• nested
• Hall
• thruster
• magnetic
• shielding
• eletric
• propulsion
• plasma
• scaling
• design

In recent years electric propulsion has found more and more importance in the ambit of space propulsion due the greater power availability on board of spacecrafts. Between the various possibilities, Hall thrusters are without any doubt of one of the most promising concepts thanks to their relatively high specific thrust. In addition, the discovery of magnetic shielding permitted to remarkably increase the operative lifetime of these devices. Furthermore, recent studies have demonstrated that concentrically clustering more than one discharge channel brings with it a series of scientifically interesting advantages. This type of thrusters takes the name Nested Hall Thrusters.
As a response to an ESA call, this thesis, conducted in collaboration with AEROSPAZIO Tecnologie s.r.l, aspires to design a 20 kW magnetically shielded dual-channel Nested Hall Thruster. In order to achieve this goal, a new scaling methodology has been developed and used to design the channels. The next step consisted in the design of a shared magnetic circuit able to ensure an appropriate magnetic topology and, by consequence, a good working of the thruster. Subsequently, a series of thermal analyses allowed us to verify the validity of the chosen solution and to proceed with a first mechanical drawing of the thruster. The final result seems to satisfy all the requirements furnished by the call and constitutes a promising first step before the manufacturing and the testing of the thruster.