NASA LogoNTRSNTRS - NASA Technical Reports ServerSearchmore_vertCollectionsAboutNewsHelpLogin Back to ResultsDiagnostic for Verifying the Thrust Vector Requirement of the AEPS Hall-Effect Thruster and Comparison to the NEXT-C Thrust Vector DiagnosticA diagnostic has been designed and fabricated to verify the thrust vector requirement for the Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) thruster. This diagnostic will be used to verify that the propulsion system thrust vector offset from the mounting surface normal vector does not exceed 1.5 degrees over the entire throttling range and over the course of 23,000 hours of thruster testing. The diagnostic will also not violate the thruster's required voltage standoff capability in the presence of carbon backsputter by being minimally intrusive and not significantly adding to the facility backsputtered rate. Based on these requirements, an appropriate diagnostic design was determined to comprise of an array of 23 Faraday probes swept through the plume in an arc 1m from the thruster to map the beam current density. The beam current density centroid of the plume is assumed to track the thrust vector within an acceptable level of uncertainty. Additionally, a reference system, including optical alignment to the mounting surface normal vector and tilt sensors, was devised to periodically calibrate the probe position and motion throughout the long duration wear test campaign. Initial measurements of the thruster plume have been acquired to demonstrate the diagnostics functionality, verify procedures, and assess any necessary improvements prior to implementation of the diagnostic during the AEPS Engineering Development Unit (EDU) long duration wear test. To illustrate the merits of differing approaches to thrust vector determination for different classes of electric propulsion thrusters, NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster-Commercial (NEXT-C) thrust vector diagnostic design details and recent data are also discussed (Appendix A).Document ID20180005656Acquisition SourceGlenn Research CenterDocument TypeTechnical Memorandum (TM)External Source(s)doi:10.2514/6.2018-4514AuthorsBenavides, Gabriel F.*(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)*Mackey, Jonathan A.*(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)*Ahern, Drew M.*(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)*Thomas, Robert E.*(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)*Date AcquiredSeptember 27, 2018Publication DateAugust 1, 2018Subject CategorySpacecraft Propulsion And PowerReport/Patent NumberNASA/TM-2018-219948AIAA-2018-4514GRC-E-DAA-TN58790Meeting InformationMeeting: 2018 Joint Propulsion ConferenceLocation: Cincinnati, OHCountry: United StatesStart Date: July 9, 2018End Date: July 11, 2018Sponsors:SAE International,American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics,American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)Funding Number(s)WBS: WBS 729200.06.03.05.05.01Distribution LimitsPublicCopyrightWork of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.KeywordsAdvanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS)Available DownloadsNameType20180005656.pdfSTIcloud_downloadcontent_copyvisibilityRelated RecordsIDRelationTitle20180005345See AlsoDiagnostic for Verifying the Thrust Vector Requirement of the AEPS Hall-Effect Thruster and Comparison to the NEXT-C Thrust Vector Diagnostic20180005562See AlsoDiagnostic for Verifying the Thrust Vector Requirement of the AEPS Hall-Effect Thruster and Comparison to the NEXT-C Thrust Vector Diagnosticvisibility_offNo Preview Available
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