Wei Liqiu

Computer simulations of Hall thrusters without wall losses designed using two permanent magnetic rings

A type of Hall thruster without wall losses is designed by adding two permanent magnet rings in the magnetic circuit. The maximum strength of the magnetic field is set outside the channel. Discharge without wall losses is achieved by pushing down the magnetic field and adjusting the channel accordingly. The feasibility of the Hall thrusters without wall losses is verified via a numerical simulation. The simulation results show that the ionization region is located in the discharge channel and the acceleration region is outside the channel, which decreases the energy and flux of ions and electrons spattering on the wall. The power deposition on the channel walls can be reduced by approximately 30 times.

Effect of ionization distribution on the low frequency oscillations mode in Hall thrusters

It is found that the discharge parameters have notable effects on the mode of discharge current low frequency oscillation in Hall thrusters, but different discharge parameters might form the similar low frequency oscillation mode. In order to study the mechanism of oscillation mode formation, the ionization distribution in the discharge channel was measured experimentally, and one-dimensional quasi-neutrality hydrodynamic model was used to study the relationship between ionization distribution and the oscillation mode. Researches show that the low frequency oscillation with a narrow and condensed ionization distribution has the mode of lower amplitude and scattered frequency. The low frequency oscillation amplitude would become high and have dominative frequency component with the relative wide ionization distribution. Therefore, it can be concluded that the difference of ionization distribution characteristics is the main reason of the oscillation mode variation, and discharge parameters are only the external control parameters of ionization distribution characteristics.

Experimental study on the role of a resistor in the filter of Hall thrusters

A filter is a mainly component applied to reduce the discharge current low frequency oscillation in the range of 10–100 kHz. The only form of the filter in actual use involves RLC networks, whose design originates from the 1970s, but even now, researchers are unaware of the actual primary motivations for the resistor’s presence [S. Barral et al., AIAA Paper 2008-4632, 2008]. Therefore, the role of the resistor in the filter is experimentally studied and discussed through the analysis of control system and electric circuit theory. Experimental results and analysis indicate that the presence of a resistor makes the filter having the phase compensation function. The proper phase-angle and amplitude provided by the filter would increase or decrease the ion mobility and be helpful to balance the ion production in the discharge channel and then to decrease the fluctuation of the plasma density and lower the low frequency oscillation.

Study on breathing mode oscillation suppression of self-excited Hall thrusters

It is found that the breathing mode oscillation of the discharge current is suppressed notably in a Hall thruster operating with the electromagnets driven in series by the discharge current. In order to study the physical mechanism of this suppression, the ionization distribution is measured experimentally and the spatiotemporal features of the ionization front motion are studied numerically with a one-dimensional quasineutrality hydrodynamic model. Results show that the ionization front motion is restricted in a small range due to the closed-loop feedback control of the magnetic field. The steady-state ionization distribution is narrow and condensed when the electromagnetic coils connect in series with the discharge circuit. The different magnetic field excitation accompanied by different ionization characteristics is the main reason for the suppression of the discharge-current low-frequency breathing mode oscillation.

On the frequency characteristic of inductor in the filter of Hall thrusters

It was found that low frequency discharge current oscillation of two inductors with the same nominal value is extremely different. To decide the general characteristic of thruster inductors, relationship between the frequency characteristic of inductors and low frequency oscillation is studied in experiments at the same operation conditions. Experimental results indicate that the differences of low frequency discharge current oscillation were caused by the different frequency characteristic of inductor. As the corner frequency of inductors increases, the discharge current low frequency oscillation declines at first and then slightly turns up after a certain frequency. Through analysis from the perspective of control system, advantageous frequency characteristics of thruster inductors in filter are suggested.

Low-frequency oscillations in Hall thrusters

In this paper, we summarize the research development of low-frequency oscillations in the last few decades. The findings of physical mechanism, characteristics and stabilizing methods of low-frequency oscillations are discussed. It shows that it is unreasonable and incomplete to model an ionization region separately to analyze the physical mechanism of low-frequency oscillations. Electro-dynamics as well as the formation conditions of ionization distribution play an important role in characteristics and stabilizing of low-frequency oscillations. Understanding the physical mechanism and characteristics of low- frequency oscillations thoroughly and developing a feasible method stabilizing this instability are still important research subjects.

Effect of Airflows on Repetitive Nanosecond Volume Discharges

Atmospheric pressure discharges excited by repetitive nanosecond pulses have attracted significant attention for various applications. In this paper, a plate-plate discharge with airflows is excited by a repetitive nanosecond pulse generator. Under different experiment conditions, the applied voltages, discharge currents, and discharge images are recorded. The plasma images presented here indicate that the volume discharge modes vary with airflow speeds, and a diffuse and homogeneous volume discharge occurs at the speed of more than 35 m/s. The role of airflows provides different effects on the 2-stage pulse discharges. The 1st pulse currents nearly maintain consistency for different airflow speeds. However, the 2nd pulse current has a change trend of first decreasing and then rapidly increasing, and the value difference for 2nd pulse currents is about 20 A under different airflows. In addition, the experimental results are discussed according to the electrical parameters and discharge images.

Characterizing low-frequency oscillation of Hall thrusters by dielectric wall temperature variation

The low-frequency oscillation characteristics of a Hall thruster were investigated by varying the dielectric wall temperature. Experimental results indicate that increasing the dielectric wall temperature can result in an increase in the amplitude of low-frequency oscillation and a slight decrease in its frequency. Physical analysis revealed that this change is related to the secondary electron emissions at different dielectric wall temperatures. The evidence suggests that this technique can serve as an effective way for future studies to examine how secondary electron emissions affect a discharging thruster.

Mode Transition of Trichel pulses

The trichel pulse is a typical kind of negative corona current observed in electronegative gases. In this work, stochastic behavior of the trichel pulse has been investigated. The experiment is performed in a negative corona reactor consisting of a stainless steel pin and a stainless steel powered by a dc high voltage source. The characteristic parameters distributions of corona current pulses, including the amplitude, rise time, half-wave time, and repetition frequency, are analyzed statistically. The results show there is a mode transition during the period of voltage increasing. This transition process happens in a certain voltage region, and change of pulse amplitude is the main difference between the two modes.

Modulating action of low frequency oscillations on high frequency instabilities in Hall thrusters

It is found that the low frequency oscillations have modulating action on high frequency instabilities in Hall thrusters. The physical mechanism of this modulation is discussed and verified by numerical simulations. Theoretical analyses indicate that the wide-range fluctuations of plasma density and electric field associated with the low frequency oscillations affect the electron drift velocity and anomalous electron transport across the magnetic field. The amplitude and frequency of high frequency oscillations are modulated by low frequency oscillations, which show the periodic variation in the time scale of low frequency oscillations.