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Results for “resistive instabilities”

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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

Plasma transport in the auroral return current region

The classical and anomalous transport properties of a multifluid plasma consisting of H(+), O(+), and electron populations in the presence of auroral field-aligned return currents are investigated, using a multimoment fluid model with anomalous transport coefficients. The macroscopic effects of the electrostatic ion cyclotron (EIC) instability and of an EIC-related anomalous resistivity mechanism which heats the electrons are included in the present version of the model. The responses of the outflowing polar wind plasma to the application of current, with and without instabilities, are exhibited. The simulations show that the electron drift velocity corresponding to a return current of 0.65 micro-A/sq m is above the threshold for EIC waves. Downward electron heat flow competes with upward convection and adiabatic effects to determine the direction of the electron temperature anisotropy. Resistive electron heating lowers the critical drift velocity for marginal EIC stability and leads to enhanced ion heating.

Ganguli, Supriya B.↗
DOE OSTI2022

2D Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of the Electrothermal Instability in Metallic Liners

The Virginia Tech (VT) Plasma Dynamics Laboratory Computational (PDCL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are performing two dimensional (2D) simulations of the electrothermal instability (ETI) using the LLNL multi-physics code Ares. Ares is a multi-physics arbitrary–Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) code developed by LLNL and is of particular use in studying magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities like the ETI due to its resistive MHD, magnetic diffusion, and radiative-hydrodynamics packages. Among its capabilities, it has the ability to model material strength, perform adaptive mesh refinement (AMR), and incorporate a wide variety of equations of state models and conductivity models. The 2D Ares simulation model created by VT-LLNL for studying the development and growth of the electrothermal instability has been configured with initial conditions based on the Mykonos Electrothermal Instability II (METI-II) experiments described by this grant and conducted by team members at the University of Nevada (UNR), the University of New Mexico (UNM), and Sandia National Laboratories. Previously, preliminary 2D Ares simulations of the ETI had been run to approximately 80ns. The rods in these simulations were initiated with sinusoidal perturbations at a similar order of magnitude to those measured on the aluminum rods used for the Mykonos experiment. This model has been improved by increasing the spatial resolution of the simulations and running the simulations further in time. In addition to the simulation run-times extending, the preliminary sinusoidal perturbation has been replaced with a perturbation derived from amplitude measurements by the experimental team, thereby correlating the simulation inputs better to the experimental runs. These new runs are capable of reaching 120ns of simulated time for the uncoated cases and to 200ns the 41 μm coated cases.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Effect of surface roughness on phase transition timing in megaampere pulsed-power–driven exploding conductors

An understanding of material phase transitions in megaampere pulsed-power–driven exploding conductors is important for predicting the growth of hydrodynamic instabilities in magneto-inertial fusion concepts. Here, this study analyzes phase transitions in electrical conductor explosions using 1D Lagrangian and 2D arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations to show that micrometer-scale surface roughness can lead to the electrothermal instability (ETI), a feedback effect that concentrates resistive heating and leads to early melting and ablation. Simulations of the Mykonos electrothermal instability II (METI-II) experiment show melting begins 19% sooner for machined rods with micrometer-scale surface roughness than for rods without these features. The surface magnetic field is 41 T around the initial region of melt, representing a lower magnitude than both the 86 T from 1D simulations and the 85 T threshold reported elsewhere. In 2D simulations with micrometer-scale surface roughness, temperature measurements indicate the critical point temperature of aluminum is reached 17% faster in comparison with 1D simulations. Values from 2D simulations with surface roughness align with predictions from ETI theory, and the observed temperature redistribution further supports the ETI as an underlying mechanism. Simulation results are validated against experimental photonic Doppler velocimetry data. This study shows 1D simulations are adequate to model conductors with sub-micrometer-scale surface roughness in this high-energy-density regime; however, 2D or 3D simulations are required to capture the full range of physics for accurately describing phase transitions in conductors with micrometer-scale or larger surface roughness.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Low- n global ideal MHD instabilities in the CFETR baseline scenario

This article reports an evaluation on the linear ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability of the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) baseline scenario for various first-wall locations. The initial-value code NIMROD and eigen-value code AEGIS are employed in this analysis. Despite the distinctly different approaches in modeling the scrape off layer region, the dominant growth in each of the low-n (n=1–10) modes are consistent between the two codes. We report the higher-n modes are dominated by ballooning modes and localized in the pedestal region, while the lower-n modes have more prominent external kink components and broader mode profiles. The influence of the plasma-vacuum profile and wall shape are also examined using NIMROD. In the presence of a resistive wall, the low-n ideal MHD instabilities are further studied using AEGIS. For the designed first-wall location, the n=1 resistive wall mode is found to be unstable, which could be fully stabilized by uniform toroidal rotation above the 2.9% core Alfven speed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1973

Observation of a current-driven plasma instability at the outer zone-plasma sheet boundary.

Several spacecraft experimenters have reported on the detection of large temporal variations in trapped electron fluxes near L = 5 to 6 at midlatitudes in the night hemisphere. In this report we describe in detail the particle, wave, and field changes measured when Ogo 5 traversed an outer-zone trapping boundary of this type on September 7, 1968. It is shown that thermal proton concentrations and E greater than 50-keV electron fluxes abruptly decreased when electrons with (1-4) keV mean energy were detected. It is also shown that currents flowed along the average geomagnetic field direction near the plasma boundaries and that these were accompanied by intense VLF electrostatic waves. It is proposed that turbulent resistivity produced by current-driven plasma instabilities allows parallel dc electric fields to develop along this boundary.

Scarf, F. L.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Role of ion acoustic instability in magnetic reconnection

We report on a first-principles numerical study of magnetic reconnection in plasmas with different initial ion-to-electron temperature ratios. In cases where this ratio is significantly below unity, we observe intense wave activity in the diffusion region, driven by the ion-acoustic instability. Our analysis shows that the dominant macroscopic effect of this instability is to drive substantial ion heating. In contrast to earlier studies reporting significant anomalous resistivity, we find that anomalous contributions due to the ion-acoustic instability are minimal. These results shed light on the dynamical impact of this instability on reconnection processes, offering new insights into the fundamental physics governing collisionless reconnection.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Parameterized anomalous transport model for current-carrying collisionless plasmas in pulsed power inertial confinement fusion

Current delivery in pulsed power inertial confinement fusion is influenced by collisionless current-carrying microturbulent plasmas, which are sourced from electrode surfaces. In this setting, the lower hybrid drift instability—triggered by plasma acceleration—is a leading candidate driver of difficult-to-predict momentum and energy transport. To characterize the nonlinear state of the microturbulent plasma, a parameterized anomalous transport model is developed for the instability, with analytic formulas for anomalous collision frequency, resistivity, and species heating rates. The formulas are expressed in terms of linear-theory variables and four dimensionless parameters that characterize the macroscopic plasma state. The model is built on linear theory analysis, power law analysis, and quasilinear theory analysis, and is validated using a series of nonlinear continuum kinetic Vlasov–Poisson simulations. The theoretical and computational investigation demonstrates that the anomalous collision frequency associated with the instability can be reliably approximated, within about a factor of five or better, by the unscaled linear theory growth rate of the fastest-growing wavenumber mode. This finding enables efficient calculation of anomalous resistivity and species heating rates over a wide range of plasma conditions, resulting in improved predictive capabilities.

Complex functions↗
NASA NTRS1973

Field-aligned currents, plasma waves, and anomalous resistivity in the disturbed polar cusp.

During the magnetic storm of November 1, 1968, the Ogo 5 spacecraft encountered the polar cusp region at low magnetic latitudes. We show that the region just outside the last closed field lines contained a warm magnetosheath plasma, magnetic field perturbations interpretable as field-aligned current layers, and electrostatic waves possibly due to plasma instabilities driven by these currents. Estimates of anomalous resistivity extrapolated along the field lines due to these electrostatic waves lead to estimates of field-aligned potential drops between Ogo 5 and the ionosphere on the order of 2 kV.

Fredricks, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS2001

A role for chromosomal instability in the development of and selection for radioresistant cell variants

Chromosome instability is a common occurrence in tumour cells. We examined the hypothesis that the elevated rate of mutation formation in unstable cells can lead to the development of clones of cells that are resistant to the cancer therapy. To test this hypothesis, we compared chromosome instability to radiation sensitivity in 30 independently isolated clones of GM10115 human-hamster hybrid cells. There was a broader distribution of radiosensitivity and a higher mean SF(2)in chromosomally unstable clones. Cytogenetic and DNA double-strand break rejoining assays suggest that sensitivity was a function of DNA repair efficiency. In the unstable population, the more radioresistant clones also had significantly lower plating efficiencies. These observations suggest that chromosome instability in GM10115 cells can lead to the development of cell variants that are more resistant to radiation. In addition, these results suggest that the process of chromosome breakage and recombination that accompanies chromosome instability might provide some selective pressure for more radioresistant variants. Copyright 2001 Cancer Research Campaign.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗
NASA NTRS1979

Fluctuations of inverted V electron fluxes

Fluctuations of low-energy electron fluxes during an inverted V event on Nov. 5, 1975 were detected by fixed-energy electrostatic analyzers used in the LEE (low-energy electron) experiment onboard the AE-D satellite. The flux fluctuations were observed at energies of 0.78, 1.38, and 2.62 keV, when these energies were below that of the monoenergetic beam. This suggests that the fluctuations might occur over a wide range of energies. The fluctuations were confined within a pitch angle of 15 degrees, the amplitude increasing with decreasing pitch angle. The oscillation frequencies centered around 1.75 Hz. Fluctuations at two energies were generally correlated. The heating of secondary electrons, deduced from an analysis of the distribution function, is attributed to anomalous heating by electron plasma wave turbulence, whose intensity was modulated by a low-frequency wave. The results are consistent with a model, according to which auroral precipitating electron beams enhance the anomalous resistivity at the topside ionosphere through parametric instabilities.

Lin, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Statics of wrinkling films

An analytical investigation of the equilibrium of wrinkling films is conducted. Zak (1979) has shown that wrinkling occurs in connection with the instability of a smooth film having no resistance to bending in the case of compression. The governing equation for the equilibrium of a film with possible regions of wrinkling is considered. The introduction of fictitious stress reduces the governing equation to a form which formally coincides with the governing equation for a string. Equilibrium conditions in the case of an absence of external forces are explored, taking into account the stretching of a semispherical film, the torsion of a convex film of revolution, and stress singularities. A study is conducted of the equilibrium under conditions in which external forces normal to the surface of a film are present. Attention is also given to the equilibrium in a potential field.

Zak, M.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Evaluation of industrial platinum resistance thermometers

The calibration and stability of four surface temperature measuring industrial platinum resistance thermometers for use in the temperature range -120 C to 160 C was investigated. It was found that the calibration formulation of the International Practical Temperature Scale of 1968 provided the most accurate calibration. It was also found that all the resistance thermometers suffered from varying degrees of instability and hysteresis.

Daryabeigi, Kamran↗
NASA NTRS1941

Hydrodynamic Tests of a 1/10-size Model of the Hull of the Latecoere 521 Flying Boat : NACA Model 83

A 1/10-size model of the hull of the French flying boat Latecoere 521 was tested in the NACA tank. This model is one of a series of models of the hulls of actual flying boats of both foreign and domestic type that are being tested in the NACA tank to provide information regarding the water characteristics of a variety of forms of hull and to illustrate the development of present-day types of flying boat. The lines and the offsets of the hull were obtained from the manufacturer through the Paris office of the NACA. The form of the stub-wing stabilizers was not furnished and, therefore, the model was tested without them. The model was tested free to trim at the design initial load (initial load coefficient of 0.428) and by the general method at load coefficients from 0.025 to 0.6. The spray characteristics of the model are good. The form of the bow would be particularly desirable for rough water use. The interference of the afterbody and the tail extension is excessive, causing very high resistance at high speeds. A violent vertical instability is present at trims of 4 degrees and 6 degrees with light loads and high speeds.

Olson, Roland E↗
NASA NTRS1979

Nonlinear stability of solar type III radio bursts. II - Application to observations near 1 AU

A set of rate equations including strong turbulence effects and anomalous resistivity are solved using parameters which model several solar type III bursts. Analysis of these bursts has led to quantitative comparisons between several of the observed phenomena and the theory. Through use of an analytic model for the time evolution of the energetic electron exciter, it is found that the exciter distributions observed at 1 AU are unstable to the excitation of the linear bump-in-tail instability, amplifying Langmuir waves above the threshold for the oscillating two-stream instability (OTSI). The OTSI and the attendant anomalous resistivity produce a rapid spectral transfer of Langmuir waves to short wavelengths, out of resonance with the electron exciter. In addition, the various parameters needed to model the bursts are extrapolated inside 1 AU with similar results. Finally, reabsorption of the Langmuir waves by the beam is shown to be unimportant in all cases, even at 0.1 AU.

Goldstein, M. L.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Adaptation to the dietary sugar D-tagatose via genome instability in polyploid Candida albicans cells

The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans undergoes an unusual parasexual cycle wherein diploid cells mate to form tetraploid cells that can generate genetically diverse progeny via a nonmeiotic program of chromosome loss. The genetic diversity afforded by parasex impacts clinically relevant features including drug resistance and virulence, and yet the factors influencing genome instability in C. albicans are not well defined. To understand how environmental cues impact genome instability, we monitored ploidy change following tetraploid cell growth in a panel of different carbon sources. We found that growth in one carbon source, D-tagatose, led to high levels of genomic instability and chromosome loss in tetraploid cells. This sugar is a stereoisomer of L-sorbose which was previously shown to promote karyotypic changes in C. albicans. However, while expression of the SOU1 gene enabled utilization of L-sorbose, overexpression of this gene did not promote growth in D-tagatose, indicating differences in assimilation of the two sugars. In addition, genome sequencing of multiple progenies recovered from D-tagatose cultures revealed increased relative copy numbers of chromosome 4, suggestive of chromosome-level regulation of D-tagatose metabolism. Together, these studies identify a novel environmental cue that induces genome instability in C. albicans, and further implicate chromosomal changes in supporting metabolic adaptation in this species.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1981

Magnetic field diffusion and dissipation in reversed-field plasmas

A diffusion equation is derived which describes the evolution of a magnetic field in a plasma of arbitrary beta and resistivity. The equation is valid for a one-dimensional slab geometry, assumes the plasma remains in quasi-equilibrium throughout its evolution and does not include thermal transport. Scaling laws governing the rate of change of the magnetic energy, particle drift energy, and magnetic flux are calculated. It is found that the magnetic free energy can be substantially larger than the particle drift energy and can be an important energy reservoir in driving plasma instabilities (e.g., the lower-hybrid-drift instability). In addition, the effect of a spatially varying resistivity on the evolution of a reversed-field plasma is studied. The resistivity model used is based upon the anomalous transport properties associated with the nonlocal mode structure of the lower-hybrid-drift instability. The relevance of this research to laboratory plasmas (e.g., theta pinches, reversed-field theta pinches) and space plasmas (e.g., the earth's magnetotail) is discussed.

Drake, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS2010

NASA Engineering and Safety Center Technical Bulletin No. 10-01: Power MOSFET Thermal Instability

In the quest for faster switching times and lower “on resistance” the Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET), produced since 1998, has achieved most intended goals. Unfortunately, lower “on resistance” and higher switching speeds in the designs now being produced allow the charge carrier dominated region to develop conditions that could lead to thermal runaway. Temperatures above 450º C on any location within the part can cause the metals to begin migrating causing a fatal short circuit.

Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor ↗
NASA NTRS1985

Unstable current systems and plasma instabilities in astrophysics; Proceedings of the 107th Symposium, University of Maryland, College Park, August 8-11, 1983

Among the topics discussed are: magnetic field reconnection in cosmic plasmas; energy dissipation mechanisms in the solar corona; and the acceleration of runaway electrons and Joule heating in solar flares. Consideration is also given to: the nonlinear evolution of the resistive tearing mode; anomalous transport in current sheets; equilibrium and instability in extragalactic jets; and magnetic field reconnection in differentially rotating accretion disks. Among additional topics discussed are: the creation of high energy electron tails by lower hybrid waves and its connection with type-II and type-III bursts; beam current systems in solar flares; and the spatio-temporal features of microwave emissions of active regions and flares.

Kundu, M. R.↗