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Applied Sciences
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Plasmas for Space Propulsion
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Plasmas for Space Propulsion

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Aerospace Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 December 2021) | Viewed by 15762

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Jochen Schein

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institut für Plasmatechnik und Mathematik, Bundeswehr University Munich, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany
Interests: electric propulsion; plasma physics; advanced diagnostics and modeling of plasma systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Electric propulsion is an enabling technology for a variety of satellite missions. Due to the nature of this technology, systems with very high specific impulse can be obtained, and a very accurate control of impulse bits is possible. The basis for all EP systems is a plasma (i.e., an electrically conductive gaseous medium) that can be accelerated due to thermal, electrostatic, or electromagnetic effects. Hence, in order to further reliability and/or develop innovative systems, a good understanding of the plasma inside the thruster and its interaction with the accelerating forces is needed. This Issue aims to broaden this understanding by collecting outstanding submissions describing experimental as well as modeling efforts dealing with plasmas for space propulsion ranging from theoretical plasma physical analyses to measurements on space-going systems.

Prof. Jochen Schein
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Plasma/ion thrusters
  • Electric propulsion
  • Plasma diagnostics
  • Modeling EP

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 5801 KiB  
Article
Experimental Characterization of the Capacitively Coupled RF-Plasma Thruster
by Pavel Smirnov, Ruslan Kozakov and Jochen Schein
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(15), 6799; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11156799 - 23 Jul 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2536
Abstract
A novel design of a neutralizer-free plasma thruster is proposed. This setup features a capacitively coupled RF discharge for plasma generation combined with a magnetic nozzle configuration for acceleration. Characteristics of the plasma plume and ions flux are investigated with the help of [...] Read more.
A novel design of a neutralizer-free plasma thruster is proposed. This setup features a capacitively coupled RF discharge for plasma generation combined with a magnetic nozzle configuration for acceleration. Characteristics of the plasma plume and ions flux are investigated with the help of emissive probes and retarding potential analyzers (RPA). Essential parameters of the thruster like ions energy, ions flux, utilization efficiencies, and thrust are estimated. The investigated system produces a beam of ions accelerated to an energy of 10 eV when operated at power levels of ~20 W and a mass flow of 1.2 mg/s. The ion energy coincides with the potential drop in the plasma plume indicating that the acceleration takes place due the formation of an ambipolar electric field in the expanding plasma. The design is compared to the data available of other similar thrusters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasmas for Space Propulsion)
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29 pages, 7757 KiB  
Article
Optimization of a Faraday Cup Collimator for Electric Propulsion Device Beam Study: Case of a Hall Thruster
by Hugonnaud Valentin and Mazouffre Stéphane
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(5), 2419; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11052419 - 09 Mar 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5067
Abstract
A Faraday cup (FC) is an instrument dedicated to current measurement in beams, jets and plasmas. It consists of a set of polarized electrodes mounted in such a way plasma sheath effect can be neglected, yielding accurate and reliable results. A FC is [...] Read more.
A Faraday cup (FC) is an instrument dedicated to current measurement in beams, jets and plasmas. It consists of a set of polarized electrodes mounted in such a way plasma sheath effect can be neglected, yielding accurate and reliable results. A FC is composed of three main parts, namely a collector or cup, which collects the current, a collimator, which defines the collection area and can contribute to limit electrons from entering the cup and a housing which protects the instrument from perturbation caused by the surrounding medium. In this paper, we provide experimental results of the effect of the collimator upon the measured ion current within the beam of a low-power Hall thruster. Different collimator materials, aperture diameters and polarization voltages are studied to determine the optimum design. Minimum dimension as well as appropriate materials are given as a conclusion in the case of low-power Hall thruster beam investigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasmas for Space Propulsion)
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12 pages, 3515 KiB  
Article
Thrust Measurements on the High Efficient and Reliable Vacuum Arc Thruster (HERVAT)
by Marvin Kühn, Corentin Toursel and Jochen Schein
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(5), 2274; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11052274 - 04 Mar 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2403
Abstract
In this work, thrust measurements of the high efficient and reliable vacuum arc thruster (HERVAT) are performed for different pulse energies. The thruster system includes a thruster head together with a newly developed pulse processing unit (PPU). The complete system (HERVAT + PPU) [...] Read more.
In this work, thrust measurements of the high efficient and reliable vacuum arc thruster (HERVAT) are performed for different pulse energies. The thruster system includes a thruster head together with a newly developed pulse processing unit (PPU). The complete system (HERVAT + PPU) is able to perform more than 1 × 107 pulses. Moreover, the influence of an integrated active magnetic nozzle is investigated. As a result, the thrust to power ratio, the average thrust level and the impulse bit for each configuration are measured and calculated. For the thrust measurements, a highly sensitive horizontal thrust balance with an active force actuator is used and operated in the thrust compensation mode. The investigated system is able to achieve levels from 5 to 40 μN and thrust to power ratios from 1 to 2 μN/W. The experimental results are compared to the data available in literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasmas for Space Propulsion)
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14 pages, 1475 KiB  
Article
Plume Divergence and Discharge Oscillations of an Accessible Low-Power Hall Effect Thruster
by Matthew Baird, Thomas Kerber, Ron McGee-Sinclair and Kristina Lemmer
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1973; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11041973 - 23 Feb 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2352
Abstract
Hall effect thrusters (HETs) are an increasingly utilized proportion of electric propulsion devices due to their high thrust-to-power ratio. To enable an accessible research thruster, our team used inexpensive materials and simplified structures to fabricate the 44-mm-diameter Western Hall Thruster (WHT44). Anode flow, [...] Read more.
Hall effect thrusters (HETs) are an increasingly utilized proportion of electric propulsion devices due to their high thrust-to-power ratio. To enable an accessible research thruster, our team used inexpensive materials and simplified structures to fabricate the 44-mm-diameter Western Hall Thruster (WHT44). Anode flow, discharge voltage, magnet current, and cathode flow fraction (CFF) were independently swept while keeping all other parameters constant. Simultaneously, a Faraday probe was used to test plume properties at a variety of polar coordinate distances, and an oscilloscope was used to capture discharge oscillation behavior. Plasma plume divergence angle at a fixed probe distance of 4.5 thruster diameters increased with increasing anode flow, varying from 36.7° to 37.4°. Moreover, divergence angle decreased with increasing discharge voltage, magnet current, and CFF, by 0.3°, 0.2°, and 8°, respectively, over the span of the swept parameters. Generally, the thruster exhibited a strong oscillation near 90 kHz, which is higher than a similarly sized HET (20–60 kHz). The WHT44 noise frequency spectra became more broadband and the amplitude increased at a CFF of less than 1.5% and greater than 26%. Only the low flow and low voltage operating conditions showed a quiescent sinusoidal discharge current; otherwise, the discharge current probability distribution was Gaussian. This work demonstrates that the WHT44 thruster, designed for simplicity of fabrication, is a viable tool for research and academic purposes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasmas for Space Propulsion)
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Review

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20 pages, 8144 KiB  
Review
Low Power Cusped Field Thruster Developed for the Space-Borne Gravitational Wave Detection Mission in China
by Hui Liu, Ming Zeng, Xiang Niu, Hongyan Huang and Daren Yu
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(14), 6549; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11146549 - 16 Jul 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2269
Abstract
The microthruster is the crucial device of the drag-free attitude control system, essential for the space-borne gravitational wave detection mission. The cusped field thruster (also called the High Efficiency Multistage Plasma Thruster) becomes one of the candidate thrusters for the mission due to [...] Read more.
The microthruster is the crucial device of the drag-free attitude control system, essential for the space-borne gravitational wave detection mission. The cusped field thruster (also called the High Efficiency Multistage Plasma Thruster) becomes one of the candidate thrusters for the mission due to its low complexity and potential long life over a wide range of thrust. However, the prescribed minimum of thrust and thrust noise are considerable obstacles to downscaling works on cusped field thrusters. This article reviews the development of the low power cusped field thruster at the Harbin Institute of Technology since 2012, including the design of prototypes, experimental investigations and simulation studies. Progress has been made on the downscaling of cusped field thrusters, and a new concept of microwave discharge cusped field thruster has been introduced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasmas for Space Propulsion)
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