Towards Hall Thruster Erosion Prediction Using a Kinetic Plasma Model and a Molecular Dynamics Simulation

As space missions involving Hall thrusters become more extended, establishing valid lifetime predictions become important. A combination of the use of a kinetic plasma code and a molecular dynamics code is presented for a Hall thruster channel wall erosion modeling over time. The kinetic plasma model simulates the thruster channel plasma of an SPT-100 thruster to calculate the ion flux to the walls. The molecular dynamics model simulates the sputtering of boron nitride to calculate sputter yields. A qualitative comparison of sample erosion profiles with experimental data is performed. The importance of secondary electron emission from the channel walls and its importance in the channel wall erosion processes is also investigated.