Current Research

1) Hall thruster simulations with a one-dimensional Hybrid Particle-In-Cell method

KAIST GDPL Hall Thruster (@kaist_keplab)

Simple Hybrid-Particle In Cell Hall thruster simulation (SHyPIC)

Nowadays, electric propulsion is spotlighted due to its high specific impulse and flight heritage.

A simple, fast, and accurate numerical analysis tool is required for various applications of the Hall thruster. A tremendous calculation time is not suitable for integrating simulation into various applications.

SHyPIC could predict plasma and performance of the sub-kW to kW class Hall thrusters.

  • The main program is written in Fortran and GUI program is built with MATLAB App Designer.

  • Xe, Xe+ and Xe++ are calculated by a PIC method.

  • Electrons are treated as a plasma fluid.

SHyPIC GUI app

Main program

Ion Velocity Distribution Functions (IVDFs)

Since the SHyPIC treats ions with the PIC method, it can obtain IVDFs and easily compared with LIF measurements.

Breathing mode oscillations

Hall thrusters have a 10 to 50 kHz low-frequency oscillation mode due to the ionization process. This is why we named it a breathing mode.

Density plots with respect to the time show the sequence of the ionization process.

2) Hall thruster modeling with machine learning algorithms

Prediction of Hall thruster performances with a neural network technique

By utilizing a bunch of numerical simulation data, machine learning can be used as an alternative approach to predict Hall thruster performances.



3) Air Breathing Electric Propulsion(ABEP)



4) Plasma Simulation