Joint Development of a Water Electrolysis Propelled Hall Effect Thruster and LaB6 Hollow Cathode

Joint Development of a Water Electrolysis Propelled Hall Effect Thruster and LaB6 Hollow Cathode | 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 Joint Development of a Water Electrolysis Propelled Hall Effect Thruster and LaB 6 Hollow Cathode Emmanuelle Rosati Azevedo, George-Cristian Potrivitu, Jesus Manuel Tejeda, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6155817/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract URA Thrusters Ltd., Aliena Pte. Ltd., and the Imperial Plasma Propulsion Laboratory (IPPL) present the development of a Hall effect thruster designed to operate on the products of water electrolysis, i.e. oxygen to the anode and hydrogen to the cathode. A pseudo-2D version of the IPPL’s particle-in-cell code PlasmaSim is used to size the discharge channel of a new thruster, termed AQUAHET. In parallel, a 0D plasma-thermal model is used by Aliena to size the emitter and orifice of a LaB6-based hollow cathode, termed Hydrocat. Preliminary test campaigns are then carried out at the IPPL and the Aliena Jet Propulsion Test Facility (JPTF). At the IPPL, a retrofitted version of an existing laboratory model thruster, the WET-HET, is tested to provide benchmarking data to validate AQUAHET channel sizing. At the JPTF, prototype and engineering model cathodes are subjected to extensive thermal and discharge characterization. After qualification and acceptance testing, the engineering model Hydrocat is shipped to the IPPL for the project’s final joint validation test campaign. The campaign began with operation of the Hydrocat alongside the retrofitted WET-HET. This marked the first time a HET had been successfully operated with the by-products of water electrolysis from pressurized bottles. Detailed characterization of the AQUAHET and Hydrocat followed. Best oxygen-hydrogen performance is obtained at 1168 ± 1 W for 1.7 mg/s of oxygen and 0.2 mg/s of hydrogen, with 19.9 ± 0.8 mN of thrust, 1217 ± 48 s of specific impulse, and 10.2 ± 0.8 % of anode thrust efficiency measured. Water Electrolysis Hall Effect Thruster Hydrogen Cathode Electric Propulsion Alternative Propellants Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted 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-6155817","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":431660568,"identity":"1edc9a8c-f3f1-47b5-9e7a-c73849347a56","order_by":0,"name":"Emmanuelle Rosati Azevedo","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABPElEQVRIie2RwUrDQBBAJyxsDm7MdUMl/kLKQhGK5FcSAs3Fm1B6KFIobC5ir/YvFCFePCwE0ov6DV2EntNLiVCKG40KSYoeBfMuO8zMY2ZYgJaWPwwpXwQmeg8oHH5kvD2G861Y01LBPyifAQJHlOE+xQRDyny8PQJ9IV/IqG+zxcFguX44OcaAZKbxQVWxJjpjJFWLES9g5DFkvcS4716vaJcDZlTjZ7WNBMYdwA5xhZdac574cWLEHSJUM0APND6qKq5SrHynppgyep3vEv9uqpStoC4HfdOkOIAxNbhSaIBhPUn8G6QUENTnQIoptcVoghEzrphSVohmachocculoAFH5Jx6z7XzzYhrMt/YLpihzLxx3zZnT/EyFxenMz26zbJhUFUA1TJfP1KUvIZyE/iXfS0tLS3/hDe6hl0QOedggQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Imperial College London","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Emmanuelle","middleName":"Rosati","lastName":"Azevedo","suffix":""},{"id":431660569,"identity":"32f2aad0-eed9-415f-aae0-a2017223557d","order_by":1,"name":"George-Cristian Potrivitu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Aliena Pte. 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Ltd., and the Imperial Plasma Propulsion Laboratory (IPPL) present the development of a Hall effect thruster designed to operate on the products of water electrolysis, i.e. oxygen to the anode and hydrogen to the cathode. A pseudo-2D version of the IPPL’s particle-in-cell code PlasmaSim is used to size the discharge channel of a new thruster, termed AQUAHET. In parallel, a 0D plasma-thermal model is used by Aliena to size the emitter and orifice of a LaB6-based hollow cathode, termed Hydrocat. Preliminary test campaigns are then carried out at the IPPL and the Aliena Jet Propulsion Test Facility (JPTF). At the IPPL, a retrofitted version of an existing laboratory model thruster, the WET-HET, is tested to provide benchmarking data to validate AQUAHET channel sizing. At the JPTF, prototype and engineering model cathodes are subjected to extensive thermal and discharge characterization. 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