Pseudospectral Model for Hybrid PIC Hall-effect Thruster Simulation

Abstract : Design of efficient Hall-effect thrusters (HETs) is strongly dependent on understanding of electron transport throughout these devices. Among the various mechanisms are proposed to account for enhanced electron transport in the near-field plume of HETs are turbulent fluctuations in the plasma. Since experimental investigations have shown that there is significant energy in azimuthal oscillations of the plasma, it is possible that these azimuthal oscillations in the presence of a radial magnetic field could be the cause of significant axial transport. This paper presents the initial development of a pseudospectral azimuthal-axial hybrid-PIC HET code which is designed to explicitly resolve and filter azimuthal fluctuations in the electrostatic potential. Although development is still far from complete, progress has been made in implementing the electrostatic potential solver. Through significant effort, including the use of both numerical limiters and a smooth fluid neutral description, stable discharges have been demonstrated and interim results are presented.