Development of the new BUSTLab Hall thruster with internal coaxial hollow cathode

Abstract

HK40 Hall thruster is a low power SPT-type Hall thruster with a boron nitride (BN) discharge channel of 40 mm in outer diameter. Based on the experience gained during the design and manufacturing of the HK40 Hall thruster, and the experiments that were conducted with this Hall thruster an advanced larger diameter Hall thruster with an LaB6 internal cathode is developed. In the design, protection of thruster wall material is aimed by the appropriate magnetic field inside the thruster channel. Design optimization of this new Hall thruster is made by investigating the effects of different design parameters, such as magnetic circuit and discharge channel geometry. A thermal model of this thruster is developed in order to investigate the heat distribution for the thruster-cathode system.