Kinetic Model of Anomalous Transport for Hall Effect Thrusters

Recent experimental and numerical studies indicate existence of a transport barrier at the end of a Hall Effect Thruster channel, which is characterized with a strong shear of magnetic field. We have developed a numerical procedure allowing inclusion of a self-consistent Bohm coefficient calculation into our fully kinetic 2D3V model of the discharge. The model is used to simulate operation of a Stationary Plasma Thruster (SPT) with Xe gas and Near-Vacuum Hall Thruster (NVHT) with Kr propellant. Simulation results are compared with available experimental data for SPT and NVHS, and discussed.