An implicit, conservative electrostatic particle-in-cell algorithm for paraxial magnetic nozzles
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This project aimed to make a practical system capable of sustained metal deposition in air engineered with industrial integration and controls. The Al-Ce wire feedstock was tailored with appropriate deposition and solidification properties for direct reactive interface printing (DRIP), and the goal was to integrate onto a Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies system for producing test parts without a controlled environment.
This project aimed to make a practical system capable of sustained metal deposition in air engineered with industrial integration and controls. The Al-Ce wire feedstock was tailored with appropriate deposition and solidification properties for direct reactive interface printing (DRIP), and the goal was to integrate onto a Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies system for producing test parts without a controlled environment.
The goal of the proposed work is to study the deflection of plasma by high magnetic fields using the high uniform magnetic field of the Magnetized Dusty Plasma Experiment (MDPX) located at the Magnetized Plasma Research Laboratory (MPRL) at Auburn University. The proposal team consists of faculty from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). One of the motivations for this work is to study the concept of a magnetic nozzle for pulsed fusion propulsion. Fusion propulsion can provide extremely high specific impulse, >30,000 sec, for fuel-efficient and thus mass-efficient trips to other planets. One such fusion propulsion design of interest in this research is the Pulsed Fission-Fusion (PuFF) concept. PuFF uses a Z-pinch device to create a fusion reaction at the back of the spacecraft inside the magnetic nozzle. As the resulting plasma explosion is isotropic, a large portion of the momentum will be directed toward the ship and needs to be redirected to efficiently produce thrust. The magnetic nozzle is thus necessary to redirect or deflect the plasma from an isotropic expansion into the directed thrust. Thus, the pulsed-fusion propulsion nozzle is herein referred to as a deflection magnetic nozzle, as opposed to the more traditional and well-studied accelerating magnetic nozzle. The purpose of this project was thus to study the behavior of a plasma in the MDPX fields to better understand the plasma-field interactions and how it could lead to deflection and a pulsed fusion magnetic nozzle.
Here, we present a drift kinetic model for the free expansion of a thermal plasma out of a magnetic nozzle. This problem relates to plasma space propulsion systems, natural environments such as the solar wind, and end losses from the expander region of mirror magnetically confined fusion concepts such as the gas dynamic trap. The model incorporates trapped and passing orbit types encountered in the mirror expander geometry and maps to an upstream thermal distribution. This boundary condition and quasineutrality require the generation of an ambipolar potential drop of ~5T e /e, forming a thermal barrier for the electrons. The model for the electron and ion velocity distributions and fluid moments is confirmed with data from a fully kinetic simulation. Finally, the model is extended to account for a population of fast sloshing ions arising from neutral beam heating within a magnetic mirror, again resulting in good agreement with a corresponding kinetic simulation.
The shaping of astrophysical outflows into bright, dense, and collimated jets due to magnetic pressure is here investigated using laboratory experiments. Here we look at the impact on jet collimation of a misalignment between the outflow, as it stems from the source, and the magnetic field. For small misalignments, a magnetic nozzle forms and redirects the outflow in a collimated jet. For growing misalignments, this nozzle becomes increasingly asymmetric, disrupting jet formation. Our results thus suggest outflow/magnetic field misalignment to be a plausible key process regulating jet collimation in a variety of objects from our Sun’s outflows to extragalatic jets. Furthermore, they provide a possible interpretation for the observed structuring of astrophysical jets. Jet modulation could be interpreted as the signature of changes over time in the outflow/ambient field angle, and the change in the direction of the jet could be the signature of changes in the direction of the ambient field.
Abstract Precise values for radiated energy in tokamak disruption experiments are needed to validate disruption mitigation techniques for burning plasma tokamaks like ITER and SPARC. Control room analysis of radiated power ( P rad ) on JET assumes axisymmetry, since fitting 3D radiation structures with limited bolometry coverage is an under-determined problem. In mitigated disruptions, radiation is toroidally asymmetric and 3D, due to fast-growing 3D MHD modes and localized impurity sources. To address this problem, Emis3D adopts a physics motivated forward modeling (‘guess and check’) approach, comparing experimental bolometry data to synthetic data from user-defined radiation structures. Synthetic structures are observed with the Cherab modeling framework and a best fit chosen using a reduced χ 2 statistic. 2D tomographic inversion models are tested, as well as helical flux tubes and 3D MHD simulated structures from JOREK. Two nominally identical pure neon shattered pellet injection (SPI) mitigated discharges in JET are analyzed. 2D tomographic inversions with added toroidal freedom are the best fits in the thermal quench (TQ) and current quench (CQ). In the pre-TQ, 2D reconstructions are statistically the best fits, but are likely over-optimized and do not capture the 3D radiation structure seen in fast camera images. The next-best pre-TQ fits are helical structures that extend towards the high-field side, consistent with an impurity flow under the magnetic nozzle effect also observed in JOREK simulations. Whole-disruption radiated fractions of 0.98 + 0.03 / − 0.29 and 1.01 + 0.02 / − 0.17 are found, suggesting that the stored energy may have been fully mitigated by each SPI, although mitigation efficiencies well below ITER and SPARC requirements for high energy pulses are still within the large uncertainties. Emis3D is also used to validate JOREK SPI simulations, and confirms improvements in matching experiment from changes to impurity modeling. Time-dependent toroidal peaking factors are calculated and discussed.
An electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) thruster includes a magnetic field source configured to generate a magnetic field, a thruster body that defines a chamber, the thruster body being disposed relative to the magnetic field source such that the magnetic field is present in the chamber and such that a magnetic nozzle is established, an antenna configured to propagate radio frequency (RF) power within the chamber, and a waveform generator coupled to the antenna to generate an RF waveform for the RF power. The waveform generator is configured such that the RF waveform includes multiple frequencies.
Understandinrelationships between magnetic field and plasma conditions
Extrusion based additive manufacturing of polymer composite magnets can increase the solid loading volume fraction with greater mechanical force through the printing nozzle as compared to traditional injection molding process. About 63 vol% of isotropic NdFeB magnet powders were compounded with 37 vol% of polyphenylene sulfide and bonded permanent magnets were fabricated while using Big Area Additive Manufacturing without any degradation in magnetic properties. The polyphenylene sulfide bonded magnets have a tensile stress of 20 MPa, almost double than that of nylon bonded permanent magnets. Additively manufactured and surface-protective-resin coated bonded magnets meet the industrial stability criterion of up to 175 °C with a flux-loss of 2.35% over 1000 h. They also exhibit better corrosion resistance behavior when exposed to acidic (pH = 1.35) solution for 24 h and also annealed at 80 °C over 100 h (at 95% relative humidity) over without coated magnets. Thus, polyphenylene sulfide bonded, additively manufactured, protective resin coated bonded permanent magnets provide better thermal, mechanical, and magnetic properties.
In this work, we report a mathematical framework which predicts the degree of alignment (DoA) in an in-situ aligned additively manufactured 3D printed bonded magnets. A multiphysics model is developed which couples the harmonious interactions of magnetic particles in a viscous flowing polymer under the presence of an external magnetic field. The hydrodynamic fluid-particle interaction is paired with the magnetophoretic force to predict the particle trajectory and distribution during extrusion through a 3D printer nozzle. Succeeding the force balance, a magnetohydrodynamic torque equilibrium analysis is performed to predict the net-orientation of the magnetic particles as a function of the applied field strength, viscous forces, and particle-to-particle interactions (P2P). Experimental validation of the DoA predictions is performed using 65 vol% Nd-Fe-B+Sm-Fe-N in Nylon12 (DoA exp = 0.620 and DoA theory = 0.686) and 15 vol% Sm-Co in PLA (DoA exp = 0.830 and DoA theory = 0.863). A parametric analysis is performed to analyze the effect of operating and design parameters like alignment field strength, magnetic loading fraction, extrusion load, and particle size. The model predicts a competing behavior between particle-fluid and particle-particle interactions under the presence of an applied field. Lastly, the model provides a framework to efficiently predict the DoA in tandem with a functionalized-magnetic 3D printer and allows the user to adjust the operating parameters according to the desired DoA.
The gas-puff Z-pinch is a well-known source of x-rays and/or neutrons, but it is highly susceptible to the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability (MRTI). Approaches to MRTI mitigation include density profile tailoring, in which nozzles are added or modified to alter the acceleration trajectory, and axial pre-magnetization, in which perturbations are smoothed out via magnetic field line tension. In this work, we present two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of loads driven by an 850 kA,160 ns driver that suggest these mitigation strategies can be additive. The initial axial magnetic field, B z0 , to stabilize a 2.5-cm-radius Ne gas liner imploding onto an on-axis deuterium target can be reduced from 0.7 T to 0.3 T by adding a second liner with a radius of 1.25 cm. Because MRTI mitigation tends to increasingly lower yield with higher B z0 , the use of a lower field is advantageous. Here, we predict a reduction in yield penalty from > 100× with the single liner to < 10× with a double liner. A premagnetized, triple nozzle gas puff could therefore be an attractive source for intense neutrons or other fusion applications.
Ni–Mn-based Heusler alloys are known to demonstrate magnetic shape memory and giant magnetocaloric effect (MCE). These effects depend on the phases, crystallographic and magnetic phase transitions, and the crystallographic texture characteristics. These structural characteristics, in turn, are a function of the processing parameters. In the current work, Ni 55.5 Mn 18.8 Ga 24 Si 1.7 Heusler alloy was processed by melt-spinning under a helium atmosphere. This process results in a fine microstructure. The ribbon that was produced with a narrower nozzle width, faster wheel speed, and higher cast temperature, indicating a faster cooling rate, had double the magnetic entropy change close to room temperature. However, the other ribbon demonstrated a large entropy change over a broader temperature range, extending its usability. The effect of the melt-spinning process parameters on the developing microstructure, crystallographic structure and texture, transformation temperatures, and the magnetic entropy change were studied to explain the difference in magnetocaloric behavior.
This White Paper brings together our previous studies on a Muon Collider (MC) and presents a design concept of the 6 TeV MC optics, the superconducting (SC) magnets, and a preliminary analysis of the protection system to reduce magnet radiation loads as well as particle backgrounds in the detector. The SC magnets and detector protection considerations impose strict limitations on the lattice choice, hence the design of the collider optics, magnets and Machine Detector Interface (MDI) are closely intertwined. As a first approximation we use the Interaction Region (IR) design with beta-star=3 mm, whereas for the arcs we re-scale the arc cell design of the 3 TeV MC. Traditional cos-theta coil geometry and Nb3Sn superconductor were used to provide field maps for the analysis and optimization of the arc lattice and IR design, as well as for studies of beam dynamics and magnet protection against radiation. The stress management in the coil will be needed to avoid large degradation or even damage of the brittle SC coils. In the assumed IR designs, the dipoles close to the Interaction Point (IP) and tungsten masks in each IR (to protect magnets) help reducing background particle fluxes in the detector by a substantial factor. The tungsten nozzles in the 6 to 600 cm region from the IP, assisted by the detector solenoid field, trap most of the decay electrons created close to the IP as well as most of the incoherent electron-positron pairs generated in the IP. With sophisticated tungsten, iron, concrete and borated polyethylene shielding in the MDI region, the total reduction of background loads by more than three orders of magnitude can be achieved.
Gas-puff z-pinch implosions are characterized by the formation of a dense annular plasma shell, the sheath, that is driven to the axis by magnetic forces and therefore subject to the magneto-Rayleigh–Taylor instability. Here, the conditions within these sheaths are measured on the 1-MA COBRA generator at Cornell University for various gas species and initial fill densities. The gas-puff loads are initialized by a 7 cm diameter triple-nozzle gas valve assembly with concentric outer and inner annular nozzles and a central gas jet. Thomson scattering and laser interferometry provide spatially resolved flow, temperature, and electron density profiles midway through the implosion, while extreme ultraviolet pinhole cameras record the evolution of the plasma column and photoconducting diodes measure x-ray emission. Analysis of the scattering spectra includes a means of discriminating between thermal and non-thermal broadening to test for the presence of hydrodynamic turbulence. Two types of sheath profiles are observed, those with sharp discontinuities at the leading edge and those with smooth gradients. In both cases, non-thermal broadening is generally peaked at the front of the sheath and exhibits a characteristic decay length that roughly scales with the sheath ion mean free path. Here, we demonstrate that this non-thermal broadening term is inconsistent with laminar velocity gradients and is more consistent with dissipative turbulence driven by unstable plasma waves in a collisionless shock. The resulting differences in sheath profile are then set by the sheath ion collisionality in a manner consistent with recent 1D kinetic simulations.
Experiments on the 1-MA, 220-ns COBRA generator at Cornell University were conducted to provide detailed measurements of structured cylindrical gas-puff z pinches. In the experiments, a 7 cm diameter triple-nozzle gas valve assembly with concentric outer and inner annular nozzles and a central gas jet initialize the z-pinch load with various working gases, radial density profiles, and externally applied axial magnetic fields. Planar laser-induced fluorescence provides a measure of the initial neutral gas density of the load, while three-frame laser shearing interferometry and multi-frame extreme ultraviolet (XUV) cameras reveal the formation and propagation of a magneto-Rayleigh–Taylor (MRT) unstable shock layer. Implosion trajectories are compared to simple, experimentally informed models and found to be in good agreement. Differences in the structure of the accelerating plasma sheath and evolution of the MRT instability are observed for different gas species and axial magnetic field strengths, correlating with differences in pinch uniformity and x-ray emission. Here, the average instability growth is compared to linear MRT theory predictions using the instantaneous acceleration of the best-fit implosion models and characteristic instability wavelength, with the effective Atwood number and seed perturbation size as fit parameters. For high density argon center jets, ionization prior to the arrival of the imploding plasma sheath suggests a heating mechanism consistent with photoionization by XUV self-emission.
A system for studying the spatiotemporal dynamics of fluctuations in the boundary of the W7-X plasma using the “Gas-Puff Imaging” (GPI) technique has been designed, constructed, installed, and operated. This GPI system addresses a number of challenges specific to long-pulse superconducting devices, such as W7-X, including the long distance between the plasma and the vacuum vessel wall, the long distance between the plasma and diagnostic ports, the range of last closed flux surface (LCFS) locations for different magnetic configurations in W7-X, and management of heat loads on the system’s plasma-facing components. The system features a pair of “converging–diverging” nozzles for partially collimating the gas puffed locally ≈135 mm radially outboard of the plasma boundary, a pop-up turning mirror for viewing the gas puff emission from the side (which also acts as a shutter for the re-entrant vacuum window), and a high-throughput optical system that collects visible emission resulting from the interaction between the puffed gas and the plasma and directs it along a water-cooled re-entrant tube directly onto the 8 × 16 pixel detector array of the fast camera. The DEGAS 2 neutral code was used to simulate the Hα (656 nm) and HeI (587 nm) line emission expected from well-characterized gas-puffs of H2 and He and excited within typical edge plasma profiles in W7-X, thereby predicting line brightnesses used to reduce the risks associated with system sensitivity and placement of the field of view. Operation of GPI on W7-X shows excellent signal-to-noise ratios (>100 at 2 Mframes/s) over the field of view for minimally perturbing gas puffs. The GPI system provides detailed measurements of the two-dimensional (radial and poloidal) dynamics of plasma fluctuations in the W7-X edge and scrape-off layer and in and around the magnetic islands outside the LCFS that make up the island divertor configuration employed on W7-X.
A method and apparatus for additive manufacturing that includes a material guide for directing a supply of working material. An advancement mechanism comprising one or more pistons, pushers, plungers and/or pressure regulation systems are positioned behind at least a portion of the supply of working material for advancing the working material forward. The working material is heated using an electro-magnetic heating element and the melted or molten working material is deposited from a tip positioned at an end of the material guide.