Agradecimientos:
Initial work was sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Material Command, USAF (FA8655-12-1-2043). Additional support was provided by Spanish R&D National Plan (grant number ESP2013-41052-P).
Proyecto:
Gobierno de España. ESP2013-41052-P
Palabras clave:
Magnetic nozzle
,
Plasma Expansion
,
Electric propulsion
,
Plasma thruster
,
Accelerators
,
Flow
A two-fluid, two-dimensional model of the plasma expansion in a divergent magnetic nozzle is used to investigate the effect of the plasma-induced magnetic field on the acceleration and divergence of the plasma jet self-consistently. The induced field is diamagA two-fluid, two-dimensional model of the plasma expansion in a divergent magnetic nozzle is used to investigate the effect of the plasma-induced magnetic field on the acceleration and divergence of the plasma jet self-consistently. The induced field is diamagnetic and opposes the applied one, increasing the divergence of the magnetic nozzle and weakening its strength. This has a direct impact on the propulsive performance of the device, the demagnetization and detachment of the plasma, and can lead to the appearance of zero-field points and separatrix surfaces downstream. In contrast, the azimuthal induced field, albeit non-zero, is small in all cases of practical interest.[+][-]