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High Energy Plume Impingement on Spacecraft Systems AFOSR Telecon. Jarred Alexander Young November 26, 2012. Preliminary Beam Analysis. RPA positioned ~4” away from beam exit Using sourcemeter readings to analyze beam energy Energy peaks seen in the 180-220 eV range
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High Energy Plume Impingement on Spacecraft SystemsAFOSR Telecon Jarred Alexander Young November 26, 2012
Preliminary Beam Analysis • RPA positioned ~4” away from beam exit • Using sourcemeter readings to analyze beam energy • Energy peaks seen in the 180-220 eV range • Preliminary Flux Values: 6.2E14 #/m2-s • Engine Settings of shown beam data (voltages relative to ground) • Anode: 211 V • Discharge: 136 .7 V • Accel: -291 V • Filament Current: 5.5 A
Notes on Beam Testing • Low beam current due to power supply issues • Emitter filament experiencing intermittent functionality • Supply would show voltage but no current shown • Spoke with Acopian engineers about filament supply • Supply must be returned; should be back by end of week • Dirty voltage adjust potentiometer causing malfunction • Will be able to finish working on test matrix at that point
Sputtering Damage • RPA grounding plate exposed to ion beam • Golden discoloration all over plate, fingerprint residue burned onto plate, brass screws discolored • Ion beam sputtered brass and deposited on plate (?) Damaged Brass screw Manufacturer fingerprint
Upcoming Tasks • Continue beam testing across different thruster settings • Gather Plasma characteristics for each setting as well using Langmuir probe • Gather current measurements on all power supplies • Possible measure of total beam current • Aid with post processing