Results of the SERT II flight indicate that the hollow cathode neutralizer not only represents a power and propellant weight penalty but can be a contributing cause to accelerator grid erosion. Tests with a 30-cm diameter thruster have shown that a neutralizer position of approximately 9 cm axially downstream of the accelerator grid and approximately 9 cm radially away from the outer edge of the accelerator grid and pointing parallel to the thruster axis provides the best overall performance. The estimated grid wear rate was less than 0.08 mm in 10,000 hr. The coupling voltage (neutralizer to beam voltage) was approximately 17 volts at a neutralizer flow rate of 22 equivalent milliamperes of mercury and a beam current of 1.5 amperes. Neutralizer power (excluding heaters) was 31 watts and the effect of neutralizer flow on overall propellant utilization efficiency is a 1.2 percentage point reduction at a thruster utilization efficiency of 90 percent.


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    Title :

    Performance of a neutralizer for electron bombardment thruster.


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Aerospace Sciences Meeting ; 1972 ; San Diego, CA


    Publication date :

    1972-01-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English