The performance of a 50-kilowatt-class Hall thruster designed for high voltage operation was measured using both xenon and krypton propellants. The thruster was operated at discharge powers ranging from 4-46 kW on xenon and 5-65 kW on krypton. The device produced thrust ranging from 0.3 to 2.1 N at discharge voltages between 200 and 1050 V. Maximum anode specific impulses of 3370 and 4940 sec. were demonstrated at discharge voltages of 600 V on xenon and 1050 V on krypton, respectively. The peak anode efficiencies were 72% at 600 V on xenon and 68% at 1050 V on krypton. In addition to performance testing the thruster was operated on krypton at 700 V and 53 A to characterize the thruster wear. The observed wear characteristics of the thruster were compared to previous xenon Hall thruster wear results.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Peterson et al. (2005) studied this question.