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<p>Ion thrusters provide high specific impulse and are ideal for long-duration missions such as deep space exploration. During long-term operation of ion thrusters, grid erosion and thermal expansion can alter their diameter, thickness, and spacing. Two-dimensional axisymmetric numerical simulations based on the particle-in-cell direct simulation Monte Carlo method were performed to evaluate the effects of grid geometry changes on key characteristics of ion optics. In a configuration consisting of screen, acceleration, and deceleration grids, variations in grid thickness and hole size were analyzed for their effects on neutral density, sheath profile, beamlet current, and electric potential distribution. Depending on the grid thickness or hole size, the downstream neutral density varied by up to approximately ± 40% compared to the baseline case. The geometry of the screen grid was found to be closely related to the beamlet’s shape and current, with the beamlet current changing by approximately ± 35%. In addition, variations in the acceleration grid geometry influenced the saddle point potential, resulting in changes of up to approximately ± 100&#xa0;V.</p>

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PIC-DSMC Simulation of Grid Geometry Effects on Ion Thruster

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月14日

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  • Doyeon Kim,
  • Guentae Doh,
  • Su-Kyum Kim,
  • Sang Hun Kang

摘要

Ion thrusters provide high specific impulse and are ideal for long-duration missions such as deep space exploration. During long-term operation of ion thrusters, grid erosion and thermal expansion can alter their diameter, thickness, and spacing. Two-dimensional axisymmetric numerical simulations based on the particle-in-cell direct simulation Monte Carlo method were performed to evaluate the effects of grid geometry changes on key characteristics of ion optics. In a configuration consisting of screen, acceleration, and deceleration grids, variations in grid thickness and hole size were analyzed for their effects on neutral density, sheath profile, beamlet current, and electric potential distribution. Depending on the grid thickness or hole size, the downstream neutral density varied by up to approximately ± 40% compared to the baseline case. The geometry of the screen grid was found to be closely related to the beamlet’s shape and current, with the beamlet current changing by approximately ± 35%. In addition, variations in the acceleration grid geometry influenced the saddle point potential, resulting in changes of up to approximately ± 100 V.