Research of an oxide cathode as a cathode-neutralizer for EPSPS
Authors: Benklyan A.S., Lyapin A.A., Klimenko G.K.
Published in issue: #6(90)/2019
DOI: 10.18698/2308-6033-2019-6-1888
Category: Aviation and Rocket-Space Engineering | Chapter: Thermal, Electric Jet Engines, and Power Plants of Aircrafts
In this research, a laboratory model of a thermionic oxide cathode was tested as part of a diode circuit. The ultimate goal of this work was to obtain the thermionic characteristics of the emitter of the laboratory model and to study the processes of emitter activation. The relevance of the study is due to the increased interest in the possibility of using thermionic cathodes as cathode-neutralizers for electrically-powered spacecraft propulsion system (EPSPS). During the experiment, the following parameters were recorded: the pressure in the vacuum chamber and the emission current to the anode-collector. The current of the emitter and the voltage applied between the anode-collector and the emitter were regulated. The gap between the emitter and the anode-collector was set before the beginning of the experiment and was 2 mm. The emission current was measured in the emitter temperature range from 600 °C to 1260 °C. The temperature of the emitter was controlled by infrared and optical pyrometers. In the course of the work, three emitter activation processes were identified: temperature, time and voltage. The processes of activation by temperature and time are widely known, in contrast to the activation process by voltage, for which there is currently no unambiguous theoretical explanation
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