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Development of a Vaporizing Liquid Bismuth Anode for Hall Thrusters
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Massey, Dean Kieckhafer, Alexander W. Sommerville, Jason D. King, Lyon B. |
| Copyright Year | 2004 |
| Abstract | Bismuth metal vapor Hall thrusters may have superior performance and economic characteristics when compared to xenon. From increased efficiency to reduced propellant and testing costs, bismuth seems to have a bright future. Of paramount importance when developing a practical bismuth device is the mechanism by which the propellant flow is controlled. This paper reports on an effort to use waste heat from the thruster to control the evaporation of a reservoir of liquid bismuth maintained within the discharge chamber. Research done thus far indicates that mass flow control can be achieved via a segmented anode configuration that serves as a thermostat to control input power into the bismuth reservoir. Thermal modeling has indicated that sufficient thermal gradients can be maintained between anode segments. Laboratory testing on xenon development thrusters validates the scheme to control reservoir temperature through discharge current sharing. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.2514/6.2004-3768 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://aerospace.mtu.edu/__reports/Conference_Proceedings/2004_Massey.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.me.mtu.edu/researchAreas/isp/Papers/AIAA-2004-3768-Massey.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2004-3768 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
