Design and testing of a water-fueled low-power magnetically shielded Hall thruster

• Applicant: Dr. Norman Gondol
• Subject Area: Fluid Mechanics ; Engineering Design, Machine Elements, Product Development
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 510228820

The main objective of the proposed research is to design and test a small-scale Hall thruster for the 100 W – 150 W power range using water as the propellant. In order to counteract the overheating and erosion, a magnetic shielding configuration shall be designed and implemented. The overall power demand shall be reduced by replacing the electromagnets with permanent magnets or by developing a hybrid approach. As permanent magnets are highly sensitive to overheating, a sophisticated thermal management system shall be developed and realized. In this context, the water propellant supply shall be used as part of a regenerative cooling mechanism that evacuates excess heat from sensible components like the inner magnet assembly. The mitigation of the thermal problems of the thruster allows for more freedom in the design of the magnetic field. In the context of the proposed research, a long-term operation of the thruster is planned to evaluate the erosion behavior, long-term operation capability, and stability of the performance over time. A 2,000-h continuous operation test of the thruster is feasible in the context of the fellowship research and sufficient to identify erosion patterns of the channel and periodically measure the plasma and performance parameters.

• DFG Programme: WBP Fellowship
• International Connection: Japan
• Host: Professor Hiroyuki Koizumi