Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “MAGNETIC CORES”

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 1,099 records · Page 61
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Theoretical and computational studies on the scattering of radio frequency waves by fluctuations

The practical and economic viability of tokamak fusion reactors depends, in a significant way, on the efficiency of radio frequency (RF) waves to deliver energy and momentum to the plasma in the core of the reactor. Among the various attributes of RF waves is their ability to heat magnetically confined plasmas, induce plasma currents in an effort to achieve steady state, and modify the current profile so as to control plasma instabilities like the neoclassical tearing modes. The RF electromagnetic waves, excited by antenna structures placed near the wall of a tokamak, have to propagate through the turbulent plasma in the scrape-off layer (SOL) along their path to the core plasma. While the propagation and damping of RF waves in the core is reasonably well understood, the same is not true for RF propagation through the SOL. In present day fusion devices, the radial width of the SOL is of the order of a few centimeters. In ITER and in future fusion reactors this width will be of the order of tens of centimeters. Any deleterious effects on RF waves due to plasma turbulence in the SOL has to be properly understood in order to optimize the delivery of RF energy and momentum into the core. This paper is on a multi-pronged approach that is being pursued to quantify the effect of SOL plasma on RF waves. The SOL is composed of coherent filamentary, or blob like, structures and incoherent fluctuations. For coherent structures a full-wave theoretical model has been developed. This model is used to benchmark computational codes that are subsequently used to study general distribution of filaments, thereby extending the range of the theoretical formulation. For incoherent fluctuations, a common approach towards quantifying the effects of turbulence is the Kirchhoff technique. This technique is based on physical optics and the wave fields at any point on a spatially varying surface are approximated to be the same as the fields on a tangent plane at that point. The results from the theoretical analysis are compared with full-wave numerical simulations for incoherent fluctuations. The final part of these studies is to construct the effective permittivity of a turbulent plasma that is a mix of coherent and incoherent fluctuations. Towards this end, the ``effective medium approximation'' is being used to construct the permittivity of the turbulent plasma that will be used in full-wave and physical optics studies of scattering. All these approaches are distinctly different from previous studies on the RF wave propagation through turbulent plasmas. The theory and computations discussed in this paper apply to RF waves in any frequency range and for arbitrary variations in density, and reveal new and important physical insights into the scattering of RF waves.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Super Conducting REBCO Cable Wrapper

Future upgrades to CERN particle accelerator magnets require flat, high-temperature superconducting cables, created by wrapping brittle REBCO tape around a Rutherford copper core. Because current manual wrapping processes are time-consuming and prone to damaging the delicate ceramic tape, our team was tasked with automating the fabrication. We developed a modular, wrapping machine featuring adjustment for repeatable 10°to 45° wrap angles and a precise magnetic tensioning mechanism. While full-scale testing is pending final machined parts, our 3D-printed prototype successfully validates the system’s motion and sets the stage for future testing.

Gillen, Kameron [Northern Illinois U.]↗
DOE OSTI2018

Access to pedestal pressure relevant to burning plasmas on the high magnetic field tokamak Alcator C-Mod

Experiments on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak have utilized reactor-relevant magnetic fields to sustain substantially higher pedestal pressure than in other devices and allow close approach to the ITER H-mode baseline target pedestal pressure of 90 kPa. The EPED model, which couples the physics of transport driven by kinetic ballooning modes and MHD instabilities arising from peeling-ballooning modes, predicts the pressure profile at the onset of edge-localized modes (ELMs), and yields to lowest order a critical-βN like behavior for the pedestal: p∝Bt×Bp ( ∝Bt^2 for fixed edge q). C-Mod routinely accesses edge plasma pressure in excess of 30 kPa, often by using a high-density (ne>3×10^20 m^-3) approach to high confinement, taking advantage of a regime known as enhanced D-alpha (EDA) H-mode. In the EDA H-mode, plasma transport regulates both the pedestal profiles and the core impurity content, thus holding the pedestal stationary at just below the peeling-ballooning stability boundary. This stationary ELM-suppressed regime has approached the maximum pedestal predicted by EPED at these densities: 60 kPa. This in turn gives rise to volume-averaged core plasma pressure in excess of 0.2MPa, a world record value for a magnetic fusion device. Another approach to achieving high pressure utilizes a pedestal limited by current-driven modes at low collisionality, in which pressure increases with density and which allows access to a higher EPED solution, termed “super-H”. C-Mod experiments at reduced density (ne<2×10^20 m^-3) and strong plasma shaping (δ>0.5) accessed this regime, producing pedestals with pressures up to 80kPa (approximately 90% of the ITER target) and temperatures of nearly 2 keV. In a number of these hot H-modes, we observe strong edge instabilities at low toroidal mode number (n=1) when pedestal pressure approaches predicted values from EPED, showing that current-driven MHD modes can serve as a limit on the pedestal in a metal-walled tokamak at high pressure and low collisionality.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

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↗
DOE OSTI2022

Time-Evolving Chirality Loss in Molecular Photodissociation Monitored by X-ray Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy

In this work, the ultrafast photoinduced chirality loss of 2-iodobutane is studied theoretically by time- and frequency-resolved X-ray circular dichroism (TRXCD) spectroscopy. Following an optical excitation, the iodine atom dissociates from the chiral center, which we capture by quantum non-adiabatic molecular dynamics simulations. At variable time delays after the pump, the resonant X-ray pulse selectively probes the iodine and carbon atom involved in the chiral dissociation through a selected core-to-valence transition. The TRXCD signal at the iodine L 1 edge accurately captures the timing of C–I photodissociation and thereby chirality loss, c.a 70 fs. The strong electric dipole–electric quadrupole (ED–EQ) response makes this signal particularly sensitive to vibronic coherence at the high X-ray regime. At the carbon K-edges, the signals monitor the molecular chirality of the 2-butyl radical photoproduct and the spin state of the iodine atom. The ED–EQ response is masked under the strong electric dipole-magnetic dipole response, making this signal intuitive for the electronic population. The evolution of the core electronic states and its chiral sensitivity is discussed. Overall, the element-specific TRXCD signal provides a detailed picture of molecular dynamics and offers a unique sensitive window into the time-dependent chirality of molecules.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Performance tests of helium circulator under abnormal cooling conditions - 18523

Helium circulator is one of the key equipment of High-temperature Gas-cooled Reactor Pebble-bed Module (HTR-PM) and the unique rotating equipment of primary loop. It transports heat generated by fission reactions from reactor core to steam generator by forcing helium circulating in primary loop. As the study on the characteristics of helium circulator in HTGR was limited and the advanced designs integrated with many new technologies, a prototype of helium circulator was manufactured. It was supported by Active Magnetic Bearings (AMBs), and was assembled in a pressure vessel. The prototype was tested in Engineering Test Facility - Helium Circulator (ETF-HC), which is a full scale, rated flow rate and power, engineering test loop. Although performance tests under normal operation condition were successfully fulfilled, the complete features and performance still need further verification, especially for abnormal cooling conditions. Thus performance tests under abnormal cooling operation conditions were carried out. Tests such as temporary coolant loss of motor and AMBs cooler and abnormal high-temperature cooling water condition were fulfilled. All performance tests results showed that helium circulator met the entire requirement of HTR-PM plant under abnormal cooling conditions and validated its safety and reliability. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electromagnetic wave attenuation measurements in a ring-shaped inductively coupled air plasma

An aerocraft with the surface, inlet and radome covered large-area inductive coupled plasma (ICP) can attenuate its radar echo effectively. The shape, thickness, and electron density (N{sub e}) distribution of ICP are critical to electromagnetic wave attenuation. In the paper, an air all-quartz ICP generator in size of 20 × 20 × 7 cm{sup 3} without magnetic confinement is designed. The discharge results show that the ICP is amorphous in E-mode and ring-shaped in H-mode. The structure of ICP stratifies into core region and edge halo in H-mode, and its width and thickness changes from power and pressure. Such phenomena are explained by the distribution of RF magnetic field, the diffusion of negative ions plasma and the variation of skin depth. In addition, the theoretical analysis shows that the N{sub e} achieves nearly uniform within the electronegative core and sharply steepens in the edge. The N{sub e} of core region is diagnosed by microwave interferometer under varied conditions (pressure in range of 10–50 Pa, power in 300–700 W). Furthermore, the electromagnetic wave attenuation measurements were carried out with the air ICP in the frequencies of 4–5 GHz. The results show that the interspaced ICP is still effective to wave attenuation, and the wave attenuation increases with the power and pressure. The measured attenuation is approximately in accordance with the calculation data of finite-different time-domain simulations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Partnership Center for High-fidelity Boundary Plasma Simulation

The University of Colorado Boulder contributed to the DOE Partnership Center for High‑fidelity Boundary Plasma Simulation (award DE‑SC0018271) by advancing gyrokinetic modeling of core–edge plasma interactions in tokamaks. Using the GEM and XGC codes, the project investigated turbulence spreading from the plasma edge to the core, finding that while edge‑driven trapped electron mode turbulence enhances core ion heat flux in DIII‑D L‑mode plasmas, it does not fully explain experimentally observed transport shortfalls, indicating a need for flux‑driven models. The team also demonstrated that edge micro‑instabilities are highly sensitive to small variations in magnetic equilibrium, particularly near the pedestal and edge, highlighting the importance of accurately characterizing equilibrium uncertainties. Significant progress was made in spatially coupling the core GEM and edge XGC simulations, with successful validation against standalone XGC results in realistic tokamak geometries, laying the groundwork for future extensions to kinetic electrons and electromagnetic effects.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2012

A New Interaction Region Design for the Super-B Factory

A final focus magnet design that uses super-ferric magnets is introduced for the SuperB interaction region. The baseline design has air-core super-conducting quadrupoles. This idea instead uses super-conducting wire in an iron yoke. The iron is in the shape of a Panofsky quadrupole and this allows two quadrupoles to be side-by-side with no intervening iron as long as the gradients of the two quads are equal. This feature allows us to move in as close as possible to the collision point and minimize the beta functions in the interaction region. The superferric design has advantages as well as drawbacks and we will discuss these in the paper.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

On the missing magnetic flux and topological effects of a screw dislocation on a charged particle in an inhomogeneous magnetic field

Highlights: • Aharonov–Bohm-type effect associated with the missing magnetic flux. • Persistent currents associated with the missing magnetic flux. • Aharonov–Bohm-type effect associated with the screw dislocation topology. We study the interaction of an electron/hole with inhomogeneous magnetic field in the presence of a screw dislocation. We consider the internal structure of the defect, i.e., we consider the core that gives rise to a finite size to the defect. In addition, we assume that this core determines a forbidden region for the electron/hole. Then, we solve the Schrödinger equation and show that an Aharonov–Bohm-type effect arises from the influence of the topological defect and the missing magnetic flux on the eigenvalues of energy.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Quantum simulations of nuclei and nuclear pasta with the multiresolution adaptive numerical environment for scientific simulations

Neutron star and supernova matter at densities just below the nuclear matter saturation density is expected to form a lattice of exotic shapes. These so-called nuclear pasta phases are caused by Coulomb frustration. Their elastic and transport properties are believed to play an important role for thermal and magnetic field evolution, rotation, and oscillation of neutron stars. Furthermore, they can impact neutrino opacities in core-collapse supernovae. In this work, we present proof-of-principle three-dimensional (3D) Skyrme Hartree-Fock (SHF) simulations of nuclear pasta with the Multi-resolution ADaptive Numerical Environment for Scientific Simulations (MADNESS). We perform benchmark studies of 16 O, 208 Pb, and 238 U nuclear ground states and calculate binding energies via 3D SHF simulations. Results are compared with experimentally measured binding energies as well as with theoretically predicted values from an established SHF code. The nuclear pasta simulation is initialized in the so-called waffle geometry as obtained by the Indiana University Molecular Dynamics (IUMD) code. The size of the unit cell is 24 fm with an average density of about ρ = 0.05fm -3 , proton fraction of Yp = 0.3, and temperature of T = 0 MeV. Overall, our calculations reproduce the binding energies and shapes of light and heavy nuclei with different geometries. For the pasta simulation, we find that the final geometry is very similar to the initial waffle state. We compare calculations with and without spin-orbit forces. We find that while subtle differences are present, the pasta phase remains in the waffle geometry. Within the MADNESS framework, we can successfully perform calculations of inhomogeneous nuclear matter. By using pasta configurations from IUMD it is possible to explore different geometries and test the impact of self-consistent calculations on the latter.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

A Synchrotron-Based Hydroxyl Radical Footprinting Analysis of Amyloid Fibrils and Prefibrillar Intermediates with Residue-Specific Resolution

The structural models of the fibrils formed by the 40-residue amyloid-β (Aβ40) peptide in Alzheimer’s disease typically consist of linear polypeptide segments, oriented approximately perpendicular to the long axis of the fibril, and joined together as parallel in-register β-sheets to form filaments. However, various models differ in the number of filaments that run the length of a fibril, and in the topological arrangement of these filaments. In addition to questions about the structure of Aβ40 monomers in fibrils, there are important unanswered questions about their structure in prefibrillar intermediates, which are of interest because they may represent the most neurotoxic form of Aβ40. To assess different models of fibril structure and to gain insight into the structure of prefibrillar intermediates, the relative solvent accessibility of amino acid residue side chains in fibrillar and prefibrillar Aβ40 preparations was characterized in solution by hydroxyl radical footprinting and structural mass spectrometry. A key to the application of this technology was the development of hydroxyl radical reactivity measures for individual side chains of Aβ40. When we combined mass-per-length measurements performed by dark-field electron microscopy, we determined that the results of our study were consistent with the core filament structure represented by two- and three-filament solid state nuclear magnetic resonance-based models of the Aβ40 fibril (such as 2LMN, 2LMO, 2LMP, and 2LMQ), with minor refinements, but they are inconsistent with the more recently proposed 2M4J model. Our results also demonstrate that individual Aβ40 fibrils exhibit structural heterogeneity or polymorphism, where regions of two-filament structure alternate with regions of three-filament structure. The footprinting approach utilized in this study will be valuable for characterizing various fibrillar and nonfibrillar forms of the Aβ peptide.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Stepwise deprotonation of truxene: structures, metal complexation, and charge-dependent optical properties

As a planar subunit of C 60 -fullerene, truxene (C 27 H 18 ) represents a highly symmetrical rigid hydrocarbon with strong blue emission. Herein, we used truxene as a model to investigate the chemical reactivity of a fullerene fragment with alkali metals. Monoanion, dianion, and trianion products with different alkali metal counterions were crystallized and fully characterized, revealing the core curvature dependence on charge and alkali metal coordination. Moreover, a proton nuclear magnetic resonance study coupled with computational analysis demonstrated that deprotonation of the aliphatic CH 2 segments introduces aromaticity in the five-membered rings. Importantly, the UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence of truxenyl anions with different charges reveal intriguing charge-dependent optical properties, implying variation of the electronic structure based on the deprotonation process. An increase in aromaticity and π-conjugation yielded a red shift in the absorption and photoluminescent spectra; in particular, large Stokes shifts were observed in the truxenyl monoanion and dianion with high emission quantum yield and time of decay. Overall, stepwise deprotonation of truxene provides the first crystallographically characterized examples of truxenyl anions with three different charges and charge-dependent optical properties, pointing to their potential applications in carbon-based functional materials.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

Formation and sustainment of internal transport barriers in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor with the baseline heating mix

Plasmas with internal transport barriers (ITBs) are a potential and attractive route to steady-state operation in ITER. These plasmas exhibit radially localized regions of improved confinement with steep pressure gradients in the plasma core, which drive large bootstrap current and generate hollow current profiles and negative magnetic shear. This work examines the formation and sustainment of ITBs in ITER with electron cyclotron heating and current drive. The time-dependent transport simulations indicate that, with a trade-off of the power delivered to the equatorial and to the upper launcher, the sustainment of steady-state ITBs can be demonstrated in ITER with the baseline heating configuration.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Grain alignment in starless cores

We present near-IR polarimetry data of background stars shining through a selection of starless cores taken in the K band, probing visual extinctions up to A{sub V}∼48. We find that P{sub K}/τ{sub K} continues to decline with increasing A{sub V} with a power law slope of roughly −0.5. Examination of published submillimeter (submm) polarimetry of starless cores suggests that by A{sub V}≳20 the slope for P versus τ becomes ∼−1, indicating no grain alignment at greater optical depths. Combining these two data sets, we find good evidence that, in the absence of a central illuminating source, the dust grains in dense molecular cloud cores with no internal radiation source cease to become aligned with the local magnetic field at optical depths greater than A{sub V}∼20. A simple model relating the alignment efficiency to the optical depth into the cloud reproduces the observations well.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Global Crustal Dynamics of Magnetars in Relation to Their Bright X-Ray Outbursts

This paper considers the yielding response of a neutron star crust to smooth, unbalanced Maxwell stresses imposed at the core–crust boundary, and the coupling of the dynamic crust to the external magnetic field. Stress buildup and yielding in a magnetar crust are global phenomena: an elastic distortion radiating from one plastically deforming zone is shown to dramatically increase the creep rate in distant zones. Runaway creep to dynamical rates is shown to be possible, being enhanced by in situ heating and suppressed by thermal conduction and shearing of an embedded magnetic field. A global and time-dependent model of elastic, plastic, magnetic, and thermal evolution is developed. Fault-like structures develop naturally, and a range of outburst timescales is observed. Transient events with time profiles similar to giant magnetar flares (millisecond rise, ∼0.1 s duration, and decaying power-law tails) result from runaway creep that starts in localized sub-kilometer-sized patches and spreads across the crust. A one-dimensional model of stress relaxation in the vertically stratified crust shows that a modest increase in applied stress allows embedded magnetic shear to escape the star over ∼3–10 ms, dissipating greater energy if the exterior field is already sheared. Several such zones coupled to each other naturally yield a burst of duration ∼0.1 s, as is observed over a wide range of burst energies. The collective interaction of many plastic zones forces an overstability of global elastic modes of the crust, consistent with quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) activity extending over ∼100 s. Giant flares probably involve sudden meltdown in localized zones, with high-frequency (≫100 Hz) QPOs corresponding to standing Alfvén waves within these zones.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Massive Prestellar Clump Hosting No High-mass Cores

The infrared dark cloud (IRDC) G028.23-00.19 hosts a massive (1500 M {sub ⊙}), cold (12 K), and 3.6–70 μ m IR dark clump (MM1) that has the potential to form high-mass stars. We observed this prestellar clump candidate with the Submillimeter Array (∼3.″5 resolution) and Jansky Very Large Array (∼2.″1 resolution) in order to characterize the early stages of high-mass star formation and to constrain theoretical models. Dust emission at 1.3 mm wavelength reveals five cores with masses ≤15 M {sub ⊙}. None of the cores currently have the mass reservoir to form a high-mass star in the prestellar phase. If the MM1 clump will ultimately form high-mass stars, its embedded cores must gather a significant amount of additional mass over time. No molecular outflows are detected in the CO (2-1) and SiO (5-4) transitions, suggesting that the SMA cores are starless. By using the NH{sub 3} (1, 1) line, the velocity dispersion of the gas is determined to be transonic or mildly supersonic (Δ V {sub nt}/Δ V {sub th} ∼ 1.1–1.8). The cores are not highly supersonic as some theories of high-mass star formation predict. The embedded cores are four to seven times more massive than the clump thermal Jeans mass and the most massive core (SMA1) is nine times less massive than the clump turbulent Jeans mass. These values indicate that neither thermal pressure nor turbulent pressure dominates the fragmentation of MM1. The low virial parameters of the cores (0.1–0.5) suggest that they are not in virial equilibrium, unless strong magnetic fields of ∼1–2 mG are present. We discuss high-mass star formation scenarios in a context based on IRDC G028.23-00.19, a study case believed to represent the initial fragmentation of molecular clouds that will form high-mass stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

EARLIEST STAGES OF PROTOCLUSTER FORMATION: SUBSTRUCTURE AND KINEMATICS OF STARLESS CORES IN ORION

We study the structure and kinematics of nine 0.1 pc scale cores in Orion with the IRAM 30 m telescope and at higher resolution eight of the cores with CARMA, using CS(2-1) as the main tracer. The single-dish moment zero maps of the starless cores show single structures with central column densities ranging from 7 to 42 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 23} cm{sup -2} and LTE masses from 20 M{sub Sun} to 154 M{sub Sun }. However, at the higher CARMA resolution (5''), all of the cores except one fragment into 3-5 components. The number of fragments is small compared to that found in some turbulent fragmentation models, although inclusion of magnetic fields may reduce the predicted fragment number and improve the model agreement. This result demonstrates that fragmentation from parsec-scale molecular clouds to sub-parsec cores continues to take place inside the starless cores. The starless cores and their fragments are embedded in larger filamentary structures, which likely played a role in the core formation and fragmentation. Most cores show clear velocity gradients, with magnitudes ranging from 1.7 to 14.3 km s{sup -1} pc{sup -1}. We modeled one of them in detail, and found that its spectra are best explained by a converging flow along a filament toward the core center; the gradients in other cores may be modeled similarly. We infer a mass inflow rate of {approx}2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -3} M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1}, which is in principle high enough to overcome radiation pressure and allow for massive star formation. However, the core contains multiple fragments, and it is unclear whether the rapid inflow would feed the growth of primarily a single massive star or a cluster of lower mass objects. We conclude that fast, supersonic converging flow along filaments play an important role in massive star and cluster formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗