Michael S. McDonald

Rotating Spoke Instabilities in Hall Thrusters

High-speed imaging of a Hall thruster plume reveals near-omnipresent rotating regions of elevated light emission, dubbed rotating spokes, in the annular thruster discharge channel. Azimuthal oscillations have long been suggested to induce cross-field electron transport in Hall thrusters, but conclusive experimental identification of such oscillations with probes is often challenging. However, simple processing of high-speed images taken at a few tens of thousands of frames per second clearly reveals long-wavelength rotating spokes at very low frequencies, corresponding to velocities of only a few hundred meters per second.

Measurement of Cross-Field Electron Current in a Hall Thruster Due to Rotating Spoke Instabilities

The first direct experimental measurements of electron current due to rotating spokes in a modern highpower Hall thruster are presented. A segmented anode consisting of 12 equally spaced azimuthal sections has been retrofitted onto the H6 6-kW class Hall thruster and operated at power levels up to 3 kilowatts. Independent discharge current measurements on each anode segment at 1 MHz and synchronous high-speed video of the discharge at 87,500 frames per second reveal that visible rotating spoke structures in the thruster channel correspond to local electron current oscillations with amplitude approximately 30% of the mean local discharge current through each segment. Discrete Fourier transforms of discharge current oscillations on each segment reveal peaks at spoke rotation frequencies an order of magnitude larger than at the well-known breathing mode frequency. The apparent dominance of the breathing mode in traditional Hall thruster discharge current frequency spectra is revealed to be an artifact of the use of a contiguous ring-shaped anode. Based on the magnitude of local discharge current oscillations on each segment, the magnitude of plasma density oscillations are inferred to be of the order of the mean plasma density and the net discharge current carried by the spoke mechanism is calculated to be up to 50% of the total thruster discharge current.

Hall thruster plume measurements from High-speed Dual Langmuir Probes with Ion Saturation Reference

The plasma plume of a 6 kW Hall Effect Thruster (HET) has been investigated in order to determine time-averaged and time-resolved plasma properties in a 2-D plane. HETs are steady-state devices with a multitude of kilohertz and faster plasma oscillations that are poorly understood yet impact their performance and may interact with spacecraft subsystems. HETs are known to operate in different modes with differing efficiencies and plasma characteristics, particularly the axial breathing mode and the azimuthal spoke mode. In order to investigate these phenomena, high-speed diagnostics are needed to observe time-resolved plasma properties and correlate them to thruster operating conditions. A new technique called the High-speed Dual Langmuir Probe with Ion Saturation Reference (HDLP-ISR) builds on recent results using an active and an insulated or null probe in conjunction with a third, fixed-bias electrode maintained in ion saturation for ion density measurements. The HDLP-ISR was used to measure the plume of a 6-kW-class single-channel HET called the H6 operated at 300 V and 20 A at 200 kHz. Time-averaged maps of electron density, electron temperature and plasma potential were determined in a rectangular region from the exit plane to over five channel radii downstream and from the centrally mounted cathode radially out to over three channel radii. The power spectral density (PSD) of the time-resolved plasma density oscillations showed four discrete peaks between 16 and 28 kHz which were above the broad breathing mode peak between 10 and 15 kHz. Using a high-speed camera called FastCam imaging at 87,500 frames per second, the plasma oscillations were correlated with visible rotating spokes in the discharge channel. Probes were vertically spaced in order to identify azimuthal plasma transients around the discharge channel where density delays of 14.4 μs were observed correlating to a spoke velocity of 1800 m/s in the E×B direction. The results presented here are the first to positively correlate observed spokes with plasma plume oscillations that could provide the key to understanding HET operation. High-speed diagnostic techniques enable observation and characterization of the oscillatory nature of HETs which will give critical insight into important phenomena such as anomalous electron transport, thruster operational stability and plasma-spacecraft interactions for future HETs.

Plasma oscillation effects on nested Hall thruster operation and stability

High-power Hall thrusters capable of throughput on the order of 100 kW are currently under development, driven by more demanding mission profiles and rapid growth in on-orbit solar power generation capability. At these power levels the nested Hall thruster (NHT), a new design that concentrically packs multiple thrusters into a single body with a shared magnetic circuit, offers performance and logistical advantages over conventional single-channel Hall thrusters. An important area for risk reduction in NHT development is quantifying inter-channel coupling between discharge channels. This work presents time- and frequency-domain discharge current and voltage measurements paired with high-speed video of the X2, a 10-kW class dual channel NHT. Two “triads” of operating conditions at 150 V, 3.6 kW and 250 V, 8.6 kW were examined, including each channel in individual operation and both channels in joint operation. For both triads tested, dual-channel operation did not noticeably destabilize the discharge. Partial coupling of outer channel oscillations into the inner channel occurred at 150 V, though oscillation amplitudes did not change greatly. As a percentage of mean discharge current, RMS oscillations at 150 V increased from 8% to 13% on the inner channel and decreased from 10% to 8% on the outer channel from single- to dual-channel operation. At 250 V the RMS/mean level stayed steady at 13% on the inner channel and decreased from 7% to 6% on the outer channel. The only mean discharge parameter noticeably affected was the cathode floating potential, which decreased in magnitude below ground with increased absolute cathode flow rate in dual-channel mode. Rotating spokes were detected on high-speed video across all X2 operating cases with wavelength 12-18 cm, and spoke velocity generally increased from single- to dual-channel operation.

Symphony: exploring user interface representations for learner-centered process scaffolding

We introduce Symphony, a supportive integrated environment for high-school science students. The process of science inquiry is a complex one that is difficult for novice learners to perform. With Symphony, we are exploring how to provide effective process support for the learner by conceptualizing complex processes in the user interface. We have begun by using flow diagrams and timelines in the interface. As we continue, we will evaluate and characterize these and other representations to see how to best support novice learners in the “doing” of a complex process.