The far-field plasma characteristics of LHT40 low-power Hall thruster for commercial aerospace applications

To achieve a better insight into the far-field plasma spatial distribution and evolution characteristics of the 300 W class low-power Hall thruster(LHT)for commercial aerospace applications,a dedicated and integrated plasma diagnostic system composed of seventeen Faraday cups(FC)and two triple Langmuir probes(TLP)is established to investigate the timeaveraged in situ spatial distribution characteristics of far-field ions and electrons.The ion current density(ICD),plasma potential,plasma density,and electron temperature at 1000 mm downstream of 300 W class LHT for commercial aerospace applications in the azimuthal angle range of-90°to 90°were investigated under the conditions of different anode mass flow rates and discharge voltages.The results demonstrated that ICD,beam divergence angle,and mass utilization efficiency increased with increasing anode mass rate.The double-wings phenomenon was observed in the spatial distribution of ICD at large angles from the thruster axis,which is attributed to charge exchange collisions at increasing vacuum backpressure.The plasma electron temperature,electron density,and plasma potential parameters derived from the TLP decreased rapidly in the angle range from 0°to 30°and did not exhibit significant variations above 30°,which was also in good agreement with the results of the measured divergence angle of the FC.The discrepancy of average ion speed was calculated.The maximum error is better than 31.5%which checks the consistency between the TLP’s results and that of FC to some extent.

Plasma characteristics in the discharge region of a 20A emission current hollow cathode

Numerical calculation and fluid simulation methods were used to obtain the plasma characteristics in the discharge region of the LIPS-300 ion thruster’s 20 A emission current hollow cathode and to verify the structural design of the emitter.The results of the two methods indicated that the highest plasma density and electron temperature,which improved significantly in the orifice region,were located in the discharge region of the hollow cathode.The magnitude of plasma density was about 10^21m^-3in the emitter and orifice regions,as obtained by numerical calculations,but decreased exponentially in the plume region with the distance from the orifice exit.Meanwhile,compared to the emitter region,the electron temperature and current improved by about 36%in the orifice region.The hollow cathode performance test results were in good agreement with the numerical calculation results,which proved that that the structural design of the emitter and the orifice met the requirements of a 20 A emission current.The numerical calculation method can be used to estimate plasma characteristics in the preliminary design stage of hollow cathodes.

Calculation of plasma characteristics of the sun

The ionization level and free electron density of most abundant elements （C, N, O, Mg, Al, Si, S, and Fe） in the sun are calculated from the centre of the sun to the surface of the photosphere. The model and computations are made under the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium （LTE）. The Saha equation has been used to calculate the ionization level of elements and the electron density. Temperature values for calculations along the solar radius are taken from references.

Numerical analysis of plasma arc physical characteristics under additional constraint of keyhole

The physical characteristics of a plasma arc affect the stability of the keyhole and weld pool directly during keyhole plasma arc welding （KPAW）. There will be significant change for these characteristics because of the interaction between the keyhole weld pool and plasma arc after penetration. Therefore, in order to obtain the temperature field, flow field, and arc pressure of a plasma arc under the reaction of the keyhole, the physical model of a plasma arc with a pre-set keyhole was established. In addition, the tungsten and base metal were established into the calculated domain, which can reflect the effect of plasma arc to weld pool further. Based on magneto hydrodynamics and Maxwell equations, a twoSdimensional steady state mathematical model was established. Considering the heat production of anode and cathode, the distribution of temperature field, flow field, welding current density, and plasma arc pressure were solved out by the finite difference method. From the calculated results, it is found that the plasma arc was compressed a second time by the keyhole. This additional constraint results in an obvious rise of the plasma arc pressure and flow velocity at the minimum diameter place of the keyhole, while the temperature field is impacted slightly. Finally, the observational and metallographic experiments are conducted, and the shapes of plasma arc and fusion line agree with the simulated results generally.

Study of the Characteristics of DC and ICP Hybrid Discharge Plasmas

In this paper, the double-discharge plasma generated by radio frequency （RF） and direct current （DC） has been investigated. In comparison with their single-frequency counterpart, the interaction between the two excitations is significant and beneficial. The results show that the RF discharge can effectively increase the DC discharge current and decrease the DC voltage; meanwhile the DC discharge is favorable to feed abundant high energy seed electrons to the ICP discharge sustaining at 13.56 MHz for the latter to acquire higher plasma density and lower plasma potential by increasing the ionization rate. The innovative design has been demonstrated to facilitate more homogeneous performance with higher plasma density.

Characteristics of Plasma Spraying Torch with a Hollow Cathode

A kind of plasma spraying torch with a hollow cathode is described in this paper. The plasma torch can be used for axial powder injection in plasma spray studies. The arc characteristics of the plasma torch with vacuous gas flowrates, different gas media, are presented. The mathematical modeling and computational method are developed for predicting the temperature and velocity field inside the plasma torch.

Damage Characteristics of the Logical Chip Module Due to Plasma Created by Hypervelocity Impacts

To researching the damage characteristics of typical logical chip modules in spacecraft due to plasma generated by hypervelocity impacts,we have established a triple Langmuir probe diagnostic system and a logical chips measurement system,which were used to diagnose plasma characteristic parameters and the logical chip module＇s logical state changes due to the plasma created by a 7075 aluminum projectile hypervelocity impact on the 2A12 aluminum target.Three sets of experiments were performed with the collision speeds of 2.85 km/s,3.1 km/s and2.20 km/s,at the same incident angles of 30 degrees and logical chip module＇s positions by using a two-stage light gas gun loading system,a plasma characteristic parameters diagnostic system and a logical chip module＇s logical state measurement system,respectively.Electron temperature and density were measured at given position and azimuth,and damage estimation was performed for the logical chip module by using the data acquisition system.Experimental results showed that temporary damage could be induced on logical chip modules in spacecraft by plasma generated by hypervelocity impacts under the given experimental conditions and the sensors＇ position and azimuth.

Study on the plasma generation characteristics of an induction-triggered coaxial pulsed plasma thruster

At present,spark plugs are used to trigger discharge in pulsed plasma thrusters（PPT）,which are known to be life-limiting components due to plasma corrosion and carbon deposition.A strong electric field could be formed in a cathode triple junction（CTJ） to achieve a trigger function under vacuum conditions.We propose an induction-triggered electrode structure on the basis of the CTJ trigger principle.The induction-triggered electrode structure could increase the electric field strength of the CTJ without changing the voltage between electrodes,contributing to a reduction in the electrode breakdown voltage.Additionally,it can maintain the plasma generation effect when the breakdown voltage is reduced in the discharge experiments.The induction-triggered electrode structure could ensure an effective trigger when the ablation distance of Teflon increases,and the magnetic field produced by the discharge current could further improve the plasma density and propagation velocity.The induction-triggered coaxial PPT we propose has a simplified trigger structure,and it is an effective attempt to optimize the micro-satellite thruster.

An Experimental Research to Study the Microwaves transmission Characteristics of Ablating Material in Arc-Heated Plasma Flow

in this paper, an experimental research the effect of ablating material on the reflection and the transmission of microwaves in arc-heated plasma flow is presented by using the C band microwave measuring system. The results show that the ablating material with accidented surface and its high temperature have remarkably affected the reflection and the transmission of microwaves. The experiment proves that the system has outstanding precision and reliability.

STUDY ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF UNDER WATER PLASMA ARC

The static and dynamic characteristics of underwater plasma arc, arc shape and heating features to the workpieces, are studied, lt shows that underwater plasma arc has higher energy rate, higher rates of heating and cooling. Furthermore, it reduces the pollutions of noise ,arc light , dust and ozone; strengthens the cooling of nozzle, thus it is advantageous to develop various new technologies of underwater material processing. The static characteristic is rising. The dynamic characteristic is of quasi-cyclic fluctuations whose mechanisms and solving methods are pointed out.

Characterization of a New DC-Glow Discharge Plasma Set-Up to Enhance the Electronic Circuits Performance

The (DC-GDPAU) is a DC glow discharge plasma experiment that was designed, established, and operated in the Physics Department at Ain Shams University (Egypt). The aim of this experiment is to study and improve some properties of a printed circuit board (PCB) by exposing it to the plasma. The device consists of cylindrical discharge chamber with movable parallel circular copper electrodes (cathode and anode) fixed inside it. The distance between them is 12 cm. This plasma experiment works in a low-pressure range (0.15 - 0.70 Torr) for Ar gas with a maximum DC power supply of 200 W. The Paschen curves and electrical plasma parameters (current, volt, power, resistance) characterized to the plasma have been measured and calculated at each cm between the two electrodes. Besides, the electron temperature and ion density are obtained at different radial distances using a double Langmuir probe. The electron temperature (KTe) was kept stable in range 6.58 to 10.44 eV;whereas the ion density (ni) was in range from 0.91 × 1010 cm−3 to 1.79 × 1010 cm−3. A digital optical microscope (800×) was employed to draw a comparison between the pre-and after effect of exposure to plasma on the shaping of the circuit layout. The experimental results show that the electrical conductivity increased after plasma exposure, also an improvement in the adhesion force in the Cu foil surface. A significant increase in the conductivity can be directly related to the position of the sample surfaces as well as to the time of exposure. This shows the importance of the obtained results in developing the PCBs manufacturing that uses in different microelectronics devices like those onboard of space vehicles.

Preparation and Arc Erosion Characteristics of Ultrafine Crystalline CuCr50 Alloy by MA-SPS

The ultrafine crystalline CuCr50（Cr 50 wt%） alloys were fabricated by a combination of mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering process. The effects of milling time on crystallite size and solid solubility of the CuCr50 composite powders were investigated. The results showed that crystallite size of powders decreases gradually and solid solubility of Cr in Cu was extended with increasing milling time. The minimal crystallite size about 10 nm and the maximum solid solubility about 8.4 at%（i e, 7 wt%） were obtained at 60 h. The microstructure of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy was analyzed by SEM and TEM, which contains two kinds of size scale Cr particles of 2 μm and 50-150 nm, distributing homogeneously in matrix, respectively. The arc erosion characteristics of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy were investigated by the vacuum contact simulation test device in low D.C. voltage and low current（24 V/10 A）. A commercial microcrystalline CuCr50 alloy was also investigated for comparison. Experiments indicate that the cathode mass loss of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 contact material is higher than that of microcrystalline CuCr50 material, but its eroded surface morphology by the arc is uniform without obvious erosion pits. While the surface of microcrystalline CuCr50 contact is seriously eroded in local area by the arc, an obvious erosion pit occurred in the core part. Therefore, the ability of arc erosion resistance of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy is improved compared to that of microcrystalline CuCr50 material.

Sheath Characteristic in ECR Plasma Nitriding

The sheath plasma characteristics changing with the negative bias applied to the substrate during electron cyclotron resonance plasma nitriding are studied. The sheath characteristics obtained by a Langmuir single probe and an ion energy analyzer show that when the negative bias applied to the substrate is increasing, the most probable energy of ions in the sheath and the full width of half maximum of ions energy distribution increase, the thickness of the sheath also increases, whereas the saturation current of ion decreases. It has been found from the optical emission spectrum that there are strong lines of N2 and N+2. Based on our experiment results the mechanism of plasma nitriding is discussed.

Study of the Formation Conditions of Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticles in an Overstressed Nanosecond Discharge Between Aluminum Electrodes in a Mixture of Nitrogen and Oxygen

The results of the study of oscillograms of voltage,current,pulsed electric power and energy input into the plasma of an overstressed nanosecond discharge between aluminum electrodes in argon and mixtures of nitrogen with oxygen(100-1)at pressures in the range of 13.3-103.3 kPa are presented,the emission plasma spectra are studied.It is shown that in mixtures of nitrogen with oxygen at atmospheric pressure,nanoparticles of aluminum oxide(Al2O3)are formed,the luminescence of which manifests itself in the spectral range of 200-600 nm and which is associated with the formation of F-,F+-centers and more complex aggregate formations based on oxygen vacancies.Calculations of the electron-kinetic coefficients of plasma,transport characteristics,such as mean electron energies in the range 5.116-13.41 eV,are given.The electron concentration was 1.6∙10^(20)m^(-3)-1.1∙10^(20)m^(-3)at a current density of 5.1∙10^(6)A/m^(2)and l.02∙10^(7)A/m^(2)on the surface of the electrode of the radiation source(0.196·10^(-4)m^(2)).Also drift velocities,temperatures and concentrations of electrons,specific losses of the discharge power for elastic and inelastic processes of collisions of electrons per unit of the total concentration of the mixture from the reduced electric field strength(E/N)for a mixture of aluminum,nitrogen,oxygen,rate constants of collisions of electrons with aluminum atoms on the E/N parameter in plasma on a mixture of aluminum vapor,oxygen and nitrogen=30:1000:100000 Pa at a total mixture pressure of P=101030 Pa are given.

Optical analysis method for fast plasma characterization of high-speed miniaturized synthetic jet

In this paper,a new optical analysis method for plasma characterization is proposed.Plasma characteristics are obtained directly by measuring the plasma luminous color,rather than the complex spectral diagnosis method,which is difficult to obtain at high speed.By using the light transmittance curve of the human cornea,the RGB coordinates are calculated from the measured plasma spectrum data.Plasma characteristics are diagnosed using the Boltzmann plot method and the Stark broadening method.The corresponding relationship of the electron temperature,electron density data points,and luminous color is established and analyzed.Our research results indicate that this optical analysis method is feasible and promising for fast plasma characterization.