This study systematically investigated the influence of the position and inclination angle of an externally mounted hollow cathode in 1.35 kW magnetically shielded Hall thrusters to establish the relationship between thruster performance, plume state, and cathode placement. For this purpose, a combined motor driver with a three-degree-of-freedom movement was designed to move the cathode over a wide range of positions and inclination angles. In an experiment performed on a thruster with outer magnetic columns, placing the cathode inside the magnetic separatrix resulted in a considerable amount of thrust. However, an extremely small distance between the cathode and thruster can cause a sharp increase in the discharge current; hence, the optimal cathode position should be determined. It was also found that a small inclination angle was favorable for obtaining high performance. In addition, a strong correlation was found between the plume image and thruster performance. Under improved performance conditions, the visible light region of the plume had a shorter axial length and a broader pink halo. Finally, a comparative experiment was conducted on a thruster with an outer magnetic shell. The thruster of this structure was observed to be insensitive to the cathode position; hence, to protect the cathode from ion sputtering, the distance between the cathode and thruster can be appropriately increased.

本研究系统地研究了 1.35 kW 磁屏蔽霍尔推进器中外部安装的空心阴极的位置和倾角的影响，以建立推进器性能、羽流状态和阴极放置之间的关系。为此，设计了具有三自由度运动的组合电机驱动器，以在广泛的位置和倾角范围内移动阴极。在带有外磁柱的推进器上进行的一项实验中，将阴极放置在磁性分离器内会产生相当大的推力。然而，阴极和推进器之间极小的距离会导致放电电流急剧增加；因此，应确定最佳阴极位置。还发现小倾角有利于获得高性能。此外，在羽流图像和推进器性能之间发现了很强的相关性。在改进的性能条件下，羽流的可见光区域具有更短的轴向长度和更宽的粉红色晕。最后，在具有外磁壳的推进器上进行了对比实验。观察到这种结构的推进器对阴极位置不敏感；因此，为了保护阴极免受离子溅射，可以适当增加阴极和推进器之间的距离。羽流的可见光区域具有较短的轴向长度和较宽的粉红色光晕。最后，在具有外磁壳的推进器上进行了对比实验。观察到这种结构的推进器对阴极位置不敏感；因此，为了保护阴极免受离子溅射，可以适当增加阴极和推进器之间的距离。羽流的可见光区域具有较短的轴向长度和较宽的粉红色光晕。最后，在具有外磁壳的推进器上进行了对比实验。观察到这种结构的推进器对阴极位置不敏感；因此，为了保护阴极免受离子溅射，可以适当增加阴极和推进器之间的距离。