Particle Simulation of Three-Grid ECR Ion Thruster Optics and Erosion Prediction

【摘要】 <正> Ion optics is a critical component of ion thrusters.A two-dimensional axisymmetricmodel is developed to study the characteristics of three-grid electron cyclotron resonance ionthruster optics.The code is based on a particle-in-cell combined with the Monte Carlo collisionmethod to simulate ion dynamics and charge-exchange processes in the grid region.The simulationresults show that the mode can give a reasonable estimate of the physics characteristics of the ionoptics.The design of the ion optics satisfies the requirement of preventing electron backstreaming.Charge-exchange ions can cause damage to the grids,especially to the accelerator grid.’Barrel’erosion can increase the accelerator grid aperture radius at a rate of 1.91×10^-11m/s,while thedecelerator grid plays an important role in reducing ’pits-and-grooves’ erosion.更多还原

【Abstract】 Ion optics is a critical component of ion thrusters.A two-dimensional axisymmetric model is developed to study the characteristics of three-grid electron cyclotron resonance ion thruster optics.The code is based on a particle-in-cell combined with the Monte Carlo collision method to simulate ion dynamics and charge-exchange processes in the grid region.The simulation results show that the mode can give a reasonable estimate of the physics characteristics of the ion optics.The design of the ion optics satisfies the requirement of preventing electron backstreaming. Charge-exchange ions can cause damage to the grids,especially to the accelerator grid.’Barrel’ erosion can increase the accelerator grid aperture radius at a rate of 1.91×10^-11m/s,while the decelerator grid plays an important role in reducing ’pits-and-grooves’ erosion.更多还原