional (3D) plasma dynamics occurring in the plume of a HPTs’ cluster is analyzed. The physical investigation relies on ProPic, a 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) code specifically designed to simulate the plasma dynamics in magnetic nozzles and in a non-axi-symmetric domain. The code has been validated against experiments reported in the literature and cross-validated with Starfish, an open-source two-dimensional PIC software. The physical investigation has revealed an interesting mutual influence between the thrusters that constitute the cluster. Three significant phenomena that affect the cluster’s performance have been identified. The first phenomenon is related to the effect that clustering has on the shape of the magnetic field lines and, in turn, on the divergence angle of the plume. The second phenomenon is related to electron currents flowing among different thrusters, which affect the potential drop across the plume. The third phenomenon is related to the effect that neighboring thrusters have on the plasma potential map and, in turn, on the expansion of the ions. Published version 2024-03-25T05:12:58Z 2024-03-25T05:12:58Z 2023 Journal Article Di Fede, S., Manente, M., Comunian, P. J. & Magarotto, M. (2023). Magnetic nozzle performance in a cluster of helicon plasma thrusters. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, 32(6), 065013-. https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-6595/acdaf2 0963-0252 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/174275 10.1088/1361-6595/acdaf2 2-s2.0-85163394565 6 32 065013 en Plasma Sources Science and Technology © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. Original Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Engineering Clustering electric propulsion Helicon plasma thruster Di Fede, Simone Manente, Marco Comunian, Paolo João Magarotto, Mirko Magnetic nozzle performance in a cluster of helicon plasma thrusters |
| title | Magnetic nozzle performance in a cluster of helicon plasma thrusters |
| title_full | Magnetic nozzle performance in a cluster of helicon plasma thrusters |
| title_fullStr | Magnetic nozzle performance in a cluster of helicon plasma thrusters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Magnetic nozzle performance in a cluster of helicon plasma thrusters |
| title_short | Magnetic nozzle performance in a cluster of helicon plasma thrusters |
| title_sort | magnetic nozzle performance in a cluster of helicon plasma thrusters |
| topic | Engineering Clustering electric propulsion Helicon plasma thruster |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/174275 |
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