Research

Research Highlights

"We named our thruster the H9 MUSCLE because essentially, we took the H9 thruster and made a muscle car out of it by turning it up to 11—really up to a hundred, if we’re going by accurate scaling."

-Me

High-Power Operation

Magnetically-shielded Hall thrusters are now state-of-the-art, potentially allowing for much higher current densities. How does the performance change at these previously-unexplored operating regimes? How can we push these power limits even further?

Krypton Performance

Krypton offers a cheaper and more readily available alternative to xenon as a propellant for Hall thrusters for low-thrust, high-Isp operation. Why is its efficiency so much lower than xenon's? How do we improve its performance and overcome its design challenges?

Pitch Videos

Journal Publications

Performance Comparison of a 9-kW Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster Operating on Xenon and Krypton
- Su, L.L. and Jorns, B.A. Journal of Applied Physics, 130, 163306 (2021).

Google Scholar

Conference Publications

Operation and Performance of a Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster at Ultrahigh Current Densities on Xenon and Krypton
- Su, L.L., Roberts, P.J., Gill, T.M., Hurley, W.J., Marks, T.A., Sercel, C.L., Allen, M.G., Whittaker, C.B., Byrne, M.P., Brown, Z.B., Viges, E., and Jorns, B.A. AIAA SciTech Forum, 2023.
- Press release and video.
Investigation into the Efficiency Gap between Krypton and Xenon Operation on a Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster
- Su, L.L., Marks, T.A., and Jorns, B.A. Internal Electric Propulsion Conference, 2022.
Prediction and Mitigation of the Mode Transition in a Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster at High-Specific Impulse and Low Power
- Jorns, B.A., Byrne, M.P., Roberts, P.J., Su, L.L., Dale, E.T., and Hofer, R.R. Internal Electric Propulsion Conference, 2022.
Performance at High Current Densities of a Magnetically-Shielded Hall Thruster
- Su, L.L. and Jorns, B.A. AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum, 2021.
- Recipient of Gaseous Electronics Conference 2021 Student Poster Award.
Performance of a 9-kW Magnetically-Shielded Hall Thruster with Krypton
- Su, L.L., Vazsonyi, A.R., and Jorns, B.A. AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum, 2020.
Model for the Increase in Thruster Efficiency from Cross-Channel Coupling in Nested Hall Thrusters
- Su, L.L., Hall, S.J., Cusson, S.E., and Jorns, B.A. International Electric Propulsion Conference, 2019.
Results from the Sheared-Flow Stabilized Z-Pinch and Scaling to Fusion Conditions
- Shumlak, U, McLean, H.S., Nelson, B.A., Schmidt, A.E., Golingo, R.P., Claveau, E.L., Higginson, D.P., Hughes, M.C., Ross, M.P., Barhydt, J.R., Caudle, D.L., Forbes, E.G., Kim, B., Su, L.L., Townsend, R.M., Tummel, K.K., Weber, T.R. IAEA Fusion Energy Conference, 2016.