The project involves design, analysis and fabrication of setups to be used in experiments with plasma plumes from electric micropropulsion devices. The setup for a 1.25m diameter 1.845m long large vacuum chamber includes a fixed plasma source stand and a translating plasma diagnostics stand. Design and structural analysis are performed using Solidworks and COMSOL Multiphysics. The setup for a 0.57m diameter, 0.55m long small vacuum chamber includes a plasma diagnostics stand placed on a manual translation table along the plume axis. The realized design involves motorized transverse and rotary stages to align a Langmuir probe with the direction of the ion plume flow. Estimates of plume properties needed for probe sizing are obtained with simulations using a particle in cell plasma code.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Boucher, Christopher R
• Bingham, Andrew Joseph
• Baker, Andrew Nicholas

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-022912-131226

Advisor

• Gatsonis, Nikolaos A.

Year

• 2012

Date created

• 2012-02-29

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Aerospace Engineering

Rights statement

• In Copyright