James H. Gilland | Search NASA

NASA NTRS2021

Performance and High-Speed Characterization of a 100-kW Nested Hall Thruster

The performance of a three-channel, 100-kW class nested Hall thruster was evaluated on xenon propellant for total powers up to 102 kW. The thruster demonstrated stable operation in all seven available channel combinations at discharge voltages from 300 V to 500 V and three different current densities. The resulting test matrix contained forty-six unique conditions ranging from 5 to 102 kW total power and 16 to 247 A discharge current. At each operating condition, thrust and telemetry was measured, and from these measurements specific impulse and efficiency were calculated. All seven channel combinations showed similar performance at a given discharge voltage and current density. The largest thrust recorded was 5.4 N ± 0.1 N at 99 kW, 400 V discharge voltage. Total efficiency and specific impulse ranged from 0.54 to 0.67 ± 0.03 and 1800 seconds to 2650 seconds ± 60 seconds, respectively. It was found that the thrust of the three channels firing together was not larger than the sum of each channel firing individually. Discharge current oscillations were also characterized with peak-to-peak and root-mean-square values and with high-speed camera analysis, which provide insight into how the discharge channels oscillate, and how those oscillations are affected by the presence of other operating channels. The implications of these results are discussed in the context of operation beyond 100 kW, as well as the general viability of NHT technology for future mission applications.

High-power↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

PPE Electric Propulsion Advancing to CDR: 12kW String

String level testing is a vital part of electric propulsion development. With the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) spacecraft flying two new models of Hall Thrusters, this work is even more critical. PPE will have both 6kW and 12kW thruster strings onboard, all powered by Maxar power processing units (PPU). Both strings have recently undergone end-to-end string level hot fire testing to verify the ability of all components to work together. This entails operating the thruster with the Xenon Flow Controller (XFC) and PPUs under both nominal and off-nominal conditions to stress the system and determine weak points. Such testing has long been a standard Maxar practice since our first 1.5kW electric propulsion system in 2004. This paper will focus on Phase 1 of the 12kW testing recently completed at NASA Glenn. The primary conclusion of the test effort was that the 12kW string operated nominally and that the PPU and XFC could operate the thruster within specifications.

Electric propulsion↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Extended Wear Testing of the 12-kW Advanced Electric Propulsion System Engineering Test Unit Hall Thruster

This work presents a summary of the first wear test of the 12 kW Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) intended to isolate the impact of discharge current on component wear rates. Testing was led by Aerojet Rocketdyne and performed with the AEPS Engineering Test Unit 2 (ETU-2) thruster. In total, approximately 860 hours of operation were accumulated split between operating conditions of 600 V/9 kW, 600 V/11 kW, and 600 V/12 kW. Thruster performance and stability were invariant throughout the wear test for all thruster throttle conditions and shown to be equal to the values previously measured with ETU-2. Inner front pole cover erosion rates were found to be invariant to discharge current as the measurements at all three operating conditions were equal to within the empirical uncertainty. Outer front pole cover erosion rates were found to be equal for the 600 V/9 kW and 600 V/12 kW conditions with operation at 600 V/11 kW yielding rates that were comparable to those on the inner front pole cover. Overall, the data shows that the AEPS thruster design has a high probability of meeting lifetime and performance requirements as the design proceeds to flight production and qualification.

HERMeS↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Edge Wear of the Advanced Electric Propulsion System Pole Covers

This work presents a summary of the first wear test of the 12 kW Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) focused on characterizing the erosion of the edges and side walls of the thruster pole covers. Testing was performed with the AEPS Engineering Test Unit 2 (ETU-2) thruster and accumulated approximately 325 hours of operation at the 600 V/12 kW condition with the magnetic field strength set to 75% of its nominal value. Thruster performance was invariant throughout the wear test for all thruster throttle conditions and was found to be equal to previous measurements. Contrary to past results, inner front pole cover erosion rates were invariant to magnetic field strength at the 600 V/12 kW condition and no erosion was measured on the outer front pole cover. The erosion profile of the downstream inner front pole cover faces was continuous across the cover indicating no significant change in erosion process at the pole cover edges. Side wall erosion was only detected on the cathode-facing surfaces of the inner front pole cover and was equal in magnitude to the rates measured on the adjacent downstream edges. Taken together, these results suggest that erosion of the pole cover edges and sidewalls is driven by cathode-borne ions and will ultimately not impact AEPS life estimates.

Hall thrusters↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Facility Effect Characterization Test of the BHT-6000 Hall Thruster

During the development of the BHT-6000 Hall thruster for flight on NASA’s Power and Propulsion Element, a facility effect test campaign was performed on an engineering unit of the thruster. Testing occurred in Vacuum Facility 5 at NASA Glenn Research Center. The goal of the test campaign was to characterize the behavior of the BHT-6000 Hall thruster as functions of facility effects such that the thruster’s in-flight behavior can be reasonably bounded. In particular, the behavior of the thruster with regard to the background pressure and electrical environment was tested. The background pressure was controlled by injecting supplemental propellant flow into the environment, while the electrical environment was controlled by biasing the facility beam dump. Thrust was found to remain constant over the tested range of pressures while specific impulse was found to increase slightly (1 to 1.5% over a range of up to 20 μTorr, depending on operating point). Plasma plume properties, particularly of ions exiting the side of the thruster, were found to be highly sensitive to pressure and may require pressures of less than a few μTorr for accurate measurements. The thruster was found to operate identically with changing beam dump bias voltage to within measurement uncertainties.

Electric propulsion↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Facility Effect Characterization Test of the BHT6000 Hall Thruster

During the development of the BHT-6000 Hall thruster for flight on NASA’s Power and Propulsion Element, a facility effect test campaign was performed on an engineering unit of the thruster. Testing occurred in Vacuum Facility 5 at NASA Glenn Research Center. The goal of the test campaign was to characterize the behavior of the BHT-6000 Hall thruster as functions of facility effects such that the thruster’s in-flight behavior can be reasonably bounded. In particular, the behavior of the thruster with regard to the background pressure and electrical environment was tested. The background pressure was controlled by injecting supplemental propellant flow into the environment, while the electrical environment was controlled by biasing the facility beam dump. Thrust was found to remain constant over the tested range of pressures while specific impulse was found to increase slightly (1 to 1.5% over a range of up to 20 μTorr, depending on operating point). Plasma plume properties, particularly of ions exiting the side of the thruster, were found to be highly sensitive to pressure and may require pressures of less than a few μTorr for accurate measurements. The thruster was found to operate identically with changing beam dump bias voltage to within measurement uncertainties.

Electric propulsion↗