Model study of the influence of the magnetic field configuration on the performance and lifetime of a Hall thruster

Abstract

A two-dimensional hybrid model of the discharge in Hall thrusters including the near outside region between cathode and exhaust plane has been developed. The topology of the applied magnetic field is calculated with a finite element software and used as input for the discharge code. In this paper, we examine the influence of the magnetic field topology on the thruster operation and properties, with emphasis on the thruster lifetime. Results show that a configuration with a zero magnetic field and a smaller region with large magnetic field tends to decrease wall erosion and low frequency current oscillations keeping a high level of performance.