Simulation and design of pre-ionization systems for Alborz tokamak

Abstract

Alborz tokamak is an educational system for studying plasma phenomena in many physics and engineering experiments. A hot filament and a reverse discharge loop are used in the tokamak as the pre-ionization system. The hot cathode prepares a local initial electron density, then the reverse discharge loop trigger the ionization avalanche by means of inducing a toroidal electric field. The parameters of the hot filament are determined in order to produce the desired electron source. Filament temperature is simulated by using three-dimensional finite element method. The average values of filament temperature and electron density at the plasma core (at the end of pre-ionization process) were calculated and are about 2750 K and 1019m−3, respectively. The resultant electron density and equivalent plasma resistivity due to reverse discharge loop are also calculated. In this paper, the simulation results, optimum structural style, the obtained parameters, the temperature of different parts of the filament and produced electron density are presented and discussed.