Modification of Boron Nitride Ceramic to Replicate Hall Effect Thruster Surface Wear
Abstract
Pristine and worn Hall-effect thruster boron nitride channel materials show significant differences in surface features, and chemical compositions. Worn thruster channels are typically created by running test thrusters in vacuum chambers for hundreds of hours. This paper studies ways to manually modified pristine samples of boron nitride without the use of a Hall-effect thruster. Sandpaper and abrasive blaster tests were used to modify surface roughness values of sample from 10,000 Å to 150,000 Å. These values match the range of surface roughness seen in worn Hall-effect thrusters. Vacuum heat treatments were pre-formed on samples, these treatments showed the ability to modify chemical compositions of boron nitride samples, but not in a manner matching changes seen in worn thruster channels.
Recommended Citation
A. J. Satonik and J. L. Rovey, "Modification of Boron Nitride Ceramic to Replicate Hall Effect Thruster Surface Wear," Aerospace Sciences Meetings, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Jan 2012.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2012-198
Meeting Name
50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition
Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2012 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 2012
