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Double ion production in mercury thrusters. m.s. thesis
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Peters, R. R. |
| Copyright Year | 1976 |
| Description | The development of a model which predicts doubly charged ion density is discussed. The accuracy of the model is shown to be good for two different thruster sizes and a total of 11 different cases. The model indicates that in most cases more than 80% of the doubly charged ions are produced from singly charged ions. This result can be used to develop a much simpler model which, along with correlations of the average plasma properties, can be used to determine the doubly charged ion density in ion thrusters with acceptable accuracy. Two different techniques which can be used to reduce the doubly charged ion density while maintaining good thruster operation, are identified as a result of an examination of the simple model. First, the electron density can be reduced and the thruster size then increased to maintain the same propellant utilization. Second, at a fixed thruster size, the plasma density, temperature and energy can be reduced and then to maintain a constant propellant utilization the open area of the grids to neutral propellant loss can be reduced through the use of a small hole accelerator grid. |
| File Size | 2863980 |
| Page Count | 86 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19760015211 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t48q0sv5r |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1976-04-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Spacecraft Propulsion And Power Thrust Measurement Ion Charge Ion Density Concentration Electron Density Concentration Digital Simulation Life Durability Ion Propulsion Thrust Chambers Ion Engines Plasma Density Mercury Metal Ionization Chambers Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Thesis |
