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Results for “THETA PINCH”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1979

Numerical experiments on the theta pinch

Numerical calculation of theta pinch problems are presented. Physical processes in theta pinch systems are considered in a one dimensional, two temperature magnetohydrodynamic, approximation with allowance for end losses by longitudinal heat conductivity. The numerical calculations are compared with results of earlier experiments.

Volosevich, P. P.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Theta-Pinch Thruster for Piloted Deep Space Exploration

A new high-power propulsion concept that combines a rapidly pulsed theta-pinch discharge with upstream particle reflection by a magnetic mirror was evaluated under a Phase 1 grant awarded through the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. Analytic and numerical models were developed to predict the performance of a theta-pinch thruster operated over a wide range of initial gas pressures and discharge periods. The models indicate that a 1 m radius, 10 m long thruster operated with hydrogen propellant could provide impulse-bits ranging from 1 N-s to 330 N-s with specific impulse values of 7,500 s to 2,500 s, respectively. A pulsed magnetic field strength of 2 T is required to compress and heat the preionized hydrogen over a 10(exp -3) second discharge period, with about 60% of the heated plasma exiting the chamber each period to produce thrust. The unoptimized thruster efficiency is low, peaking at approximately 16% for an initial hydrogen chamber pressure of 100 Torr. The specific impulse and impulse-bit at this operating condition are 3,500 s and 90 N-s, respectively, and the required discharge energy is approximately 9x10(exp 6) J. For a pulse repetition rate of 10 Hz, the engine would produce an average thrust of 900 N at 3,500 s specific impulse. Combined with the electrodeless nature of the device, these performance parameters indicate that theta-pinch thrusters could provide unique, long-life propulsion systems for piloted deep space mission applications.

LaPointe, Mike R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Effect of Inductive Coil Geometry and Current Sheet Trajectory of a Conical Theta Pinch Pulsed Inductive Plasma Accelerator

Results are presented demonstrating the e ect of inductive coil geometry and current sheet trajectory on the exhaust velocity of propellant in conical theta pinch pulsed induc- tive plasma accelerators. The electromagnetic coupling between the inductive coil of the accelerator and a plasma current sheet is simulated, substituting a conical copper frustum for the plasma. The variation of system inductance as a function of plasma position is obtained by displacing the simulated current sheet from the coil while measuring the total inductance of the coil. Four coils of differing geometries were employed, and the total inductance of each coil was measured as a function of the axial displacement of two sep- arate copper frusta both having the same cone angle and length as the coil but with one compressed to a smaller size relative to the coil. The measured relationship between total coil inductance and current sheet position closes a dynamical circuit model that is used to calculate the resulting current sheet velocity for various coil and current sheet con gura- tions. The results of this model, which neglects the pinching contribution to thrust, radial propellant con nement, and plume divergence, indicate that in a conical theta pinch ge- ometry current sheet pinching is detrimental to thruster performance, reducing the kinetic energy of the exhausting propellant by up to 50% (at the upper bound for the parameter range of the study). The decrease in exhaust velocity was larger for coils and simulated current sheets of smaller half cone angles. An upper bound for the pinching contribution to thrust is estimated for typical operating parameters. Measurements of coil inductance for three di erent current sheet pinching conditions are used to estimate the magnetic pressure as a function of current sheet radial compression. The gas-dynamic contribution to axial acceleration is also estimated and shown to not compensate for the decrease in axial electromagnetic acceleration that accompanies the radial compression of the plasma in conical theta pinches.

Hallock, Ashley K.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Influence of finite-beta effects on the lower-hybrid-drift instability in post-implosion theta pinches

The influence of finite values of the plasma parameter beta on the lower-hybrid-drift instability is investigated, with particular emphasis on the post-implosion theta-pinch configurations. The analysis is carried out in a fully self-consistent manner and includes the finite-beta effects associated with transverse electromagnetic perturbations as well as with resonant and nonresonant electron-orbit modifications. Except in the limit where the ratio of electron and ion temperatures approaches zero, it is found that there is a critical value for the local beta such that the lower-hybrid-drift instability is completely stabilized. For typical post-implosion theta pinches, it is concluded that if the magnetic-field depression is sufficiently large, the interior region of the pinch will be stable to the examined instability but the exterior region will be unstable.

Davidson, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Single and Multi-Pulse Low-Energy Conical Theta Pinch Inductive Pulsed Plasma Thruster Performance

Impulse bits produced by conical theta-pinch inductive pulsed plasma thrusters possessing cone angles of 20deg, 38deg, and 60deg, were quantified for 500J/pulse operation by direct measurement using a hanging-pendulum thrust stand. All three cone angles were tested in single-pulse mode, with the 38deg model producing the highest impulse bits at roughly 1 mN-s operating on both argon and xenon propellants. A capacitor charging system, assembled to support repetitively-pulsed thruster operation, permitted testing of the 38deg thruster at a repetition-rate of 5 Hz at power levels of 0.9, 1.6, and 2.5 kW. The average thrust measured during multiple-pulse operation exceeded the value obtained when the single-pulse impulse bit is multiplied by the repetition rate.

Hallock, A. K.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Current Sheet Formation in a Conical Theta Pinch Faraday Accelerator with Radio-frequency Assisted Discharge

Data from an inductive conical theta pinch accelerator are presented to gain insight into the process of inductive current sheet formation in the presence of a preionized background gas produced by a steady-state RF-discharge. The presence of a preionized plasma has been previously shown to allow for current sheet formation at lower discharge voltages and energies than those found in other pulsed inductive accelerator concepts, leading to greater accelerator efficiencies at lower power levels. Time-resolved magnetic probe measurements are obtained for different background pressures and pulse energies to characterize the effects of these parameters on current sheet formation. Indices are defined that describe time-resolved current sheet characteristics, such as the total current owing in the current sheet, the time-integrated total current ('strength'), and current sheet velocity. It is found that for a given electric field strength, maximums in total current, strength, and velocity occur for one particular background pressure. At other pressures, these current sheet indices are considerably smaller. The trends observed in these indices are explained in terms of the principles behind Townsend breakdown that lead to a dependence on the ratio of the electric field to the background pressure. Time-integrated photographic data are also obtained at the same experimental conditions, and qualitatively they compare quite favorably with the time-resolved magnetic field data.

Polzin, Kurt A.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Current sheet Formation in a Conical Theta Pinch Faraday Accelerator with Radio-Frequency Assisted Discharge

The inductive formation of current sheets in a conical theta pinch FARAD (Faraday Accelerator with Radio-frequency Assisted Discharge) thruster is investigated experimentally with time-integrated photography. The goal is to help in understanding the mechanisms and conditions controlling the strength and extent of the current sheet, which are two indices important for FARAD as a propulsion concept. The profiles of these two indices along the inside walls of the conical acceleration coil are assumed to be related to the profiles of the strength and extent of the luminosity pattern derived from photographs of the discharge. The variations of these profiles as a function of uniform back-fill neutral pressure (with no background magnetic field and all parameters held constant) provided the first clues on the nature and qualitative dependencies of current sheet formation. It was found that there is an optimal pressure for which both indices reach a maximum and that the rate of change in these indices with pressure differs on either side of this optimal pressure. This allowed the inference that current sheet formation follows a Townsend-like breakdown mechanism modified by the existence of a finite pressure-dependent radio-frequency-generated electron density background. The observation that the effective location of the luminosity pattern favors the exit-half of the conical coil is explained as the result of the tendency of the inductive discharge circuit to operate near its minimal self-inductance. Movement of the peak in the luminosity pattern towards the upstream side of the cone with increasing pressure is believed to result from the need of the circuit to compensate for the increase in background plasma resistivity due to increasing pressure.

Hallock, Ashley K.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Behavior of some singly ionized, heavy-ion impurities during compression in a theta-pinch plasma

The introduction of a small percentage of an impurity gas containing a desired element into a theta-pinch plasma is a standard procedure used to investigate the spectra and atomic processes of the element. This procedure assumes that the mixing ratio of impurity-to-fill gases remains constant during the collapse and heating phase. Spectroscopic investigations of the constant-mixing-ratio assumption for a 2% neon and argon impurity verifies the assumption only for the neon impurity. However, for the 2% argon impurity, only 20 to 25% of the argon is in the high-temperature compressed plasma. It is concluded that the constant-mixing-ratio assumption is not applicable to the argon impurity.

Jalufka, N. W.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Neonlike Ar and Cl 3p-3s emission from a theta-pinch plasma

Time-resolved extreme-UV emission from sixteen 3p-3s transitions, some of the type in which lasing has been demonstrated in heavier elements, is measured for neonlike Ar(8+) and Cl(7+). These observations are made on a hydrogen theta-pinch plasma with a 5 pct admixture of argon or freon (for Cl). Fourteen 3d-3p spectral lines are also detected. The measured intensities are compared to theoretical predictions. There is no evidence of anomalously intense lines originating on 2p5 3p J = 2 upper levels compared to J = 0, as observed in gain experiments.

Elton, R. C.↗