This work focuses on the characterization of the plume of the CAMILA Hall thruster. A numerical model is developed and implemented in a computational code using a hybrid Particle-In-Cell scheme. A series of Langmuir probe measurements is performed in the plume at 1m downstream of the thruster. These measurements are used along with existing data to validate the numerical model.
The developed code is then used to analyze plume behavior at different operating points. A two thruster cluster is also simulated in different configurations to test plume interactions in converging clusters and to determine optimal convergence angles for thrust vectoring. It was found that the plume interactions manage to decrease plume divergence, contrary to what expected. An optimal vectoring configuration was also found for deflection angles up to 10°.
