The HEMP Thruster - An Alternative to Conventional Ion Sources?

The HEMP Thruster - An Alternative to Conventional Ion Sources? Günter Kornfeld Norbert Koch Gregory Coustou Feasibility study sponsored by DLR Thrust measurements at ONERA, Palaiseau,, sponsored by CNES Ion beam characterisation in cooperation with IOM, Leipzig Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 1

Why electric (ion) propulsion? To maintain a GEO communication satellite over 15 years on its position requires 775 kg of chemical propellant (Hydrazin), but only 75 kg of Xe for electric propulsion. To bring 1 kg into GEO orbit costs 55.000.- $ Saving in launch costs: 38.5 Mio $ Alternatively more payload channels. LEO or MEO- Satellite Orbit (low earth or medium earth orbit) Geo-Orbit (geostationary earth orbit) Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 2

Basic relations for electric (ion) propulsion (I) Thrust Thrust Power Specific Impulse Thrust-to-Power Ratio Total Efficiency Ionisation Efficiency Thermal (=beam power) Efficiency T = m P I T sp TTPR η η η tot ion = therm 1 2 prop = m m = prop T P v prop T = 2 m T g 2 prop I i ion + i = m e M P = P beam prop = m v cosα prop v 2 M U U prop eff eff P η tot eff 2 T = M 2 m cosα 1 cosα M eff eff = η ion prop η prop I ion therm I ion U eff cos 2 U α eff eff cos 2 cosα α eff eff M prop = propellant molecular mass, dm prop /dt = propellant mass flow, v, v = mean (axial) propellant velocity, α eff = effective ion beam angle U eff = effective acceleration voltage, I ion = ion current, g = 9.81 m/s², P beam = total ion beam power Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 3

Basic relations for (ion) electric propulsion (II) Conclusions: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (iii) & (iv) The higher the propellant molecular mass M prop, the higher the thrust-to-power ratio TTPR. Typically Xenon is used as propellant, which also exhibits a low ionisation energy. In order to obtain a maximum total efficiency η prop, a high amount of the propellant flow has to be ionised, the thermal efficiency η therm has to be as high and the effective ion beam angle α eff as low as possible (desirable below 20 ). The higher the specific impulse I sp, the lower the total mass consumption. However a high I sp requires a high effective acceleration voltage U eff and thus lowers the thrust-to-power ratio TTPR. The best compromise between I sp and TTPR depends on the corresponding mission parameters (available electric power on board, satellite mass, required life time and manoeuvre requirements). Typically I sp is chosen around ~ 2500 s. Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 4

Conventional Concepts: I. Gridded Ion Thrusters GITs Scheme of a Radio Frequency sustained Ion Thruster RIT Advantages: Drawbacks: - high I sp, high h tot in restricted operational range - space charge limitation limits thrust density (up-scaling critical) - grid erosion Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 5

Conventional Concepts: II. Hall Effect Thrusters HETs Advantages: Drawbacks: - high TTPR, moderate h tot in restricted operational range - low to moderate I sp - pronounced channel erosion (limits applicable U A, I sp ) Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 6

New Concept: HEMP thruster (THALES Electron Devices GmbH patent) High Eff icient Multistage Plasma Thruster HEMP-Thruster Concept cathode electrode 1 (1kV); electric field Xe- feeding slits anode ion barrier electron beam Magnet; magnet field electrode 4 ( 0V) polepiece (Fe) electron beam accelerated Xenon-Ions Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 7

Operational principle of the HEMP-thruster (I) A permanent periodic magnet structure focuses the Xe plasma, on the axis and thus prevents losses on the ionisation chamber wall. The applied plasma potentials U A between the Cusps decrease towards the exit. The i resulting electrical fields accelerate the Xe ions. A neutraliser may provide at the exit the electrons for neutralisation of the ion beam current but is not necessary for thruster operation. Due to the crossed electric and magnetic fields in the cusp area the plasma electrons are orbiting and mirrored in closed, azimuthal Hall currents loops, which maintains a quasi-neutral space charge distribution in the plasma chamber and lead to a high ionisation rate. In cusp area: Radial magnet fields; axial electric fields azimuthal Hall currents of plasma electrons B i = 18 mm Neutral Xe Symmetry axis U A1 > U A2 > U A3 > E-Feld E-Feld Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 8 E-Feld Neutralis ator = Masse Xe + ion beam + e - Neutralised ion beam

Operational principle of the HEMP-thruster (II) Results from KOBRA trajectory code: Xe 1+ trajectories, 1 st iteration Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 9

Operational principle of the HEMP-thruster (II) Results from KOBRA trajectory code: axial kinetic energy of Xe 1+, 1 st iteration Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 10

Operational principle of the HEMP-thruster (II) Results from KOBRA trajectory code: secondary e - trajectories, 1 st iteration Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 11

HEMP thruster development (I) Achievements within the feasibility study: HEMP-Thruster Performance Evolution 10000 Aug 01 Okt 01 Dez 01 Feb 02 Apr 02 Jun 02 Aug 02 Okt 02 Dez 02 Feb 03 Apr 03 1000 100 10 ISP / s Thrust / mn therm. efficiency / % total efficiency / % Xe Flow / sccm Isp=2679 s T=129 mn ηth=78 % ηtot=37 % Xe=50 sccm 1 0 Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 12

HEMP thruster development (II) Theoretical approaches numerical simulations: KOBRA: trajectory code (TEDG code) - 3D, short computational time - non self-consistent treatment of collisions and space charges 1D fluid model (in cooperation with G. XOOPIC (in cooperation with G. Emsellem, Ecole Politechnique) - 1D, short computational time - self-consistent treatment of collisions and space charges via transport equations & Townsend theory XOOPIC (in cooperation with IOM Leipzig, see talk S. Jankuhn et al.) - 2.5D, self-consistent treatment of collisions and space charges from first principles - long computational time, no self-consistent solution for steady-state situation yet Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 13

HEMP thruster development (III) Available diagnostic tools for experimental characterisation: Solid angle resolved thermal diagnostics @ TEDG, Ulm - φ 80 cm x l 1000 cm vacuum chamber, S eff = 1000 l/s for Xe via turbo molecular pump - 3Hz online readout and evaluation of heating velocity and cooling down characteristics allows for determination of beam power and thrust power within 5% and 10% precision, respectively Direct thrust measurements @ ONERA, Palaiseau,, F - φ 60 cm x l 1000 cm hatch + φ 1000 cm x l 6000 cm main vacuum chamber, S eff = 8000 l/s for Xe via turbo molecular and cryo pumps - balance for direct thrust measurements with intrinsic calibration mechanism allows for determination of thrust at 0.25 mn level Ion beam characterisation @ IOM Leipzig (see talk S. (see talk S. Jankuhn et al.) - φ 120 cm x l 5000 cm vacuum chamber, S eff = 4000 l/s for Xe via turbo molecular pumps - energy selective mass spectrometry and Faraday cup based ion current measurements Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 14

Solid angle resolved thermal diagnostics @ TEDG, Ulm (I) Dimension of the TEDG test chamber Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 15

Solid angle resolved thermal diagnostics @ TEDG, Ulm (II) Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 16

Solid angle resolved thermal diagnostics @ TEDG, Ulm (III) Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 17

Thrust measurements at ONERA, Palaiseau,, F, July 2002 (I) Experimental set up & thruster installation Thruster exit Neutraliser View on the DM3a MS 1-2 at installation in the thrust balance of ONERA Palaiseau HEMP DM3a MS1-2 in ONERA's test station in operation, Side view through window in vacuum chamber up to 43 mn thrust from 2,5 cm² exit area up to 70% thermal efficiency and 32% total efficiency Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 18

Thrust measurements at ONERA, Palaiseau,, F, July 2002 (II) 2 different thruster configurations tested DM3a-MS2: α v = 40..50, α eff = 50 65, larger beam angle, lower thrust efficiency, but very wide operational range DM3a-MS1-2: α v = 30..45, α eff = 40 55, lower beam angle, higher thrust efficiency, but restricted operational range Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 19

Ion beam characterisation @ IOM Leipzig, Nov 2002 (I) DM3a MS1-3 @ polar angle 30, ion energy 500 ev DM3a MS1-3 ion beam mass spectroscopy at 30, 500V 10 000 000 Intensity / Counts / s 1 000 000 100 000 10 000 1 000 Xe 5+ Xe 4+ Xe 3+ Fe1+ Xe 2+ Xe 1+ 30 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 Mass / amu - multiple charged propellant ions up to Xe 5+ - no material from discharge channel observed (--> no erosion!!!) Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 20

Ion beam characterisation @ IOM Leipzig, Nov 2002 (II) DM3a MS1-3, energy spectrum of Xe+ + and Xe++ ions at 35, anode voltage 500V Counts of Xe+ ions 1000000 900000 800000 700000 600000 500000 400000 300000 200000 100000 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 Xe+ Xe++ Kinetic Energy /ev Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 21

Ion beam characterisation @ IOM Leipzig, Nov 2002 (III) DM3a MS1-3, polar angle and energy distribution of Xe 1+ Intensity of Xe + ions / Counts/s 1000000 900000 800000 700000 600000 500000 400000 300000 200000 100000 0 Downstream 0 5 DM3a MS1-3; 500V, 505 ma; Xe + Exit Cusp 65 60 2. Cusp 55 1. Cusp 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 35 30 45 25 20 50 40 Anode Kinetic Energy /ev Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 22

Ion beam characterisation @ IOM Leipzig, Nov 2002 (IV) DM3a MS1-3, polar angle and energy distribution of Xe 1+ DM3a MS1-3; 500V, 505mA; Xe 2+ 500000 45 Intensity of Xe 2+ ions / Counts/s 450000 400000 350000 300000 250000 200000 150000 100000 50000 60 55 40 35 50 30 20 Xe 2+ ions produced in charge exchange collisions between neutrals and 3*500eV triple charged Xe 3+ ions 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 Half Kinetic Energy /ev Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 23

Ion beam characterisation @ IOM Leipzig, Nov 2002 (V) DM3a MS1-3, angular thrust contribution of Xe 1+ and Xe 2+ thrust contribution in 5 space angles/ mn 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Angular Distribution of Thrust contribution 43 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 Angle / Degree total angular thrust component /mn dual charged angular thrust component /mn single charged angular thrust component /mn Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 24

Example: Key issues in development from DM3a to DM6 (period June 2001- March 2003) 1.) DM3a-MS2: - broad operational range, input power up to 1.5 kw - T = 43 mn & I sp = 1750s @ η tot = 0.22 (ONERA data) - thermal efficiency up to 85% (TEDG data) - strong increase of α eff (50...65 ) with mass flow and anode voltage 2.) DM3a-MS1-2: - restricted operational range, input power up to 1.2 kw - T = 25 mn @ η tot = 0.32 (ONERA data) - thermal efficiency up to 80% (TEDG data) - strong increase of α eff (40...55 ) with mass flow and anode voltage 3.) DM3a-MS1-3: - restricted operational range, input power up to 1.2 kw - T = 12mN @ η tot = 0.38 (IOM & TEDG data) - thermal efficiency up to 80% (TEDG + IOM data) - reduced increase of α eff (38...50 ) with mass flow and anode voltage 3.) DM6-MSJ5/6: - broad operational range, input power up to 4.5 kw - T = 129mN & I sp = 2700s @ η tot = 0.38 / 0.43 (ONERA / TEDG data) - maximum η tot = 0.55 (TEDG data) - thermal efficiency up to 90% (TEDG data) - only modest increase of α eff (33...40 ) with mass flow and anode voltage Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 25

Latest Demonstrator Modell: DM6, Versions MS5 & MS6 (I) Side view into TEDG vacuum chamber 2 cm Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 26

Latest Demonstrator Modell: DM6, Versions MS5 & MS6 (II) Comparision of results obtained from thermal diagnostics @ TEDG (March 2003) thrust balance @ ONERA (March 2003) Thrust vs. Anode Voltage DM6 J6-PS0-EPS5 Thrust vs. Anode Voltage DM6 J6-PS0-EPS5 150 150 Thrust / mn 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 50sccm 40sccm 30sccm 20sccm 14sccm Thrust / mn 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 50sccm 40sccm 30sccm 20sccm 10sccm 30cl.gv 30ONG 30 20 30 20 10 0 10 0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 0.0 200.0 400.0 600.0 800.0 1000.0 1200.0 1400.0 Anode Voltage / V Anode Voltage / V Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 27

Latest Demonstrator Modell: DM6, Versions MS5 & MS6 (III) Comparision of results obtained from thermal diagnostics @ TEDG (March 2003) thrust balance @ ONERA (March 2003) Specific Impulse vs. Anode Voltage DM6 J6-PS0-EPS5 Specific Impulse vs. Anode Voltage DM6 J6-PS0-EPS5 Specific Impulse / s 4000 3750 3500 3250 3000 2750 2500 2250 2000 1750 1500 1250 1000 750 500 250 0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 50sccm 40sccm 30sccm 20sccm 14sccm Specific Impulse / s 4000 3750 3500 3250 3000 2750 2500 2250 2000 1750 1500 1250 1000 750 500 250 0 0.0 200.0 400.0 600.0 800.0 1000.0 1200.0 1400.0 50sccm 40sccm 30sccm 20sccm 10sccm 30clgv 30ONG Anode Voltage / V Anode Voltage / V Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 28

Latest Demonstrator Modell: DM6, Versions MS5 & MS6 (IV) Comparision of results obtained from thermal diagnostics @ TEDG (March 2003) thrust balance @ ONERA (March 2003) Total Efficiency vs. Anode Voltage DM6 J6-PS0-EPS5 Total Efficiency vs. Anode Voltage DM6 J6-PS0-EPS5 0.70 0.700 0.65 0.650 0.60 0.600 Total Efficiency 0.55 0.50 0.45 0.40 0.35 0.30 0.25 0.20 50sccm 40sccm 30sccm 20sccm 14sccm Total Efficiency 0.550 0.500 0.450 0.400 0.350 0.300 0.250 0.200 50sccm 40sccm 30sccm 20sccm 10sccm 30clgv 30ONG 0.15 0.150 0.10 0.100 0.05 0.050 0.00 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 0.000 0.0 200.0 400.0 600.0 800.0 1000.0 1200.0 1400.0 Anode Voltage / V Anode Voltage / V Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 29

Comparison of HEMP thruster performance with state of the art HETs and GITs Parameter GIT HET HEMP Thruster Plasma thrust density 0.2...0.4 mn/cm² ~2mN/cm² >25 mn/cm² (32 mn/cm² achieved) Mass & Volume large medium small Acceleration grids required yes no no Ion emission space charge limited yes no no Neutraliser required optionally no yes optionally no (depends on space plasma density) (depends on space plasma density) Erosion effects at grids strong at channel walls none...minimum (<-> PPM focussing) Additional supplies required for: RF-source magnet coils no Power supply & control unit complex complex simple Total efficiency good(50...80%) modest (30...55%) modest(40...60%) at present, good >75% future potential Divergence & effective beam angle < 15 & <10 eff. ~45 & ~25 eff. ~50 & 33...40 eff. at present <40 & <25 future potential Specific impulse / s 2000 to 4000 1000 to 2000 1000 to 3500 at present 1000 to >4000 future potential Flexible application & adjustability with respect to high TTPR or high I sp good to medium low very good Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 30

HEMP thruster characteristics applied as ion source (I) Performance data - Ion energy range 200. 2000 ev - Current density up to 3000 ma / cm 2 @ source exit up to 30 ma / cm 2 @ 15 cm from source exit - Type of gases Xe, Ar,, He, Air (demonstrated) all others: feasibility of application expected - Operational pressure in process chamber up to 5 x 10 mbar Additional features - No erosion of source components (grid, discharge channel, etc.) - Compact size - Minimum number of components required for source operation (DC power supply & flow controller) Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 31

HEMP thruster characteristics applied as ion source (II) Potential benefits for end-user - High flexibility in ion energies fills gap between gridded and hall type sources ( > reduction in complexity of plasma sytem) - Reduced process time due to high current density ( > swap from batch to in-line processing) - Easy integration in existing process chamber due to compact design - No increase of pumping speed at 100 to 1000 times higher ion currents needed due to high residual pressure tolerance - Only low effort required for control of HEMP source operation due to stable & reproducible behaviour and minimum number of components Could the HEMP thruster be(come) an alternative to currently applied ion sources? Mühlleithen, 20.03.03 32