This article is devoted to the presentation of a numerical model of a Helicon Plasma Thruster (HPT) which relies on: 1) the 3-D adVanced fluId dRifT diffUsion plaSma solver (3D-VIRTUS) for the simulation of the plasma source and 2) an analytical model of the plume for the solution of the plasma acceleration and detachment, and in turn for the preliminary estimation of the propulsive performances (e.g., thrust and specific impulse). The results of the numerical model have been compared against experimental measurements performed with a thrust stand in order to evaluate the reliability of the code when dealing with real-life prototypes. Specifically, a dedicated combined numerical–experimental campaign has been conducted on a low power (50-W range) HPT prototype operated with argon propellant.

中文翻译：

---

螺旋等离子推进器的数值模型

本文致力于介绍 Helicon 等离子体推进器 (HPT) 的数值模型，该模型依赖于：1) 用于等离子体源模拟的 3-D 高级流体漂移扩散等离子体求解器 (3D-VIRTUS) 和 2)用于解决等离子体加速和脱离的羽流分析模型，进而用于初步估计推进性能（例如推力和比冲）。数值模型的结果与使用推力支架进行的实验测量进行了比较，以评估代码在处理现实原型时的可靠性。具体而言，在使用氩推进剂操作的低功率（50 瓦范围）HPT 原型机上进行了专门的数值-实验组合运动。