Effects on sheath dynamics of electron reflection from a material boundary
POSTER
Abstract
When a plasma sheath forms next to a dielectric wall, material properties influence electron absorption and reflection from the surface, impacting the sheath formation and structure. This interaction may be modeled from quantum mechanical first principles. This work implements the resulting reflection function as a boundary condition in continuum kinetic sheath simulations using direct discretization of the Vlasov-Maxwell equations. The discontinuous Galerkin method is used with the Gkeyll code in this work. The resulting sheath dynamics are examined in parameter regimes relevant to Hall thruster and fusion applications using multiple wall materials.
* This work was supported in part by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under grant number FA9550-15-1-0193
Authors
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Kolter Bradshaw
Virginia Tech
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Bhuvana Srinivasan
Virginia Tech