An equivalent model of discharge instability in the discharge chamber of Kaufman ion thruster

The industrial application of the Kaufman ion thruster in its arc stage is limited owing to the instability of the discharge pulse.Presently,a complete prediction model that can predict the discharge pulse in the high-current stage does not exist.In this study,a complete prediction model for the pulse in the ion thruster is established using the zero-dimensional plasma discharge model and equivalent circuit model.The zero-dimensional plasma discharge model is used to obtain the corresponding plasma parameters by calculating the beam current,discharge current,voltage,and gas flow under actual working conditions.The input parameters of the equivalent circuit model are calculated using empirical formulae to acquire the estimated discharge waveforms.The pulse waveforms obtained using the model are found to be consistent with the experimental results.The model is used to evaluate the process of rapid changes in plasma density.Additionally,this model is employed to predict changes in the pulse waveforms when the volume of the discharge chamber and grid plate transmittance are changed.

Discharge instability in a plasma contactor

Like the hollow cathode,discharge instability also occurs during the operation of a plasma contactor.Voltage and current probes were employed to test the change of keeper voltage,keeper current,anode voltage,and anode current parameters with time under different working conditions.The anode current range corresponding to the discharge instability phenomenon is about 0.4 A to 1.2 A,and the emission characteristic curve in this area appears to bulge wherein the four parameters all produce different degrees of oscillation,the anode current oscillation being the greatest.Its waveform is considered to consist of a small-amplitude,high-frequency triangular wave and a large-amplitude,low-frequency sawtooth wave,and we have explained the shape of the wave.Each parameter shows hundreds of Hz in oscillation frequency and the phases of the four parameters appear to be regular.After fast Fourier transform processing,the frequency and amplitude of the main peak of the anode current oscillation tend to change with changes of the anode current,and there are differences in the trends under different keeper currents and xenon flows.

Experimental investigation on the evolution of plasma properties in the discharge channel of a pulsed plasma thruster

Pulsed plasma thrusters(PPTs)are an attractive form of micro-thrusters due to advantages such as their compactness and lightweight design compared to other electric propulsion systems.Experimental investigations on their plasma properties are beneficial in clarifying the complex process of plasma evolution during the micro-second pulse discharge of a PPT.In this work,the multi-dimensional evolutions of the light intensity of the PPT plasma with wavelength,time,and position were identified.The plasma pressure was obtained using an iterative process with composition calculations.The results show that significant ion recombination occurred in the discharge channel since the line intensities of CII,CIII,CIV,and FII decreased and those of CI and FI increased as the plasma moved downstream.At the center of the discharge channel,the electron temperature and electron density were in the order of 10000 K and 1017 cm-3,respectively.These had maximum values of 13750 K and 2.3?×?1017 cm-3 and the maximum temperature occurred during the first half-cycle while the maximum number density was measured during the second half-cycle.The estimated plasma pressure was in the order of 105 Pa and exhibited a maximum value of 2.69?×?105 Pa.

XPS Study of CeO_2/Al_2O_3 film

The redox capacity of CeO2/Al2O3 thin film which was prepared by sol-gel method has been investigated by X-ray Photoelectron Spectrascopy (XPS). The results showed that the thin film was easier to be reduced and re-oxidized than pure CeO2 powder. The key role played by oxygen vacancies which were created from the interaction between CeO2 and Al,O, was also discussed.

Special issue on selected papers from CEPC 2021

Electric propulsion technology is the most active professional technology in the field of space propulsion in recent years.China began the research of electric propulsion technology in the 1970s,and entered the stage of rapid development after 2000.It has successively completed the principle research,technical breakthrough and ground test verification.Driven by the increasing demand for space missions,various new types of electric propulsion are emerging.

Learning the continuous-time optimal decision law from discrete-time rewards

The concept of reward is fundamental in reinforcement learning with a wide range of applications in natural and social sciences.Seeking an interpretable reward for decision-making that largely shapes the system's behavior has always been a challenge in reinforcement learning.In this work,we explore a discrete-time reward for reinforcement learning in continuous time and action spaces that represent many phenomena captured by applying physical laws.We find that the discrete-time reward leads to the extraction of the unique continuous-time decision law and improved computational efficiency by dropping the integrator operator that appears in classical results with integral rewards.We apply this finding to solve output-feedback design problems in power systems.The results reveal that our approach removes an intermediate stage of identifying dynamical models.Our work suggests that the discrete-time reward is efficient in search of the desired decision law,which provides a computational tool to understand and modify the behavior of large-scale engineering systems using the optimal learned decision.

Ion engine grids：Function,main parameters,issues,configurations,geometries,materials and fabrication methods

Ion optics are crucial components of ion thrusters and the study of the different ion extraction solutions used since the beginning of the electric propulsion era is essential to understand the evolution of ion engines. This work describes ion engine grids＇ main functions, parameters and issues related to thermal expansion and sputter erosion, and then introduces a review of ion optics used for significant launched and tested ion thrusters since 1970. Configurations, geometries, materials and fabrication methods are analyzed to understand when typical ion thrusters use two or three grids, what are the thicknesses and aperture sizes of the screen, accelerator and decelerator grids, why molybdenum and carbon-based materials such as pyrolytic graphite and carbon–carbon are the best available options for ion optics and what is the manufacturing method for each material.

Special Topic:Space Micro-Propulsion Technology

The International Conferences on Micropropulsion and Cube Sats focus on science,design,and application of micropropulsion platforms,systems and devices for small satellites and Cube Sats,as well as miniaturized propulsion thrusters of various types,and advanced materials for space technology.After three successful meetings in Barry,Washington,and Singapore,MPCS has attracted research teams of microsatellites and propulsion technologies from all over the world.