离子发动机空心阴极寿命预测

Lifetime forecast of hollow cathode for ion engine

为验证空心阴极的寿命,本文根据空心阴极LaB6发射体的损耗特点,采用数学建模方法对空心阴极的寿命进行了预测。预测结果表明兰州物理研究所研制的空心阴极工作在额定状态下(发射电流5.00A),其寿命可达到40000h以上。3500h寿命试验后空心阴极解剖分析结果初步验证了预测模型的正确性。

To verify the lifetime of the hollow cathode for ion enging, a mathematic model was developed according to the characteristics of evaporation loss of the LaB6 emitter in hollow cathode to forecast the lifetime of the hollow cathode. The results showed that the lifetime of the hollow cathode developed by the Lanzhou Institute of Physics （LIP） can over 40000hr with the rated thermionic current （5.00A）. After a 3500hr lifetime test for the hollow cathode, of which the results were analyzed, the mathematic model for forecasting the lifetime of the hollow cathode was verified basically correct.