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 P d = 600 1600 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 20 . 0 ± 0 . 2 mN; with a specific impulse of 2039 ± 20 s and an anode efficiency of 12 . 5 ± 0 . 3 % at the largest discharge power of investigation ( P d = 1600 ± 1 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.


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    Title :

    A water vapour fuelled Hall Effect Thruster: Characterization and comparison with oxygen


    Contributors:
    Tejeda, J.M. (author) / Knoll, A. (author)

    Published in:

    Acta Astronautica ; 211 ; 702-715


    Publication date :

    2023-06-26


    Size :

    14 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English





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