Numerical Study of the Thrust Mechanism in A Two-Dimensional Mpd Thruster

Abstract

The authors discuss a numerical simulation method of the two-dimensional self-field Magnetohydrodynamic (MPD) thruster which was applied to a real system. The simulation results tell us that enough useful results for the design of an MPD thruster can be obtained by the simulation method. One of advantages of numerical simulation is to be able to estimate individual microscopic phenomena in such a complex system, of which one can observe only the macroscopic physical values, for example, total thrust force, total current, etc. From this point of view, this paper considers the thrust mechanism of the MPD thruster using numerical simulation. As concrete models, two types of the two-dimensional self-field MPD thruster (flared and converge-diverge (C-D) type) are treated here. The numerical simulation tells us that the electromagnetic force does not strongly depend on the thruster shape and that the aerodynamic force is suppressed by the appearance of a shock wave or braking force originated in the throat structure in the flared type or the C-D type MPD thruster, respectively. These results may help us to find the optimal thruster shape.