Low-cost, infinite-length 2G strand for cable-in-conduit fusion magnets
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
SEARCH · Search NASA
Results for “MAGNETIC FUSION ENERGY”
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.
Propagation of shear Alvén waves in two-ion species plasmas confined by a nonuniform magnetic field
Ray tracing calculations are performed for shear Alfvén waves in two-ion species plasmas in which the magnetic field varies with position. Three different magnetic topologies of contemporary interest are explored: a linear magnetic mirror, a pure toroidal field, and a tokamak field. The wave frequency is chosen to lie in the upper propagation band, so that reflection at the ion-ion hybrid frequency can occur for waves originally propagating along the magnetic field direction. Calculations are performed for a magnetic well configuration used in recent experiments [S. T. Vincena et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 38, L11101 (2011) and S. T. Vincena et al., Phys. Plasmas 20, 012111 (2013)] in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) related to the ion-ion hybrid resonator. It is found that radial spreading cannot explain the relatively low values of the resonator quality factor (Q) measured in those experiments, even when finite ion temperature is considered. This identifies that a damping mechanism is present that is at least an order of magnitude larger than dissipation due to radial energy loss. Calculations are also performed for a magnetic field with pure toroidal geometry, without a poloidal field, as in experiments being planned for the Enormous Toroidal Plasma Device. In this case, the effects of field-line curvature cause radial reflections. A poloidal field is included to explore a tokamak geometry with plasma parameters expected in ITER. When ion temperature is ignored, it is found that the ion-ion hybrid resonator can exist and trap waves for multiples bounces. The effects of finite ion temperature combine with field line curvature to cause the reflection point to move towards the tritium cyclotron frequency when electron temperature is negligible. However, for ITER parameters, it is shown that the electrons must be treated in the adiabatic limit to properly describe resonator phenomena.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
On the locality of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence scale fluxes
The scale locality of energy fluxes for magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is investigated numerically for stationary states of turbulence. Two types of forces are used to drive turbulence, a kinetic force that acts only on the velocity field and a kinetic-inductive force, which acts on the velocity and magnetic fields alike. The analysis is performed in spectral space, which is decomposed into a series of shells following a power law for the boundaries. The triadic transfers occurring among these shells are computed, and the fluxes and locality functions are obtained by partial summation over the relevant shells. Employing Kraichnan locality functions, values of 1/3 and 2/3 for the scaling exponents of the four MHD energy fluxes are found. These values are smaller than the value of 4/3 found for hydrodynamic turbulence. To better understand these results, an in depth analysis is performed on the total energy flux.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Generation of auroral kilometric radiation by a finite-size source in a dipole magnetic field. Part II
Propagation and amplification of extraordinary electromagnetic waves in a dipole magnetic field in a narrow 3D plasma cavity in which a weakly relativistic electron beam propagates along the magnetic field in the direction of the gradient of the magnetic field strength is investigated. The domain of wave vectors at the starting point for which the wave amplification factors at the output of the density cavity reach their maximum values is found, and the amplification factor as a function of the wave frequency is determined. It is shown that the longitudinal velocity of fast electrons, which enables generation of waves in a broader frequency range, plays an important role in the formation of the spectrum of the auroral kilometric radiation (AKR). In this case, waves with the largest amplification factors at the output of the cavity have frequencies exceeding the cutoff frequency of the background plasma at the wave generation altitude. The global inhomogeneity of the magnetic field and plasma density, which governs the residence time of the waves in the amplification region, plays a key role in the formation of the AKR spectrum. It is shown that this time is the main factor determining the energy of the waves emerging from the source.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Tokamak Disruption Simulation (Final Technical Report)
The Tokamak Disruption Simulation collaboration was a SciDAC (Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing) program led by Xianzhu Tang of the Los Alamos National Laboratory but with separate grants to each institution. I was the PI for Columbia University and the only person at Columbia directly funded by this SciDAC. Disruptions are a sudden loss of confinement in tokamaks, and a reliable method of preventing disruptions must be developed before tokamak fusion power plants become feasible. A related plasma confinement concept, the stellarator, is the only way known way of preventing disruptions with the required reliability. The largest devices, both existing and under construction, for confining plasmas for fusion using magnetic fields are tokamaks, so it is important to solve their disruption issues. The sudden loss of confinement in tokamaks can be from a bit of material falling into the plasma, which causes the plasma energy to be quickly lost by radiation, or by an instability causing a breakup of the confining surfaces formed by the magnetic field. This breakup can occur more than a million times faster than one would naively think possible. The sudden breakup of surfaces is called a fast magnetic reconnection and also results in a sudden cooling of the plasma.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Scale invariance of normalized cross-helicity throughout the inertial range of solar wind turbulence
Solar wind measurements over the period from 1995 through 2006 are used to study fluctuations in the plasma bulk velocity and magnetic field over the range of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) scales commonly referred to as the inertial range. Power spectra of the solar wind velocity, magnetic field, proton density, total energy (kinetic plus magnetic), and cross-helicity are analyzed for 176 time intervals in which the interplanetary magnetic field is restricted to a single magnetic sector. The data yield measurements of the normalized cross-helicity {sigma}{sub c}, the ratio of the cross-helicity spectrum to the energy spectrum, that span the entire inertial range at 1 AU and extend previous measurements by more than one decade in wavenumber. The results show that {sigma}{sub c} is approximately constant throughout the inertial range, independent of wavenumber, consistent with existing theoretical ideas. At the highest frequencies measured, |{sigma}{sub c}| is observed to decrease toward zero, however, this decrease is caused by measurement noise and is not a real physical effect. Other new results obtained in this study are (1) the average spectral index for the total energy--kinetic plus magnetic--is found to be closer to 3/2 than 5/3 with an average value 1.540{+-}0.033 for highly Alfvenic wind, in agreement with simulations of incompressible MHD turbulence with a strong ambient magnetic field; (2) the spectral index for the total energy is a function of |{sigma}{sub c}| that varies from roughly 5/3 when {sigma}{sub c}{approx_equal}0 to approximately 3/2 when |{sigma}{sub c}|{approx_equal}1; (3) the spectral index for the total energy exhibits a solar cycle dependence during solar cycle 23 with above average values (steeper spectra) in the early rising phase of the cycle and below average values (shallower spectra) during the declining phase of the cycle--the controlling parameter for this solar cycle dependence appears to be |{sigma}{sub c}|.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Cryogenic Considerations for Superconducting Magnet System Design for the Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX)
The Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX) has been proposed as a facility to address plasma material interaction knowledge gaps to qualify and develop materials and technologies that surround plasma environments for future fusion reactors. Utilizing different radio-frequency (rf) heating technologies, MPEX is a linear plasma device that will generate fusion reactor–like plasmas with energies and particle fluxes at the target materials with electron temperatures of 1 to 15 eV, electron densities of 10 20 to 10 21 m -3 , and ion fluxes greater than 10 24 m -2 s -1 . Starting with the MPEX requirements with respect to magnetic fields between 0.1 and 2.5 T and warm bores of either 0.65 m or 1.56 m, conceptual designs for a superconducting magnet system have been developed that utilize multiple NbTi windings distributed across seven cryostats to accommodate rf heating, water cooling, and vacuum systems needed for MPEX. While the cryogenic and magnet technologies relative to the field and space requirements are mature, the integration of these technologies across multiple cryostats presents several technical and logistical challenges. An analysis of the preferred refrigeration approach, modular recondensing liquid helium cryocoolers, was performed. Utilizing a design margin of a factor of two, this approach is feasible within the current design requirements for MPEX with some considerations related to its implementation within the thermal shields and the magnet subsystem geometries.
Duckworth, Robert↗
Self-localized and self-constricted electromagnetic field in plasma and atmosphere
A possibility of creation of a super-high-frequency electromagnetic-field clot in the plasma is shown. Two cases of the field self-localization in the plasma are considered. In the first case, a super-high-frequency electric field creates an annular channel by displacing the plasma and induces a curl-like magnetic field inside. In the second case, the electric field creates a toroidal channel where different field structures are possible. For example, the magnetic lines of the force are aligned along the big circle of the torus, while the curl-like electric lines are aligned along the small circle. Otherwise, the magnetic field is curl-like and the electric-field lines are aligned along the big circle. We evaluate the electric field energy that is required for a curl-like structure of about 3 cm in size to exist during 10 s in the atmospheric air. This energy sustains plasma in the vicinity of the curl-like area.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Piecewise Omnigenous Stellarators
In omnigenous magnetic fields, charged particles are perfectly confined in the absence of collisions and turbulence. For this reason, the magnetic configuration is optimized to be close to omnigenity in any candidate for a stellarator fusion reactor. However, approaching omnigenity imposes severe constraints on the spatial variation of the magnetic field. In particular, the topology of the contours of constant magnetic field strength on each magnetic surface must be such that there are no particles transitioning between different types of wells. This, in turn, usually leads to complicated plasma shapes and coils. This Letter presents a new family of optimized fields that display tokamak-like collisional energy transport while having transitioning particles. This result radically broadens the space of accessible reactor-relevant configurations.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Generation of residual energy in the turbulent solar wind
In situ observations of the fluctuating solar wind flow show that the energy of magnetic field fluctuations always exceeds that of the kinetic energy, and therefore the difference between the kinetic and magnetic energies, known as the residual energy, is always negative. The same behaviour is found in numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. We study the dynamics of the residual energy for strong, anisotropic, critically balanced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence using the eddy damped quasi-normal Markovian approximation. Our analysis shows that for stationary critically balanced magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, negative residual energy will always be generated by nonlinear interacting Alfven waves. This offers a general explanation for the observation of negative residual energy in solar wind turbulence and in the numerical simulations.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Conversion of Magnetic Energy to Plasma Kinetic Energy During Guide Field Magnetic Reconnection in the Laboratory
Here, we present laboratory measurements showing the two-dimensional (2D) structure of energy conversion during magnetic reconnection with a guide field over the electron and ion diffusion regions, resolving the separate energy deposition on electrons and ions. We find that the electrons are energized by the parallel electric field at two locations, at the X line and around the separatrices. On the other hand, the ions are energized ballistically by the perpendicular electric field in the vicinity of the high-density separatrices. An energy balance calculation by evaluating the terms of the Poynting theorem shows that 40% of the magnetic energy is converted to particle energy, 2/3 of which is transferred to ions and 1/3 to electrons. Further analysis suggests that the energy deposited on particles manifests mostly in the form of thermal kinetic energy in the diffusion regions.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Divertor shaping with neutral baffling as a solution to the tokamak power exhaust challenge
Exhausting power from the hot fusion core to the plasma-facing components is one fusion energy’s biggest challenges. The MAST Upgrade tokamak uniquely integrates strong containment of neutrals within the exhaust area (divertor) with extreme divertor shaping capability. By systematically altering the divertor shape, this study shows the strongest evidence to date to our knowledge that long-legged divertors with a high magnetic field gradient (total flux expansion) deliver key power exhaust benefits without adversely impacting the hot fusion core. These benefits are already achieved with relatively modest geometry adjustments that are more feasible to integrate in reactor designs. Benefits include reduced target heat loads and improved access to, and stability of, a neutral gas buffer that ‘shields’ the target and enhances power exhaust (detachment). Analysis and model comparisons shows these benefits are obtained by combining multiple shaping aspects: long-legged divertors have expanded plasma-neutral interaction volume that drive reductions in particle and power loads, while total flux expansion enhances detachment access and stability. Containing the neutrals in the exhaust area with physical structures further augments these shaping benefits. These results demonstrate strategic variation in the divertor geometry and magnetic topology is a potential solution to one of fusion’s power exhaust challenge.
magnetically confined plasmas↗
Large amplitude solitary waves in a warm magnetoplasma with kappa distributed electrons
The large amplitude nonlinear ion acoustic solitary wave propagating obliquely to an external magnetic field in a magnetized plasma with kappa distributed electrons and warm ions is investigated through deriving energy-balance-like expression involving a Sagdeev potential. Analytical and numerical calculations of the values of Mach number reveal that both of subsonic and supersonic electrostatic solitary structures can exist in this system. The influence on the soliton characteristics of relevant physical parameters such as the Mach number, the superthermal parameter, the directional cosine, the ratio of ion-to-electron temperature, and the ion gyrofrequency has been investigated.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Laser-driven strong magnetostatic fields with applications to charged beam transport and magnetized high energy-density physics
Powerful nanosecond laser-plasma processes are explored to generate discharge currents of a few 100 kA in coil targets, yielding magnetostatic fields (B-fields) in excess of 0.5 kT. The quasi-static currents are provided from hot electron ejection from the laser-irradiated surface. According to the model used in our paper, which describes the evolution of the discharge current, the major control parameter is the laser irradiance Ilasλ2las. The space-time evolution of the B-fields is experimentally characterized by high-frequency bandwidth B-dot probes and proton-deflectometry measurements. The magnetic pulses, of ns-scale, are long enough to magnetize secondary targets through resistive diffusion. We applied it in experiments of laser-generated relativistic electron transport through solid dielectric targets, yielding an unprecedented 5-fold enhancement of the energy-density flux at 60 μm depth, compared to unmagnetized transport conditions. These studies pave the ground for magnetized high-energy density physics investigations, related to laser-generated secondary sources of radiation and/or high-energy particles and their transport, to high-gain fusion energy schemes, and to laboratory astrophysics.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
ALEGRA-MHD applications to solid liner MTF/MIF confinement concepts
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Two-dimensional force-free magnetic fields described by some nonlinear equations
A force-free magnetic field arises as a special case in the magnetostatic equation in plasmas when only the magnetic energy density is relevant while all other energy densities are negligible and so only the magnetic pressure is considered. In this article, we find the exact solutions of two-dimensional force-free magnetic fields described by Liouville, sine, double sine, sinh-Poisson, and power force-free magnetic equations. We use the generalized tanh method. In all those cases, the ratio of the current density and the magnetic field is not constant as it happens, e.g., in the solar atmosphere.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Advanced silver sheathed 2212/Ag wire for high field magnets
Commercial High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) are all tape shaped (widths > 10 times thickness), because achieving useful current densities required them to be processed into this form, even though this also makes it more problematic to use them in some important coil types. Our product is based on 2212 (Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8) and it is the only HTS that can be processed into high current density wire forms that are similar to proven low temperature superconductors (LTS), while surpassing them in field generating and operating temperature capability. Required now are higher current density, lower cost and longer length 2212 wires to enable broad utilization where HTS tape usage is problematic. In Phase II we developed vital cost-lowering process technology elements and we test-processed longer wires with the standard commercial design as baseline and benchmark for our lower cost, higher quality and longer piece length wire advances. By initial application of Jc-boosting wire features, these wires exhibited significant performance increases. This Phase IIA program has now developed and qualified these technologies for lower cost, higher quality and longer piece length manufacturing in combination with current density-boosting wire features, paving the way to manufacturing capability that is essential for cost-effective commercial utilization of 2212 wire. Technical areas included automated, high uniformity powder packing, advanced drawing, annealing, lubricant cleaning and filament bundling, followed by integration of higher current density wire features and process variations.
17 WIND ENERGY↗
Occurrence of high-beta superthermal plasma events in the close environment of Jupiter's bow shock as observed by Ulysses
The ratio of the plasma pressure to the magnetic field pressure (or of their energy densities) which is known as the plasma parameter 'beta'({beta}) has important implications to the propagation of energetic particles and the interaction of the solar wind with planetary magnetospheres. Although in the scientific literature the contribution of the superthermal particles to the plasma pressure is generally assumed negligible, we deduced, by analyzing energetic particles and magnetic field measurements recorded by the Ulysses spacecraft, that in a series of events, the energy density contained in the superthermal tail of the particle distribution is comparable to or even higher than the energy density of the magnetic field, creating conditions of high-beta plasma. More explicitly, in this paper we analyze Ulysses/HI-SCALE measurements of the energy density ratio (parameter {beta}{sub ep}) of the energetic ions'(20 keV to {approx}5 MeV) to the magnetic field's in order to find occurrences of high-beta ({beta}{sub ep}>1) superthermal plasma conditions in the environment of the Jovian magnetosphere, which is an interesting plasma laboratory and an important source of emissions in our solar system. In particular, we examine high-beta ion events close to Jupiter's bow shock, which are produced by two processes: (a) bow shock ion acceleration and (b) ion leakage from the magnetosphere.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗