A Hall thruster

Abstract

The application discloses a Hall thruster, which comprises an outer cover (9), a bottom plate (10), a containing space formed by the outer cover (9) and the bottom plate (10), and two openings on two sides of the containing space, one of which is used as a thruster outlet; a magnetic circuit coil (3) arranged on the inner wall of the containing space and used for generating a required magnetic field based on an excitation coil; an anode assembly (2) having an air channel, a first sub-cavity (21) of the anode assembly (2) connected to the containing space from the opening on the side opposite to the thruster outlet, the air channel being communicated with the first sub-cavity (21), and the output end of the first sub-cavity (21) being connected to the thruster outlet; and a cathode (1). According to the embodiment of the application, the magnetic circuit coil is used for generating a magnetic field, the magnetic field intensity is effectively adjusted, the magnetic circuit coil avoids a high-temperature working area, the overall working performance of the Hall thruster is improved, and the service life of the thruster is prolonged.

Description

A Hall thruster Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of aerospace technology, and in particular to a Hall thruster. Background Technology

[0002] Electric propulsion is a technology that uses electrical energy to heat and ionize a working propellant, creating a high-speed jet that generates thrust. Compared to traditional chemical thrusters, electric propulsion offers advantages such as higher specific impulse, longer lifespan, and relatively simpler structure. Hall thrusters are currently one of the mainstream electric propulsion devices, primarily used for spacecraft attitude control, orbital position maintenance, orbital maneuvers, and interplanetary flight. They can be divided into two main categories: steady-state plasma thrusters and anode-layer Hall thrusters. The main difference lies in the anode structure and channel length; the former has a ring-shaped planar anode structure with a relatively long channel, while the latter has a ring-shaped hollow structure with a much shorter channel length.

[0003] Although the two types of Hall thrusters differ significantly in structure, their working principles are similar. They mostly use inert gases as working fluids, most commonly xenon and krypton. Upon ignition, the cathode initiates the process and generates electrons. Some of these electrons, under the influence of the electric field, enter the discharge channel along the electric field lines. Due to the presence of a magnetic field orthogonal to the electric field within the channel, the electrons undergo Hall drift circumferentially, forming a Hall current. Neutral working fluid particles flowing in from the anode collide with the circumferentially drifting electrons and are ionized into cations. Under the influence of the electric field, these cations are accelerated to speeds of approximately tens of km / s near the discharge channel exit, thus generating thrust. Another portion of the electrons generated by the cathode enters the ejected cation plume, neutralizing each other and maintaining the thruster's electrical neutrality.

[0004] A typical Hall thruster's magnetic circuit generally consists of two permanent magnets, one inner and one outer, positioned near the thruster outlet, i.e., the ionization region. When a Hall thruster operates, the high temperature in the ionization region typically leads to demagnetization of the permanent magnets, affecting the magnetic field strength and the thruster's discharge performance. For steady-state plasma thrusters, the longer channel exposes them to ion bombardment and erosion during operation, which over time impacts the magnetic circuit's performance, thus reducing the thruster's lifespan. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a Hall thruster that generates a magnetic field through a magnetic circuit coil, effectively adjusting the magnetic field strength. The magnetic circuit coil avoids the high-temperature operating area, improving the overall performance of the Hall thruster and extending its lifespan.

[0006] This application provides a Hall thruster, comprising:

[0007] The outer cover 9 forms a receiving space with the base plate 10, and the receiving space has openings on both sides, one of which serves as the thruster outlet;

[0008] A magnetic circuit coil 3 is attached to the inner wall of the accommodating space to generate the required magnetic field based on the excitation coil;

[0009] The anode assembly 2 has an air passage that is connected to the first sub-cavity 21 of the receiving space from an opening on the opposite side of the thrust output port. The air passage is connected to the first sub-cavity 21, and the output end of the first sub-cavity 21 is connected to the thrust outlet.

[0010] Cathode 1 is placed outside the accommodating space.

[0011] Optionally, the Hall thruster has a circular cross-section.

[0012] Optionally, it also includes: a central magnetic guide plate 5 and a magnetic guide ring 4, respectively disposed in the accommodating space on both sides of the magnetic circuit coil 3, for guiding the magnetic field generated by the magnetic circuit coil 3 to the vicinity of the thruster outlet.

[0013] Optional, also includes:

[0014] An insulating sleeve 6 is filled between the magnetic circuit coil 3 and the central magnetic plate 5, and the insulating sleeve 6 can be fitted into the anode assembly 2.

[0015] Optionally, the central magnetic plate 5 has a central magnetic column protruding towards the thruster outlet, and an inner protective ring 8 is also provided on the central magnetic column.

[0016] Optionally, the magnetic guide ring 4 is disposed on the thruster outlet side, and an outer protective ring 7 is disposed between the magnetic guide ring 4 and the accommodating space.

[0017] This application embodiment generates a magnetic field through a magnetic circuit coil, effectively adjusting the magnetic field strength. The magnetic circuit coil avoids the high-temperature working area, improving the overall working performance of the Hall thruster and extending the thruster's lifespan.

[0018] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of this application. In order to better understand the technical means of this application and to implement it in accordance with the contents of the specification, and to make the above and other objects, features and advantages of this application more obvious and understandable, the following are specific embodiments of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this application. Furthermore, the same reference numerals denote the same parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the Hall thruster according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0021] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0022] This application provides a Hall thruster, as shown in Figure 1, comprising:

[0023] The outer cover 9 forms a receiving space with the base plate 10, and the receiving space has openings on both sides, one of which serves as the thruster outlet. In some embodiments, the Hall thruster has a circular cross-section. That is, Figure 1 is a cross-sectional example of the Hall thruster of this application. The Hall thruster of this application is generally in the shape of a short cylinder, with the two ends along the axial direction forming the two sides of the receiving space. The outer cover 9 and the base plate 10 can be used to fix the thruster components and also serve to protect the thruster.

[0024] A magnetic circuit coil 3, attached to the inner wall of the receiving space, is used to generate the required magnetic field based on the excitation coil. This application uses the magnetic circuit coil 3 to generate the magnetic field, effectively adjusting the magnetic field strength. Furthermore, attaching it to the inner wall of the receiving space allows the magnetic circuit coil to avoid the high-temperature operating area (thrust outlet area), thereby improving the overall reliability of the Hall thruster.

[0025] The anode assembly 2 has an air passage that connects to the first sub-cavity 21 of the receiving space from an opening on the opposite side of the thrust output port. The air passage is connected to the first sub-cavity 21. The output end of the first sub-cavity 21 is connected to the thrust outlet. The connection point between the anode assembly 2 and the first sub-cavity 21 is within the coverage area of ​​the magnetic circuit coil 3.

[0026] Cathode 1 is placed outside the receiving space. In a specific example, cathode 1 may be located at a designated position separate from anode assembly 2.

[0027] This application embodiment improves the overall working performance of the Hall thruster and extends its lifespan by using a magnetic circuit coil.

[0028] In some embodiments, the system further includes a central magnetic guide plate 5 and a magnetic guide ring 4, which are respectively disposed in the accommodating space on both sides of the magnetic circuit coil 3, for guiding the magnetic field generated by the magnetic circuit coil 3 to the vicinity of the thruster outlet to form a magnetic circuit.

[0029] During operation, the magnetic circuit coil 3 is excited by the excitation coil to form a magnetic field, which is guided to the vicinity of the Hall thruster outlet through the magnetic ring 4 and the central magnetic plate 5, constraining the electrons emitted by the cathode 1 to make circumferential Hall drift motion at the thruster channel opening.

[0030] In some embodiments, the device further includes an insulating sleeve 6, which fills the space between the magnetic circuit coil 3 and the central magnetic plate 5. The insulating sleeve 6 can be fitted onto the anode assembly 2. The insulating sleeve 6 is also cylindrical in shape and has multiple fitting slots. In this embodiment, multiple first sub-cavities 21 can be provided in the radial interface based on the insulating sleeve 6 within the accommodating space. The multiple first sub-cavities 21 are interconnected by air passages, and the first sub-cavities 21 are connected to corresponding outlets 22. In this embodiment, the insulating sleeve 6 is used to both insulate the high voltage of the anode assembly 2 and provide heat insulation, reducing the impact of operating heat on the magnetic circuit coil 3.

[0031] In some embodiments, the central magnetic plate 5 has a central magnetic post protruding towards the thruster outlet, and an inner protective ring 8 is also provided on the central magnetic post. In some embodiments, the magnetic ring 4 is disposed on the thruster outlet side, and an outer protective ring 7 is provided between the magnetic ring 4 and the receiving space. Specifically, the outer protective ring 7 and the inner protective ring 8 are used to protect the thruster channel and prevent ion sputtering during operation.

[0032] When assembling the Hall thruster of this application, the anode assembly 2 is first put into the insulating sleeve 6, then the central magnetic plate 5 is installed, the inner protective ring 8 is fixed to the central magnetic plate 5, the magnetic circuit coil 3 is placed around the insulating sleeve 6, the outer protective ring 7 and the magnetic ring 4 are installed into the outer cover 9, then the assembly previously fixed to the central magnetic plate 5 is installed, and finally the base plate 10 is installed.

[0033] Compared to steady-state plasma thrusters, the anode layer Hall thruster has a shorter channel, significantly reducing ion-induced sputtering erosion and resulting in a longer lifespan. This application's Hall thruster uses a single magnet structure to achieve the magnetic field loop, simplifying the magnetic circuit design. Generating a magnetic field through a magnetic excitation coil allows for effective adjustment of the magnetic field strength, avoiding high-temperature operating regions, thus improving the overall performance of the Hall thruster and extending its lifespan.

[0034] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise specified, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element.

[0035] The sequence numbers of the embodiments in this application are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments.

[0036] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. All of these forms are within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A Hall thruster, characterized in that, include: The outer cover (9) forms a receiving space with the bottom plate (10), and the receiving space has openings on both sides, one of which serves as the thruster outlet; A magnetic circuit coil (3) is attached to the inner wall of the receiving space to generate the required magnetic field based on the excitation coil; it also includes: a central magnetic guide plate (5) and a magnetic guide ring (4), respectively disposed in the receiving space on both sides of the magnetic circuit coil (3), to guide the magnetic field generated by the magnetic circuit coil (3) to the vicinity of the thruster outlet; an insulating sleeve (6) is filled between the magnetic circuit coil (3) and the central magnetic guide plate (5), and a plurality of first sub-cavities (21) are arranged in the receiving space based on the insulating sleeve (6) at the radial interface, and the first sub-cavities (21) are connected to the corresponding outlets (22); an anode assembly (2) has an air passage and is connected to the first sub-cavities of the receiving space from an opening on the side opposite to the thruster outlet. The cavity (21) is connected to the first sub-cavity (21), and the air passages of the multiple first sub-cavities (21) are connected. The output end of the first sub-cavity (21) is connected to the thruster outlet. The connection point between the anode assembly (2) and the first sub-cavity (21) is within the coverage area of ​​the magnetic circuit coil (3). The insulating sleeve (6) can be fitted into the anode assembly (2). The cathode (1) is placed outside the accommodating space. The central magnetic plate (5) has a central magnetic column protruding towards the thruster outlet. The magnetic ring (4) is disposed on the thruster outlet side. An inner protective ring (8) is also disposed on the central magnetic column. An outer protective ring (7) is disposed between the magnetic ring (4) and the accommodating space.

2. The Hall thruster as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The Hall thruster has a circular cross-section.

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