Design and experimental study of a field-reversed configuration plasma thruster prototype  

作　　者：Yuxuan HUANG Ming ZHANG Yong YANG Fangwei LYU Xiaopeng YI Chaofan LYU Yisong ZHANG Bo RAO 黄宇轩;张明;杨勇;吕方伟;易霄鹏;吕超凡;张毅松;饶波(State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology,International Joint Research Laboratory of Magnetic Confinement Fusion and Plasma Physics,School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,Huazhong University of Science and Technology,Wuhan 430074,People’s Republic of China;National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Vacuum Technology and Physics,Lanzhou Institute of Physics,Lanzhou 730000,People’s Republic of China)

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Technology,International Joint Research Laboratory of Magnetic Confinement Fusion and Plasma Physics,School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,Huazhong University of Science and Technology,Wuhan 430074,People’s Republic of China [2]National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Vacuum Technology and Physics,Lanzhou Institute of Physics,Lanzhou 730000,People’s Republic of China

出　　处：《Plasma Science and Technology》2025年第3期118-126,共9页等离子体科学和技术(英文版)

基　　金：supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Nos.62201217 and 51821005)。

摘　　要：The field-reversed configuration(FRC)plasma thruster driven by rotating magnetic field(RMF),abbreviated as the RMF-FRC thruster,is a new type of electric propulsion technology that is expected to accelerate the deep space exploration.An experimental prototype,including diagnostic devices,was designed and constructed based on the principles of the RMF-FRC thruster,with an RMF frequency of 210 kHz and a maximum peak current of 2 kA.Under the rated operating conditions,the initial plasma density was measured to be 5×10^(17)m^(-3),and increased to 2.2×10^(19)m^(-3)after the action of RMF.The coupling efficiency of RMF was about 53%,and the plasma current reached 1.9 kA.The axial magnetic field changed in reverse by 155 Gauss,successfully reversing the bias magnetic field of 60 Gauss,which verifies the formation of FRC plasma.After optimization research,it was found that when the bias magnetic field is 100 Gauss,the axial magnetic field reverse variation caused by FRC is the highest at 164 Gauss.The experimental results are discussed and strategies are proposed to improve the performance of the prototype.

关 键 词：rotating magnetic field(RMF) field-reversed configuration(FRC) plasma thrusters plasma current 

分 类 号：O57[理学—粒子物理与原子核物理]