Experimental pulsed plasma thruster for code evaluation

Summary form only given. UTSI has an on-going project to develop advanced computational codes that can predict the detailed behavior and performance of high power plasma thrusters for possible applications in nuclear electric propulsion systems, such as envisioned in Project Prometheus. We have modified the MHD code, MACH2, to perform initial design studies for a small-scale laboratory experiment that can be used for code evaluation. The thruster has been fabricated and installed in a vacuum chamber fabricated from stainless steel tubing and plate. The plasma discharges through a section of vacuum chamber with flat quartz windows that will be used for interferometric, photographic, and spectroscopic measurements. Initial high speed photography has documented a successful firing of the thruster. Diagnostics to obtain electron number density downstream of the exit plane estimates exhaust velocity are planned. Details of the modeling effort and available experimental results is presented.