3D Simulation of Plume Flows from a Cluster of Plasma Thrusters

*† In this study, a 3D simulation of xenon plasma plume flow fields from a cluster of four Hall thrusters is performed with a hybrid particle-fluid method. In this simulation, a detailed fluid model is used to compute the electron properties, the direct simulation Monte Carlo method models the collisions of heavy particles and the Particle In Cell method models the transport of ions in electric fields. The accuracy of the simulation is assessed through comparisons with available measured data. The simulation successfully captures detailed plume structures and plume interactions.