![]() ![]() The transport coefficients are deduced from a two-point comparison to experimental data. ![]() The equations are integrated numerically using a new unconditionally stable method. The resultant non-linear system of normalized stiff ordinary differential equations describes the evolution of the temperatures and densities of the plasma components under the quasi-neutrality constraint. Specific power/mass flow densities and discharge vessel geometry are factorized into equations. ![]() Plasma acceleration in the ambipolar electric field is treated phenomenologically. Other major plasma processes are also included: ionization by electron impact, wall recombination, anomalous cross field diffusion, and charge-exchange. Experimental extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) spectra are analyzed and photon emission is incorporated via the most important ground-state transitions for neutral and ionic species. The idea “was that a rocket based on the first stage could be small and simple, for more economical applications,” said Batishchev, who noted that the team’s prototype would fit in a large shoe box.īatishchev notes that it could be years before the technology can be used commercially, in part due to certification policies through NASA and other agencies.įor more information about MIT’s Mini-Helicon, check out the MIT News Office website.A semiempirical physical model of a strongly magnetized argon discharge is presented. A team led by Oleg Batishchev, principal research scientist in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, did a theoretical analysis showing that components of the larger system could be used for different applications. The Mini-Helicon design has its roots in a larger and more powerful propulsion system developed in collaboration with former NASA astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz. The magnets confine, guide, and accelerate the plasma into an exhaust beam, which creates the thrust. The gas used as propellant is pumped into the quartz tube, where it is turned into plasma. The Mini-Helicon has a simple design: a quartz tube wrapped by a coiled antenna, surrounded by magnets. This area tends to attract students with a strong physics background, because it sits at the intersection of physics and engineering, with ample room for invention,” said Manuel Martinez-Sanchez, director of the SPL and a professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Others we in the SPL work on include Hall thrusters and Electrospray thrusters. “The Mini-Helicon is one exciting example of the sorts of thrusters one can devise using external electrical energy instead of the locked-in chemical energy. ![]()
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