Features of Changes in the Surface Geometry of Discharge-Chamber Walls during the Prolonged Operation of a Stationary Plasma Thruster

Autor: R. Yu. Gnizdor, S. Yu. Pridannikov, Vladimir Kim, V. G. Kalyazin, D. V. Merkur’ev, V. S. Zakharchenko
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Surface Investigation: X-ray, Synchrotron and Neutron Techniques. 14:1221-1227
ISSN: 1819-7094
1027-4510
DOI: 10.1134/s1027451020060087
Popis: We consider the dynamics of local inhomogeneities caused by erosion of the surface of the discharge-chamber walls of a stationary plasma thruster during its prolonged operation. The inhomogeneities lead to the appearance of “longitudinal” (along the direction of ion motion) slits at the beginning of the erosion zone from the anode side, which, as the engine operating time increases, deepen and lengthen in the output direction up to the output end of the discharge-chamber wall. The reason for their occurrence is most likely a difference in the sputtering coefficients of different fractions of ceramics prepared by hot pressing a mixture of powders of different materials. An increase in the length of the slits is due to the higher flux density of ions moving along the slit at the end surface of the wall, which limits the slit on the side of its output end. The emergence of slits and their lengthening to the output end of the discharge-chamber wall, the turning of the trajectories of ions incident on the walls in a magnetic field, and the appearance of an azimuthal velocity component in them are significant factors in the development of “anomalous” erosion.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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