Side Feeding Mechanism for Micro Cathode Arc Thruster

Side Feeding Mechanism for Micro Cathode Arc Thruster | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Side Feeding Mechanism for Micro Cathode Arc Thruster Guru Sankar Duppada, Anmol Taploo, Vikas Soni, Adam Karp, Jake Spinelli, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4670479/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The primary focus of this work is to characterize a micro-cathode arc thruster with a propellant feeding mechanism to extend its lifetime. To that end, we have proposed a side-feeding micro-cathode arc thruster. The thruster’s in-built feeding mechanism allows the cathode to be consumed during operation, providing a continuous supply of propellant. The ion-to-arc current fraction of about 0.025 was detected and an initial pulse count of 1.34M was achieved, demonstrating the effectiveness of the feeding mechanism. An average erosion rate of 4 µg/C was measured and a total change in cathode length of 10 mm indicates the successful implementation of the spring-loaded side feeding mechanism. Micro-cathode arc thruster Cathode Erosion Feeding Mechanism Plasma Propulsion Vacuum Arc Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 14 Jan, 2025 Reviews received at journal 22 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Jul, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Jul, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 10 Jul, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 10 Jul, 2024 First submitted to journal 01 Jul, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4670479","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":334416016,"identity":"b5917819-4364-48fa-9e20-d31a1042c375","order_by":0,"name":"Guru Sankar 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