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At least 847 records · Page 47
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NASA NTRS2016

Hollow Cathode Assembly Development for the HERMeS Hall Thruster

To support the operation of the HERMeS 12.5 kW Hall Thruster for NASA's Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission, hollow cathodes using emitters based on barium oxide impregnate and lanthanum hexaboride are being evaluated through wear-testing, performance characterization, plasma modeling, and review of integration requirements. This presentation will present the development approach used to assess the cathode emitter options. A 2,000-hour wear-test of development model Barium Oxide (BaO) hollow cathode is being performed as part of the development plan. Specifically this test is to identify potential impacts cathode emitter life during operation in the HERMeS thruster. The cathode was operated with a magnetic field-equipped anode that simulates the HERMeS hall thruster operating environment. Cathode discharge performance has been stable with the device accumulating 743 hours at the time of this report. Observed voltage changes are attributed to keeper surface condition changes during testing. Cathode behavior during characterization sweeps exhibited stable behavior, including cathode temperature. The details of the cathode assembly operation of the wear-test will be presented.

Propulsion Technology↗
NASA NTRS2015

The Importance of the Cathode Plume and Its Interactions with the Ion Beam in Numerical Simulations of Hall Thrusters

Hall2De is a first-principles, 2-D axisymmetric code that solves the equations of motion for ions, electrons, and neutrals on a magnetic-field-aligned grid. The computational domain downstream of the acceleration channel exit plane is large enough to include self-consistently the cathode boundary. In this paper, we present results from numerical simulations of the H6 laboratory thruster with an internally mounted cathode, with the aim of highlighting the importance of properly accounting for the interactions between the ion beam and cathode plume. The anomalous transport of electrons across magnetic field lines in Hall2De is modelled using an anomalous collision frequency, νanom, yielding νanom approximately equal to omega ce (i.e., the electron cyclotron frequency) in the plume. We first show that restricting the anomalous collision frequency to only regions where the current density of ions is large does not alter the plasma discharge in the Hall thruster as long as the interaction between the ion beam and the cathode plume is captured properly in the computational domain. This implies that the boundary conditions must be placed sufficiently far as to not interfere with the electron transport in this region. These simulation results suggest that electron transport across magnetic field lines occurs largely inside the beam and may be driven by the interactions between beam ions and electrons. A second finding that puts in relevance the importance of including the cathode plume in numerical simulations is on the significance of accounting for the ion acoustic turbulence (IAT), now known to occur in the vicinity of the cathode exit. We have included in the Hall2De simulations a model of the IAT-driven anomalous collision frequency based on Sagdeev's model for saturation of the ion-acoustic instability. This implementation has allowed us to achieve excellent agreement with experimental measurements in the near plume obtained during the operation of the H6 thruster at nominal conditions (300V, 20A) and chamber background pressure of approximately 1.5 x 10(exp -5) Torr. In addition, the numerical results obtained with the latter approach exhibit less sensitivity to background pressure than previous attempts at explaining the features of the plasma properties in the near plume.

Lopez Ortega, Alejandro↗
NASA NTRS2015

Plasma Perturbations in High-Speed Probing of Hall Thruster Discharge Chambers: Quantification and Mitigation

An experimental investigation is presented to quantify the effect of high-speed probing on the plasma parameters inside the discharge chamber of a 6-kW Hall thruster. Understanding the nature of these perturbations is of significant interest given the importance of accurate plasma measurements for characterizing thruster operation. An array of diagnostics including a high-speed camera and embedded wall probes is employed to examine in real time the changes in electron temperature and plasma potential induced by inserting a high-speed reciprocating Langmuir probe into the discharge chamber. It is found that the perturbations onset when the scanning probe is downstream of the electron temperature peak, and that along channel centerline, the perturbations are best characterized as a downstream shift of plasma parameters by 15-20% the length of the discharge chamber. A parametric study is performed to investigate techniques to mitigate the observed probe perturbations including varying probe speed, probe location, and operating conditions. It is found that the perturbations largely disappear when the thruster is operated at low power and low discharge voltage. The results of this mitigation study are discussed in the context of recommended methods for generating unperturbed measurements of the discharge chamber plasma.

Jorns, Benjamin A.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Ion Velocity in the Discharge Channel and Near-Field of the HERMeS Hall Thruster

NASA is continuing the development of a 12.5-kW Hall thruster system, which is baselined in a phased exploration concept to expand human presence to cis-lunar space and eventually to Mars. The development team is transitioning knowledge gained from the testing of the government-built Technology Development Unit (TDU) to the contractor-built Engineering Development Unit (EDU). A new laser-induced fluorescence diagnostic that is compatible with the testing of engineering hardware was developed to obtain data for thruster model validation in the lowest background pressure achievable. Prior to performing the test on the EDU, the team performed a functional checkout test of this new diagnostic using the TDU. In addition to providing a checkout of the diagnostic, this test provided data that can be correlated to electron mobility for comparison to the EDU at a later date. A number of technical challenges related to large test facilities and interfacing with engineering hardware were overcome while implementing the new laser diagnostic system. The initial data set was in good agreement with prior optical and non-optical diagnostics data collected on the TDU thrusters. This data set also revealed the spatial origin of high angle ions that have been of concern for spacecraft integration.

Huang, Wensheng↗
NASA NTRS2018

3D Simulations of Ion Thruster Accelerator Grid Erosion Accounting for Charge Exchange Ion Space Charge

Accelerator (accel) grid sputtering by ions formed through charge-exchange (CEX) reactions between beam ions and residual neutral gas is a critical life-limiting mechanism for gridded ion thrusters. The three-dimensional ion optics code CEX3D is designed to simulate this grid erosion for a single beamlet, with a particular emphasis on non-axisymmetric features such as the "pits and grooves" erosion commonly observed on the accel grid downstream face in two-grid thrusters. The treatment of CEX ions in the code was recently upgraded with a new particle-in-cell (PIC) module to account for the influence of these ions' space charge on the electrostatic potential downstream of the grids. In order to achieve reasonable computation times while resolving the Debye length near the grids and avoiding gross violations of the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) condition, macroparticle velocities in the PIC calculation are limited through a rescaling procedure that preserves ion trajectories and space charge density. The code accounts for beam divergence, finite momentum transfer in CEX collisions, and radial losses of CEX ions from the beam; these effects are important for determining the CEX ion flux to the accel grid because the calculated potential downstream of the grids can become very flat. The upgraded code has been used to simulate operation of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) during the 51 kHr Long Duration Test - a selection of results is presented and compared with experimental data.

Chaplin, Vernon H.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Ion Velocity in the Discharge Channel and Near-Field of the HERMeS Hall Thruster

NASA is continuing the development of a 12.5-kW Hall thruster system, which is baselined in a phased exploration concept to expand human presence to cis-lunar space and eventually to Mars. The development team is transitioning knowledge gained from the testing of the government-built Technology Development Unit (TDU) to the contractor-built Engineering Development Unit (EDU). A new laser-induced fluorescence diagnostic that is compatible with the testing of engineering hardware was developed to obtain data for thruster model validation in the lowest background pressure achievable. Prior to performing the test on the EDU, the team performed a functional checkout test of this new diagnostic using the TDU. In addition to providing a checkout of the diagnostic, this test provided data that can be correlated to electron mobility for comparison to the EDU at a later date. A number of technical challenges related to large test facilities and interfacing with engineering hardware were overcome while implementing the new laser diagnostic system. The initial data set was in good agreement with prior optical and non-optical diagnostics data collected on the TDU thrusters. This data set also revealed the spatial origin of high angle ions that have been of concern for spacecraft integration.

Huang, Wensheng↗
NASA NTRS2018

Ion Velocity in the Discharge Channel and Near-Field of the HERMeS Hall Thruster

NASA is continuing the development of a 12.5-kW Hall thruster system, which is baselined in a phased exploration concept to expand human presence to cis-lunar space and eventually to Mars. The development team is transitioning knowledge gained from the testing of the government-built Technology Development Unit (TDU) to the contractor-built Engineering Development Unit (EDU). A new laser-induced fluorescence diagnostic that is compatible with the testing of engineering hardware was developed to obtain data for thruster model validation in the lowest background pressure achievable. Prior to performing the test on the EDU, the team performed a functional checkout test of this new diagnostic using the TDU. In addition to providing a checkout of the diagnostic, this test provided data that can be correlated to electron mobility for comparison to the EDU at a later date. A number of technical challenges related to large test facilities and interfacing with engineering hardware were overcome while implementing the new laser diagnostic system. The initial data set was in good agreement with prior optical and non-optical diagnostics data collected on the TDU thrusters. This data set also revealed the spatial origin of high angle ions that have been of concern for spacecraft integration.

Huang, Wensheng↗
NASA NTRS2018

An Innovative Control Allocation Scheme to Address Reaction Thruster Interactions on a 3U CubeSat

A wealth of literature exists on control allocation algorithms for over-actuated air vehicles, launch vehicles, and spacecraft's. Most of these algorithms focus primarily on minimizing some objective function such as command tracking error and/or control effector usage. Linear allocators (pseudo inverses) are usually the conventional choice due to their simplicity and the ability to achieve a significant portion of the theoretical moment/impulse space. Generally, it is assumed that there exists minimal interaction effects between control effectors. In fact, very few studies address the problem of control effector interactions in the context of control allocation, especially for small spacecraft's with a reaction control system (RCS). This paper presents a CubeSat RCS design with a four thruster tetrahedral layout such that when two or more thrusters re, the resultant impulse differs noticeably compared to the sum of the contributions from individual thruster rings. This undesirable effect is caused by the design of the propellant tank and regulator. To mitigate this issue, an innovative modified pseudo inverse (MPI) control allocation algorithm was developed that adjusts the pseudo inverse solution based on test data. The algorithm is iteration-free and superior to the standard pseudo inverse in minimizing the command tracking error.

Pei, Jing↗
NASA NTRS2016

Mechanisms for Pole Piece Erosion in a 6-kW Magnetically-Shielded Hall Thruster

The mechanisms contributing to the erosion of the inner magnetic pole of a 6-kW magnetically shielded Hall thruster are experimentally and numerically investigated. Sputtering from ion bombardment is believed to be the cause of this wear, but the nature and source of the responsible ions remains unknown. Laser induced fluorescence and translating and surface-mounted probes are employed to characterize the flux and energy distribution of ions incident at the inner pole. It is found that the bulk population is comprised of ions originating from the cathode plume and the near field immediately adjacent to the inner pole. These ions have a low average kinetic energy, < 5 eV kinetic, but a high thermal spread in velocity, Ti = 10 eV. Calculations for the erosion at the pole from experimental measurements indicate that the bulk population only accounts for 10-25% of the observed erosion. It is postulated that the remainder of the erosion results from a separate population of ions with sufficiently high energy (> 150 V) to cause high sputtering but too low density to be detected experimentally by the plasma diagnostics in this region. The existence for this high energy population is shown to be a consequence of the high plasma potentials downstream of the thruster exit plane that are characteristic of a magnetically-shielded topography. A simulation validated by experimental measurements of the thruster provides further evidence that a high energy ion populations exists with sufficient density to explain the observed erosion.

Jorns, Benjamin A.↗
NASA NTRS2017

High-Power Performance of a 100-kW Class Nested Hall Thruster

The performance of a three-channel, 100-kW class nested Hall thruster was evaluated on xenon propellant for total powers up to 102 kW at NASA Glenn Research Center. The thruster demonstrated stable operation in all seven available channel combinations at discharge voltages from 300 V to 500 V and three different current densities. The resulting test matrix contained forty-six unique conditions ranging from 5 to 102 kW total power and 16 to 247 A discharge current. At each operating condition, thruster performance was measured, and from these measurements specific impulse and efficiency were calculated. All seven channel combinations showed similar performance at a given discharge voltage and current density. The largest thrust recorded was 5.4 N ± 0.1 N at 99 kW, 400 V discharge voltage. Total efficiency and specific impulse ranged from 0.54 to 0.67 ± 0.03 and 1800 seconds to 2650 seconds ± 60 seconds, respectively. It was found that the thrust of the three channels firing together was not larger than the sum of each channel firing individually. Discharge current oscillations were also characterized with peak-to-peak and root-mean-square values and with power spectral density analysis. The implications of these results are discussed in the context of operation beyond 100 kW, as well as the general viability of NHT technology for future mission applications.

Hall, Scott J.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Evidence of Counter-Streaming Ions near the Inner Pole of the HERMeS Hall Thruster

NASA is continuing the development of a 12.5-kW Hall thruster system to support a phased exploration concept to expand human presence to cis-lunar space and eventually to Mars. The development team is transitioning knowledge gained from the testing of the government-built Technology Development Unit (TDU) to the contractor-built Engineering Test Unit (ETU). A new laser-induced fluorescence diagnostic was developed to obtain data for validating the Hall thruster models and for comparing the behavior of the ETU and TDU. Analysis of TDU LIF data obtained during initial deployment of the diagnostics revealed evidence of two streams of ions moving in opposite directions near the inner front pole. These two streams of ions were found to intersect the downstream surface of the front pole at large oblique angles. This data points to a possible explanation for why the erosion rate of polished pole covers were observed to decrease over the course of several hundred hours of thruster operation.

Huang, Wensheng↗
NASA NTRS2019

Impulse Measurements of Electric Solid Propellant in an Electrothermal Ablation-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster

Electric solid propellants are advanced solid chemical rocket propellants that can be controlled (ignited, throttled and extinguished) through the application and removal of an electric current. These propellants are also being considered for use in the ablative pulsed plasma thruster. In this paper, the performance of an electric solid propellant operating in an electrothermal ablation-fed pulsed plasma thruster was investigated using an inverted pendulum micro-Newton thrust stand. The impulse bit and specific impulse of the device using the electric solid propellant were measured for short-duration test runs of 100 pulses and longer-duration runs to end-of-life, at energy levels of 5, 10, 15 and 20 J. Also, the device was operated using the current state-of-the-art ablation-fed pulsed plasma thruster propellant, polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE. Impulse bit measurements for PTFE indicate 100±20 μN-s at an initial energy level of 5 J, which increases linearly by ~30 μN-s/J with increased initial energy. Measurements of the impulse bit for the electric solid propellant are on average lower than PTFE by 10% or less. Specific impulse for when operating on PTFE is calculated to be about 450 s compared to 225 s for the electric solid propellant. The 50% reduction in specific impulse is due to increased mass ablated during operation with the electric solid propellant relative to PTFE.

Glascock, Matthew S.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Evidence of Counter-Streaming Ions near the Inner Pole of the HERMeS Hall Thruster

NASA is continuing the development of a 12.5-kW Hall thruster system to support a phased exploration concept to expand human presence to cis-lunar space and eventually to Mars. The development team is transitioning knowledge gained from the testing of the government-built Technology Development Unit (TDU) to the contractor-built Engineering Test Unit (ETU). A new laser-induced fluorescence diagnostic was developed to obtain data for validating the Hall thruster models and for comparing the behavior of the ETU and TDU. Analysis of TDU LIF data obtained during initial deployment of the diagnostics revealed evidence of two streams of ions moving in opposite directions near the inner front pole. These two streams of ions were found to intersect the downstream surface of the front pole at large oblique angles. This data points to a possible explanation for why the erosion rate of polished pole covers were observed to decrease over the course of several hundred hours of thruster operation.

Huang, Wensheng↗
NASA NTRS2019

Completion of the Long Duration Wear Test of the NASA HERMeS Hall Thruster

The NASA Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) 12.5-kW Hall thruster has been the subject of extensive technology maturation by NASA GRC and JPL in preparation for development into a flight propulsion system. As part of this effort, a series of wear tests have been conducted to identify erosion phenomena and the accompanying failure modes as well as to validate service-life models for magnetically-shielded thrusters. This work presents a summary of the results obtained during the Long Duration Wear Test (LDWT), which was the third in this wear test series. The LDWT accumulated approximately 3,570 hours of operation and had the overall goal to identify and correct design or facility issues prior to the flight qualification campaign. Thruster performance, stability, and plume properties were invariant throughout the duration of the LDWT and consistent with measurements acquired during previous HERMeS performance and wear characterizations. Average erosion rates of a carbon-carbon composite pole cover were found to match those measured with graphite to within the empirical uncertainty while the previously observed time-dependence of pole cover erosion rates was linked to changes in pole cover roughness. Azimuthal variations in keeper wear rate were observed including deposition on one of the azimuthal-facing sides of the keeper mask. This strongly suggests the presence of an azimuthal component in the process driving keeper erosion.

Frieman, Jason D.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Completion of the Long Duration Wear Test of the NASA HERMeS Hall Thruster

The NASA Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) 12.5-kW Hall thruster has been the subject of extensive technology maturation by NASA GRC and JPL in preparation for development into a flight propulsion system. As part of this effort, a series of wear tests have been conducted to identify erosion phenomena and the accompanying failure modes as well as to validate service-life models for magnetically-shielded thrusters. This work presents a summary of the results obtained during the Long Duration Wear Test (LDWT), which was the third in this wear test series. The LDWT accumulated approximately 3,570 hours of operation and had the overall goal to identify and correct design or facility issues prior to the flight qualification campaign. Thruster performance, stability, and plume properties were invariant throughout the duration of the LDWT and consistent with measurements acquired during previous HERMeS performance and wear characterizations. Average erosion rates of a carbon-carbon composite pole cover were found to match those measured with graphite to within the empirical uncertainty while the previously observed time-dependence of pole cover erosion rates was linked to changes in pole cover roughness. Azimuthal variations in keeper wear rate were observed including deposition on one of the azimuthal-facing sides of the keeper mask. This strongly suggests the presence of an azimuthal component in the process driving keeper erosion.

Frieman, Jason D.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Uncertainty Quantification of Modeled Electron Backstreaming Failure for the NEXT Ion Thruster

Excessive electron back streaming is one of the primary life-limiting failure modes for gridded ion thrusters. Physics-based modeling of the optics grid erosion and electron back streaming margins is augmented with statistical uncertainty quantification techniques to generate a life expectancy distribution of this particular failure mechanism for the NEXT ion thruster. Generation of distributions instead of a single point estimate provide a more comprehensive picture of thruster failure probabilities and life expectation for various mission applications.

Yim, John T.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Completion of the Long Duration Wear Test of the NASA HERMeS Hall Thruster

The NASA Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) 12.5-kW Hall thruster has been the subject of extensive technology maturation by NASA GRC and JPL in preparation for development into a flight propulsion system. As part of this effort, a series of wear tests have been conducted to identify erosion phenomena and the accompanying failure modes as well as to validate service-life models for magnetically-shielded thrusters. This work presents a summary of the results obtained during the Long Duration Wear Test (LDWT), which was the third in this wear test series. The LDWT accumulated approximately 3,570 hours of operation and had the overall goal to identify and correct design or facility issues prior to the flight qualification campaign. Thruster performance, stability, and plume properties were invariant throughout the duration of the LDWT and consistent with measurements acquired during previous HERMeS performance and wear characterizations. Average erosion rates of a carbon-carbon composite pole cover were found to match those measured with graphite to within the empirical uncertainty while the previously observed time-dependence of pole cover erosion rates was linked to changes in pole cover roughness. Azimuthal variations in keeper wear rate were observed including deposition on one of the azimuthal-facing sides of the keeper mask. This strongly suggests the presence of an azimuthal component in the process driving keeper erosion.

Jason David Frieman↗
NASA NTRS2020

Evidence of Counter-Streaming Ions near the Inner Pole of the HERMeS Hall Thruster

NASA is continuing the development of a 12.5-kW Hall thruster system to support a phased exploration concept to expand human presence to cis-lunar space and eventually to Mars. The development team is transitioning knowledge gained from the testing of the government-built Technology Development Unit (TDU) to the contractor-built Engineering Test Unit (ETU). A new laser-induced fluorescence diagnostic was developed to obtain data for validating the Hall thruster models and for comparing the behavior of the ETU and TDU. Analysis of TDU LIF data obtained during initial deployment of the diagnostics revealed evidence of two streams of ions moving in opposite directions near the inner front pole. These two streams of ions were found to intersect the downstream surface of the front pole at large oblique angles. This data points to a possible explanation for why the erosion rate of polished pole covers were observed to decrease over the course of several hundred hours of thruster operation.

Wensheng Huang↗