Thermal Analysis of the LHT-200 Hall Thruster

In order to obtain the heat loss and temperature distribution of the LHT-200 Hall thruster under 12.5 kW rated working condition, FEM （Finite Element Method） analysis and thermal balance test are adopted to verify the heat loss iteratively and analyze the thermal characteristics under rated condition. The results show that when the total heat loss is 2700 W, that is, the proportion of total power is 21.6%, the temperature simulation results are the closest to the measurements. Meanwhile, the maximum error is 6.3% at the thruster housing. The measurement results show that the highest temperature of the thruster is the internal wrapping post and inner support, which are 318 ℃ and 304 ℃ respectively. In addition, the temperature of the components such as magnetic base, diffusing panel and thruster housing near the outside is basically in the range of 150~210 ℃. Subsequently, the surfaces of the external components can be treated to improve the emission coefficient to further reduce the overall temperature of the LHT-200 Hall thruster. Research results can provide engineering guideline for thermal design improvement, and provide initial simulation boundaries for thermal analysis of same type of domestic Hall thrusters.