Electron-wall interaction is always recognized as an important physical problem because of its remarkable influences on thruster discharge and performance. Based on existing theories, an electrode is predicted to weak...Electron-wall interaction is always recognized as an important physical problem because of its remarkable influences on thruster discharge and performance. Based on existing theories, an electrode is predicted to weaken electron-wall interaction due to its low secondary electron emission characteristic. In this paper, the electron-wall interaction in an Aton-type Hall thruster with low-emissive electrodes placed near the exit of discharge channel is studied by a fully kinetic particle-in cell method. The results show that the electron-wall interaction in the region of segmented electrode is indeed weakened, but it is significantly enhanced in the remaining region of discharge channel. It is mainly caused by electrode conductive property which makes equipotential lines convex toward channel exit and even parallel to wall surface in near-wall re- gion; this convex equipotential configuration results in significant physical effects such as repelling electrons, which causes the electrons to move toward the channel center, and the electrons emitted from electrodes to be remarkably accelerated, thereby increasing electron temperature in the discharge channel, etc. Furthermore, the results also indicate that the discharge current in the segmented electrode case is larger than in the non-segmented electrode case, which is qualitatively in accordance with previous experimental results.展开更多
A preliminary investigation is conducted to study the characteristics of sheath damping near a dielectric wall with secondary electron emission (SEE). Making use of the linear analysis of the sheath stability, we ha...A preliminary investigation is conducted to study the characteristics of sheath damping near a dielectric wall with secondary electron emission (SEE). Making use of the linear analysis of the sheath stability, we have found two major contributions to the sheath damping, one similar to the Landau damping in uniform plasmas and another determined by local electric field and electron density of the steady-state sheath. It indicates that in a classical sheath regime the damping in the sheath region monotonically increases towards the wall and decreases with the enhancement of SEE effect. In order to verify the theoretical analysis, sheath oscillation processes induced by an initial disturbance are simulated with a time-dependent one-dimensional (1D) sheath model. Numerical results obtained are consistent with the theoretical analysis qualitatively.展开更多
In this paper, we adopt the modified Morozov secondary electron emission model to investigate the influence of the characteristic of a space-charge-saturated sheath near the insulated wall of the Hall thruster on the ...In this paper, we adopt the modified Morozov secondary electron emission model to investigate the influence of the characteristic of a space-charge-saturated sheath near the insulated wall of the Hall thruster on the near-wall conductivity, by the method of two-dimensional (2D) particle simulation (2Dq-3V). The results show that due to the sharp increase of collision frequency between the electrons and the wall under the space-charge-saturated sheath, the near-wall transport current under this sheath is remarkably higher than that under a classical sheath, and equals the near-wall transport current under a spatially oscillating sheath in order of magnitude. However, the transport currents under a space-charge-saturated sheath and a spatially oscillating sheath are different in mechanism, causing different current density distributions under the above two sheaths, and a great influence of channel width on the near-wall transport current under a space-charge-saturated sheath.展开更多
基金supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,China(Grant No.0903005203189)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11005025,10975026,and 11275034)+1 种基金the Scientific Research Innovation Foundation of Harbin Institution of Technology,China(GrantNo.HITNSRIF2009044)the Key Project of the Scientific Technology Program of Liaoning Province,China(Grant No.2011224007)
文摘Electron-wall interaction is always recognized as an important physical problem because of its remarkable influences on thruster discharge and performance. Based on existing theories, an electrode is predicted to weaken electron-wall interaction due to its low secondary electron emission characteristic. In this paper, the electron-wall interaction in an Aton-type Hall thruster with low-emissive electrodes placed near the exit of discharge channel is studied by a fully kinetic particle-in cell method. The results show that the electron-wall interaction in the region of segmented electrode is indeed weakened, but it is significantly enhanced in the remaining region of discharge channel. It is mainly caused by electrode conductive property which makes equipotential lines convex toward channel exit and even parallel to wall surface in near-wall re- gion; this convex equipotential configuration results in significant physical effects such as repelling electrons, which causes the electrons to move toward the channel center, and the electrons emitted from electrodes to be remarkably accelerated, thereby increasing electron temperature in the discharge channel, etc. Furthermore, the results also indicate that the discharge current in the segmented electrode case is larger than in the non-segmented electrode case, which is qualitatively in accordance with previous experimental results.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No. 50925625)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10975026 and 10875024)the Scientific Research Foundation of the Higher Educational Institutions of Liaoning Education Bureau of China (Grant No. 2009A047)
文摘A preliminary investigation is conducted to study the characteristics of sheath damping near a dielectric wall with secondary electron emission (SEE). Making use of the linear analysis of the sheath stability, we have found two major contributions to the sheath damping, one similar to the Landau damping in uniform plasmas and another determined by local electric field and electron density of the steady-state sheath. It indicates that in a classical sheath regime the damping in the sheath region monotonically increases towards the wall and decreases with the enhancement of SEE effect. In order to verify the theoretical analysis, sheath oscillation processes induced by an initial disturbance are simulated with a time-dependent one-dimensional (1D) sheath model. Numerical results obtained are consistent with the theoretical analysis qualitatively.
基金supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. HEUCF100212)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51007013,10875024,and 10975026)
文摘In this paper, we adopt the modified Morozov secondary electron emission model to investigate the influence of the characteristic of a space-charge-saturated sheath near the insulated wall of the Hall thruster on the near-wall conductivity, by the method of two-dimensional (2D) particle simulation (2Dq-3V). The results show that due to the sharp increase of collision frequency between the electrons and the wall under the space-charge-saturated sheath, the near-wall transport current under this sheath is remarkably higher than that under a classical sheath, and equals the near-wall transport current under a spatially oscillating sheath in order of magnitude. However, the transport currents under a space-charge-saturated sheath and a spatially oscillating sheath are different in mechanism, causing different current density distributions under the above two sheaths, and a great influence of channel width on the near-wall transport current under a space-charge-saturated sheath.