The possibility of a Hall thruster operation in the absence of the anode sheath

Abstract

A method of determining boundary conditions for quasi 1-D modeling of steady-state operation of a Hall Thruster with ceramic channel is presented. For a given mass flow rate and magnetic field profile the imposed condition of a smooth sonic transition uniquely determines plasma density at the anode. The discharge voltage determines the structure of the anode sheath and thus determines electron and ion velocities at the anode. These parameters appear to be sufficient for constructing a solution with given temperature profile. It is shown that a good correlation between simulated and experimental results can be achieved by selecting an appropriate electron mobility and temperature profile. The structure of the electrode sheath was studied theoretically over a wide range of input parameters, such as discharge voltage, incoming neutral velocity and channel length, and the possibility of realization of the no-sheath operating regime is discussed here.