Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “MAGNETIC FIELD CONFIGURATIONS”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1961

On the Induced Flow of an Electrically Conducting Liquid in a Rectangular Duct by Electric and Magnetic Fields of Finite Extent

Reported here are the results of a systematic study of a model of the direct-current electromagnetic pump. Of particular interest is the motion imparted to the electrically conducting fluid in the rectangular duct by the body forces that result from applied electric and magnetic fields. The purpose of the investigation is to associate the observed fluid motion with the characteristics of the electric and magnetic fields which cause them. The experiments were carried out with electromagnetic fields that moved a stream of copper sulphate solution through a clear plastic channel. Ink filaments injected into the stream ahead of the region where the fields were applied identify the motion of the fluid elements as they passed through the test channel. Several magnetic field configurations were employed with a two-dimensional electric current distribution in order to study and identify the magnitude of some of the effects on the fluid motion brought about by nonuniformities in the electromagnetic fields. A theoretical analysis was used to guide and evaluate the identification of the several fluid motions observed. The agreement of the experimental data with the theoretical predictions is satisfactory. It is found that sizable variations in the velocity profile and pressure head of the output stream are produced by the shape of the electric and magnetic fields.

Rossow, Vernon J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Energy release topology in a multiple-loop solar flare

The temporal and spatial structures of the UV and X-ray emissions and the magnetic field configuration in the November 12, 1980 flare observed from SMM have been studied. The UV observations were done in the O V and Fe XXI lines with a spatial resolution of 10 arcsec. The observations show that the impulsive UV bursts, and also the hard X-ray bursts by their temporal correlation with the impulsive O V emission, occurred in small localized kernels. By comparing the O V, Fe XXI, and X-ray raster images of the flare with the magnetogram, these emission kernels were identified as footpoints of interacting magnetic flux loops. The temporal evolution of the O V/Fe XXI emission shows that there was considerable preheating in the flare plasma some 8-9 minutes prior to the onset of the main hard X-ray bursts. The results are interpreted as indicating that the primary flare energy release occurred in a highly sheared multiloop structure, which lies along a magnetic neutral line. By either beam particle propagation or convective motion, flare energy is transported via a common footpoint to another loop which brightened later. The preheating of the flare plasma is shown to create a more favorable environment for energetic particle acceleration which resulted in the main impulsive hard X-ray bursts.

Cheng, C.-C.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Experimental and analytical investigation of a modified ring cusp NSTAR engine

A series of experimental measurements on a modified laboratory NSTAR engine were used to validate a zero dimensional analytical discharge performance model of a ring cusp ion thruster. The model predicts the discharge performance of a ring cusp NSTAR thruster as a function the magnetic field configuration, thruster geometry, and throttle level. Analytical formalisms for electron and ion confinement are used to predict the ionization efficiency for a given thruster design. Explicit determination of discharge loss and volume averaged plasma parameters are also obtained. The model was used to predict the performance of the nominal and modified three and four ring cusp 30-cm ion thruster configurations operating at the full power (2.3 kW) NSTAR throttle level. Experimental measurements of the modified engine configuration discharge loss compare well with the predicted value for propellant utilizations from 80 to 95%. The theory, as validated by experiment, indicates that increasing the magnetic strength of the minimum closed reduces maxwellian electron diffusion and electrostatically confines the ion population and subsequent loss to the anode wall. The theory also indicates that increasing the cusp strength and minimizing the cusp area improves primary electron confinement increasing the probability of an ionization collision prior to loss at the cusp.

cathodes↗
DOE OSTI2022

In situ observation of the magnetization configuration and reversal in cylindrical nanowires

Curvilinear magnetic structures often have unique magnetic behavior compared to their rectilinear counterparts. This is due to the unique curvilinear boundary conditions as well as the curvature induced Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya-like interaction and the curvature induced anisotropy. The effects of a curvilinear geometry are best studied in 3D structures, where the curvature can have a significant spatial extent. Of these 3D structures, the simplest structure to study is the cylindrical nanowire. Here, we have simulated the magnetization reversal in cylindrical NiFe nanowires and present in situ Lorentz TEM images to support the findings of the simulations. We studied the domain formation and reversal of nanowires with two distinct diameters that give rise to a different reversal behavior. We have, thus, found that the zero-field magnetization configuration in these wires can take on a double helix type of configuration. The reversal in these structures then proceeds through the winding and unwinding of these helical configurations rather than through domain wall propagation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1988

Ring cusp/hollow cathode discharge chamber performance studies

An experimental study was performed to determine the effects of hollow cathode position, anode position, and ring cusp magnetic field configuration and strength on discharge chamber performance. The results are presented in terms of comparative plasma ion energy cost, extracted ion fraction, and beam profile data. Such comparisons are used to demonstrate whether changes in performance are caused by changes in the loss rate of primary electrons to the anode or the loss rate of ions to discharge chamber walls or cathode and anode surfaces. Results show: (1) the rate of primary electron loss to the anode decreases as the anode is moved downstream of the ring cusp toward the screen grid; (2) the loss rate of ions to hollow cathode surfaces are excessive if the cathode is located upstream of a point of peak magnetic flux density at the discharge chamber centerline; and (3) the fraction of the ions produced that are lost to discharge chamber walls and ring magnet surfaces is reduced by positioning of the magnet rings so the plasma density is uniform over the grid surface, and adjusting their strength to a level where it is sufficient to prevent excessive ion losses by Bohm diffusion.

Vaughn, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Characterization of hollow cathode, ring cusp discharge chambers

An experimental study into the effects of changes in such physical design parameters as hollow cathode position, anode position and ring cusp magnetic field configuration and strength on discharge chamber performance, is described. The results are presented in terms of comparative plasma ion energy cost, extracted ion fraction and ion beam profile data. Such comparisons are used to demonstrate specific means by which changes in these design parameters induce changes in performance, i.e., through changes in the loss rates of primary electrons to the anode, of ions to discharge chamber walls or of ions to cathode and anode surfaces. Results show: (1) the rate of primary electron loss to the anode decreases as the anode is moved downstream of the ring cusp toward the screen grid, (2) the loss rate of ions to hollow cathode surfaces are excessive if the cathode is located upstream of a point of peak magnetic flux density on the discharge chamber centerline, and (3) the fraction of the ions produced that are lost to discharge chamber walls and ring magnet surfaces is reduced by positioning the magnet rings so the plasma density is uniform over the grid surface and so there are no steep magnetic flux density gradients near the walls through which ions can be lost by Bohm diffusion. The uniformity of the plasma density at the grids can also be improved by moving the point of primary electron injection into the discharge chamber off of the chamber centerline. Other results show the discharge chamber losses decrease when a filament cathode is substituted for a hollow cathode to the extent of the hollow cathode operating power. When plasma ion energy cost is determined in such a way that the cost of operating the hollow cathode is subtracted out, the performance using either electron source is similar.

Vaughn, Jason A.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Design of the new extraction grid for the NIO1 negative ion source

NIO1 is a compact source of negative ions jointly developed by RFX and INFN, to study the physics of production and acceleration of H{sup −} beams. Negative ions, up to 120 mA of current, are extracted from a radiofrequency driven plasma, by means of a gridded electrode (plasma grid, PG) featuring 9 apertures arranged in a 3x3 square lattice. The same aperture pattern is replicated in the following electrodes, allowing ion acceleration up to 60 keV. All electrodes are realized in copper, by electro-deposition technique, leaving empty slots in the metal to place magnets and to flow water for the grid cooling. The first set of electrodes was completed, installed in the source and tested. At the same time, an upgrade of the extraction system was carried out, in order to optimize the beam optics and to explore alternative electrostatic configurations. In particular, the accelerator will be modified by completely replacing the EG grid, exploiting the modularity of NIO1. The new electrode will feature other slots in between apertures, to place additional magnets. This allows testing different magnetic configurations, to optimize electron filtering and residual ion deflection. The present paper describes the theoretical activities driving the design of these new extractors, carried out with most updated numerical codes, and exploiting the synergy with the refined modeling of the 40 A ITER negative ion sources, under development at Consorzio RFX. Beam simulations are performed both with tracing codes (SLACCAD and OPERA) and with particle in cell codes (ACCPIC)

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Reconstruction of equilibrium magnetic configurations in the Globus-M spherical tokamak

The results of reconstruction of equilibrium magnetic configurations in the Globus-M spherical tokamak by means of the EFIT code and by the method of movable filaments with the use of the data from magnetic measurements are compared. The EFIT code allows one to completely reconstruct the magnetic configuration by solving the Grad−Shafranov equation. In the method of movable filaments, the distribution of the toroidal current flowing through the plasma is described by a set of infinitely thin current-carrying rings. In this method, the last closed magnetic surface (LCMS) and the open surfaces lying beyond the LCMS are calculated. Using both methods, the coordinates of the regions where the separatrix strikes the divertor plates were determined. The results obtained agree well with the distributions of the temperature over the tungsten divertor tiles measured using an IR camera.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Conceptual Design of a Scintillator-Based Fast-Ion Loss Detector for the Wendelstein 7-X Stellarator

Here, a conceptual design of a scintillator-based fast-ion loss detector (FILD) has been developed for the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator (W7-X). Simulations using the Monte Carlo codes ASCOT5 and BEAMS3D have been performed to calculate the expected flux of neutral beam injection (NBI)-generated fast hydrogen ions onto the conceptual detector probe head. These fast-ion loss fluxes have been calculated for several magnetic field configurations as well as probe insertion positions. At the maximum insertion position, both co-and counter-going losses with high incident pitch angles are observed; however, at retracted positions, only co-going fast ions reach the probe head. The FILDSIM code has been used to optimize the geometry of the detector entrance and collimating elements to achieve a wide velocity space coverage as well as a high velocity–space resolution. A synthetic FILD signal is calculated for the expected loss distribution via forward modeling using the instrument response function. The synthetic signal is found to largely retain the velocity space features of the loss distribution.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

MICROWAVE IMAGING OF A HOT FLUX ROPE STRUCTURE DURING THE PRE-IMPULSIVE STAGE OF AN ERUPTIVE M7.7 SOLAR FLARE

Corona structures and processes during the pre-impulsive stage of solar eruption are crucial to understanding the physics leading to the subsequent explosive energy release. Here we present the first microwave imaging study of a hot flux rope structure during the pre-impulsive stage of an eruptive M7.7 solar flare, with the Nobeyama Radioheliograph at 17 GHz. The flux rope is also observed by the SDO/AIA in its hot passbands of 94 and 131 Å. In the microwave data, it is revealed as an overall arcade-like structure consisting of several intensity enhancements bridged by generally weak emissions, with brightness temperatures (T{sub B}) varying from ∼10,000 K to ∼20,000 K. Locations of microwave intensity enhancements along the structure remain relatively fixed at certain specific parts of the flux rope, indicating that the distribution of emitting electrons is affected by the large-scale magnetic configuration of the twisted flux rope. Wavelet analysis shows a pronounced 2 minute period of the microwave T{sub B} variation during the pre-impulsive stage of interest. The period agrees well with that reported for AIA sunward-contracting loops and upward ejective plasmoids (suggested to be reconnection outflows). This suggests that both periodicities are controlled by the same reconnection process that takes place intermittently at a 2 minute timescale. We infer that at least a part of the emission is excited by non-thermal energetic electrons via the gyro-synchrotron mechanism. The study demonstrates the potential of microwave imaging in exploring the flux rope magnetic geometry and relevant reconnection process during the onset of solar eruption.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

A high-density and high-confinement tokamak plasma regime for fusion energy

The tokamak approach, utilizing a toroidal magnetic field configuration to confine a hot plasma, is one of the most promising designs for developing reactors that can exploit nuclear fusion to generate electrical energy. To reach the goal of an economical reactor, most tokamak reactor designs simultaneously require reaching a plasma line-averaged density above an empirical limit—the so-called Greenwald density and attaining an energy confinement quality better than the standard high-confinement mode. However, such an operating regime has never been verified in experiments. In addition, a long-standing challenge in the high-confinement mode has been the compatibility between a high-performance core and avoiding large, transient edge perturbations that can cause very high heat loads on the plasma-facing-components in tokamaks. Here we report the demonstration of stable tokamak plasmas with a line-averaged density approximately 20% above the Greenwald density and an energy confinement quality of approximately 50% better than the standard high-confinement mode, which was realized by taking advantage of the enhanced suppression of turbulent transport granted by high density-gradients in the high-poloidal-beta scenario. Furthermore, our experimental results show an integration of very low edge transient perturbations with the high normalized density and confinement core. The operating regime we report supports some critical requirements in many fusion reactor designs all over the world and opens a potential avenue to an operating point for producing economically attractive fusion energy.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Common Tracking Software Project

Abstract The reconstruction of the trajectories of charged particles, or track reconstruction, is a key computational challenge for particle and nuclear physics experiments. While the tuning of track reconstruction algorithms can depend strongly on details of the detector geometry, the algorithms currently in use by experiments share many common features. At the same time, the intense environment of the High-Luminosity LHC accelerator and other future experiments is expected to put even greater computational stress on track reconstruction software, motivating the development of more performant algorithms. We present here A Common Tracking Software (ACTS) toolkit, which draws on the experience with track reconstruction algorithms in the ATLAS experiment and presents them in an experiment-independent and framework-independent toolkit. It provides a set of high-level track reconstruction tools which are agnostic to the details of the detection technologies and magnetic field configuration and tested for strict thread-safety to support multi-threaded event processing. We discuss the conceptual design and technical implementation of ACTS, selected applications and performance of ACTS, and the lessons learned.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2018

The Composition of Plasma inside Geostationary Orbit Based on Van Allen Probes Observations

The composition of the inner magnetosphere is of great importance for determining the plasma pressure, and thus the currents and magnetic field configuration. In this study, we perform a statistical survey of equatorial plasma pressure distributions and investigate the relative contributions of ions and electron with different energies inside of geostationary orbit under two AE levels based on over sixty months of observations from the HOPE and RBSPICE mass spectrometers on board Van Allen Probes. We find that the total and partial pressures of different species increase significantly at high AE levels with Hydrogen (H + ) pressure being dominant in the plasmasphere. The pressures of the heavy ions and electrons increase outside the plasmapause and develop a strong dawn-dusk asymmetry with ion pressures peaking at dusk and electron pressure peaking at dawn. In addition, ring current H + with energies ranging from 50 keV up to several hundred keV is the dominant component of plasma pressure during both quiet (> 90%) and active times (> 60%), while Oxygen (O + ) with 10 < E < 50 keV and electrons with 0.1 < E < 40 keV become important during active times contributing more than 25% and 20% on the nightside, respectively, while the Helium (He + ) contribution is generally small. The results presented in this study provide a global picture of the equatorial plasma pressure distributions and the associated contributions from different species with different energy ranges, which advance our knowledge of wave generation and provide models with a systematic baseline of plasma composition.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Recent advancements and remaining challenges associated with inner magnetosphere cross-energy/population interactions (IMCEPI)

The geospace inner magnetosphere, within about ten Earth radii, contains various plasma populations with energy from a few eV to MeV and plays important roles in regulating the energy density of the magnetosphere, the magnetic field configuration, and wave dynamics. As an integrated part of the magnetosphere, the inner magnetosphere region also ties to other regions and can change the global geospace circulation. Therefore understanding both internal and external cross–energy/population interactions can help further our knowledge of the inner magnetosphere dynamics and non–linear feedback processes. In view of this, in the past five years (2014–2018), the GEM Focus Group (FG) “Inner magnetosphere cross–energy/population interactions (IMCEPI)” has gathered and boosted community–wide interactions among observation, simulation and modeling studies. As a result, this commentary reports some major accomplishments of the interactive inner magnetosphere community that were advanced by the IMCEPI FG discussions and layouts remaining challenges that need to be carried on.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Effect of magnetic field inclination on black hole jet power and particle acceleration

Rotating black holes are known to launch relativistic jets and accelerate particles if they accrete a magnetized plasma. It remains unclear, however, how the global magnetic field orientation affects the jet powering efficiency. We propose the first kinetic study of a collisionless plasma around a Kerr black hole embedded in a magnetic field that is inclined with respect to the black hole spin axis. Using three-dimensional general relativistic particle-in-cell simulations, we show that while oblique magnetic field configurations significantly reduce the jet power, particle acceleration still remains highly efficient. This suggests that black holes producing a weak jet might still be bright sources of nonthermal radiation and cosmic rays.

acceleration of particles↗
DOE OSTI2011

Characterisation of SOL density fluctuations in front of the LHCD PAM launcher in Tore

The density fluctuations, modified by Lower Hybrid Wave (LHW), is analyzed in Tore Supra with reference to the injected LHW power, density and the gap between LCFS (Last Closed Flux Surface) and the PAM (passive-active-multijunction) launcher. The density fluctuations are measured with RF probes installed at the PAM launcher front. A density scan at nominal toroidal field (3.8 T) shows that the fluctuations rate stays nearly constant ({approx}50%) for <n{sub e}><3.5x10{sup 19}m{sup -3} and with LHW power up to 2MW. However, when increasing the density above <n{sub e}><{approx}4.2x10{sup 19}m{sup -3}, using strong gas puffing, the fluctuation rate increases to >70% and is characterized by strong negative spikes, with typical frequency >100kHz. These are most likely originating from acceleration of electrons in the LHW near field due to parasitic absorption, as evidenced on the IR images, showing hot spots on the side limiters.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

HHFW Heating and Current Drive Studies of NSTX H-Mode Plasmas

30 MHz high-harmonic fast wave (HHFW) heating and current drive are being developed to assist fully non-inductive plasma current (I{sub p}) ramp-up in NSTX. The initial approach to achieving this goal has been to heat I{sub p} = 300 kA inductive plasmas with current drive antenna phasing in order to generate an HHFW H-mode with significant bootstrap and RF-driven current. Recent experiments, using only 1.4 MW of RF power (P{sub RF}), achieved a non-inductive current fraction, f{sub NI}{approx}0.65. Improved antenna conditioning resulted in the generation of I{sub p} = 650 kA HHFW H-mode plasmas, with f{sub NI}{approx}0.35, when P{sub RF}{>=}2.5 MW. These plasmas have little or no edge localized mode (ELM) activity during HHFW heating, a substantial increase in stored energy and a sustained central electron temperature of 5-6 keV. Another focus of NSTX HHFW research is to heat an H-mode generated by 90 keV neutral beam injection (NBI). Improved HHFW coupling to NBI-generated H-modes has resulted in a broad increase in electron temperature profile when HHFW heating is applied. Analysis of a closely matched pair of NBI and HHFW+NBI H-mode plasmas revealed that about half of the antenna power is deposited inside the last closed flux surface (LCFS). Of the power damped inside the LCFS about two-thirds is absorbed directly by electrons and one-third accelerates fast-ions that are mostly promptly lost from the plasma. At longer toroidal launch wavelengths, HHFW+NBI H-mode plasmas can have an RF power flow to the divertor outside the LCFS that significantly reduces RF power deposition to the core. ELMs can also reduce RF power deposition to the core and increase power deposition to the edge. Recent full wave modeling of NSTX HHFW+NBI H-mode plasmas, with the model extended to the vessel wall, predicts a coaxial standing mode between the LCFS and the wall that can have large amplitudes at longer launch wavelengths. These simulation results qualitatively agree with HHFW+NBI H-mode data that show decreasing core RF heating efficiency and increasing RF power flow to the lower divertor at longer launch wavelengths.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Studying fast wave propagation and absorption at any cyclotron harmonic using a 2D finite element area coordinates wave equation solver

Fourier analysis in the poloidal direction is a standard ingredient in present-day 2D wave equation solvers describing radio frequency waves in hot tokamak plasmas. Although a powerful and elegant technique, Fourier analysis has the disadvantage that a large number of modes is needed to describe the field pattern on a magnetic surface if a short wavelength mode exists on any - even very small - subpart of the particle trajectory. The present paper examines the potential of a method that does not suffer from this drawback: a finite element technique relying on simple linear or cubic area base functions that are defined on irregular elementary surfaces of triangular shape. The wave equation is solved in its weak Galerkin variational form and for realistic 2D tokamak geometry, accounting for the toroidal curvature but assuming the toroidal angle is ignorable, allowing to study the wave pattern for each of the independent toroidal modes excited by the antenna individually.The locally uniform full hot plasma dielectric tensor to all orders in finite Larmor radius was adopted. As the main intended application is the study of fast wave behavior (heating and current drive) at arbitrary harmonics, the wave vector complex amplitude appearing in the dielectric tensor is determined through a local dispersion root evaluation. High frequency fast wave propagation and damping is provided as an illustration in view of possible application of this type of current drive in future high density reactor-like tokamaks.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗