Thermal analysis of hall thruster PIC/MCC/DSMC method

To improve the performance and lifetime of the Hall thruster, the thermal analysis is performed. A plasma energy deposition model is developed through analyzing the energy exchange during particles-wall interaction. It is coupled to the PIC/DSMC/MCC hybrid method which is used for flow field simulation for the calculation of the energy deposited onto the channel wall. The thermal characteristic of the Hall thruster is calculated by combining heat conduction and radiation with the calculated heat flux boundary condition. To examine the influences of different heat flux distribution styles on the temperature field, the thermal distribution of Hall thruster is calculated with the PIC/DSMC/MCC calculated heat flux, the linear and average distribution of heat flux, respectively. The results show that the proportion of the total energy deposited on walls is 20.45% to the power of Hall thruster. The energy deposition on the channel wall reaches its maximum at the ionization zone first and then is reduced at the exit zone. The energy deposition onto the anode is small at the two ends and is at a maximum at the middle zone along the radial direction. The highest temperature is 700K at three heat flux conditions, but it happens at different positions. It is at the ionization zone under the PIC/DSMC/MCC flux condition, whereas it is located at the exit zone or the anode zone under the linear or average flux condition. The temperature with the PIC/DSMC/MCC heat flux boundary condition is found to be more reliable by comparing the results of the simulation with the experimental results, in which the error is below 0.8%. ©, 2015, Editorial Department of Journal of Propulsion Technology. All right reserved.