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At least 1,351 records · Page 75
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Transport and confinement physics: Chapter 2 of the special issue: on the path to tokamak burning plasma operation

Progress in physics understanding and theoretical model development of plasma transport and confinement (TC) in the ITPA TC Topical Group since the publication of the ITER Physics Basis (IPB) document (Doyle et al 2007 Nucl. Fusion 47 S18) was summarized focusing on the contributions to ITER and burning plasma prediction and control. This paper provides a general and streamlined overview on the advances that were mainly led by the ITPA TC joint experiments and joint activities for the last 15 years (see JEX/JA table in appendix). This paper starts with the scientific strategy and scope of the ITPA TC Topical group and overall picture of the major progress, followed by the progress of each research field: particle transport, impurity transport, ion and electron thermal turbulent transport, momentum transport, impact of 3D magnetic fields on transport, confinement mode transitions, global confinement, and reduced transport modeling. Cross references with other Topical Groups are given in order to highlight overlapped topics, such as the 3D effect on the plasma transport in the edge and L-H transition physics. The increasing overlap between the topical groups is a reflection of the progress on integrating the known physics into comprehensive models that are better and better able to reproduce the plasma transport. In recent years, such integration has become increasingly prevalent when considering transport from the SOL, through the edge pedestal, and into the plasma core. In the near future, increased collaboration also with the magneto-hydrodynamic and energetic particles community will be important as we approach burning plasma conditions in next-step fusion devices. A summary of remaining challenges and next steps for each research field is given in the Summary section.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Interpretation of the effects of electron cyclotron power absorption in pre-disruptive tokamak discharges in ASDEX Upgrade

Tokamak disruptions are events of fatal collapse of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) confinement configuration, which cause a rapid loss of the plasma thermal energy and the impulsive release of magnetic energy and heat on the tokamak first wall components. The physics of the disruptions is very complex and non-linear, strictly associated with the dynamics of magnetic tearing perturbations. The crucial problem of the response to the effects of localized heat deposition and current driven by external (rf) sources to avoid or quench the MHD tearing instabilities has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically on the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. The analysis of the conditions under which a disruption can be prevented by injection of electron cyclotron (EC) rf power, or, alternatively, may be caused by it, shows that the local EC heating can be more significant than EC current drive in ensuring neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) stability, due to two main reasons: first, the drop of temperature associated with the island thermal short circuit tends to reduce the neoclassical character of the instability and to limit the EC current drive generation; second, the different effects on the mode evolution of both the location of the power deposition relative to the island separatrix and the island shape deformation lead to less strict requirements of precise power deposition focussing. A contribution to the validation of theoretical models of the events associated with NTM is given and can be used to develop concepts for their control, relevant also for ITER-like scenarios.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

The effect of emissive biased limiter on the magnetohydrodynamic modes in the IR-T1 tokamak

A moveable emissive biased limiter (EBL) for the investigation of spatial and temporal structure of MHD modes in IR-T1 tokamak, based on mirnov oscillations, was designed and constructed. The biasing has been considered to improve the global confinement by setting up an electric field at the plasma edge. Radial electric field (E{sub r}) modifies edge plasma turbulence, plasma rotation, and transport. Mirnov oscillations using singular value decomposition (SVD) and wavelet techniques were analyzed. SVD algorithm has been employed to analyze the frequency and wavenumber harmonics of the MHD fluctuations. The time-resolved frequency component analysis has been performed using wavelets. The EBL was applied to plasma at 10 ms with negative polarity. The results show that after applying EBL, the m = 2 mode is grown, m = 3 mode is suppressed, and H{sub {alpha}} radiation is decreased. Furthermore, results of the wavelet analysis of mirnov coil in the time range of 8-12 ms indicate that 1.5 ms after applying EBL, the MHD frequency is reduced from 45 kHz to 25 kHz.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Shear viscosity for dense plasmas by equilibrium molecular dynamics in asymmetric Yukawa ionic mixtures

We present molecular dynamics (MD) calculations of shear viscosity for asymmetric mixed plasma for thermodynamic conditions relevant to astrophysical and inertial confinement fusion plasmas. Specifically, we consider mixtures of deuterium and argon at temperatures of 100–500 eV and a number density of 10 25 ions/cc. The motion of 30 000–120 000 ions is simulated in which the ions interact via the Yukawa (screened Coulomb) potential. The electric field of the electrons is included in this effective interaction; the electrons are not simulated explicitly. Shear viscosity is calculated using the Green-Kubo approach with an integral of the shear stress autocorrelation function, a quantity calculated in the equilibrium MD simulations. We systematically study different mixtures through a series of simulations with increasing fraction of the minority high- Z element (Ar) in the D-Ar plasma mixture. In the more weakly coupled plasmas, at 500 eV and low Ar fractions, results from MD compare very well with Chapman-Enskog kinetic results. In the more strongly coupled plasmas, the kinetic theory does not agree well with the MD results. Here, we develop a simple model that interpolates between classical kinetic theories at weak coupling and the Murillo Yukawa viscosity model at higher coupling. Finally, this hybrid kinetics-MD viscosity model agrees well with the MD results over the conditions simulated, ranging from moderately weakly coupled to moderately strongly coupled asymmetric plasma mixtures.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Wave-particle interactions in nonstationary plasma

Waves have proven to be an immensely useful tool for manipulating magnetically confined fusion plasmas. Our sophisticated understanding of the physics of waves and their interactions with charged particles in such plasmas is aided by the fact that the waves often can be treated as perturbations of an essentially stationary background, simplifying their mathematical treatment. On the other hand, despite the rapid, ongoing advancement of the world's most sophisticated plasma compression experiments, such as NIF (LLNL) and Z (SNL), the phenomenology of wave-particle interactions in the sort of nonstationary plasma environments exemplified by these experiments has gone relatively unexplored. In plasmas undergoing compression, expansion, ionization, and recombination, embedded waves can have very unusual and possibly useful properties. The introduction of explicit time-dependence into some classic problems in plasma wave physics has revealed the nature in which nonstationary processes impact all stages of a wave's lifetime, including its undamped linear and nonlinear dynamics as well as its collisionless and collisional damping. A number of new insights are revealed, including the discovery of an induced, switch-like collisionless damping mechanism capable of producing prescribed bursts of heat, current, magnetic field energy, and/or voltage in time-evolving plasma; a novel method for optimizing plasma-based acceleration of particle beams; enhanced understanding of the effect of waves on plasma compressibility; and the first numerical confirmation of a new, transparent analytical theory of nonlinear wave dynamics. To describe numerically all these effects, novel particle-in-cell simulations were developed. The findings not only stand to expand on the basic physics of waves in plasmas, but they also point toward potentially beneficial applications in the laboratory.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Global Simulation of Plasma Microturbulence at the Petascale & Beyond: Optimizing the GTC Code for Blue Gene/Q (ALCF-2 Early Science Program Technical Report)

Figure 1 shows, schematically, the tokamak device, whose intent is to magnetically confine a high-temperature plasma and produce energy through nuclear fusion. The confined plasma, shown in pink, is toroidal in shape. For several decades now, scientists have been studying and improving these devices, working toward a successful fusion ignition—creating a burning plasma—and sustaining it to generate more power than it took to create it. The next big experimental step will be the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a twenty billion dollar burning plasma device under construction in France, involving the partnership of seven governments. The human in Figure 2 illustrates the scale of ITER. The magnetic field in the tokamak confines the plasma—ions, electrons, and their heat and momentum. Various kinds of instabilities in the plasma work against that confinement. Turbulent fluctuations can cause transport of particles and energy across the magnetic field lines, toward the outside of the plasma, where it is lost. Loss of plasma and energy, of course, works against confinement and successful fusion. This microturbulence is something the fusion community needs to understand and control. In past and present tokamaks, measurements have shown that the transport of energy and particles caused by microturbulence depends on the size of the tokamak—larger means more transport. This is Bohm scaling. However, theoretical arguments predict that beyond a certain size, which ITER will be beyond, the size dependence goes away, leading to relatively smaller turbulent losses and thus better confinement. This is GyroBohm scaling. The key target of this ESP project is to simulate microturbulent transport for devices of different sizes up through ITER size, and validate and understand GyroBohm scaling.

Tang, William M.↗
DOE OSTI2010

Plasma Barodiffusion in Inertial-Confinement-Fusion Implosions: Application to Observed Yield Anomalies in Thermonuclear Fuel Mixtures

The observation of large, self-generated electric fields ({>=}10{sup 9} V/m) in imploding capsules using proton radiography has been reported [C. K. Li et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 225001 (2008)]. A model of pressure gradient-driven diffusion in a plasma with self-generated electric fields is developed and applied to reported neutron yield deficits for equimolar D{sup 3}He[J. R. Rygg et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 052702 (2006)] and (DT){sup 3}He[H. W. Herrmann et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 056312 (2009)] fuel mixtures and Ar-doped deuterium fuels [J. D. Lindl et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 339 (2004)]. The observed anomalies are explained as a mild loss of deuterium nuclei near capsule center arising from shock-driven diffusion in the high-field limit.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Experimental Investigation of the Role of Fluid Turbulent Stresses and Edge Plasma Flows for Intrinsic Rotation Generation in DIII-D H-Mode Plasmas

The first measurements of turbulent stresses and flows inside the separatrix of a tokamak H-mode plasma are reported, using a reciprocating multitip Langmuir probe at the DIII-D tokamak. A strong co-current rotation layer at the separatrix is found to precede intrinsic rotation development in the core. The measured fluid turbulent stresses transport toroidal momentum outward against the velocity gradient and thus try to sustain the edge layer. However, large kinetic stresses must exist to explain the net inward momentum transport leading to co-current core plasma rotation. The importance of such kinetic stresses is corroborated by the success of a simple orbit loss model, representing a purely kinetic mechanism, in the prediction of features of the edge corotation layer.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1961

An Experimental Study of Continuous Plasma Flows Driven by a Confined Arc in a Transverse Magnetic Field

A crossed-field, continuous-flow plasma accelerator has been built and operated. The highest measured velocity of the flow, which was driven by the interaction of the electric and magnetic fields, was about 500 meters per second. Some of the problems discussed are ion slip, stability and uniformity of the discharge, effect of the magnetic field on electron emission, use of preionization, and electrode contamination.

Barger, R. L.↗
DOE OSTI2011

A field-reversed magnetic configuration and applications of high-temperature FRC plasma

As applied to a tokomak, a magnetic trap for confinement of a plasma with an inverted field or a magnetic field reversed configuration (FRC) is one of the most promising alternatives of the systems with high {beta}. A brief review of the latest data on FRC and potential directions of using such configurations in addition to energy generation in thermonuclear reactors (TNRs) is proposed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Collisionless cooling of perpendicular electron temperature in the thermal quench of a magnetized plasma

Thermal quench of a nearly collisionless plasma against an isolated cooling boundary or region is an undesirable off-normal event in magnetic fusion experiments, but an ubiquitous process of cosmological importance in astrophysical plasmas. Parallel transport theory of ambipolar-constrained tail electron loss is known to predict rapid cooling of the parallel electron temperature $T_{e\Vert}$ although $T_{e\Vert}$ is difficult to diagnose in actual experiments. Instead direct experimental measurements can readily track the perpendicular electron temperature $T_{e\bot}$ via electron cyclotron emission. The physics underlying the observed fast drop in $T_{e\bot}$ requires a resolution. Here two collisionless mechanisms, dilutional cooling by infalling cold electrons and wave-particle interaction by two families of whistler instabilities, are shown to enable fast $T_{e\bot}$ cooling that closely tracks the mostly collisionless crash of $T_{e\Vert}$. These findings motivate both experimental validation and reexamination of a broad class of plasma cooling problems in laboratory, space, and astrophysical settings.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

Real-time reflectometry measurement validation in H-mode regimes for plasma position control

It has been shown that in H-mode regimes, reflectometry electron density profiles and an estimate for the density at the separatrix can be jointly used to track the separatrix within the precision required for plasma position control on ITER. We present a method to automatically remove, from the position estimation procedure, measurements performed during collapse and recovery phases of edge localized modes (ELMs). Based on the rejection mechanism, the method also produces an estimate confidence value to be fed to the position feedback controller. Preliminary results show that the method improves the real-time experimental separatrix tracking capabilities and has the potential to eliminate the need for an external online source of ELM event signaling during control feedback operation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2010

The anomalous currents in the front foils of the JET lost alpha diagnostic KA-2

We have examined the observed currents in the front foils of the JET Faraday cup lost alpha particle diagnostic KA-2. In particular, we have sought to understand the currents during Ohmic plasmas for which the ion flux at the detectors was initially assumed to be negligible. We have considered two sources of this current: plasma ions (both deuterium and impurity) in the vicinity of the detector (including charge exchange neutrals) and photoemission from scattered UV radiation. Based upon modeling and empirical observation, the latter source appears most likely and, moreover, seems to be applicable to the currents in the front foil during ELMy H-mode plasmas. A very thin gold or nickel foil attached to the present detector aperture is proposed as a solution to this problem, and realistic calculations of expected fluxes of lost energetic neutral beam ions during TF ripple experiments are presented as justification of this proposed solution.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2011

Processing of spectrally resolved x-ray images of inertial confinement fusion implosion cores recorded with multimonochromatic x-ray imagers

We discuss the processing of data recorded with multimonochromatic x-ray imagers (MMI) in inertial confinement fusion experiments. The MMI records hundreds of gated, spectrally resolved images that can be used to unravel the spatial structure of the implosion core. In particular, we present a new method to determine the centers in all the array of images, a better reconstruction technique of narrowband implosion core images, two algorithms to determine the shape and size of the implosion core volume based on reconstructed broadband images recorded along three-quasiorthogonal lines of sight, and the removal of artifacts from the space-integrated spectra.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2012

Comparison of collisional radiative models for edge electron density reconstruction from Li I (2s-2p) emission profiles

Four collisional radiative models (CRMs) for reconstruction of the edge electron density profile from the measured Li I (2s-2p) emission profile of an accelerated lithium beam are compared using experimental data from DIII-D. It is shown for both L- and H-mode plasmas that edge density profiles reconstructed with the CRMs DDD2, ABSOLUT, [Sasaki et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 64, 1699 (1993)] and a new model developed at DIII-D agree in a density scan from n{sub e}{sup ped}= (2.0-6.5) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 19} m{sup -3} within 20%, 20%, <5%, and 40%, respectively, of the pedestal density measured with Thomson scattering. Profile shape and absolute density vary in a scan of the effective ion charge Z{sub eff}= 1-6 up to a factor of two but agree with Thomson data for Z{sub eff}= 1-2 within the error bars.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

ECE-imaging of the H-mode pedestal (invited)

A synthetic diagnostic has been developed that reproduces the highly structured electron cyclotron emission (ECE) spectrum radiated from the edge region of H-mode discharges. The modeled dependence on local perturbations of the equilibrium plasma pressure allows for interpretation of ECE data for diagnosis of local quantities. Forward modeling of the diagnostic response in this region allows for improved mapping of the observed fluctuations to flux surfaces within the plasma, allowing for the poloidal mode number of coherent structures to be resolved. In addition, other spectral features that are dependent on both T{sub e} and n{sub e} contain information about pedestal structure and the electron energy distribution of localized phenomena, such as edge filaments arising during edge-localized mode (ELM) activity.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

Gyro-fluid and two-fluid theory and simulations of edge-localized-modes

This paper reports on the theoretical and simulation results of a gyro-Landau-fluid extension of the BOUT++ code, which contributes to increasing the physics understanding of edge-localized-modes (ELMs). Large ELMs with low-to-intermediate-n peeling-ballooning (P-B) modes are significantly suppressed due to finite Larmor radius (FLR) effects when the ion temperature increases. For type-I ELMs, it is found from linear simulations that retaining complete first order FLR corrections as resulting from the incomplete “gyroviscous cancellation” in Braginskii's two-fluid model is necessary to obtain good agreement with gyro-fluid results for high ion temperature cases (T{sub i}≽3 keV) when the ion density has a strong radial variation, which goes beyond the simple local model of ion diamagnetic stabilization of ideal ballooning modes. The maximum growth rate is inversely proportional to T{sub i} because the FLR effect is proportional to T{sub i}. The FLR effect is also proportional to toroidal mode number n, so for high n cases, the P-B mode is stabilized by FLR effects. Nonlinear gyro-fluid simulations show results that are similar to those from the two-fluid model, namely that the P-B modes trigger magnetic reconnection, which drives the collapse of the pedestal pressure. Due to the additional FLR-corrected nonlinear E × B convection of the ion gyro-center density, for a ballooning-dominated equilibrium the gyro-fluid model further limits the radial spreading of ELMs. In six-field two fluid simulations, the parallel thermal diffusivity is found to prevent the ELM encroachment further into core plasmas and therefore leads to steady state L-mode profiles. The simulation results show that most energy is lost via ion channel during an ELM event, followed by particle loss and electron energy loss. Because edge plasmas have significant spatial inhomogeneities and complicated boundary conditions, we have developed a fast non-Fourier method for the computation of Landau-fluid closure terms based on an accurate and tunable approximation. The accuracy and the fast computational scaling of the method have been demonstrated.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗