Applications of General-Purpose Computational Fluid Dynamics to a Plasma Propulsion System
This project looks at the application of general-purpose CFD to two plasma propulsion engines. Verification against experimental data for a 200 kW engine was undertaken, achieving similar thrust levels and jet exhaust divergence angles. A scaled-up 30 MW engine, capable of interplanetary travel, showed similar operating behaviour to the test engine. The increased seventy-fold thrust …