Steps in the Development of a PIC-MCC Model for an Ion Engine

The design and development of ion engines is a difficult and expensive process. In order to alleviate these costs and speed ion engine development, it is proposed to further develop a particle-in-cell (PIC), Monte-Carlo collision (MCC) model of an ion engine discharge chamber, which has previously been worked on by the Wright State Ion Engine Modeling Group. Performing detailed and accurate simulations of ion engines can lead to millions of dollars in savings in development costs.