An integrative mathematical model of microwave ion thruster for mHz-frequency thrust noise analysis  

作　　者：Xiang NIU Hui LIU Daren YU 

机构地区：[1]Plasma Propulsion Laboratory,Harbin Institute of Technology,Harbin 150001,China

出　　处：《Chinese Journal of Aeronautics》2024年第4期121-136,共16页中国航空学报（英文版）

基　　金：the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2020YFC22 01000);the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 11927812)。

摘　　要：Many high-precision space missions need thrusters to produce thrust with low noise to compensate for disturbances and ensure satellite platform stability. Microwave ion thruster is characterized with a wide thrust range and potential for these missions. A cost-effective and accurate mathematical model is crucial for mHz-frequency thrust noise analysis and feedback controller design. The Particle-In-Cell(PIC) and global models are two common simulation tools. The PIC model is characterized with high accuracy but huge computation cost, which is difficult to analyze long-time performance characteristics. Now, the global model is only used for the discharge chamber with low accuracy and cannot reflect ion extraction properties. In this paper, an integrative mathematical model is built for a 1-cm microwave ion thruster and can reflect ion beamlet divergence and impingement on the Accelerator Grid(AG). Simulation results show good agreement with experiments at 0.06 sccm. However, the model demonstrates worse consistency with experiments when the flux increases to 0.1 sccm, which may be because the influence of neutral gas on the Electron Cyclotron Resonance(ECR) is not considered in the model. A long-time(1000 s) simulation is conducted with this model under 35 μN. It takes 3 hrs, and the thrust noise reaches 1 μN/Hz^(0.5) at 1 mHz.

关 键 词：Electric propulsion Microwave ion thruster Integrative model Sheath property Ion beamlet divergence Thrust noise Plasma 

分 类 号：V439[航空宇航科学与技术—航空宇航推进理论与工程]