Effects of Magnetic Field Gradient on the Performance of a Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of a magnetic field gradient on the performance of a magnetically shielded Hall thruster. The Particle-in-cell with Monte Carlo collision method (PIC-MCC) is used to simulate the discharge process of the thruster. The performance and plasma characteristics are obtained in conditions with different magnetic field gradients by numerical simulations. As the maximum of the gradient is increased from 1.2 to 3.33 T/m, the electron number density near the channel exit decreases, which leads to less ionization and a weaker radial electric field. As a result, the thrust and specific impulse are decreased, while the plume divergence angle is reduced.

Keywords

• magnetically shielded Hall thruster
• PIC-MCC
• magnetic field gradient
• numerical simulation
• thruster performance