Atmospheric propellant fed Hall thruster discharges: 0D-hybrid model and experimental results

Abstract

Abstract As part of on-going efforts in advancing air-breathing electric propulsion, the HT5k Hall thruster was characterized in six operating conditions, ranging from 5 mg s−1 to 7 mg s−1 of 0.56N2 + 0.44O2 mass flow rate and 225 V to 300 V of discharge voltage. The cathode was operated with N2 at mass flow rates between 0.5 mg s−1 and 0.7 mg s−1. This paper presents a 0D-hybrid model for atmospheric propellant fed Hall thruster discharges. Verified performance ranged between 30 mN to 120 mN in thrust, 1.2 kW to 5.2 kW in discharge power, and 8% to 18% in anodic efficiency. Calibrated model comparison against experimental data resulted in a mean absolute error of 3.7% in thrust and 7.6% in discharge power.