Thomas
Markusic
EPPDyL, Princeton
University
Princeton, NJ, USA
08544
markusic@princeton.edu
Research Interests
My research interests are in the application of plasma physics in
engineering problems, especially advanced space propulsion.
Current Sheet Stability Study (CSSS)
CSSS is a research effort (both experimental and theoretical)
which aims to gain an understanding of the stability of propagating
current sheets. The ultimate goal of this project is to improve the
performance of pulsed plasma thrusters.
The first phase of this research involved the construction of a parallel
plate accelerator. The dimensions
of the discharge chamber are 2" x 4" x 24". The accelerator is driven by
a 120 microfarad 1.5 kilojoule pulse-forming
network. Click here to see a
movie of a typical firing of the accelerator (or click here to see a close-up of the
breech during the first few microseconds of firing); a current sheet
is observed to propagate from the breech to exit at a speed of
approximately 35 [km/s]. Two things, among others, are evident in the
movie.
The first is that the current sheet severely tilts, with the anode
attachment leading the cathode. Also, a dense blanket of luminous plasma
on the cathode is seen to trail behind the current sheet. Both of these
phenomena have negative implications for the performance of pulsed plasma
thrusters. We are presently trying to understand
why this canting occurs and developing techniques to inhibit it.
Electromagnetic Particle In Cell (EPIC)
EPIC is a 2D-3V PIC code which I have been developing, on and off, for the
past several years. Presently it is capable of modeling
plasmas bounded by free surfaces, conductors, and dielectrics in
axissymetric geometries. Langmuir probe VI characteristics in a low
density quiescent
plasma have been successfully modeled.
