Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an ideal candidate propellant for electric propulsion due to its availability and storability. However, it has limitations such as a small ionizing collision cross-section and low ionization efficiency. Consequently, using xenon gas, which is more easily ionizable, mixed with CO2 as a multi-propellant for ion thrusters presents a viable solution. This study presents experimental research on a CO2/xenon multi-propellant ion thruster. The performance and beam characteristics of the thruster were evaluated by varying the anode current and propellant flow rate. Plasma spectroscopic diagnostics were utilized to investigate the plasma properties within the discharge chamber. The results indicate that the discharge performance of the multi-propellant ion thruster varies with the anode current, consistent with established trends in ion thruster operation. A wide range of performance adjustments, including thrust and specific impulse, can be achieved through modifications of the electrical parameters. Furthermore, the operational range of the ion thruster can be extended by increasing the xenon mass fraction in the gas mixture. At a xenon mass fraction of 27.5 %, the thrust can reach 8 mN with an anode current of 5.5 A, resulting in a specific impulse of 899.1 s.

中文翻译：

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基于CO2/氙多组元推进剂的离子推进器性能优化设计与机理研究


二氧化碳 （CO2） 因其可用性和可储存性而成为电力推进的理想候选推进剂。然而，它存在一些局限性，例如电离碰撞截面小和电离效率低。因此，使用更容易电离的氙气与 CO2 混合作为离子推进器的多推进剂是一种可行的解决方案。本研究介绍了 CO2/氙气多组元离子推进器的实验研究。通过改变阳极电流和推进剂流速来评估推进器的性能和光束特性。等离子体光谱诊断用于研究放电室内的等离子体特性。结果表明，多推进剂离子推进器的放电性能随阳极电流而变化，与离子推进器运行的既定趋势一致。通过修改电气参数，可以实现广泛的性能调整，包括推力和比冲。此外，可以通过增加气体混合物中的氙质量分数来扩展离子推进器的工作范围。在氙质量分数为 27.5 % 时，推力可以达到 8 mN，阳极电流为 5.5 A，从而产生 899.1 s 的比冲。