微型射频离子推力器放电等离子体全局模型仿真研究

The micro RF ion thruster is one of the research focus of international micro electric propulsion because of its simple structure, long lifetime, large thrust range and quick response. The performance of RF ion thruster is closely related to the characteristics of plasma in discharge chamber. To this end, a multi-software co-simulation global model of plasma of RF ion thruster is established in this paper. A multi-physical coupling simulation involving electromagnetic field, thermal field, circuit and plasma chemical reaction was carried out. The variation of characteristic parameters of plasma and performance of thruster with input power, potential of screen grid, propellant flow and RF frequency was studied. The results showed that the computation of the global model is in good agreement with the experimental data and that screen grid potential, input power, propellant flow are the main influence factors to regulate performance of micro RF ion thruster. This study lays a good foundation for comprehensively regulating the performance of the micro RF ion thruster.