Abstract: As one of the inert gases, Kr is more abundant than Xe on the earth.Thus the study for substituting Xe with Kr as the Hall thruster propellant is significant for the comprehensive space application. The performance and plume of a sub-kilowatt Hall thruster are investigated using Kr propellant, and compared with Xe propellant. The results indicate that the performance for sub-kilowatt Hall thruster using Kr propellant has a large drop. But the performance will be improved at the large anode discharge current and high-power condition. Via comparing the electron temperature, electron density, ion current density and ion energy in the plume of the Kr and Xe propellent, the factors of influencing Kr propellant performance have been found, and the proper way for future Kr application has been advised.

Key words: Hall thruster; Kr;Xe

摘要： 氪气作为一种惰性气体,其在地球上的资源相对于氙气要丰富很多,因此,作为氙气替代物的氪气研究,对于霍尔电推进系统的全面空间应用具有重要的意义。对亚千瓦级霍尔推力器使用氪气作为推进剂的性能、羽流进行了研究,并与氙气推进剂进行了比较。通过氪/氙气推进剂性能的比较,得出亚千瓦级霍尔推力器使用氪气作为推进剂时,性能有较大的下降,但是在大阳极流量、高功率工况下性能有变好的趋势。通过对氪/氙气羽流电子温度、电子密度、离子电流密度、离子能量的比较分析,找出了影响氪气推进剂性能的部分因素,为下一步氪气的应用研究工作提出了改进的方向。

关键词: 霍尔推力器;氪气;氙气