Print Email Facebook Twitter Numerical and Experimental Investigation of a Hall Thruster Operating with Air Title Numerical and Experimental Investigation of a Hall Thruster Operating with Air Author Ciolini, Matteo (TU Delft Aerospace Engineering) Contributor Cervone, A. (mentor) Misuri, T. (mentor) Giannetti, V. (mentor) Ferrato, E. (mentor) Guo, J. (graduation committee) Naeije, M.C. (graduation committee) Degree granting institution Delft University of Technology Programme Aerospace Engineering Date 2022-02-24 Abstract The plasma behaviour in an air-propelled Hall thruster (SITAEL HT5k) is investigated by means of numerical modelling and experimental measurements. The air plasma employed (nitrogen/oxygen mixture) is firstly chemically characterized, identifying the most relevant species produced: four neutrals (N2, N, O2, O), four positive ions (N2+, N+, O2+, O+) and electrons. Then, it is explored the kinetic theory of ion-ion streaming instabilities in the presheath, relevant to electropositive multispecies plasmas, extending it to the four-ions case under study. These results are used to adapt a non-stationary 1D fully fluid Hall thruster model to operation with an air plasma. Calibration with an experimental discharge current signal confirms the physical validity of the formulation in reproducing breathing mode oscillations, even in multispecies plasmas. The experimental data also consist of fast-diving triple Langmuir probe measurements, which are used to validate the model, showing reasonable accuracy of the spatio-temporal distributions of the plasma properties. Subject electric propulsionhall effect thrusterplasmaalternative propellantsplasma kinetic theorynumerical modelingplasma diagnosticsexperimental investigation To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:c3ee72cc-2a41-41bc-8e41-8521b2df06c5 Part of collection Student theses Document type master thesis Rights © 2022 Matteo Ciolini Files PDF MSc_Thesis_Matteo_Ciolini.pdf 35.51 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:c3ee72cc-2a41-41bc-8e41-8521b2df06c5/datastream/OBJ/view