Numerical and analytical study of the annular channel of a Hall-effect thruster using a hybrid PIC-fluid method

Abstract

In the present time, the study and analysis of the physical phenomena occurring inside a Hall-effect thruster is strictly limited by the problem of the flow of plasma in the enclosed constant-area portion of its annular channel. Several approximations,each of them with their own drawbacks, have been proposed to successfully simulatethe plasma physics inside these ion thrusters. In this thesis, in order to simulate the Hall-effect thruster plasma flow, a one-dimensional hybrid Particle-In-Cell plasma model will be developed. For the validation of the developed model, the already well known plasma ordinary differential equations solution will be used. Finally, in order to improve the results obtained, as a future work, a 2D or even a 3D extrapolation of this validated model could be done and thus, obtaining a better approach of the physics inside the Hall-effect thruster