Effect of the hollow cathode heat power on the performance of an hall-effect thruster

Effect of the hollow cathode heat power on the performance of a Hall-effect thruster is investigated. The variations in the Hall-effect thruster's performance (thrust, specific impulse and anode efficiency) with the hollow cathode heat power was obtained from the analysis of the experimental data. Through an analysis on the coupling relationship between the electrons emitted from the hollow cathode and the environmental plasma, it was found that the heat power would affect the electron emission of the emitter and the space potential of the coupling zone, which would lead to a change in the effective discharge voltage. The experimental data agree well with the results of calculation which can be used to explain the experimental phenomena.