Abstract A Hall Effect Thruster propelled by water vapour is investigated at the Imperial Plasma Propulsion Laboratory. For that purpose, a water vapour feed system is designed, optimized and tested, with the major objective of keeping water in vapour state at all times. This system primarily consists of a mass flow controller, a flow restrictor, and a heating and pressure monitor system capable of identifying under which conditions water condensation occurs. A hanging pendulum thrust balance is used to measure the thrust on the power range of W. Different magnetic field strengths and mass flows are investigated to determine the conditions in which the highest efficiency can be achieved. Then, a comparison between water vapour and oxygen (intended to be the propellant of a water electrolysis Hall Effect Thruster) is included. The results show that oxygen is approximately 20% more efficient than water vapour under the same operating conditions. Overall, the highest thrust measurement recorded with water vapour was mN; with a specific impulse of s and an anode efficiency of % at the largest discharge power of investigation ( W).
Highlights Thrust, specific impulse and efficiency of a water vapour Hall Effect Thruster. Mass flow rates and magnetic field strength performance evaluation. Studies of cross sections of oxygen (from water electrolysis) and water vapour. Trade-off analysis between water electrolysis versus water vapour propulsion.
A water vapour fuelled Hall Effect Thruster: Characterization and comparison with oxygen
Acta Astronautica ; 211 ; 702-715
2023-06-26
14 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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