Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “PLASMA RADIAL PROFILES”

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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Plasma oscillations in spherical Gaussian shaped ultracold neutral plasma

The collective plasma oscillations are investigated in ultracold neutral plasma with a non-uniform density profile. Instead of the plane configuration widely used, we derive the plasma oscillation equations with spherically symmetric distribution and Gaussian density profile. The damping of radial oscillation is found. The Tonks–Dattner resonances of the ultracold neutral plasma with an applied RF field are also calculated.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Electrostatic equilibria of non-neutral plasmas confined in a Penning trap with axially varying magnetic field

A procedure for computing the electrostatic equilibria of non-neutral plasmas in a Penning trap with a nonuniform magnetic field by solving Poisson's equation using an iterative method is described. Plasma equilibria in a model Penning trap with high and low field regions are computed. The plasma is assumed to follow the Boltzmann density distribution along magnetic field lines. Correspondence with previous investigations examining similar configurations analytically and using particle-in-cell simulations is found. The relationship between the plasma density in low and high field regions is examined for various plasma temperatures, densities, magnetic mirror ratios, and plasma and electrode radii. An analytical description of the radial density profile in the high field region is developed and compared with the computed equilibria. A concept is described for cooling a positron plasma with laser-cooled ions trapped axially within a high magnetic field region, while antiprotons are trapped axially separated from the laser-cooled ions within a low field region, and the positron plasma extends to both regions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Hybrid magneto-hydrodynamic simulation of a driven FRC

We simulate a field-reversed configuration (FRC), produced by an “inductively driven” FRC experiment; comprised of a central-flux coil and exterior-limiter coil. To account for the plasma kinetic behavior, a standard 2-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamic code is modified to preserve the azimuthal, two-fluid behavior. Simulations are run for the FRC's full-time history, sufficient to include: acceleration, formation, current neutralization, compression, and decay. At start-up, a net ion current develops that modifies the applied-magnetic field forming closed-field lines and a region of null-magnetic field (i.e., a FRC). After closed-field lines form, ion-electron drag increases the electron current, canceling a portion of the ion current. The equilibrium is lost as the total current eventually dissipates. The time evolution and magnitudes of the computed current, ion-rotation velocity, and plasma temperature agree with the experiments, as do the rigid-rotor-like, radial-profiles for the density and axial-magnetic field [cf. Conti et al. Phys. Plasmas 21, 022511 (2014)].

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Rigid-rotor, field-reversed configuration

The radial profiles, n(r), B{sub z}(r), and E{sub r}(r), for a Flux-Coil (“inductively driven”), Field-Reversed Configuration (FC-FRC) are measured and compared to the predictions of the Rigid-Rotor Model (RRM), which is an analytic, one-dimensional, time-independent, equilibrium description for the FRC. Injectors mounted on both ends of the confinement vessel provide a pre-fill plasma. Coaxial coils mounted outside the vacuum boundaries of the annular-confinement vessel accelerate the plasma and produce the FRC. The density profile is measured by laser interferometry, the magnetic-field profile using an in-situ probe array, and the electric-field profile using an in-situ, floating-probe array. Free parameters for each profile are measured, which also allow other intrinsic-plasma parameters to be determined, using computer-fit algorithms: null radius, radial thickness, plasma temperature, rotation frequencies, the latter of which are independently verified by spectroscopy. All radial profiles agree with the RRM predictions, for the experimental configuration, parameter regime, and specified-time interval studied here.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Generalized impurity pinch in partially magnetized multi-ion plasma

In a two-ion-species plasma with disparate ion masses, heavy ions tend to concentrate in the low-temperature region of collisionally magnetized plasma and in the high-temperature region of collisionally unmagnetized plasma, respectively. Moreover, collisional magnetization can be determined as the ratio of the light ion gyrofrequency to the collision frequency of light and heavy ion species, and the behavior of this effect in the intermediate regime of partially magnetized plasma is predominantly dependent on this Hall parameter. Multi-ion cross-field transport has been described before in the collisionally magnetized plasma regime, and generalized pinch relations, which describe densities of ion species in equilibrium in that plasma, are found in the literature. Here, the role of collisional magnetization and Larmor magnetization in multi-ion collisional transport is clarified, and generalized pinch relations are extended to the partially magnetized regime in which the ion Hall parameter may be small, as long as electrons remain collisionally magnetized. Equilibrium ion density profiles have the same dependence on external forces and on each other regardless of collisional magnetization of ions. The expansion of the range of validity of multi-ion collisional transport models makes them applicable to a wider range of laboratory plasma conditions. In particular, ion density profiles evolve sufficiently fast for radial impurity transport to be observable around stagnation on MagLIF, leading to expulsion of heavy ion impurities from the hotspot as long as plasma becomes sufficiently collisionally magnetized during the implosion.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

A study of tungsten spectra using large helical device and compact electron beam ion trap in NIFS

Tungsten spectra have been observed from Large Helical Device (LHD) and Compact electron Beam Ion Trap (CoBIT) in wavelength ranges of visible to EUV. The EUV spectra with unresolved transition array (UTA), e.g., 6g-4f, 5g-4f, 5f-4d and 5p-4d transitions for W{sup +24-+33}, measured from LHD plasmas are compared with those measured from CoBIT with monoenergetic electron beam ({<=}2keV). The tungsten spectra from LHD are well analyzed based on the knowledge from CoBIT tungsten spectra. The C-R model code has been developed to explain the UTA spectra in details. Radial profiles of EUV spectra from highly ionized tungsten ions have been measured and analyzed by impurity transport simulation code with ADPAK atomic database code to examine the ionization balance determined by ionization and recombination rate coefficients. As the first trial, analysis of the tungsten density in LHD plasmas is attempted from radial profile of Zn-like WXLV (W{sup 44+}) 4p-4s transition at 60.9A based on the emission rate coefficient calculated with HULLAC code. As a result, a total tungsten ion density of 3.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10}cm{sup -3} at the plasma center is reasonably obtained. In order to observe the spectra from tungsten ions in lower-ionized charge stages, which can give useful information on the tungsten influx in fusion plasmas, the ablation cloud of the impurity pellet is directly measured with visible spectroscopy. A lot of spectra from neutral and singly ionized tungsten are observed and some of them are identified. A magnetic forbidden line from highly ionized tungsten ions has been examined and Cd-like WXXVII (W{sup 26+}) at 3893.7A is identified as the ground-term fine-structure transition of 4f{sup 23}H{sub 5}-{sup 3}H{sub 4}. The possibility of {alpha} particle diagnostic in D-T burning plasmas using the magnetic forbidden line is discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Magnetohydrodynamically stable plasma with supercritical current density at the axis

In this work, an analysis of magnetic perturbations in the GOL-3 experiment is given. In GOL-3, plasma is collectively heated in a multiple-mirror trap by a high-power electron beam. During the beam injection, the beam-plasma interaction maintains a high-level microturbulence. This provides an unusual radial profile of the net current (that consists of the beam current, current of the preliminary discharge, and the return current). The plasma core carries supercritical current density with the safety factor well below unity, but as a whole, the plasma is stable with q(a) ≈ 4. The net plasma current is counter-directed to the beam current; helicities of the magnetic field in the core and at the edge are of different signs. This forms a system with a strong magnetic shear that stabilizes the plasma core in good confinement regimes. We have found that the most pronounced magnetic perturbation is the well-known n = 1, m = 1 mode for both stable and disruptive regimes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Instrumentation for a multichord motional Stark effect diagnostic in KSTAR

The motional Stark effect (MSE) diagnostic is used to measure the radial magnetic pitch angle profile in neutral beam heated plasmas. This information is used to calculate the safety factor, q, with magnetic equilibrium reconstruction codes such as EFIT. The MSE diagnostic is important during active shaping of the q profile to optimize confinement and stability, and it has become a key diagnostic in high performance tokamaks. A multichord photo-elastic modulator (PEM) based MSE system is being developed for a real-time plasma current profile control in Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR). The PEM-based approach is a standard method that measures the polarization direction of a single Stark line with narrow tunable bandpass filters. A tangential view of the heating beam provides good spatial resolution of 1–3 cm, which provides an opportunity to install 25 spatial channels spanning the major radius from 1.74 m to 2.84 m. Application of real-time control is a long-term technical goal after commissioning the diagnostic in KSTAR, which is expected in 2015. In this paper, we describe the design of this newly-constructed multichord MSE diagnostic in KSTAR.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

EDGE2D-EIRENE modelling of near SOL E r : possible impact on the H-mode power threshold

Recent EDGE2D-EIRENE simulations of JET plasmas showed a significant difference between radial electric field (E r ) profiles across the separatrix in two divertor configurations, with the outer strike point on the horizontal target (HT) and vertical target (VT) (Chankin et al 2016 Nucl. Mater. Energy, doi: 10.1016/j.nme.2016.10.004). Under conditions (input power, plasma density) where the HT plasma went into the H-mode, a large positive E r spike in the near scrape-off layer (SOL) was seen in the code output, leading to a very large E × B shear across the separatrix over a narrow region of a fraction of a cm width. No such E r feature was obtained in the code solution for the VT configuration, where the H-mode power threshold was found to be twice as high as in the HT configuration. It was hypothesised that the large E × B shear across the separatrix in the HT configuration could be responsible for the turbulence suppression leading to an earlier (at lower input power) L–H transition compared to the VT configuration. In the present work these ideas are extended to cover some other experimental observations on the H-mode power threshold variation with parameters which typically are not included in the multi-machine H-mode power threshold scalings, namely: ion mass dependence (isotope H–D–T exchange), dependence on the ion ∇B drift direction, and dependence on the wall material composition (ITER-like wall versus carbon wall in JET). In all these cases EDGE2D-EIRENE modelling shows larger positive E r spikes in the near SOL under conditions where the H-mode power threshold is lower, at least in the HT configuration.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Comparison of Doppler back-scattering and charge exchange measurements of E × B plasma rotation in the DIII-D tokamak under varying torque conditions

Measurements of the E × B toroidal angular velocity, $\omega_{E \times B}\,=\,E_\mathrm{r}/RB_\theta$ ($E_\mathrm{r}$ is the radial electric field, B θ is the poloidal magnetic field), are made using the Doppler back-scattering (DBS) and charge-exchange recombination (CER) spectroscopy diagnostics. DBS uses the Doppler shift of wavenumber-resolved density fluctuations while CER uses the Doppler shift of impurity emission lines to independently measure plasma parameters for calculating the local radial electric field. DBS and CER profiles of $\omega_{E \times B}$ as a function of normalized toroidal flux (ρ) are compared at various levels of neutral beam applied torque on the plasma. Under standard neoclassical theory $\omega_{E\times B}$ is a flux surface quantity, making it appropriate to compare across diagnostics. DBS and CER generally show good agreement when comparing $\omega_{E \times B}$ profiles at different levels of neutral beam injection-applied torque. Furthermore, the DBS values have close to the same precision as CER values when averaged over a similar time-scale and effects, such as prompt-torque are considered. DBS is able to observe the rapid ($\lt$10 ms) modification of the $E_\mathrm{r}$ profile by the diagnostic neutral beam 'blips'. This modification is most pronounced when the blip applies a large relative change in torque on the plasma. Overall, these results could have implications on transport analysis and suggests using DBS and CER in conjunction to constrain values of the E × B-shear (sometimes called $\gamma_{E \times B}$).

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Sawtooth mixing of alphas, knock-on D, and T ions, and its influence on NPA spectra in ITER plasma

Sawtooth mixing of fast ions is considered in ITER for plasma parameters close to the inductive 15 MA scenario. In this paper, new mixing formula is presented for a drift trajectory averaged distribution function (DF) of fast passing and trapped ions. This formula generalizes Kadomtsev's model for the case of non-circular magnetic surfaces, arbitrary aspect ratio, and significant deviations of charged particle drift trajectories from the magnetic flux surfaces, and can be applicable to a wide class of instabilities. Generalized formulae are implemented in the Fokker–Planck package three-dimensional (FPP-3D) code. FPP-3D is applied for calculation of the fast alpha-particle (He 4 ), deuterium (D), and tritium (T) DFs. Simulations take into account D and T nuclear elastic scattering (NES or knock-on) by fast He 4 . Changes in the radial profile of He 4 power deposition to the thermal plasma in the presence of plasma mixing are estimated. An effective tool for fast ion studies in ITER will be a system of neutral particle analyzers (NPA) since it allows direct measurements of the fast hydrogen ions' DF inside the plasma. The main NPA goal on ITER is to measure the D/T fuel isotope ratio in the plasma core with the use of D and T atom spectra in the MeV range. The spectra and their sensitivity to sawtooth mixing are calculated. It was found that ITER NPA allows us to detect those oscillations. Finally, simulations show the possibility of determining the D/T ratio with NPA regardless of whether sawtooth oscillations exist.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Radial scanning diagnostics of bremsstrahlung and line emission in T-10 plasma

The paper describes the scanning spectroscopic diagnostics designed for measurement of line integrated plasma radiation in two visible spectral ranges. This diagnostic system is aimed at measuring the bremsstrahlung absolute values and profile with high spatial resolution. The bremsstrahlung absolute values are used to determine the value and radial distribution of effective plasma ion charge Z{sub eff}(r) in T-10 discharges. The importance of Z{sub eff} measurement is due to its strong influence on plasma heating, confinement, and stability. The spatial distribution of emission for one of the chosen spectral lines is measured simultaneously with bremsstrahlung. The spatial resolution of measurements is ~1 cm, and the temporal resolution is up to 10 ms. The spectral equipment and methods for its calibration are described. Examples of line integrated brightness distribution in a “continuum window” of 5236 ± 6 Å and brightness of the lines C{sup 5+} (5291 Å), He{sup 1+} (4686 Å), and D{sub β} (4861 Å) are given. Flattening of the bremsstrahlung brightness profile in the central region of the plasma column in some discharges with sawtooth oscillations in the T-10 is observed. The measured effective ion charge profiles in ohmic discharges with high plasma density and low discharge currents demonstrate accumulation of light impurities at the column axis; as a consequence, quenching of sawtooth oscillations in some discharges is observed. The developed diagnostics provides necessary data for investigation of heat, particle, and current transport in the plasma of the T-10. Successful application of the obtained data on Z{sub eff}(r) for investigation of geodesic acoustic modes of plasma oscillations in the T-10 should be specially noted.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Inferring the scrape-off layer heat flux width in a divertor with a low degree of axisymmetry

Plasma facing components (PFCs) in the next generation of tokamak devices will operate in challenging environments, with heat loads predicted to exceed 10 MWm -2 . The magnitude of these heat loads is set by the width of the channel, the ‘scrape-off layer’ (SOL), into which heat is exhausted, and can be characterised by an e-folding length scale for the decay of heat flux across the channel. It is expected this channel will narrow as tokamaks move towards reactor relevant conditions. Understanding the processes involved in setting the SOL heat flux width is imperative to be able to predict the heat loads PFCs must handle in future devices. Measurements of the SOL width are performed on the high-field spherical tokamak, ST40, using a newly commissioned infrared thermography system. With its high on-axis toroidal magnetic field (≥1.5 T) ST40 is uniquely positioned to investigate the influence of toroidal field on the heat flux width in spherical tokamaks, whilst also extending measurements of the SOL width in spherical tokamaks to increased poloidal field (≥0.3 T). Due to the divertor on ST40 having a low degree of axisymmetry, it is necessary for a set of radial measurements of the heat flux to be taken across the divertor, made possible using an automated toolchain that fully incorporates its 3D geometry. These radial profiles are combined with the magnetic geometry of the plasma to infer the width of the SOL, with both Eich and double exponential profiles of heat flux observed. A reduction in the heat flux is observed toroidally across part of the divertor, along with increased heat loads observed locally around the edges of the tiles. Future work in characterising the impact of tile misalignment and uncertainties in the reconstructed divertor magnetic geometry is required in order to further understand the observed heat flux patterns, as are additional investigations into the role potentially being played by an inhomogeneous sheath electric field.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Applicability of alkali beam emission spectroscopy on NSTX-U

Understanding fast pedestal dynamics and turbulent transport in the edge and scrape-off layer (SOL) plasma of spherical tokamaks is crucial for the design and operation of future fusion reactors. The alkali beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic technique offers a means to measure the absolute electron density radial profile and fluctuation amplitude in these regions. Here, in this study, we demonstrate that injecting a sodium neutral beam radially into the plasma and analyzing the light emission from its 3p–3s atomic transition using near-orthogonal viewing angles allows for accurate measurement of the electron density profile and fluctuations in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) Upgrade spherical tokamak. Our findings indicate a peak signal-to-noise ratio of 118 in the pedestal and 12 in the SOL under typical NSTX plasma conditions. The spatial resolution for the electron density profile is estimated to be between 2 and 8 mm, while for fluctuation measurements, it ranges from 12 to 15 mm.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Modeling of transport phenomena in tokamak plasmas with neural networks

A new transport model that uses neural networks (NNs) to yield electron and ion heat ux pro les has been developed. Given a set of local dimensionless plasma parameters similar to the ones that the highest delity models use, the NN model is able to efficiently and accurately predict the ion and electron heat transport pro les. As a benchmark, a NN was built, trained, and tested on data from the 2012 and 2013 DIII-D experimental campaigns. It is found that NN can capture the experimental behavior over the majority of the plasma radius and across a broad range of plasma regimes. Although each radial location is calculated independently from the others, the heat ux pro les are smooth, suggesting that the solution found by the NN is a smooth function of the local input parameters. This result supports the evidence of a well-de ned, non-stochastic relationship between the input parameters and the experimentally measured transport uxes. Finally, the numerical efficiency of this method, requiring only a few CPU-μs per data point, makes it ideal for scenario development simulations and real-time plasma control.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Non-linear theory of a cavitated plasma wake in a plasma channel for special applications and control

We introduce a complete semi-analytical model for a cavitated electron wake driven by an electron beam in a radially inhomogeneous plasma. The electron response to the driver, dynamics of electrons in a thin sheath surrounding the cavity, as well as accelerating and focusing fields inside the cavity are calculated in the quasistatic approximation. Our theory holds for arbitrary radial density profiles and reduces to known models in the limit of a homogeneous plasma. A free-propagating blow-out in an evacuated channel experiences longitudinal squeezing, qualitatively the same as observed in particle-in-cell simulations for the laser pulse-driven case [Pukhov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 245003 (2014)]. Our model also permits qualitative interpretation of the earlier observed cancellation of the focusing gradient in the cavity [Pukhov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 245003 (2014)]. In this work, we show the underlying mechanism that causes the radial fields in the vacuum part of a channel to become defocussing.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Penetration of lower hybrid current drive waves in tokamaks

Lower hybrid (LH) ray propagation in toroidal plasma is shown to be controlled by combination of the azimuthal spectrum launched by the antenna, the poloidal variation of the magnetic field, and the scattering of the waves by the drift wave fluctuations. The width of the poloidal and radial radio frequency wave spectrum increases rapidly as the rays penetrate into higher density and scatter from the drift waves. The electron temperature gradient (ETG) spectrum is particularly effective in scattering the LH waves due to its comparable wavelengths and phase velocities. ETG turbulence is also driven by the radial gradient of the electron current profile giving rise to an anomalous viscosity spreading the LH driven plasma currents. The LH wave scattering is derived from a Fokker-Planck equation for the distribution of the ray trajectories with diffusivities derived from the drift wave fluctuations. The condition for chaotic diffusion for the rays is derived. The evolution of the poloidal and radial mode number spectrum of the lower hybrid waves are both on the antenna spectrum and the spectrum of the drift waves. Antennas launching higher poloidal mode number spectra drive off-axis current density profiles producing negative central shear [RS] plasmas with improved thermal confinement from ETG transport. Core plasma current drive requires antennas with low azimuthal mode spectra peaked at m = 0 azimuthal mode numbers.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Rational surfaces, flows and radial structure in the TJ-II stellarator

Abstract In this work, we report on the results obtained by measuring several turbulent quantities well inside the plasma edge by means of a Langmuir probe during dynamical rotational transform scans in the TJ-II stellarator, while applying a radial electric field to the edge plasma using a biasing probe. By calculating the intermittence parameter from floating potential measurements, we are able to identify a major low order rational surface and hence relate the probe measurements to the local value of the rotational transform. Based on the former, we are able to show that the poloidal plasma velocity (and hence radial electric field) has a significant radial structure that is clearly related to the rotational transform profile and in particular the lowest order rational surfaces in the range studied. The poloidal velocity is also affected by the edge biasing. The particle flux Γ was also found to exhibit a radial pattern, as did the flow shear suppression term ω E × B , but the relation of the former to the low-order rational surfaces was less clear. We surmise that this lack of direct correspondence is due to an unknown term in the turbulence evolution equation: the instability growth rate, γ . We make use of a reduced Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence model to interpret the results. Overall, a picture is obtained in which the plasma self-organizes towards a state with a clear radial pattern of the radial electric field, in line with expectations from some numerical studies describing the spontaneous formation of an ‘ E × B staircase’, consisting of alternating layers with fast and slow radial transport. In this state, the radial profiles of various quantities (density, temperature, pressure) will not be smooth.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗