Patent ID: 8701384
Filing Date: 2014-04-22
Classification: F03H

Abstract:
1. A Hall effect thruster having a discharge channel of annular shape extending along an axis, said discharge channel being defined by an outer wall of annular shape and an inner wall of annular shape situated inside a space defined by said outer wall, a cathode situated outside said discharge channel, and an injector system situated at an upstream end of said discharge channel and also forming an anode, a downstream end of said discharge channel being open, wherein said thruster includes a heat sink device comprising a heat sink in contact with said inner wall and of thermal conductivity that is greater than the thermal conductivity of said inner wall, said heat sink being a sleeve, being distinct from a central core, and said heat sink device being suitable for discharging heat from said inner wall to the outside of said thruster so as to reduce the temperature difference between said inner wall and said outer wall, wherein said thruster further comprises a set of thermal barriers that are positioned along at least part of said heat sink device, said set comprising a first thermal barrier that is a sleeve extending axially along said axis and covering the inside face of the heat sink so that said heat sink is situated in the annular spaced defined by said inner wall and said first thermal barrier, so as to reduce the fraction of the heat that dissipates toward said central core.