Characterisation of a 30 a heaterless hollow cathode
Characterisation of a 30 a heaterless hollow cathode
A novel high-current heaterless hollow cathode (HHC) has been designed,
constructed, and tested, with the developed system successfully demonstrating operation up to 30 A. This system overcomes the need for excessive ignition voltages or propellant pulsing, by utilising a reduced keeper orifice that enables ignition with <350 V, and nominal flow rates (<15 sccm). The system has also demonstrated full ignition in 50 seconds compared with conventional ignition, which can require more than 10 minutes; additionally, the system requires as little as 1/6th of the ignition energy compared to that of conventional designs. The HHC’s performance was characterised with operation tested in Xe, Kr and Ar. Optical pyrometry has allowed measurements of the emitter tip temperature of a HHC for the first time. Furthermore, the internal cathode-keeper plasma has been investigated using optical emission spectroscopy to determine the plasma electron density.
Hollow Cathode, Thermionic Emission, Heaterless, High Current
Daykin-Iliopoulos, Alexander
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Golosnoy, Igor O.
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Gabriel, Stephen
ac76976d-74fd-40a0-808d-c9f68a38f259
Bosi, Franco
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20 September 2019
Daykin-Iliopoulos, Alexander
0caedbac-93a0-45c9-ae31-02f6c70ab8c0
Golosnoy, Igor O.
40603f91-7488-49ea-830f-24dd930573d1
Gabriel, Stephen
ac76976d-74fd-40a0-808d-c9f68a38f259
Bosi, Franco
d35c0d4b-3472-4961-922a-a9951d6ab96a
Daykin-Iliopoulos, Alexander, Golosnoy, Igor O., Gabriel, Stephen and Bosi, Franco
(2019)
Characterisation of a 30 a heaterless hollow cathode.
36th International Electric Propulsion Conference: IEPC, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
15 - 20 Sep 2019.
14 pp
.
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
A novel high-current heaterless hollow cathode (HHC) has been designed,
constructed, and tested, with the developed system successfully demonstrating operation up to 30 A. This system overcomes the need for excessive ignition voltages or propellant pulsing, by utilising a reduced keeper orifice that enables ignition with <350 V, and nominal flow rates (<15 sccm). The system has also demonstrated full ignition in 50 seconds compared with conventional ignition, which can require more than 10 minutes; additionally, the system requires as little as 1/6th of the ignition energy compared to that of conventional designs. The HHC’s performance was characterised with operation tested in Xe, Kr and Ar. Optical pyrometry has allowed measurements of the emitter tip temperature of a HHC for the first time. Furthermore, the internal cathode-keeper plasma has been investigated using optical emission spectroscopy to determine the plasma electron density.
Text
IEPC19-802 A Daykin-Iliopoulos
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Published date: 20 September 2019
Venue - Dates:
36th International Electric Propulsion Conference: IEPC, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, 2019-09-15 - 2019-09-20
Keywords:
Hollow Cathode, Thermionic Emission, Heaterless, High Current
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 434740
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/434740
PURE UUID: e8648a4f-964f-4c37-86cd-17a9e40cf041
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Date deposited: 08 Oct 2019 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:41
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Contributors
Author:
Alexander Daykin-Iliopoulos
Author:
Igor O. Golosnoy
Author:
Stephen Gabriel
Author:
Franco Bosi
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