A Hybrid Simulation Code for Hall Thrusters and its Sensitivity to Numerical Parameters

Abstract

Hybrid methods offer an attractive balance between computational efficiency and physical accuracy, playing an important guiding role in the design and optimization of Hall thrusters. In this work, a hybrid simulation code, named HYSCH, is developed, utilizing a 1D-MFAM as the mesh framework for the electron submodel. HYSCH enables decoupling of the two submodel meshes, providing a higher degree of flexibility in spatial resolution settings. The sensitivity of the simulated results to numerical parameters is analyzed to validate the model's numerical robustness and physical consistency. The analysis shows that the temporal resolution of the heavy-species submodel and the spatial resolution of the electron submodel exert a more pronounced influence in the agreement with measurements than the heavy-species macroparticle weight and spatial resolution, confirming that the decoupled formulation enables more efficient resource allocation than coupled discretizations.

arXiv comment27 pages,22 figures,submitted to Plasma Science and Technology