Progress in Modeling of Pre-Ionization and Geometric Effects on a Field-Reversed Configuration Plasma Thruster
Abstract
In recent years, compact toroid (CT) plasma (e.g., field-reversed configurations, plasmoids, or spheromaks) has been considered for propulsion applications. A limited number of studies have been conducted thus far with each investigating different aspects of CT plasma. The current investigation into CT plasma documented here focuses on developing a thruster concept to assess the efficiencies of CT plasma formation and acceleration. The assessment consists of developing MHD simulations that model a typical CT test article. The pre-ionization geometry and device geometry parameters are varied in these simulations to determine the efficiencies.
Recommended Citation
S. W. Miller and J. L. Rovey, "Progress in Modeling of Pre-Ionization and Geometric Effects on a Field-Reversed Configuration Plasma Thruster," Fluid Dynamics and Co-located Conferences, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Jan 2009.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2009-3733
Meeting Name
40th AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference
Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2009 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 2009
