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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 757 records · Page 42
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

High-time resolution measurements of upstream magnetic field and plasma conditions during flux transfer events at the Earth's dayside magnetopause

We present preliminary results of a study of upstream magnetic field and plasma conditions measured by IRM during flux transfer events observed at the Earth's magnetopause by CCE. This study was designed to determine the importance of various upstream factors in the formation of bipolar magnetic field signatures called flux transfer events (FTEs). Six FTE encounters were examined. In three cases, the two satellites were on similar magnetic field lines. Preliminary investigation showed that fluctuations occurred in the Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) resulting in a southward field preceding the FTE in all three of these cases. In two of these cases, the changes were characterized by a distinct rotation from a strong southward to a strong northward field. There were also accompanying changes in the dynamic and thermal pressure in the solar wind immediately before the FTE was encountered. Examination of the 3D plasma distributions showed that these pulses were due to the addition of energetic upstreaming foreshock particles. There were no consistent changes in either Bz or the plasma pressure at IRM for the three events when the satellites were not connected by the IMF.

Jacob, Jamey D.↗
NASA NTRS1997

On the Development of a Magnetically Vectored Variable ISP Plasma Rocket

The development of a Magnetically Vectored Variable I(sub sp) Plasma Rocket at the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory (ASPL) is in progress at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The facility is using a small, 3.2 m tandem mirror device to study the application of RF heated magnetically contained plasmas for space propulsion. The central cell radius is 0.1 m and fields of 0.2 T and 2 T are possible in the central and end-cell mirror sections, respectively. A magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) injector has just been acquired and will be used along with other methods of plasma refueling. A 1 MW magnet power supply upgrade is being developed with full implementation by the Spring of 1997. Two microwave systems for discharge initiation and plasma heating at 2.45 GHz and 14.0 GHz, respectively, are in operation. Additionally, RF systems with 200 kW and 1 MW of power are being modified and conditioned for operation. The concept provides electrode-less operation and variable thrush'specific impulse at constant power (200 -30 N /5000-30,000 seconds at 10 MW with a 60% efficiency). Optimization for speed or payload are possible with the same engine, giving the rocket great flexibility. Missions to Mars in 90 days are described, and missions to Pluto are under study.

Feliciano, Enectali Figueroa↗
NASA NTRS1996

Plasma Properties and Magnetic Field Structure of the Solar Corona, Based on Coordinated Max '91 Observations from SERTS, the VLA, and Magnetographs

The plasma properties and magnetic field structure of the solar corona were determined using coordinated observations obtained with NASA/GSFC's Solar EUV Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS), the Very Large Array (VLA), and Kitt Peak photospheric longitudinal magnetograms. A problem was identified with the SERTS calibration as determined from laboratory measurements. A revised calibration curve was derived by requiring that the numerous available measured line intensity ratios agreed with their respective theoretical values. Densities were derived from line intensity ratios, and active region densities were found to typically exceed quiet Sun densities by factors of only about 2. The active region density was found to remain constant across the SERTS slit, despite the fact that the emission line intensities vary significantly. This indicates that the product of the path length and the volume filling factor must vary significantly from the active region outskirts to the central core. Filling factors were derived and found to range from much less than one to nearly unity. Wavelength shifts were examined along the SERTS slit in the spatially resolved spectra, but no evidence was found for significant Doppler shifts in active region 7563 or in the quiet Sun. The numerical procedure developed by Monsignori-Fossi and Landini was used to derive the active region and quiet sun differential emission measure (DEM) from the spatially averaged spectra. A DEM was estimated for each spatial pixel in the two dimensional active region images by scaling the averaged active region DEM based upon corresponding pixel intensities of SERTS Mg IX, Fe XV, and Fe XVI images. These results, along with density measurements, were used in an IDL computer code which calculated the temperature dependence of the coronal magnetic field in each spatial pixel by minimizing the difference between the observed and calculated 20 and 6 cm microwave brightness temperatures.

Brosius, Jeffrey W.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Voltage and cathode emission mechanisms of a magnetized, constricted, orbiting plasma in helium 6.7–850 Pa

Abstract We present a semiquantitative description of several important properties of a magnetized cold-cathode plasma in helium over a wide pressure range 6.7–850 Pa. We focus on the ‘constricted orbiting’ mode where the plasma attaches to the cathode as a moving ‘dot’ and the voltage and rate of cathode erosion are both unusually low. We propose that the low plasma voltage and observed motion of the plasma adjacent to the cathode can be attributed to field emission as the source of electrons from the cathode, a process that is aided by the charging of an oxide film by ions. We find that the observed dependence of plasma voltage on pressure is consistent with the assumption that the axial electric field must increase in regions of strong crossed magnetic field to maintain current continuity.

Physics↗
NASA NTRS1980

Coordinated ionospheric and magnetospheric observations from the ISIS 2 satellite by the ISIS 2 experimenters. Volume 2: Auroral optical emissions magnetic field perturbations, and plasma characteristics, measured simultaneously on the same magnetic field line

The data set consists of a selected number of passes, each comprising a format combination that is most appropriate for the particular data set. A list of ISIS 2 experimenters, with addresses and telephone numbers is included. A brief description of the ISIS 2 satellite is given, followed by more detailed instrument descriptions, format descriptions, data set descriptions, and the data themselves.

Shepherd, G. G.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Transport equations for dilute plasma in a magnetic field.

Using the Chapman-Enskog procedure, equations are derived for near-equilibrium transport of plasma in a strong magnetic field. It is shown that these equations reduce properly to collision dominated equations and to collisionless Chew-Goldberger-Low (1956) equations in the respective limits. The results presented are more complete than those of Stringer and Connor (1971) and correct their erroneous partition of conducted thermal energy.

Price, J. C.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Strong surface magnetic field generation in relativistic short pulse laser–plasma interaction with an applied seed magnetic field

Abstract While plasma often behaves diamagnetically, we demonstrate that the laser irradiation of a thin opaque target with an embedded target-transverse seed magnetic field B seed can trigger the generation of an order-of-magnitude stronger magnetic field with opposite sign at the target surface. Strong surface field generation occurs when the laser pulse is relativistically intense and results from the currents associated with the cyclotron rotation of laser-heated electrons transiting through the target and the compensating current of cold electrons. We derive a predictive scaling for this surface field generation, B gen ∼ −2 πB seed Δ x / λ 0 (in the large spot size limit), where Δ x is the target thickness and λ 0 is the laser wavelength, and conduct 1D and 2D particle-in-cell simulations to confirm its applicability over a wide range of conditions. We additionally demonstrate that both the seed and surface-generated magnetic fields can have a strong impact on application-relevant plasma dynamics, for example substantially altering the overall expansion and ion acceleration from a μ m-thick laser-irradiated target with a kilotesla-level seed magnetic field.

Weichman, K. (ORCID:0000000234877922)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Influence of triangularity on the plasma response to resonant magnetic perturbations

The effect of the axisymmetric plasma shape on the non-axisymmetric plasma response to resonant magnetic perturbations is investigated in experiment and modeling for the DIII-D, EAST and ASDEX Upgrade tokamaks. Systematically modeling the effect of the triangularity, whilst keeping other equilibrium quantities largely unchanged, reveals that the plasma response is strongly suppressed at high triangularity compared to that at low triangularity. This is validated through targeted comparison with experiments at DIII-D, EAST, and ASDEX Upgrade. DIII-D and EAST magnetic measurements are used to validate simulations, while at ASDEX Upgrade the plasma edge displacement is measured. Both experiments and modeling find a reduced magnetic plasma response on the high-field side at high triangularity across devices. Multi-modal analysis of the simulation results extracts the mode structure and applied spectrum dependence of each mode. The amplitude of the dominant mode reveals similar trends with the edge resonance and radial displacement near the X-point, which suggests that the multi-mode plasma response provides another way to understand the edge localized mode (ELM) control physics. The plasma response is strongly reduced at high triangularity compared to that at low triangularity, which implies different ELM control effects as shaping is varied. Furthermore, these findings indicate that the plasma shape should be taken into consideration when designing an RMP-ELM control strategy in experiment, and that predictive plasma response calculations can be used to maximize access to RMP-ELM control in future devices by maximizing the coupling between coils and the plasma.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Polarization and properties of low-frequency waves in warm magnetized two-fluid plasma

This paper presents the derivation of a general wave dispersion relation for warm magnetized plasma under the two-fluid formalism. The discussion is quite general except for the assumption of low frequency and slow phase speed, for which the displacement current is negligible, under the implicit assumption that the plasma is sufficiently dense to satisfy the condition ωpe>ωce, where ωpe and ωce denote the plasma oscillation frequency and electron gyro frequency, respectively. The present discussion does not invoke charge neutrality associated with the fluctuations although it is implicitly satisfied. The resulting dispersion relation that includes the fluid thermal effects shows that there are three eigen modes, which include those corresponding to ideal MHD, namely, fast, slow, and kinetic Alfvén waves, as well as higher-frequency modes including the ion and electron cyclotron and lower-hybrid resonances. The fluid effects in the ideal MHD wave branches are influenced by the finite Larmor radius scales, and when the wave number in the cross field direction is comparable to these values, the fluid effects become significant. It is found that the Larmor radius should be interpreted in the sense as ion-acoustic gyro-radius instead of ion thermal gyro radius only. That is, it is found that the electrons also contribute to the non-ideal effect associated with the kinetic Alfvén wave. A comprehensive explanation of the polarization of each mode is also presented. The present findings indicate that the polarity may change its sign only for the kinetic Alfvén mode branch and that such a transition is based on the propagation angle. When such a change does take place, it is found that the kinetic Alfvén wave transits to an ion-acoustic mode. For each branch, it is also found that the electric field along the ambient magnetic field is purely transverse.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2022

Experimental observations of detached bow shock formation in the interaction of a laser-produced plasma with a magnetized obstacle

The magnetic field produced by planets with active dynamos, like the Earth, can exert sufficient pressure to oppose supersonic stellar wind plasmas, leading to the formation of a standing bow shock upstream of the magnetopause, or pressure-balance surface. Scaled laboratory experiments studying the interaction of an inflowing solar wind analog with a strong, external magnetic field are a promising new way to study magnetospheric physics and to complement existing models, although reaching regimes favorable for magnetized shock formation is experimentally challenging. This paper presents experimental evidence of the formation of a magnetized bow shock in the interaction of a supersonic, super-Alfvenic plasma with a strongly magnetized obstacle at the OMEGA laser facility. The solar wind analog is generated by the collision and subsequent expansion of two counterpropagating, laser-driven plasma plumes. The magnetized obstacle is a thin wire, driven with strong electrical currents. Hydrodynamic simulations using the FLASH code predict that the colliding plasma source meets the criteria for bow shock formation. Spatially resolved, optical Thomson scattering measures the electron number density, and optical emission lines provide a measurement of the plasma temperature, from which we infer the presence of a fast magnetosonic shock far upstream of the obstacle. Proton images provide a measure of large-scale features in the magnetic field topology, and reconstructed path-integrated magnetic field maps from these images suggest the formation of a bow shock upstream of the wire and as a transient magnetopause. Finally, we compare features in the reconstructed fields to two-dimensional MHD simulations of the system.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1972

Instabilities and turbulence in highly ionized plasmas in a magnetic field

Physical mechanisms were considered which are responsible for plasma turbulence and the establishment of necessary conditions for energy exchange and transfer in the frequency spectrum. In addition, work was performed to better understand the drift instability in the highly inhomogeneous Rensselaer arc, and methods to suppress this instability using feedback stabilization techniques. Correlation techniques were refined to study plasma turbulence, the diffusion wave technique for monitoring cross-field diffusion was extended to include regimes of high turbulence levels, and a technique for coupling stabilizing RF power to the Rensselaer arc was developed.

Jennings, W. C.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Observations of the magnetic field and plasma flow in Jupiter's magnetosheath

A comprehensive description is given of the Jovian MS magnetic fields, and explanations of these phenomena are proposed. While emphasizing Voyager 1 and 2 magnetic field observations and their relations to the plasma observations, it is also shown that the same phenomena are present in the Pioneer 10 magnetic field data. An unusually high occurrence of nearly north or south fields is observed in the outbound MS, especially in the vicinity of the MP. It is noted that the outbound MS fields and their variations tend to occur in a plane parallel to the local MP, according to large scale MP models.

Lepping, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Observations of the magnetic field and plasma flow in Jupiter's magnetosheath

Large scale (many minutes to 10 hours) magnetic field structures consisting predominantly of nearly north-south field direction were discovered in Jupiter's magnetosheath from the data of Voyagers 1 and 2 and Pioneer 10 during their outbound encounter trajectories. The Voyager 2 data, and that of Voyager 1 to a lesser extent, show evidence of a quasi-period of 10 hours (and occasionally 5 hours) for these structures. The north-south components of the field and plasma velocity were strongly correlated in the outbound magnetosheath as observed by Voyagers 1 and 2, and the components orthogonal to the north-south direction showed weak correlations. For both Voyager encounters the sense (positive and negative) of the north-south correlations were directly related to the direction of the ecliptic plane component of the interplanetary magnetic field using the field and plasma measurements of the non-encountering spacecraft.

Lepping, R. P.↗