Joint development of a water electrolysis propelled hall effect thruster and LaB6 hollow cathode
Author(s)
Rosati Azevedo, Emmanuelle
Berhe, Mickeias
Jones-Tett, Kieran
Sadler, James
Potrivitu, George-Cristian
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
URA Thrusters Ltd., the Imperial Plasma Propulsion Lab, and Aliena Pte. Ltd. present a summary of the results of a collaboration for the development of a 1-2 kW level Hall effect thruster and accompanying LaB6 hollow cathode designed to operate on the products of water electrolysis, i.e. oxygen to the anode and hydrogen to the cathode. A pseudo-2D version of the Imperial Plasma Propulsion Lab’s fully kinetic particle-in-cell code, PlasmaSim, is used to size the discharge channel of the new thruster, termed AQUAHET. In parallel, a 0D plasma-
thermal model is used by Aliena to size the emitter and orifice region of the hollow cathode, termed Hydrocat. Preliminary test campaigns are then carried out at both the Imperial Plasma Propulsion Lab and at Aliena’s Jet Propulsion Test Facility. The Imperial preliminary
campaign made use of a retrofitted version of an existing lab model thruster, the WET-HET, to provide benchmarking data to validate the AQUAHET discharge channel sizing. The Aliena preliminary campaign consisted of the thermal and discharge characterization of a prototype Hydrocat and guided improvements to the design of the engineering model cathode. After undergoing qualification and acceptance testing at the Aliena facility, the engineering model Hydrocat was shipped to Imperial for the project’s final joint validation test campaign. The validation test campaign began with operation of the Hydrocat alongside the retrofitted
WET-HET. This marked the first time a HET and hollow cathode had been successfully operated with oxygen to the anode and hydrogen to the cathode, a major milestone achievement for the project. Detailed experimental characterization of the AQUAHET and
Hydrocat operating with oxygen and hydrogen followed. Best oxygen-hydrogen performance is obtained at 1168 ± 1 W for 1.7 mg/s of oxygen, 0.2 mg/s of hydrogen, 2.5 A of magnet current, with 20.0 ± 0.4 mN of thrust, 1216 ± 25 s of specific impulse, and 10.2 ± 0.4 % of anode efficiency measured at this set point. For reference, at 3200 ± 1 W for 1.7 mg/s of oxygen, 0.4 mg/s of krypton, and 5.5 A of magnet current, we measure 51.0 ± 0.5 mN of thrust, 3118 ± 32 s of specific impulse, and 24.4 ± 0.5 % of anode efficiency.
thermal model is used by Aliena to size the emitter and orifice region of the hollow cathode, termed Hydrocat. Preliminary test campaigns are then carried out at both the Imperial Plasma Propulsion Lab and at Aliena’s Jet Propulsion Test Facility. The Imperial preliminary
campaign made use of a retrofitted version of an existing lab model thruster, the WET-HET, to provide benchmarking data to validate the AQUAHET discharge channel sizing. The Aliena preliminary campaign consisted of the thermal and discharge characterization of a prototype Hydrocat and guided improvements to the design of the engineering model cathode. After undergoing qualification and acceptance testing at the Aliena facility, the engineering model Hydrocat was shipped to Imperial for the project’s final joint validation test campaign. The validation test campaign began with operation of the Hydrocat alongside the retrofitted
WET-HET. This marked the first time a HET and hollow cathode had been successfully operated with oxygen to the anode and hydrogen to the cathode, a major milestone achievement for the project. Detailed experimental characterization of the AQUAHET and
Hydrocat operating with oxygen and hydrogen followed. Best oxygen-hydrogen performance is obtained at 1168 ± 1 W for 1.7 mg/s of oxygen, 0.2 mg/s of hydrogen, 2.5 A of magnet current, with 20.0 ± 0.4 mN of thrust, 1216 ± 25 s of specific impulse, and 10.2 ± 0.4 % of anode efficiency measured at this set point. For reference, at 3200 ± 1 W for 1.7 mg/s of oxygen, 0.4 mg/s of krypton, and 5.5 A of magnet current, we measure 51.0 ± 0.5 mN of thrust, 3118 ± 32 s of specific impulse, and 24.4 ± 0.5 % of anode efficiency.
Date Issued
2024-06-23
Date Acceptance
2024-06-23
Citation
2024
Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Author(s).
Source
The 38th International Electric Propulsion Conference (IEPC 2024)
Publication Status
Published
Start Date
2024-06-23
Finish Date
2024-06-28
Coverage Spatial
Toulouse, France