Investigation of Acceleration Channel Processes in Hall Thrusters by Particles Simulations

Abstract

In a previous work based on numerical analyses and experiments, the effects of anode orifice configuration on the 20 kHz-range discharge current oscillation amplitude and the thrust performance have been analyzed. In the present work, for the purpose of more detail investigation of the influence of the orifice parameters on the current oscillation and the thrust performance, the ionization and acceleration process in the acceleration channel for various orifice positions were analyzed using a hybrid-PIC code. The results show that the amplitude of the oscillation, the ion loss to the channel walls, and the electron current has the largest value for the orifice set in the middle radial position.