Numerical Investigation of Reversed Gas-Feed Configurations for Hall Thrusters

A reversed gas feed configuration for Hall thrusters is proposed and studied numerically. As an alternative to standard direct injection, we investigate the effect of injecting propellant near channel exit directing it backwards, towards anode. The resulting neutral density average velocity fields are with Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method both cold warm anode conditions. residence time particles inside in ionization region computed using a test-particle method. computations indicate that injection allows increasing mass utilization efficiency from 2-5% maximum 20-30% depending on initial efficiency.