Discussion Forum

Dear COMSOL Employees,

My question is about COMSOL and Space Thrusters. I'm a scientist in the field of Plasma Thrusters and I need to modelling some type of Electric Rocket Propulsion (space thruster). I read many thing about COMSOL and still I am trying to find information how it works! In the COMSOL Documentation I found the next info:

• Limitations of the Plasma Module. The Plasma Module cannot currently model magnetrons and space thrusters due to the fact that the perpendicular versus cross field electron mobility and diffusivity can be on the order of 108. This poses severe numerical challenges and inevitably there is unphysical numerical diffusion across the magnetic field lines. As such, a truly self consistent model of a Hall thruster or magnetron is not currently possible, although it is still possible to gain valuable insight into the physics. *

But when i searched the "space thruster" in the the COMSOL website, i found some articles about using COMSOL for space thrusters solution. Somebody can explain me what in fact can and can not be done in a COMSOL?

THANKS AND REGARDS