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Discharge characteristics of a non-wall-loss Hall thruster were studied under different channel lengths using a design based on pushing a magnetic field through a double permanent magnet ring. The effect of different magnetic field intensities and channel lengths on ionization, efficiency, and plume divergence angle were studied. The experimental results show that propellant utilization is improved for optimal matching between the magnetic field and channel length. While matching the magnetic field and channel length, the ionization position of the neutral gas changes. The ion flow is effectively controlled, allowing the thrust force, specific impulse, and efficiency to be improved. Our study shows that the channel length is an important design parameter to consider for improving the performance of non-wall-loss Hall thrusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hollow indented anode is proposed for increasing the neutral gas density in a discharge channel, in order to improve the performance of the thruster. The experimental results show that a hollow indented anode structure can effectively improve the performance, compared to a hollow straight anode under similar operating conditions, in terms of thrust, propellant utilization, ionization rate, and anode efficiency. Furthermore, simulations show that the indented anode can effectively increase the neutral gas density in a discharge channel and on the centerline of the channel, compared to a hollow straight anode. In addition, it can increase the ionization rate in the channel and the pre-ionization in the anode. Therefore, the hollow indented anode could be considered as an important design idea for improving thruster performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-power Hall-effect thruster was designed with two permanent magnet rings. This Hall-effect thruster contains a symmetrical double-peak magnetic field with a gradient larger than that of conventional Hall-effect thrusters. The matching of the anode position with the magnetic field determines the performance of the thruster to a very large extent. This study investigates the laws and mechanisms that govern the front end of a U-shaped hollow anode at the inner magnetic separatrix, the outer magnetic separatrix, and the area between them and influence the discharge characteristics of the thruster. The study shows that with the increase of anode length, the ionization and acceleration zones are pushed down toward the channel outlet and even into the plume region. At the same operating point, both the thrust and the efficiency are the largest when the anode is placed between the inner and outer magnetic separatrices. When the anode is placed at the inner magnetic separatrix, both the thrust and the efficiency are small because of the heavy energy loss on the walls, despite the high degree of ionization. Finally, when the anode is at the outer magnetic separatrix, the performance of the Hall-effect thruster is the poorest because of the lower degree of ionization and larger divergence angle of the plume upon the shift of the ionization zone toward the plume region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]