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Dr. Walker’s primary research interests lie in electric propulsion, plasma physics, and hypersonic aerodynamics/plasma interaction. He has extensive design and testing experience with Hall thrusters and ion engines. Dr. Walker performed seminal work in Hall thruster clustering and vacuum chamber facility effects. His current research activities involve both theoretical and experimental work in advanced spacecraft propulsion systems, diagnostics, plasma physics, helicon plasma sources, magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters, and pulsed inductive thrusters.
Current Projects
1. “Annular Helicon Plasma Source for
High Thrust-to-Power Hall Thrusters”
Supported by the AFOSR.
The goal of
this work is to develop an annular helicon source that feeds high
density plasma directly into a Hall thruster to achieve the efficient,
high thrust-to-power operation desired by the USAF.
2. "High Thrust-to-Power Hall
Thrusters"
Supported by the AFRL.
The goal
of this work is to develop a technique to reduce ion collisions with the
discharge channel wall to achieve high thrust-to-power ratios in Hall
thrusters. The technique will implemented and demonstrated into a
laboratory-model high thrust-to-power Hall thruster.
3. "Carbon Nanotube Field
Emission for Electric Propulsion"
Supported by DARPA.
4. "8-cm Ion Engine
Magnetic Field Optimization"
Supported by L-3.
5. "Multimode
Propellant Development/Energetic Chemicals"
Supported by American
Pacific.
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