Reproducibility of Operating Potentials for a C12A7 Electride Plasma-Based Cathode with Constant Keeper Current Control
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Hollow Cathodes are fundamental components for electric propulsion systems. In recent publications, the performance of a planar C12A7 electride cathode has been presented with promising results. This includes the endurance operation of the cathode, the heaterless ignition cycling, and the general performance mapping over a wide range of parameters. The present publication will add to these publications, presenting results of only one defined set of discharge parameters, allowing a statistical evaluation of repeated discharge operations. Overall, exceptable repeatability of the performance could be evaluated, confirming the overall performance trends observed in previous campaigns. The cathode was operated in self-heating mode using krypton as propellant in a current range of 100 mA to 600 mA. A discharge potential of 30 V with a slight increase for lower discharge currents is reported. Furthermore, means to reduce the variation in the test results by increasing the keeper current have been identified.
Details
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 22 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Journal of Electric Propulsion |
Volume | 3 (2024) |
Issue number | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 8 Oct 2024 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
Scopus | 85206162974 |
---|---|
ORCID | /0000-0002-7406-7588/work/172571156 |
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- C12A7 electride ceramic, Disc-shaped cathode, Discharge characteristic, Heaterless cathode