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).
Conference Publications
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.
Su, L.L., Marks, T.A., and Jorns, B.A. Internal Electric Propulsion Conference, 2022.
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.