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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 1,567 records · Page 87
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DOE OSTI2013

The high-energy-density counterpropagating shear experiment and turbulent self-heating

The counterpropagating shear experiment has previously demonstrated the ability to create regions of shock-driven shear, balanced symmetrically in pressure, and experiencing minimal net drift. This allows for the creation of a high-Mach-number high-energy-density shear environment. New data from the counterpropagating shear campaign is presented, and both hydrocode modeling and theoretical analysis in the context of a Reynolds-averaged-Navier-Stokes model suggest turbulent dissipation of energy from the supersonic flow bounding the layer is a significant driver in its expansion. A theoretical minimum shear flow Mach number threshold is suggested for substantial thermal-turbulence coupling.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Hugoniot and mean ionization of laser-shocked Ge-doped plastic

Pressure, density, temperature, and reflectivity measurements along the principal Hugoniot of Ge-doped plastics used in Inertial Confinement Fusion capsules surrogates were obtained to pressures reaching up to 7 Mbar and compared to Quotidian Equation of State models. The experiment was performed using the GEKKO XII laser at the Institute of Laser Engineering at Osaka University in Japan. High precision measurements of pressure and density were obtained using a quartz standard and found to be in good agreement with theoretical Hugoniot curves. Modeling of reflectivity measurements show that shocked samples can be described as poor metals and that mean ionization calculated within the frame of QEOS is overestimated. Similarly, shock temperatures were found to be below theoretical Hugoniot curves.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Collisionless microinstabilities in stellarators. I. Analytical theory of trapped-particle modes

This is the first in a series of papers about collisionless, electrostatic micro-instabilities in stellarators, with an emphasis on trapped-particle modes. It is found that, in so-called maximum-J configurations, trapped-particle instabilities are absent in large regions of parameter space. Quasi-isodynamic stellarators have this property (approximately), and the theory predicts that trapped electrons are stabilizing to all eigenmodes with frequencies below the electron bounce frequency. The physical reason is that the bounce-averaged curvature is favorable for all orbits, and that trapped electrons precess in the direction opposite to that in which drift waves propagate, thus precluding wave-particle resonance. These considerations only depend on the electrostatic energy balance and are independent of all geometric properties of the magnetic field other than the maximum-J condition. However, if the aspect ratio is large and the instability phase velocity differs greatly from the electron and ion thermal speeds, it is possible to derive a variational form for the frequency showing that stability prevails in a yet larger part of parameter space than what follows from the energy argument. Collisionless trapped-electron modes should therefore be more stable in quasi-isodynamic stellarators than in tokamaks.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Electron self-injection in the proton-driven-plasma-wakefield acceleration

The self-injection process of plasma electrons in the proton-driven-plasma-wakefield acceleration scheme is investigated using a two-dimensional, electromagnetic particle-in-cell method. Plasma electrons are self-injected into the back of the first acceleration bucket during the initial bubble formation period, where the wake phase velocity is low enough to trap sufficient electrons. Most of the self-injected electrons are initially located within a distance of the skin depth c/ω{sub pe} to the beam axis. A decrease (or increase) in the beam radius (or length) leads to a significant reduction in the total charges of self-injected electron bunch. Compared to the uniform plasma, the energy spread, emittance and total charges of the self-injected bunch are reduced in the plasma channel case, due to a reduced injection of plasma electrons that initially located further away from the beam axis.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2013

The mechanism of particles transport induced by electrostatic perturbation in tokamak

Particle transport in tokamak devices due to wave-particle resonance induced diffusion is studied. The diffusion coefficient is derived both analytically using quasilinear theory, and numerically using a test particle code, and the obtained diffusion coefficient agrees with each other in its validity regime. Dependence of the diffusion coefficient on turbulence intensity, turbulence radial mode structures, and particle energy is investigated. It is found that the diffusion coefficient is proportional to the turbulence intensity, and the diffusion is maximized for E{sub t}≃T{sub i}, and k{sub r}Δ{sub 0}≃1. Here, E{sub t} is the test particle energy, T{sub i} is the thermal ion temperature, Δ{sub 0} is the distance between neighboring mode rational surfaces, and 1/k{sub r} is the half width of the fine radial mode structure on each rational surface.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Experimental investigations of electron density and ion energy distributions in dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasmas for Ar/CF{sub 4} and Ar/O{sub 2}/CF{sub 4} discharges

The electron density and ion energy distribution (IED) are investigated in low-pressure dual-frequency capacitively coupled Ar/CF{sub 4} (90%/10%) and Ar/O{sub 2}/CF{sub 4} (80%/10%/10%) plasmas. The relations between controllable parameters, such as high-frequency (HF) power, low-frequency (LF) power and gas pressure, and plasma parameters, such as electron density and IEDs, are studied in detail by utilizing a floating hairpin probe and an energy resolved quadrupole mass spectrometer, respectively. In our experiment, the electron density is mainly determined by the HF power and slightly influenced by the LF power. With increasing gas pressure, the electron density first goes up rapidly to a maximum value and then decreases at various HF and LF powers. The HF power also plays a considerable role in affecting the IEDs under certain conditions and the ion energy independently controlled by the LF source is discussed here. For clarity, some numerical results obtained from a two-dimensional fluid model are presented.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

High efficiency off-axis current drive by high frequency fast waves

Modeling work shows that current drive can be done off-axis with high efficiency, as required for FNSF and DEMO, by using very high harmonic fast waves (“helicons” or “whistlers”). The modeling indicates that plasmas with high electron beta are needed in order for the current drive to take place off-axis, making DIII-D a highly suitable test vehicle for this process. The calculations show that the driven current is not very sensitive to the launched value of n{sub ∥}, a result that can be understood from examination of the evolution of n{sub ∥} as the waves propagate in the plasma. Because of this insensitivity, relatively large values (∼3) of n{sub ∥} can be launched, thereby avoiding some of the problems with mode conversion in the boundary found in some previous experiments. Use of a traveling wave antenna provides a very narrow n{sub ∥} spectrum, which also helps avoid mode conversion.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Modelling of the ion cyclotron resonance heating scenarios for W7-X stellarator

The construction of the world largest superconducting stellarator Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) has reached the final stage. One of the main scientific objectives of the W7-X project is to prove experimentally the predicted good confinement of high-energy ions. Ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) system is considered to be installed in W7-X to serve as a localized source of high energy ions. ICRH heating scenarios relevant for hydrogen and deuterium phases of W7-X operation are summarized. The heating efficiency in ({sup 3}He)-H plasmas is qualitatively analyzed using a modified version of the 1D TOMCAT code able to account for stellarator geometry. The minority ion absorption is shown to be maximized at the helium-3 concentration ∼2% for the typical plasma and ICRH parameters to be available during the initial phase of W7-X.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Nonlinear lower hybrid modeling in tokamak plasmas

We present here new results concerning the nonlinear mechanism underlying the observed spectral broadening produced by parametric instabilities occurring at the edge of tokamak plasmas in present day LHCD (lower hybrid current drive) experiments. Low frequency (LF) ion-sound evanescent modes (quasi-modes) are the main parametric decay channel which drives a nonlinear mode coupling of lower hybrid (LH) waves. The spectrum of the LF fluctuations is calculated here considering the beating of the launched LH wave at the radiofrequency (RF) operating line frequency (pump wave) with the noisy background of the RF power generator. This spectrum is calculated in the frame of the kinetic theory, following a perturbative approach. Numerical solutions of the nonlinear LH wave equation show the evolution of the nonlinear mode coupling in condition of a finite depletion of the pump power. The role of the presence of heavy ions in a Deuterium plasma in mitigating the nonlinear effects is analyzed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Plasma rotation and NTM onset driven by central EC deposition in TCV tokamak

The effects of the central electron cyclotron heating (ECH) and current drive (ECCD) on the spontaneous plasma rotation and on the presence of Tearing Modes (TM), observed in the TCV tokamak[1], were recently investigated as an interplay between the toroidal velocity and NTM onset in absence of sawteeth, ELMs and error fields [2–3]. In a set of reproducible TCV discharges (I{sub p}∼ −150 kA, B{sub t}∼ −1.4 T, ne,{sub av∼} 1.5 10{sup 19} m{sup −3}, T{sub e}∼ 3 keV and T{sub i}∼0.25 keV, q{sub 95}∼5.8) with both pure EC heating and current drive the cnt-Ip toroidal velocity was observed to be reduced with subsequent co-Ip appearance of 3/2 and 2/1 modes during the ramp up EC phases. The understanding of the capability of the on-axis EC power to modify the rotation profiles before and after the TM onset and of the sudden disappearance of 3/2 mode when 2/1 starts is the main purpose of this work. The velocity profile modifications are due to a direct effect of the EC absorbed power and also related to some variation of the perpendicular diffusion of the toroidal momentum and to magnetic braking effects of the kind of neoclassical toroidal viscosity (NTV) due to the NTM resonant field perturbations associated to the presence of TM. Numerical investigations are performed using a 1D toroidal momentum balance equation including contributions by external sources, as EC power, and NTV torques. Furthermore, the combined evolution of the 3/2 and 2/1 modes requires considering also coupling effects included in a generalized Rutherford equation for the modelling of the TM time growth.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Diagnostics of fast formation of distributed plasma discharges using X-band microwaves

We present measurements of high power (25.7 kW), pulsed (800 ns), X-band (9.382 GHz) microwave breakdown plasmas, including reflected power measurements, mixer reflected amplitude and phase measurements, optical emission spectroscopy (OES) measurements, and an analysis that estimates the average electron density and electron temperature. In addition, a six-region, 1-D model was used to determine plasma parameters and compare with the experimental results. The experimental results show that using a 43 Hz repetition rate with an 800 ns pulse, fast (<300 ns) breakdown occurs in neon measured between 50 Torr and 250 Torr, producing plasma that lasts for over 7 μs. It also leads to large microwave reflections (70%) and an on-axis transmission attenuation of −15 dB. Moreover, a comparison between a 1-D model and mixer measurements shows that at 100 Torr, the neon plasma electron density peaked at 2 × 10{sup 12} cm{sup −3}, and the electron temperature peaked at 2.5 eV assuming a Maxwellian distribution. The addition of 2% Ar in Ne reduced the breakdown time and allowed OES measurements to determine the effective electron temperature. OES measurements of mixed (Ne/Ar: 98/2) argon line ratios (420.1 nm/419.8 nm) were used to determine the average effective electron temperature T{sub e(eff)} = 1.2 eV, averaged over the entire 7μs plasma lifetime. They indicate that the electron energy distribution was not Maxwellian but, instead, tended towards a Druyvesteyn character.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Modeling of divertor geometry effects in China fusion engineering testing reactor by SOLPS/B2-Eirene

The China Fusion Engineering Testing Reactor (CFETR) is currently under design. The SOLPS/B2-Eirene code package is utilized for the design and optimization of the divertor geometry for CFETR. Detailed modeling is carried out for an ITER-like divertor configuration and one with relatively open inner divertor structure, to assess, in particular, peak power loading on the divertor target, which is a key issue for the operation of a next-step fusion machine, such as ITER and CFETR. As expected, the divertor peak heat flux greatly exceeds the maximum steady-state heat load of 10 MW/m{sup 2}, which is a limit dictated by engineering, for both divertor configurations with a wide range of edge plasma conditions. Ar puffing is effective at reducing divertor peak heat fluxes below 10 MW/m{sup 2} even at relatively low densities for both cases, favoring the divertor configuration with more open inner divertor structure.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

The energetic coupling of scales in gyrokinetic plasma turbulence

In magnetized plasma turbulence, the couplings of perpendicular spatial scales that arise due to the nonlinear interactions are analyzed from the perspective of the free-energy exchanges. The plasmas considered here, with appropriate ion or electron adiabatic electro-neutrality responses, are described by the gyrokinetic formalism in a toroidal magnetic geometry. Turbulence develops due to the electrostatic fluctuations driven by temperature gradient instabilities, either ion temperature gradient (ITG) or electron temperature gradient (ETG). The analysis consists in decomposing the system into a series of scale structures, while accounting separately for contributions made by modes possessing special symmetries (e.g., the zonal flow modes). The interaction of these scales is analyzed using the energy transfer functions, including a forward and backward decomposition, scale fluxes, and locality functions. The comparison between the ITG and ETG cases shows that ETG turbulence has a more pronounced classical turbulent behavior, exhibiting a stronger energy cascade, with implications for gyrokinetic turbulence modeling.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Modelling of three dimensional equilibrium and stability of MAST plasmas with magnetic perturbations using VMEC and COBRA

It is known that magnetic perturbations can mitigate edge localized modes (ELMs) in experiments, for example, MAST [Kirk et al., Nucl. Fusion 53, 043007 (2013)]. One hypothesis is that the magnetic perturbations cause a three dimensional corrugation of the plasma and this corrugated plasma has different stability properties to peeling-ballooning modes compared to an axisymmetric plasma. It has been shown in an up-down symmetric plasma that magnetic perturbations in tokamaks will break the usual axisymmetry of the plasma causing three dimensional displacements [Chapman et al., Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 54, 105013 (2012)]. We produce a free boundary three-dimensional equilibrium of a lower single null MAST relevant plasma using VMEC [S. P. Hirshman and J. C. Whitson, Phys. Fluids 26, 3553 (1983)]. The safety factor and pressure profiles used for the modelling are similar to those deduced from axisymmetric analysis of experimental data with ELMs. We focus on the effect of applying n = 3 and n = 6 magnetic perturbations using the resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) coils. A midplane displacement of over ±1 cm is seen when the full current is applied. The current in the coils is scanned and a linear relationship between coil current and midplane displacement is found. The pressure gradient in real space in different toroidal locations is shown to change when RMPs are applied. This effect should be taken into account when diagnosing plasmas with RMPs applied. The helical Pfirsch-Schlüter currents which arise as a result of the assumption of nested flux surfaces are estimated for this equilibrium. The effect of this non-axisymmetric equilibrium on infinite n ballooning stability is investigated using COBRA [Sanchez et al., J. Comput. Phys. 161, 576–588 (2000)]. The infinite n ballooning stability is analysed for two reasons; it may give an indication of the effect of non-axisymmetry on finite n peeling-ballooning modes, responsible for ELMs; and infinite n ballooning modes are correlated to kinetic ballooning modes which are thought to limit the pressure gradient of the pedestal [Snyder et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 056118 (2009)]. The ballooning mode growth rate gains a variation in toroidal angle. The equilibria with midplane displacements due to RMP coils have a higher ballooning mode growth rate than the axisymmetric case and the possible implications are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Turbulent cascade in a two-ion plasma

It is shown that small but finite-amplitude drift wave turbulence in a two-ion-species plasma can be modeled by a Hasegawa-Mima equation. The mode cascade process and resulting turbulent spectrum are investigated. The spectrum is found to be similar to that of a two-component plasma, but the space and time scales of the turbulent cascade process can be quite different since they are rescaled by the presence of the second ion species.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

On the study of threshold intensity dependence on the gain and loss processes in laser induced spark ignition of molecular hydrogen

In the present work, a numerical analysis is performed to investigate the comparative contribution of the mechanisms responsible for electron gain and losses in laser spark ignition and plasma formation of H{sub 2}. The analysis considered H{sub 2} over pressure range 150 -3000 torr irradiated by a Nd:YAG laser radiation at wavelengths 1064 and 532 nm with pulse length 5.5 ns. The study based on a modified electron cascade model by one of the authors which solves numerically the time dependent Boltzmann equation as well as a set of rate equations that describe the rate of change of the excited states population. The model includes most of the physical processes that might take place during the interaction. Computations of The threshold intensity are performed for the combined and separate contribution of each of the gain and loss processes. Reasonable agreement with the measured values over the tested pressure range is obtained only for the case of the combined contribution. Basing on the calculation of the electron energy distribution function, the determined relations of the time evolution of the electrons density for selected values of the tested gas pressure region revealed that photo-ionization of the excited states could determine the time of electron generation and hence spark ignition. Collisional ionization contributes to this phenomenon only at the high pressure regime. Loss processes due to electron diffusion, vibrational excitation are found to have significant effect over examined pressure values for the two applied laser wavelengths.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effect of secondary electron emission on the plasma sheath

In this experiment, plasma sheath potential profiles are measured over boron nitride walls in argon plasma and the effect of secondary electron emission is observed. Results are compared to a kinetic model. Plasmas are generated with a number density of 3 × 10{sup 12} m{sup −3} at a pressure of 10{sup −4} Torr-Ar, with a 1%–16% fraction of energetic primary electrons. The sheath potential profile at the surface of each sample is measured with emissive probes. The electron number densities and temperatures are measured in the bulk plasma with a planar Langmuir probe. The plasma is non-Maxwellian, with isotropic and directed energetic electron populations from 50 to 200 eV and hot and cold Maxwellian populations from 3.6 to 6.4 eV and 0.3 to 1.3 eV, respectively. Plasma Debye lengths range from 4 to 7 mm and the ion-neutral mean free path is 0.8 m. Sheath thicknesses range from 20 to 50 mm, with the smaller thickness occurring near the critical secondary electron emission yield of the wall material. Measured floating potentials are within 16% of model predictions. Measured sheath potential profiles agree with model predictions within 5 V (∼1 T{sub e}), and in four out of six cases deviate less than the measurement uncertainty of 1 V.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗