Analytical modeling of the anomalous electron collision frequency in partially magnetized E × B plasmas

Abstract

An analytical model for the anomalous electron collision frequency is proposed to predict the cross-field mobility of electrons in partially magnetized E × B plasma devices. The proposed model can be implemented through a dimensional analysis based on the electron momentum equations perpendicular to the magnetic field. To test the validity of the proposed method, it is applied to a 1D steady fluid analysis for a Hall thruster. The results show that compared to the Bohm diffusion model, the proposed model can yield more physically appropriate prediction results in terms of axial distributions for the anomalous electron collision frequency and azimuthal electron mean velocity.