Thermal analysis of hollow cathodes for ion thruster

This paper describes the thermal behaviour of hollow cathodes as core components in an ion thruster. Warm-up time and steady-state temperature distributions for the cases of the cathode keeper open/closed are simulated using the finite element software ANSYS. The heat of the interior hollow cathode is lost in the heater and orifice plate. Cathode keeper and heat shield are the important components to decrease the heat loss and to improve the heat efficiency. The temperature of hollow cathode with cathode keeper and heat shield increases by 2.3%～13.2% with emitter’s temperature increasing by 2.3%～4.2%.The simulation results are in agreement with experiment results, providing a reference for the optimum design of the hollow cathode for ion thrusters．