Journal article

Authors list: Scharmann, Steffen; Keil, Konstantin; Zorn, Jana; Dietz, Patrick; Nauschütt, Benny; Holste, Kristof; Hannemann, Klaus; Klar, Peter J.; Kloss, Samuel; Graubner, Swen; Neumann, Andreas; Simon, Jens

Publication year: 2022

Journal: AIP Advances

Volume number: 12

Issue number: 4

eISSN: 2158-3226

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0066401

Publisher: American Institute of Physics

Abstract: 

A key parameter when characterizing the performance of an electric propulsion system is obviously its thrust. The thrust can be either determined directly using a so-called thrust balance or deduced from indirect measurements. Here, we present a comparison of thrust measurements of the same radio frequency ion thruster in the thrust range from 250 mu N to 1.5 mN using three different approaches: a conventional direct measurement employing a thrust balance and two indirect measurements, one based on a force probe located stationary in the thruster's plume in conjunction with a scan of the ion beam profile using a Faraday-array scanner, and another one based on a measurement of the beam current at the grid system and a correction for beam divergence deduced from the Faraday-array scans. The results of the three approaches are compared for different beam currents, and pros and cons of the approaches are discussed. 

Harvard Citation style: Scharmann, S., Keil, K., Zorn, J., Dietz, P., Nauschütt, B., Holste, K., et al. (2022) Thrust measurement of an ion thruster by a force probe approach and comparison to a thrust balance, AIP Advances, 12(4), Article 045218. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0066401

APA Citation style: Scharmann, S., Keil, K., Zorn, J., Dietz, P., Nauschütt, B., Holste, K., Hannemann, K., Klar, P., Kloss, S., Graubner, S., Neumann, A., & Simon, J. (2022). Thrust measurement of an ion thruster by a force probe approach and comparison to a thrust balance. AIP Advances. 12(4), Article 045218. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0066401