In-Situ Diagnostic for Assessing Hall Thruster WearThe design of a new diagnostic to measure the net erosion of Hall thruster surfaces is presented. This diagnostic consists of a pair of optical non-contact profilometer pens mounted to a set of motion stages, which can interrogate the surface features of multiple components of interest including the hollow cathode assembly, magnet front pole covers, and discharge channel. By comparing scans of these surfaces to reference features, estimates of the component erosion rates can be acquired throughout long-duration lifetime tests without venting and removing the thruster from the vacuum facility for external profilometry. This work presents a detailed overview of the diagnostic design including the precision positioning system. In addition, preliminary data are shown which verify diagnostic operation and establish a baseline that will be used to track the erosion of the Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) Technology Demonstration Unit 3 (TDU-3) during an ongoing long-duration wear test.
Document ID
20180005344
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Ahern, Drew M. (NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Frieman, Jason D. (NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Williams, George (NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Mackey, Jonathan A. (NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Haag, Thomas W. (NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Huang, Wensheng (NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Kamhawi, Hani (NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Herman, Daniel (NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Peterson, Peter Y. (Vantage Partners, LLC Brook Park, OH, United States)
Gilland, James (Ohio Aerospace Inst. Cleveland, OH, United States)
Hofer, Richard (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
IDRelationTitle20180007417See AlsoIn-Situ Diagnostic for Assessing Hall Thruster Wear20180007205See AlsoIn-situ Diagnostic for Assessing Hall Thruster Wear