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An Analysis of the Effect of Hall Thruster Plumes on Surface Charging of a Complex Spacecraft Structure

Authors :
Xin Zhang
Wenjing Wang
Chaopin Bai
Yueqiang Sun
Shichen Jiang
Zhihao Yang
Qiang Chen
Lichang Zhang
Liguo Zhang
Zhiliang Zhang
Ziting Wang
Shuai Zhang
Source :
Applied Sciences, Vol 14, Iss 6, p 2650 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

This article aims to conduct an in-depth investigation into the environmental impact of Hall thruster plumes on spacecraft surface charging. The non-uniform plasma plume generated by Hall thrusters may trigger charging and discharging effects, making the assessment of surface charging risks crucial. Through numerical simulations using SPIS system, this study evaluates the surface charging characteristics of a complex spacecraft in orbit, simulating the effects of turning on and off the thrusters, as well as varying distances between the thrusters and the spacecraft. The simulation demonstrates that turning on the thrusters significantly affects spacecraft charging, reducing the potential difference between spacecraft surfaces from 3740 V to 19.2 V, effectively alleviating electrostatic discharge on the spacecraft surface. The closer the thruster is to the spacecraft, the more CEX ions are collected on the surface, influenced by the beam ions, resulting in a surface potential change of 1.3 V, with minor effects on surface potential but contributing to increased deposition contamination on the spacecraft surface.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20763417
Volume :
14
Issue :
6
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Applied Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.7ae4168a457d4f14b20096c290c33987
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/app14062650