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Charge-exchange plasma generated by an ion thruster (Document No: 19750021102)
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Kaufman, H. R. |
| Copyright Year | 1975 |
| Description | The use of high voltage solar arrays greatly reduces or eliminates power processing requirements in space electric propulsion systems. This use also requires substantial areas of solar array to be at high positive potential relative to space and most of the spacecraft. The charge exchange plasma conducts electrons from the ion beam to such positive surfaces, and thereby electrically load the high voltage solar array. To evaluate this problem, the charge-exchange plasma generated by an ion beam was investigated experimentally. Based upon the experimental data, a simple model was derived for the charge-exchange plasma. This model is conservative in the sense that both the electron/ion density and the electron current density should be equal to, or less than, the preducted value for all directions in the hemisphere upstream of the ion beam direction. Increasing the distance between a positive potential surface (such as a high voltage solar array) and the thruster is the simplest way to control interactions. Both densities and currents vary as the inverse square of this distance. |
| File Size | 6548190 |
| Page Count | 47 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19750021102 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t18m2338z |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1975-06-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Spacecraft Propulsion And Power Electric Propulsion Solar Arrays Charge Exchange Electrostatic Engines Plasma-particle Interactions Plasmas Physics Ion Engines Spacecraft Propulsion Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Technical Report |
