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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

E→H mode transition density and power in two types of inductively coupled plasma configuration

E → H transition power and density were investigated at various argon pressures in inductively coupled plasma (ICP) in a cylindrical interlaid chamber. The transition power versus the pressure shows a minimum transition power at 4 Pa (ν/ω=1) for argon. Then the transition density hardly changes at low pressures (ν/ω≪1), but it increases clearly when argon pressure exceeds an appropriate value. In addition, both the transition power and transition density are lower in the re-entrant configuration of ICP compared with that in the cylindrical configuration of ICP. The result may be caused from the decrease of stochastic heating in the re-entrant configuration of ICP. This work is useful to understand E → H mode transition and control the transition points in real plasma processes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Turbulence in the cylindrical slab

The cylindrical slab was the first and simplest model of intrinsically unstable microturbulence. The Helimak is an experimental realization of this model. Although finite, it is sufficiently large to escape boundary effects, with dimensionless parameters similar to those of a tokamak edge or scrape off layer. The essential drive is interchange-like, a pressure gradient with unfavorable magnetic curvature, leading to a non-linearly saturated state of large-amplitude turbulence, Δn{sub rms}/n ∼ 0.5. The nonlinear processes governing this saturation are unique, unlike any of those posited for the much weaker turbulence typical of confined plasma, e.g., in a tokamak. Neither linear stability theory, quasi-linear theory, zonal flows, nor flow shear stabilization is consistent with the observations. The mechanisms determining the non-linearly saturated state constitute an important challenge to our understanding of strongly nonlinear systems.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

A semi-analytical solver for the Grad-Shafranov equation

In toroidally confined plasmas, the Grad-Shafranov equation, in general, a non-linear partial differential equation, describes the hydromagnetic equilibrium of the system. This equation becomes linear when the kinetic pressure is proportional to the poloidal magnetic flux and the squared poloidal current is a quadratic function of it. In this work, the eigenvalue of the associated homogeneous equation is related with the safety factor on the magnetic axis, the plasma beta, and the Shafranov shift; then, the adjustable parameters of the particular solution are bounded through physical constrains. The poloidal magnetic flux becomes a linear superposition of independent solutions and its parameters are adjusted with a non-linear fitting algorithm. This method is used to find hydromagnetic equilibria with normal and reversed magnetic shear and defined values of the elongation, triangularity, aspect-ratio, and X-point(s). The resultant toroidal and poloidal beta, the safety factor at the 95% flux surface, and the plasma current are in agreement with usual experimental values for high beta discharges and the model can be used locally to describe reversed magnetic shear equilibria.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Synergistic cross-scale coupling of turbulence in a tokamak plasma

For the first time, nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations spanning both the ion and electron spatio-temporal scales have been performed with realistic electron mass ratio ((m D /m e ) 1/2 = 60.0), realistic geometry, and all experimental inputs, demonstrating the coexistence and synergy of ion ( ( k θ ρ s ∼ O ( 1.0 ) ) ) and electron-scale ( ( k θ ρ e ∼ O ( 1.0 ) ) ) turbulence in the core of a tokamak plasma. All multi-scale simulations utilized the GYRO code [J. Candy and R. E. Waltz, J. Comput. Phys. 186, 545 (2003)] to study the coupling of ion and electron-scale turbulence in the core (r/a = 0.6) of an Alcator C-Mod L-mode discharge shown previously to exhibit an under-prediction of the electron heat flux when using simulations only including ion-scale turbulence. Electron-scale turbulence is found to play a dominant role in setting the electron heat flux level and radially elongated (k r ≪ k θ ) “streamers” are found to coexist with ion-scale eddies in experimental plasma conditions. Inclusion of electron-scale turbulence in these simulations is found to increase both ion and electron heat flux levels by enhancing the transport at the ion-scale while also driving electron heat flux at sub-ρ i scales. The combined increases in the low and high-k driven electron heat flux may explain previously observed discrepancies between simulated and experimental electron heat fluxes and indicates a complex interaction of short and long wavelength turbulence.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

A flux-matched gyrokinetic analysis of DIII-D L-mode turbulence

Previous nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of specific DIII-D L-mode cases have been found to significantly underpredict the ion heat transport and associated density and temperature fluctuation levels by up to almost one of order of magnitude in the outer-core domain, i.e., roughly in the last third of the minor radius. Since then, this so-called shortfall issue has been subject to various speculations on possible reasons and furthermore motivation for a number of dedicated comparisons for L-mode plasmas in comparable machines. However, only a rather limited number of simulations and gyrokinetic codes has been applied to the original scenario, thus calling for further dedicated investigations in order to broaden the scientific basis. The present work contributes along these lines by employing another well-established gyrokinetic code in a numerically and physically comprehensive manner. Contrary to the previous studies, only a mild underprediction is observed at the outer radial positions which can furthermore be overcome by varying the ion temperature gradient within the error bars associated with the experimental measurement. The significance and reliability of these simulations are demonstrated by benchmarks, numerical convergence tests, and furthermore by extensive validation studies. The latter involve cross-phase and cross-power spectra analyses of various fluctuating quantities and confirm a high degree of realism. The code discrepancies come as a surprise since the involved software packages had been benchmarked repeatedly and very successfully in the past. Further collaborative effort in identifying the underlying difference is hence required.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Cutoff frequency of toroidal plasma waveguide

The cutoff frequencies of E and H-modes of empty and plasma filled toroidal waveguides are evaluated. The effects of space curvature and plasma density on cutoff frequencies for both modes are investigated. Using a suitable variable change, a scalar wave equation in the direction of propagation was obtained. The study indicates that the curvature in the direction of wave propagation in toroidal waveguide has an analogous effect as a straight waveguide filled with anisotropic media. The Rayleigh-Schrodinger perturbation method was employed to solve for cutoff frequencies in the first order of approximation. In the limit of small space curvature, the toroidal waveguide cutoff frequencies for both E and H-modes approach those of TM and TE modes of empty cylindrical waveguide with a radius equal to toroidal waveguide minor radius. The analysis shows that the curvature in the direction of propagation in toroidal waveguides leads to the removal of the degeneracy between E and H-modes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

On uniform plasma generation for the large area plasma processing in intermediate pressures

Radial plasma discharge characteristics in the range of 450 mm were studied in a dual inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source, which consisted of a helical ICP and the side type ferrite ICPs. Since the energy relaxation length is shorter than the distance between each of the ferrite ICPs in an intermediate pressure (600 mTorr), local difference in the plasma ignition along the antenna position were observed. In addition, large voltage drop in the discharge of the ferrite ICPs causes an increase in the displacement current to the plasma, and separate discharge mode (E and H mode) according to the antenna position was observed. This results in non-uniform plasma distribution. For the improvement in the discharge of the ferrite ICPs, a capacitor which is placed between the ends of antenna and the ground is adjusted to minimize the displacement current to the plasma. As a result, coincident transitions from E to H mode were observed along the antenna position, and radially concave density profile (edge focused) was measured. For the uniform density distribution, a helical ICP, which located at the center of the discharge chamber, was simultaneously discharged with the ferrite ICPs. Due to the plasma potential variation through the simultaneous discharge of helical ICP and ferrite ICPs, uniform radial distribution in both plasma density and electron temperature are achieved.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Linear and nonlinear evolution of the ion resonance instability in cylindrical traps: A numerical study

Numerical experiments have been performed to investigate the linear and nonlinear dynamics, and energetics of the ion resonance instability in cylindrically confined nonneutral plasma. The instability is excited on a set of parametrically different unstable equilibria of a cylindrical nonneutral cloud, composed of electrons partially neutralized by a much heavier ion species of single ionization. A particle-in-cell code has been developed and employed to carry out these simulations. The results obtained from the initial exponential growth phase of the instability in these numerical experiments are in agreement with the linearised analytical model of the ion resonance instability. As the simulations delve much further in time beyond the exponential growth phase, very interesting nonlinear phenomena of the ion resonance instability are revealed, such as a process of simultaneous wave breaking of the excited poloidal mode on the ion cloud and pinching of the poloidal perturbations on the electron cloud. This simultaneous nonlinear dynamics of the two components is associated with an energy transfer process from the electrons to the ions. At later stages there is heating induced cross-field transport of the heavier ions and tearing across the pinches on the electron cloud followed by an inverse cascade of the torn sections.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

New regime of low ion collisionality in the neoclassical equilibrium of tokamak plasmas

Here, the neoclassical description of an axisymmetric toroidal plasma equilibrium is formulated for an unconventionally low ordering of the collisionality that suits realistic thermonuclear fusion conditions. This requires a drift-kinetic analysis to the second order of the ion Larmor radius, which yields a new contribution to the leading solution for the non-Maxwellian part of the ion distribution function if the equilibrium geometry is not up-down symmetric. An explicit geometrical factor weighs this second Larmor-radius order, low-collisionality effect that modifies the neoclassical ion parallel flow, and the ion contribution to the bootstrap current.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Study of ablation and implosion stages in wire arrays using coupled ultraviolet and X-ray probing diagnostics

Star and cylindrical wire arrays were studied using laser probing and X-ray radiography at the 1-MA Zebra pulse power generator at the University of Nevada, Reno. The Leopard laser provided backlighting, producing a laser plasma from a Si target which emitted an X-ray probing pulse at the wavelength of 6.65 Å. A spherically bent quartz crystal imaged the backlit wires onto X-ray film. Laser probing diagnostics at the wavelength of 266 nm included a 3-channel polarimeter for Faraday rotation diagnostic and two-frame laser interferometry with two shearing interferometers to study the evolution of the plasma electron density at the ablation and implosion stages. Dynamics of the plasma density profile in Al wire arrays at the ablation stage were directly studied with interferometry, and expansion of wire cores was measured with X-ray radiography. The magnetic field in the imploding plasma was measured with the Faraday rotation diagnostic, and current was reconstructed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Experimental study of subcritical laboratory magnetized collisionless shocks using a laser-driven magnetic piston

Recent experiments at the University of California, Los Angeles have successfully generated subcritical magnetized collisionless shocks, allowing new laboratory studies of shock formation relevant to space shocks. The characteristics of these shocks are compared with new data in which no shock or a pre-shock formed. The results are consistent with theory and 2D hybrid simulations and indicate that the observed shock or shock-like structures can be organized into distinct regimes by coupling strength. With additional experiments on the early time parameters of the laser plasma utilizing Thomson scattering, spectroscopy, and fast-gate filtered imaging, these regimes are found to be in good agreement with theoretical shock formation criteria.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Vapor shielding models and the energy absorbed by divertor targets during transient events

The erosion of divertor targets caused by high heat fluxes during transients is a serious threat to ITER operation, as it is going to be the main factor determining the divertor lifetime. Under the influence of extreme heat fluxes, the surface temperature of plasma facing components can reach some certain threshold, leading to an onset of intense material evaporation. The latter results in formation of cold dense vapor and secondary plasma cloud. This layer effectively absorbs the energy of the incident plasma flow, turning it into its own kinetic and internal energy and radiating it. This so called vapor shielding is a phenomenon that may help mitigating the erosion during transient events. In particular, the vapor shielding results in saturation of energy (per unit surface area) accumulated by the target during single pulse of heat load at some level E{sub max}. Matching this value is one of the possible tests to verify complicated numerical codes, developed to calculate the erosion rate during abnormal events in tokamaks. The paper presents three very different models of vapor shielding, demonstrating that E{sub max} depends strongly on the heat pulse duration, thermodynamic properties, and evaporation energy of the irradiated target material. While its dependence on the other shielding details such as radiation capabilities of material and dynamics of the vapor cloud is logarithmically weak. The reason for this is a strong (exponential) dependence of the target material evaporation rate, and therefore the “strength” of vapor shield on the target surface temperature. As a result, the influence of the vapor shielding phenomena details, such as radiation transport in the vapor cloud and evaporated material dynamics, on the E{sub max} is virtually completely masked by the strong dependence of the evaporation rate on the target surface temperature. However, the very same details define the amount of evaporated particles, needed to provide an effective shielding to the target, and, therefore, strongly influence resulting erosion rate. Thus, E{sub max} cannot be used for validation of shielding models and codes, aimed at the target material erosion calculations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Scattering of radio frequency waves by cylindrical density filaments in tokamak plasmas

In tokamak fusion plasmas, coherent fluctuations in the form of blobs or filaments are routinely observed in the scrape-off layer. Radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic waves, excited by antenna structures placed near the wall of a tokamak, have to propagate through the scrape-off layer before reaching the core of the plasma. While the effect of fluctuations on the properties of RF waves has not been quantified experimentally, it is of interest to carry out a theoretical study to determine if fluctuations can affect the propagation characteristics of RF waves. Usually, the difference between the plasma density inside the filament and the background plasma density is sizable, the ratio of the density difference to the background density being of order one. Generally, this precludes the use of geometrical optics in determining the effect of fluctuations, since the relevant ratio has to be much less than one, typically, of the order of 10% or less. In this study, a full-wave, analytical model is developed for the scattering of a RF plane wave by a cylindrical plasma filament. It is assumed that the plasma inside and outside the filament is cold and uniform and that the major axis of the filament is aligned along the toroidal magnetic field. The ratio of the density inside the filament to the density of the background plasma is not restricted. The theoretical framework applies to the scattering of any cold plasma wave. In order to satisfy the boundary conditions at the interface between the filament and the background plasma, the electromagnetic fields inside and outside the filament need to have the same k ∥ , the wave vector parallel to the ambient magnetic field, as the incident plane wave. Consequently, in contrast to the scattering of a RF wave by a spherical blob [Ram et al., Phys. Plasmas 20, 056110-1–056110-10 (2013)], the scattering by a field-aligned filament does not broaden the k ∥ spectrum. However, the filament induces side-scattering leading to surface waves and can also couple some power to the cold plasma wave different from the incident wave. The changes induced by a filament in the propagation of electron cyclotron waves and lower hybrid waves are illustrated by numerical results displaying the properties of the Poynting vector. The Poynting flux in the wake of the filament, and directed towards the core of the plasma, develops a spatial structure due to diffraction and shadowing. Finally and thus, the fluctuations affect the uniformity of power flow into the plasma.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Detecting divertor damage during steady state operation of Wendelstein 7-X from thermographic measurements

Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) aims to demonstrate the reactor capability of the stellarator concept, by creating plasmas with pulse lengths of up to 30 min at a heating power of up to 10 MW. The divertor plasma facing components will see convective steady state heat flux densities of up to 10 MW/m 2 . These high heat flux target elements are actively cooled and are covered with carbon fibre reinforced carbon (CFC) as plasma facing material. The CFC is bonded to the CuCrZr cooling structure. Over the life time of the experiment this interface may weaken and cracks can occur, greatly reducing the heat conduction between the CFC tile and the cooling structure. Furthermore, there is not only the need to monitor the divertor to prevent damage by overheating but also the need to detect these fatigue failures of the interface. A method is presented for an early detection of fatigue failures of the interface layer, solely by using the information delivered by the IR-cameras monitoring the divertor. This was developed and validated through experiments made with high heat flux target elements prior to installation in W7-X.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2016

The locking and unlocking thresholds for tearing modes in a cylindrical tokamak

The locking and unlocking thresholds for tearing modes are in general different. In this work, the physics origin for this difference is illustrated from theory analysis, and a numerical procedure is developed to find both locking and unlocking thresholds. In particular, a new scaling law for the unlocking threshold that is valid in both weak and strong rotation regimes has been derived from the lowest amplitude of the RMP (resonant magnetic perturbation) allowed for the locked-mode solution. Above the unlocking threshold, the criterion for the phase-flip instability is extended to identify the entire locked-mode states. Two different regimes of the RMP amplitude in terms of the accessibility of the locked-mode states have been found. In the first regime, the locked-mode state may or may not be accessible depending on the initial conditions of an evolving island. In the second regime, the locked-mode state can always be reached regardless of the initial conditions of the tearing mode. The lowest RMP amplitude for the second regime is determined to be the mode-locking threshold. The different characteristics of the two regimes above the unlocking threshold reveal the underlying physics for the gap between the locking and unlocking thresholds and provide an explanation for the closely related and widely observed hysteresis phenomena in island evolution during the sweeping process of the RMP amplitude up and down across that threshold gap.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Extreme ultra-violet burst, particle heating, and whistler wave emission in fast magnetic reconnection induced by kink-driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability

A spatially localized energetic extreme ultra-violet (EUV) burst is imaged at the presumed position of fast magnetic reconnection in a plasma jet produced by a coaxial helicity injection source; this EUV burst indicates strong localized electron heating. A circularly polarized high frequency magnetic field perturbation is simultaneously observed at some distance from the reconnection region indicating that the reconnection emits whistler waves and that Hall dynamics likely governs the reconnection. Spectroscopic measurement also shows simultaneous fast ion heating. The electron heating is consistent with Ohmic dissipation, while the ion heating is consistent with ion trajectories becoming stochastic.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Intrinsic rotation drive by collisionless trapped electron mode turbulence

For this work, both the parallel residual stress and parallel turbulent acceleration driven by electrostatic collisionless trapped electron mode (CTEM) turbulence are calculated analytically using gyrokinetic theory. Quasilinear results show that the parallel residual stress contributes an outward flux of co-current rotation for normal magnetic shear and turbulence intensity profile increasing outward. This may induce intrinsic counter-current rotation or flattening of the co-current rotation profile. The parallel turbulent acceleration driven by CTEM turbulence vanishes, due to the absence of a phase shift between density fluctuation and ion pressure fluctuation. This is different from the case of ion temperature gradient turbulence, for which the turbulent acceleration can provide co-current drive for normal magnetic shear and turbulence intensity profile increasing outward. Its order of magnitude is predicted to be the same as that of the divergence of the residual stress [L. Wang and P. H. Diamond, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 265006 (2013)]. A possible connection of these theoretical results to experimental observations of electron cyclotron heating effects on toroidal rotation is discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Stochastic modelling of intermittent fluctuations in the scrape-off layer: Correlations, distributions, level crossings, and moment estimation

A stochastic model is presented for intermittent fluctuations in the scrape-off layer of magnetically confined plasmas. The fluctuations in the plasma density are modeled by a super-position of uncorrelated pulses with fixed shape and duration, describing radial motion of blob-like structures. In the case of an exponential pulse shape and exponentially distributed pulse amplitudes, predictions are given for the lowest order moments, probability density function, auto-correlation function, level crossings, and average times for periods spent above and below a given threshold level. Also, the mean squared errors on estimators of sample mean and variance for realizations of the process by finite time series are obtained. These results are discussed in the context of single-point measurements of fluctuations in the scrape-off layer, broad density profiles, and implications for plasma–wall interactions due to the transient transport events in fusion grade plasmas. The results may also have wide applications for modelling fluctuations in other magnetized plasmas such as basic laboratory experiments and ionospheric irregularities.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗