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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 487 records · Page 27
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Nonplanar solitons collision in ultracold neutral plasmas

Collisions between two nonplanar ion-acoustic solitons in strongly coupled ultracold neutral plasmas composed of ion fluid and non-Maxwellian (nonthermal or superthermal) electron distributions are investigated. The extended Poincare-Lighthill-Kuo method is used to obtain coupled nonplanar Kortweg-de Vries equations for describing the system. The nonplanar phase shifts after the interaction of the two solitons are calculated. It is found that the properties of the nonplanar colliding solitons and its corresponding phase shifts are different from those in the planar case. The polarity of the colliding solitons strongly depends on the type of the non-Maxwellian electron distributions. A critical nonthermality parameter β{sub c} is identified. For values of β ≤ β{sub c} solitons with double polarity exist, while this behavior cannot occur for superthermal plasmas. The phase shift for nonthermal plasmas increases below β{sub c} for a positive soliton, but it decreases for β > β{sub c} for a negative soliton. For superthermal plasmas, the phase shift enhances rapidly for low values of spectral index κ and higher values of ions effective temperature ratio σ{sub *}. For 2 ≲ κ<10, the phase shift decreases but does not change for κ > 10. The nonlinear structure, as reported here, is useful for controlling the solitons created in forthcoming ultracold neutral plasma experiments.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Alfvén wave coupled with flow-driven fluid instability in interpenetrating plasmas

The Alfvén wave is analyzed in case of one quasineutral plasma propagating with some constant speed v{sub 0} through another static quasineutral plasma. A dispersion equation is derived describing the Alfvén wave coupled with the flow driven mode ω=kv{sub 0} and solutions are discussed analytically and numerically. The usual solutions for two oppositely propagating Alfvén waves are substantially modified due to the flowing plasma. More profound is modification of the solution propagating in the negative direction with respect to the magnetic field and the plasma flow. For a large enough flow speed (exceeding the Alfvén speed in the static plasma), this negative solution may become non-propagating, with frequency equal to zero. In this case, it represents a spatial variation of the electromagnetic field. For greater flow speed it becomes a forward mode, and it may merge with the positive one. This merging of the two modes represents the starting point for a flow-driven instability, with two complex-conjugate solutions. The Alfvén wave in interpenetrating plasmas is thus modified and coupled with the flow-driven mode and this coupled mode is shown to be growing when the flow speed is large enough. The energy for the instability is macroscopic kinetic energy of the flowing plasma. The dynamics of plasma particles caused by such a coupled wave still remains similar to the ordinary Alfvén wave. This means that well-known stochastic heating by the Alfvén wave may work, and this should additionally support the potential role of the Alfvén wave in the coronal heating.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electron and ion transport equations in computational weakly-ionized plasmadynamics

A new set of ion and electron transport equations is proposed to simulate steady or unsteady quasi-neutral or non-neutral multicomponent weakly-ionized plasmas through the drift–diffusion approximation. The proposed set of equations is advantaged over the conventional one by being considerably less stiff in quasi-neutral regions because it can be integrated in conjunction with a potential equation based on Ohm's law rather than Gauss's law. The present approach is advantaged over previous attempts at recasting the system by being applicable to plasmas with several types of positive ions and negative ions and by not requiring changes to the boundary conditions. Several test cases of plasmas enclosed by dielectrics and of glow discharges between electrodes show that the proposed equations yield the same solution as the standard equations but require 10 to 100 times fewer iterations to reach convergence whenever a quasi-neutral region forms. Further, several grid convergence studies indicate that the present approach exhibits a higher resolution (and hence requires fewer nodes to reach a given level of accuracy) when ambipolar diffusion is present. Because the proposed equations are not intrinsically linked to specific discretization or integration schemes and exhibit substantial advantages with no apparent disadvantage, they are generally recommended as a substitute to the fluid models in which the electric field is obtained from Gauss's law as long as the plasma remains weakly-ionized and unmagnetized.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2012

N-fold Darboux transformation and double-Wronskian-typed solitonic structures for a variable-coefficient modified Kortweg-de Vries equation

Under investigation in this paper is a variable-coefficient modified Kortweg-de Vries (vc-mKdV) model describing certain situations from the fluid mechanics, ocean dynamics and plasma physics. N-fold Darboux transformation (DT) of a variable-coefficient Ablowitz-Kaup-Newell-Segur spectral problem is constructed via a gauge transformation. Multi-solitonic solutions in terms of the double Wronskian for the vc-mKdV model are derived by the reduction of the N-fold DT. Three types of the solitonic interactions are discussed through figures: (1) Overtaking collision; (2) Head-on collision; (3) Parallel solitons. Nonlinear, dispersive and dissipative terms have the effects on the velocities of the solitonic waves while the amplitudes of the waves depend on the perturbation term. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer N-fold DT is firstly applied to a vc-AKNS spectral problem. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Seeking a double Wronskian solution is changed into solving two systems. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Effects of the variable coefficients on the multi-solitonic waves are discussed in detail. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This work solves the problem from Yi Zhang [Ann. Phys. 323 (2008) 3059].

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Propagation of localized structures in relativistic magnetized electron-positron plasmas using particle-in-cell simulations

We use a particle-in-cell simulation to study the propagation of localized structures in a magnetized electron-positron plasma with relativistic finite temperature. We use as initial condition for the simulation an envelope soliton solution of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, derived from the relativistic two fluid equations in the strongly magnetized limit. This envelope soliton turns out not to be a stable solution for the simulation and splits in two localized structures propagating in opposite directions. However, these two localized structures exhibit a soliton-like behavior, as they keep their profile after they collide with each other due to the periodic boundary conditions. We also observe the formation of localized structures in the evolution of a spatially uniform circularly polarized Alfvén wave. In both cases, the localized structures propagate with an amplitude independent velocity.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Constructing stellarators with quasisymmetry to high order

Here, a method is given to rapidly compute quasisymmetric stellarator magnetic fields for plasma confinement, without the need to call a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium code inside an optimization iteration. The method is based on direct solution of the equations of magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium and quasisymmetry using Garren & Boozer’s expansion about the magnetic axis ( Phys Fluids B, vol. 3, 1991, p. 2805), and it is several orders of magnitude faster than the conventional optimization approach. The work here extends the method of Landreman et al. ( J. Plasma Phys. , vol. 85, 2019, 905850103), which was limited to flux surfaces with elliptical cross-section, to higher order in the aspect-ratio expansion. As a result, configurations can be generated with strong shaping that achieve quasisymmetry to high accuracy. Using this construction, we give the first numerical demonstrations of Garren and Boozer’s ideal scaling of quasisymmetry breaking with the cube of the inverse aspect ratio. We also demonstrate a strongly non-axisymmetric configuration (vacuum rotational transform $\unicode[STIX]{x1D704} >0.4$ ) in which symmetry-breaking mode amplitudes throughout a finite volume are ${<}2\times 10^{-7}$ , the smallest ever reported. To generate boundary shapes of finite-minor-radius configurations, a careful analysis is given of the effect of substituting a finite minor radius into the near-axis expansion. In conclusion, the approach here can provide analytic insight into the space of possible quasisymmetric stellarator configurations, and it can be used to generate good initial conditions for conventional stellarator optimization.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1988

A unidimensional model of comet ionosphere structure

The one-dimensional continuity and momentum equations for the plasma formed in the expanding coma of a comet near the sun are studied. An analytic expression for the magnetic field configuration in the presence of outflow, photoionization, dissociative recombination, plasma fluid pressure, and friction between the ions and neutrals is obtained. It is suggested that for a Halley-type comet there will be a region sunward of the nucleus from which the magnetic field is excluded, consistent with Giotto observations. Calculations have been performed for Halley and Giacobini-Zinner type comets, and in the field-free regions it is shown that the dominant terms in the momentum equation balancing the magnetic pressure gradient are the ion neutral friction and the net mass loading momentum gain.

Eviatar, Aharon↗
DOE OSTI2017

Shock-induced mix across an ideal interface

Here, according to particle-in-cell and multi fluid simulations, as a planar shock propagates across an unperturbed classical interface, significant amounts of rearward shocked material are predicted to advect with the shock front over distances that are much larger than an ion-ion collisional mean free path of a shocked ion. This novel mechanism of interface mixing is found to scale strongly with the Mach number (~M4) and produces an ion population bunch that penetrates the upstream material at nearly the shock speed. Possible implications for ignition capsule designs are conjectured.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

First principles-based multiscale atomistic methods for input into first principles nonequilibrium transport across interfaces

This issue of PNAS features “nonequilibrium transport and mixing across interfaces,” with several papers describing the nonequilibrium coupling of transport at interfaces, including mesoscopic and macroscopic dynamics in fluids, plasma, and other materials over scales from microscale to celestial. Most such descriptions describe the materials in terms of the density and equations of state rather than specific atomic structures and chemical processes. It is at interfacial boundaries where such atomistic information is most relevant. However, there is not yet a practical way to couple these phenomena with the atomistic description of chemistry. The starting point for including such information is the quantum mechanics (QM). However, practical QM calculations are limited to a hundred atoms for dozens of picoseconds, far from the scales required to inform the continuum level with the proper atomistic description. To bridge this enormous gap, we need to develop practical methods to extend the scale of the atomistic simulation by several orders of magnitude while retaining the level of QM accuracy in describing the chemical process. Here, these developments would enable continuum modeling of turbulent transport at interfaces to incorporate the relevant chemistry. In this perspective, we will focus on recent progress in accomplishing these extensions in first principles-based atomistic simulations and the strategies being pursued to increase the accuracy of very large scales while dramatically decreasing the computational effort.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1987

The onset of Alfvenic turbulence

An investigation is conducted on how low-frequency MHD oscillations in a warm plasma may undergo a transition from a coherent state to one of turbulence. A driven/dissipative derivative nonlinear Schroedinger equation is derived from the fluid equations. The time evolution of an arbitrary spectrum of waves is analyzed in the case where one k-mode is unstable, with the rest damped. It is found that the transition from order to chaos in the driven/dissipative system is correlated with the existence or absence of 'breathing' solitons in the associated conservative system.

Ghosh, S.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Anisotropic fluid dynamics for Gubser flow

Investigating a variety of closing schemes to the infinite hierarchy of momentum moments of the exactly solvable Boltzmann equation for systems undergoing Gubser flow, we study the precision with which the resulting hydrodynamic equations reproduce the exact evolution of hydrodynamic moments of the distribution function. We find that anisotropic hydrodynamics, obtained by expanding the distribution function around a dynamically evolving locally anisotropic background whose evolution is matched to exactly reproduce the macroscopic pressure anisotropy caused by the different longitudinal and transverse expansion rates in Gubser ow, provides the most accurate macroscopic description of the microscopic kinetic evolution. This confirms a similar earlier finding for Bjorken ow [Molnar, Niemi and Rischke, Phys. Rev. D 94, 125003 (2016)]. Also, we explain the physics behind this optimal matching procedure and show that one can efficiently correct for a nonoptimized matching choice by adding a residual shear stress to the energy-momentum tensor whose evolution is again determined by the Boltzmann equation. Further insights to guide the optimal choice of a macroscopic anisotropic hydrodynamic framework for strongly-coupled systems that do not admit a microscopic kinetic description are reported.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Instability of an electron-plasma shear layer in an externally imposed strain flow

The E x B shear instability of a two-dimensional (2D) filament (i.e., a thin, rectangular strip perpendicular to the magnetic field) of magnetized pure electron plasma is investigated experimentally in the presence of an externally imposed strain flow. Data are acquired using a specialized Penning–Malmberg trap in which strain flows can be applied in 2D by biasing segmented electrodes surrounding the plasma. The E x B drift dynamics are well-described by the Drift-Poisson equations, which are isomorphic to the 2D Euler equations describing ideal fluids. Thus, the experimental results correspond to the Rayleigh instability of a shear layer in a 2D ideal fluid, where the electron density is analogous to the fluid vorticity. Shear layers are prepared by stretching initially axisymmetric electron vortices using a strong, applied strain flow. The data at early times are in quantitative agreement with a linear model which extends Rayleigh’s work to account for the influence of an external strain flow. In the presence of weak strain, the system approximately maintains a phase relationship that corresponds to an instantaneous Rayleigh eigenmode. The instability develops into the nonlinear regime later in time and at smaller spatial scales as the strain rate is increased. A secondary vortex pairing instability is observed, but it is suppressed when the strain-to-vorticity ratio exceeds roughly 0.025. In this way, vorticity transport perpendicular to the filament is diminished due to the applied strain.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Mesh generation for confined fusion plasma simulation

XGC1 and M3D-C 1 are two fusion plasma simulation codes being developed at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. XGC1 uses the particle-in-cell method to simulate gyrokinetic neoclassical physics and turbulence. M3D-C 1 solves the two-fluid resistive magnetohydrodynamic equations with the C 1 finite elements. This paper presents the software tools and libraries that were combined to form the geometry and automatic meshing procedures for these codes. Finally, specific consideration has been given to satisfy the mesh configuration and element shape quality constraints of XGC1 and M3D-C 1 .

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Wave dispersion in the hybrid-Vlasov model: Verification of Vlasiator

Vlasiator is a new hybrid-Vlasov plasma simulation code aimed at simulating the entire magnetosphere of the Earth. The code treats ions (protons) kinetically through Vlasov's equation in the six-dimensional phase space while electrons are a massless charge-neutralizing fluid [M. Palmroth et al., J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys. 99, 41 (2013); A. Sandroos et al., Parallel Comput. 39, 306 (2013)]. For first global simulations of the magnetosphere, it is critical to verify and validate the model by established methods. Here, as part of the verification of Vlasiator, we characterize the low-β plasma wave modes described by this model and compare with the solution computed by the Waves in Homogeneous, Anisotropic Multicomponent Plasmas (WHAMP) code [K. Rönnmark, Kiruna Geophysical Institute Reports No. 179, 1982], using dispersion curves and surfaces produced with both programs. The match between the two fundamentally different approaches is excellent in the low-frequency, long wavelength range which is of interest in global magnetospheric simulations. The left-hand and right-hand polarized wave modes as well as the Bernstein modes in the Vlasiator simulations agree well with the WHAMP solutions. Vlasiator allows a direct investigation of the importance of the Hall term by including it in or excluding it from Ohm's law in simulations. This is illustrated showing examples of waves obtained using the ideal Ohm's law and Ohm's law including the Hall term. Our analysis emphasizes the role of the Hall term in Ohm's law in obtaining wave modes departing from ideal magnetohydrodynamics in the hybrid-Vlasov model.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Pressure balance in a lower collisionality, attached tokamak scrape-off layer

Previously the gyrokinetic neoclassical code XGCa found that the pressure balance (or momentum balance) in the diverted scrape-off layer (SOL) does not follow that from the fluid description based on the Chew–Goldberger–Low (CGL) theory. In this paper a gyrocenter parallel momentum moment equation is derived for pressure balance (or momentum balance) in a tokamak SOL, for use in interpreting this difference. The new gyrocenter-fluid pressure balance equation allows identifying from the XGCa code results which physical processes dominate the setting of pressure variation in the scrape-off layer. This pressure balance equation is applied to the simulation of a DIII-D H-mode discharge, with a lower ion collisionality in the SOL, and the Coulomb and atomic collisions are not strong enough to yield a detached divertor plasma. It is found that the total pressure balance is much better matched using the gyrocenter parallel momentum moment equation. Electrons are shown to be dominantly adiabatic, while ions have multiple contributions to pressure balance, including terms originating from particle drifts. Furthermore, these results show that in strong gradient, low collisionality regions of the SOL, the typical fluid reductions miss important effects captured in the gyrokinetic model.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Verification methods for drift–diffusion reaction models for plasma simulations

Abstract Compared to other computational physics areas such as codes for general computational fluid dynamics, the documentation of verification methods for plasma fluid codes remains under developed. Current analytical solutions for plasma are often highly limited in terms of testing highly coupled physics, due to the harsh assumptions needed to derive even simple plasma equations. This work highlights these limitations, suggesting the method of manufactured solutions (MMSs) as a potential option for future verification efforts. To demonstrate the flexibility of MMS in verifying these highly coupled systems, the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework was utilized. Thanks to the MOOSE framework’s robustness and modularity, as well as to its physics module capabilities and ecosystem applications (i.e. Zapdos and the chemical reaction network) developed for plasma physics modeling and simulation, this report lays the groundwork for a structured method of conducting plasma fluid code verification.

DeChant, Corey (ORCID:0000000293779732)↗
DOE OSTI2015

Evolution of streamer groups in nonthermal plasma

Nonthermal plasmas (NTPs) induced by atmospheric nanosecond pulsed corona discharge have been studied for controlling pollution from combustors, such as boilers, incinerators, and diesel engines. In high-speed short-width high-voltage pulsed corona discharge-induced plasmas, primary streamer evolution is followed by secondary streamer evolution. Though this phenomenon is known experimentally, the details of the structures of the streamers and their evolution mechanisms have not been fully clarified. In this letter, we perform quasi two-dimensional numerical analysis of nonequilibrium NTP induced by a nanosecond positive pulsed corona discharge. The continuum fluid equations for two-temperature nonequilibrium NTP are used as governing equations. In this study, 197 gas phase reactions for 25 chemical species and 21 surface reactions on the inner glass wall surface are considered in an air plasma under atmospheric pressure. The simulated behavior of the streamer groups agrees with experimental observations. Soon after the voltage increases on the reactor, primary streamers are formed, which may transit the complete gap, disappearing near the peak voltage. Next, second streamers appear, disappearing at the end of the applied voltage pulse. The streamer wavelength and the distance between the streamers in the axial direction are determined. Moreover, ozone generation is shown to be more significant in the secondary streamer. This simulation will allow better predictions for nanosecond positive pulsed plasma systems.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Hamiltonian and action formalisms for two-dimensional gyroviscous magnetohydrodynamics

A general procedure for constructing action principles for continuum models via a generalization of Hamilton's principle of mechanics is described. Through the procedure, an action principle for a gyroviscous magnetohydrodynamics model is constructed. The model is shown to agree with a reduced version of Braginskii's fluid equations. The construction reveals the origin of the gyromap, a device used to derive previous gyrofluid models. Also, a systematic reduction procedure is presented for obtaining the Hamiltonian structure in terms of the noncanonical Poisson bracket. The construction procedure yields a class of Casimir invariants, which are then used to construct variational principles for equilibrium equations with flow and gyroviscosity. The procedure for obtaining reduced fluid models with gyroviscosity is also described.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗