Hall Thruster Channel Erosion — 2D Cross-Section

Every Hall effect thruster — from the SPT-100 to the krypton-fed units flying on Starlink satellites — eventually dies not because it runs out of propellant, but because ion bombardment sputters away the ceramic discharge-channel wall until it breaches. This 2D simulator unrolls the annular channel into a symmetric cross-section and models that wear-out process directly: a Bohdansky-type sputtering yield law combined with the axial plasma-potential and ion-current profile inside the channel produces a real erosion groove that deepens over simulated mission hours, with a live axial profile graph, a scrolling erosion-history strip chart, and a projected end-of-life. Adjust discharge voltage, mass flow rate and propellant to see how each operating choice trades thrust and efficiency against how long the thruster survives — drag and scroll the channel view to inspect the wear groove up close.