Measurement of Anode Thermal Power in Hall Thruster

A thermodynamic process method was proposed to measure the anode thermal power of Hall thrusters. The total thermal power of the anode was measured using several thermocouples and the uncertainty of this method is within 4%. This method was demonstrated to not affect the temperature distribution and the discharge characteristics of the Hall thrusters. The study was carried out on an SPT-type Hall thruster in a 1.5 ×4 m vacuum chamber with two diffusion pumps, one rotary pump, and three mechanical booster pumps. A hollow annulus anode made from stainless steel was fabricated at the bottom of the discharge channel with two specially designed bolts. Four thermocouples were used to monitor the temperature of the anode and another one was used to measure the temperature of the discharge channel wall near the anode. The thermal power of the anode was produced by high-energy electron recombination on its surface, and heat transfer to the surroundings takes place mainly through thermal radiation.