Poloidal Flow Research Articles

Influence of plasma density gradient on the tearing mode with the poloidal shear flow

The influence of the plasma density gradient on the m/n = 2/1 and m/n = 4/1 (m is the poloidal mode number and n is the toroidal mode number) tearing mode instability with poloidal flow and flow shear is investigated. Using the analytical solution that we obtained in a previous work and mainly focused on the factors of plasma density and poloidal shear flow, we found that the plasma density has a stabilizing effect on the classical tearing mode, and the poloidal equilibrium flow can intensify this beneficial effect. The density gradient was detrimental to the stability of the tearing mode. The effects of both density and density gradient are slight, but the effect of poloidal flow on the plasma density is significant. Considering that the plasma density changes with the poloidal flow, the values of the tearing mode stability index ∆′ clearly change. Our investigation also found that compared with the negative flow shear, the positive flow shear is beneficial to the stability of the tearing mode, and a larger poloidal flow shear has a better stabilizing effect on the classical tearing mode.

Retraction Note to: Effects of Alfvenic Poloidal Flow and External Vertical Field on Plasma Position in IR-T1 Tokamak

Retraction Note to: Effects of Alfvenic Poloidal Flow and External Vertical Field on Plasma Position in IR-T1 Tokamak

FLIPEC, an ideal MHD free-boundary axisymmetric equilibrium solver in the presence of macroscopic flows

The most relevant features of FLIPEC (Free fLow Iterative Plasma Equilibrium Code) are presented. This new code iteratively calculates free-boundary, axisymmetric ideal MHD equilibria with arbitrary poloidal and toroidal plasma flows. FLIPEC is a mature code that has emerged from a complete overhaul of a previous version (F-Torija Daza 2022 et al Nucl. Fusion 62 126044). It uses a (inverse) curvilinear coordinate representation for the Grad–Shafranov–Bernoulli equation system, which allows FLIPEC to extend its free-boundary capabilities to arbitrary plasma shapes and removes many limitations with regards to the distance between plasma and external coils. Run-time stabilization of vertical modes has also been implemented by means of artificial feedback coils. Finally, active targeting schemes have also been included. These capabilities are illustrated on two very different cases: the ITER tokamak baseline configuration and a NSTX spherical tokamak equilibrium.

Effects of resonant magnetic perturbations on turbulence and flows in the edge of HL-2A plasmas

The influence of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) on the dynamics of turbulence and flows at the edge of the HL-2A tokamak is analyzed utilizing transfer entropy technique. The results have shown that the RMP damps the poloidal flows as well as the E × B shearing rate, whereas enhances the toroidal flows and leads to a broadened particle spectrum with increased small scale turbulence transport. The causality analysis indicates that the regulation impact of poloidal flow on turbulent fluctuations and particle flux is weakened, while that of the toroidal rotation on the latter is strengthened by the RMP field. The impact of the changes in poloidal flow dominates over that of the modified toroidal flow on turbulent transport in the edge. The magnetic perturbation and the flows generally show predator–prey oscillations, where the causal effect between the former and the toroidal flow transits to a synchronization relation in the presence of RMP. In addition, the RMP field will weaken the causal effect on poloidal Reynolds stress while strengthening the parallel-radial component simultaneously. The present findings provide a possible explanation on the effects of external fields on the edge transport, which is suggested to be dominated by the complex interactions among external perturbations, flows, and ambient microturbulence.

Electromagnetic lensing using the Aharonov–Bohm effect

We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally an electromagnetic lensing concept using the magnetic vector potential—in a region free of classical electromagnetic fields—via the Aharonov–Bohm (AB) effect. This toroid-shaped lens with poloidal current flow allows for electromagnetic lensing which can be tuned to be convex or concave with a spherical aberration coefficient of opposite polarity to its focal length. This field-free lens combines the advantages of traditional electromagnetic and electrostatic field-based lenses and opens up additional possibilities for the optical design of charged-particle systems. More generally, these results demonstrate that the AB effect can shape charged particle wavefronts beyond simple step shifts if topologies beyond simple flux lines are considered and further supports the physical significance of the magnetic vector potential.

Coupling between the Alfvén eigenmode and edge-coherent mode on the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak

High-frequency electromagnetic fluctuations and edge-coherent modes (ECMs) have been detected by Doppler reflectometry (DR) in the pedestal region of the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak. The frequency of the electromagnetic fluctuations was proportional to the Alfvén velocity and localized in the ellipticity-induced Alfvén eigenmodes (EAEs) gap in the Alfvén continuum. Therefore, the fluctuations are presumed to be EAE. The DR measurements of poloidal flow fluctuations show that EAEs and ECMs have amplitude envelopes that are localized near the bottom of the radial electric field well. Simultaneous EAE and ECM activity generates sidebands at fEAE±fECM , the strengths of the upper and lower sidebands are unequal, with the upper sideband being stronger. This is consistent with the theoretical prediction of Chen et al. Compared with ECM-only discharges, the inclusion of EAEs leads to an increase in Dα intensity, thus indicating enhanced outward particle transport.

A comprehensive multiphysics approach to model solutal buoyancy, thermal convection, and electro-vortex flow phenomena for liquid metal batteries

To alleviate the effects of pollution and global warming, the transition to renewable energy sources is taking place at an accelerating rate. The intermittent nature of renewable energy production can be addressed by an energy storage solution that is low-cost, efficient, and based on earth-abundant materials, and a liquid metal battery (LMB) is coming up as one such solution. Liquid metal battery (LMB) performance, especially its discharge voltage, depends on the concentration profile of cathode which in turn is influenced by fluid flow. In this study, we examine three significant phenomena that impact fluid behavior: solutal buoyancy, internally heated convection, and electro-vortex flow (EVF). Though several attempts have been made to model these processes individually or in a combination of two, a model that simulates all three aspects for resultant fluid flow has not been reported. Therefore, this study develops a comprehensive multiphysics model to simulate the positive electrode that is validated with experimental results for Li||Bi cell operating at 450 °C by coupling all of the aforementioned phenomena. While charging with a current density of 1 A/cm2, our model predicts an average velocity of ∼6 mm/s in the cathode solely due to solutal buoyancy. In the case of discharging, both solutal and internal thermal effects lead to an increase in overpotential to as high as ∼200 mV. Moreover, during discharging, the EVF induced a poloidal fluid flow with a maximum velocity of ∼3–5.5 mm/s at 1 A/cm2, reducing mass transport overpotential by ∼10 mV, but it could not disrupt the lighter intermetallic stratification layer on top of the cathode. Additionally, we investigated the charging overpotential phenomenon due to unstable stratification. This all-inclusive model leveraging solutal, thermal, and EVF effects not only offers insights into the fluid motion, concentration gradient, and voltage profile for a lab-scale LMB but can accurately simulate te conditions prevalent in commercial large LMBs, thereby catalysing the path to commercialization of LMBs.

Characterizing the Complexity of Subduction Zone Flow With an Ensemble of Multiscale Global Convection Models

AbstractSubduction zones are fundamental features of Earth's mantle convection and plate tectonics, but mantle flow and pressure around slabs are poorly understood because of the lack of direct observational constraints on subsurface flow. To characterize the linkages between slabs and mantle flow, we integrate high‐resolution representations of Earth's lithosphere and slabs into a suite of global mantle convection models to produce physically plausible present‐day flow fields for Earth's mantle. We find that subduction zones containing wide, thick, and long slabs dominate regional mantle flow in the neighboring regions and this flow conforms to patterns predicted by simpler regional subduction models. These subduction zones, such as Kuril‐Japan‐Izu‐Bonin‐Mariana, feature prismatic poloidal flow coupled to the downgoing slab that rotates toward toroidal slab‐parallel flow near the slab edge. However, other subduction zones, such as Sumatra, deviate from this pattern because of the competing influence of other slabs or longer‐wavelength mantle flow, showing that upper mantle flow can link separate subduction zones and how flow at subduction zones is influenced by broader scale mantle flow. We find that the non‐linear dislocation creep reduces the coupling between slab motion and asthenospheric flow and increases the occurrence of non‐ideal flow, in line with inferences derived from seismological constraints on mantle anisotropy.

Numerical minimization of neoclassical poloidal viscosity for supersonic equilibria in tokamak geometry

Extensive experimental evidence has shown that the presence of poloidal flow in tokamaks can dramatically improve transport properties. However, theory indicates that poloidal flows are damped by poloidal viscosity, thus necessitating external drivers, such as neutral beam injection or radio frequency heating. In this work, ideal magnetohydrodynamic equilibria are calculated via the FORTRAN code FLOW [Guazzotto et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 604 (2004)] and a postprocessor is used to estimate the neoclassical poloidal viscosity. The equilibrium inputs, which correspond to intuitive physical quantities, are then numerically optimized to reduce a viscosity figure of merit. We present supersonic equilibria in tokamak geometry with minimized neoclassical poloidal viscosities for various velocity free function inputs, plasma aspect ratios, and collisionality regimes. Benchmarks are made against an analytic theory as well as a classical expression of poloidal viscosity. Numerical confirmation of the analytic theory is obtained in the high aspect ratio and high collisionality limit. Good agreement is also seen near the plasma core and edge, with discrepancies arising in the intermediate region. Outside of these limits, rotation input function profiles are found that provide ∼order of magnitude improvements over the analytic theory, with additional progress being made toward predictions for tokamak-relevant equilibria.

Safety factor influence on the edge E × B velocity establishment in tokamak plasmas

This study is motivated by experiments on Tore Supra and WEST tokamaks where a deepening of the E × B velocity—governed by the radial electric field Er —near the edge is observed when the safety factor decreases in L-mode plasmas. Flux-driven global simulations of ion temperature gradient turbulence recover qualitatively the trend observed in the experiments, i.e. the E × B velocity increases when decreasing the safety factor. From these simulations, multiple clues point out the role of turbulence in the establishment of the radial electric field even though the turbulent intensity increases with the safety factor. The proposed mechanism to elucidate this phenomenon, backed up by a reduced model, is that the damping of the poloidal flow, governed by the neoclassical friction, increases more strongly with the safety factor than the turbulent drive for Er , due to the (r,θ) component of the Reynolds stress.

A simple model for internal transport barrier induced by fishbone in tokamak plasmas

Fishbone bursts have been observed to strongly correlate to internal transport barrier (ITB) formation in a number of tokamak devices. A simple model incorporating the fishbone dynamics and ion pressure gradient evolution is proposed in order to investigate the key physics parameters assisting the triggering of ITB. The time evolution of fishbone is described by the well-known predator–prey model. For each burst cycle, the energetic particles (EPs) resonantly interact with fishbone and are radially expelled from inner region leading to a radial current. A compensating bulk plasma return current and, hence, poloidal flow can be induced if the fishbone cycle frequency is greater than the poloidal flow damping rate. When the shear of the poloidal flow exceeds a critical value, the turbulent fluctuations are suppressed and the bulk ion pressure gradient transits to the high-confinement state. It is shown that this process is only sensitive to the deposition rate of the trapped EPs within the $q=1$ surface, but not sensitive to other parameters. A quantitative formula for the shearing rate of poloidal flow induced by fishbone bursts is derived and verified numerically.

Accelerated subduction of the western Pacific Plate promotes the intracontinental uplift and magmatism in late Jurassic South China

Widespread fold and thrust belt and magmatism that occurred in the Mesozoic South China Block (SCB) have generated much debate on their dynamic mechanism related to the western Pacific Plate. Unlike a delayed Andean orogen, the SCB contains large areas of magmatic rocks coinciding with the absence of Upper Jurassic strata, which is not consistent with a flat-slab subduction geometry, and no consensus model has been suggested. To obtain more general insight into the effects of paleo-Pacific Plate subduction on the SCB, thermal-fluid-solid simulations of the subduction process are conducted. The models involved varied subduction rates and lithospheric viscosities to investigate their effect on the subduction style, mantle flow and overriding plate deformation. Low-rate subduction easily forms a subduction geometry with a higher angle, while high-rate subduction causes the slab to break off and drip downward. Fast subduction produces a quasi-horizontal mantle flow and a poloidal flow at the front of the mantle wedge, whereas slow subduction produces two poloidal flows developed on both sides of the subducting slab. The strain tensor of the overriding plate coincides well with the gradient of the horizontal mantle flow rate. A high subduction rate and low lithospheric viscosity promote the deformation of the overriding plate and are further attributed to mantle flow. Combining these results with global plate reconstructions, we find that accelerated subduction of the paleo-Pacific Plate resulted in the Late Jurassic uplift of the SCB. The low viscosity of the overriding plate caused by multiphase orogenic deformation promoted the thinning of the lithosphere due to induced mantle flow, which was associated with the intrusion of magmas and foundering of the subducted slab in a compressional regime. At the end of the Late Jurassic, subduction-induced mantle flow transformed from westward to eastward. Concurrently, the subducted slab began to steepen, and widespread Cretaceous magmatism occurred.

Investigation of a low frequency coherent mode in Wendelstein 7-X with island divertor

During the island divertor operation of W7-X, especially in standard magnetic configuration (with 5/5 island chain in the scrape-off-layer (SOL)), quasi-periodic electromagnetic oscillation is observed. It appears in the frequency range of 1 kHz–2 kHz, therefore it is called the low frequency mode (LFM) within this paper. It is observed by multiple diagnostics, amongst them, a poloidal correlation reflectometer allowing radial localization of the LFM. The LFM is localized in the SOL and shows an obvious modulation effect on the plasma perpendicular velocity ( V⊥ ). Furthermore, broadband turbulence is observed in the fluctuation spectra of the electron density and the magnetic field and the perpendicular correlation length of turbulence eddies are modulated. The calculation of the poloidal flow velocity and its oscillation allows us to study the effect of the LFM on the flow. Cross correlation analysis shows that the perpendicular flow oscillation and the turbulence modulation are closely correlated. The application of external control coils to adjust the island size and position result in a strong modification of the magnetic topology at the plasma edge which affects the appearance, amplitude and frequency of the LFM. Bi-coherence analysis indicates that nonlinear interactions among turbulence components is a possible mechanism for the generation of the LFM.

Species dependence of the impurity injection induced poloidal flow and magnetic island rotation in a tokamak

Recent experiments have demonstrated the species dependence of the impurity poloidal drift direction along with the magnetic island rotation in the poloidal plane. Our resistive MHD simulations have reproduced such a dependence of the impurity poloidal flow, which is found mainly determined by a local plasmoid formation due to the impurity injection. The synchronized magnetic island rotation is dominantly driven by the electromagnetic torque produced by the impurity radiation primarily through the modification to the axisymmetric components of current density.

Blow-off of diffusion flame by moving air vortex ring

The blow-off is one of the typical flame extinction mechanisms, and such a principle has been widely used in firefighting when the water-based extinguisher is limited. This work explores the blow-off extinctions of different diffusion flames by air vortex ring. The vortex ring harnesses its kinetic energy within the fast-rotating vortex core, enabling the transmission of power over several meters to blow off a remote flame. The power required for vortex ring blow-off is found to be two to three orders of magnitude smaller than the power of the flame itself, demonstrating exceptional energy efficiency. It is observed that the poloidal flow (circulation) surrounding the vortex core can stretch the flame base to the critical state and then cause instantaneous extinction. To explain the vortex-induced blow-off limit, a critical Damköhler number that accounts for the competition between fuel gas flow and flame stretch was formulated. This work provides a fundamental understanding of the extinction mechanism by vortex ring, and it offers technical guidelines for using air as a flame extinguisher for remote firefighting within minimum energy input.

Gas puff imaging measurements during resonant magnetic perturbations on the HL-2A tokamak

The gas puff imaging diagnostic is used for the investigation of the poloidal flow and turbulent fluctuations at the plasma edge and scrape-off layer (SOL) on the HL-2A tokamak. The impact of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) on the edge poloidal velocity ( Vθ ) are investigated and compared during the operation of a stair-like rising RMP coil current ( IRMP ). The application of the RMP is observed to modify the poloidal velocity significantly. When IRMP exceeds 4 kA, the turbulence poloidal velocity at the edge changes direction from electron to ion diamagnetic drift. This phenomenon is explained by the electron loss along the perturbed radial magnetic field (Br) with RMP, with the experimental evidence provided that the edge electric potential increases significantly. A strong impact of the RMP on the properties of plasma density fluctuations in the SOL is also observed. With RMP, both skewness and kurtosis are smaller in the SOL and large-scale turbulence structures (small kr and kθ ) are suppressed in both edge and SOL. These results can improve our understanding of the interaction between RMP and edge turbulence and in particular, the edge poloidal flow.

Regional outer core kinematics from the time dependence of intense geomagnetic flux patches

Observations of the geomagnetic field by surface observatories and dedicated satellite missions such as the Swarm constellation provide constraints on the dynamics in Earth's outer core. In particular, global core flow models estimated by inversion of the radial magnetic induction equation provide an image of the circulation of the electrically conductive fluid at the top of the core. However, in these models the poloidal flow is much less robust than the toroidal core flow. Here, we infer regional outer core kinematics from the temporal variability of high-latitude intense geomagnetic flux patches. We develop an algorithm to fit anisotropic 2D-Gaussians to the shape of those flux patches in order to infer their area, amplitude and level of anisotropy. The temporal variabilities of these properties are used to quantify contraction, expansion, amplification, weakening and horizontal shear. Comparisons with idealized kinematic scenarios based on synthetic field and flow models allow to infer regional outer core kinematics. We found that some geomagnetic flux patches exhibit expansion and weakening corresponding to fluid upwellings, whereas other patches exhibit contraction and intensification corresponding to downwellings. In both cases the patches' area and amplitude relations follow hyperbolic curves. Our results show that the geomagnetic flux patches are affected by upwelling more often than by downwelling during the historical period. Equatorially symmetric poloidal flow prior to ≈1910 is inferred for the western intense patches. Kinematic scenarios where the field and flow structures centers coincide failed to reproduce the geomagnetic flux patches behavior. We recover the flux concentration efficiency of intense geomagnetic flux patches with an upwelling that resides two times its radius size away from the center of the flux patch. We also found a significant level of anisotropy over long periods for the historical geomagnetic flux patches. Anisotropic magnetic flux patches that are elongated in the direction of the shear flow may explain the east-west oriented present-day field at high latitudes of the southern Hemisphere. Overall, stretching effects at the top of the core can be deduced from our analysis of regional SV and allow further inferences on the poloidal part of the core flow.

Algebraic and numerical studies on the roles of momentum conservation and self-adjointness in moment-based neoclassical particle fluxes

Algebraic and numerical studies on the roles of momentum conservation and self-adjointness in moment-based neoclassical particle fluxes

Poloidal impurity asymmetries, flow and neoclassical transport in pedestals in the plateau and banana regimes

Charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (CXRS) measures the radial electric field in the pedestal by measuring the impurity density, temperature and flow. Combined outboard and inboard CXRS measurements allow poloidal variations that arise due to the poloidal variation of the magnetic field to be determined. At present, impurity neoclassical pedestal models avoid the complications of treating finite poloidal gyroradius effects by assuming the impurity charge number is large compared with the main ion charge number. These models are extended slightly by retaining the impurity radial pressure gradient to demonstrate that no substantial effect occurs due to impurity diamagnetic effects. More importantly, the neoclassical model is significantly extended to obtain a more comprehensive treatment of the main ions in the plateau and banana regimes. A parallel impurity momentum equation is derived that is consistent with previous results in the banana regime and reduces to the proper large aspect ratio form required in the plateau regime. The implications for interpreting the CXRS measurements are discussed by writing all results in terms of the gradient drive and poloidal flow.

Impact of resonant magnetic perturbation on blob motion and structure using a gas puff imaging diagnostic on the HL-2A tokamak

The impact of resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) on blob motion and structure in the SOL of the HL-2A tokamak is studied using a gas puff imaging diagnostic. Ellipse fitting is applied to study the structure and motion of blobs quantitatively. The radial locations, amplitudes and scale sizes of blobs are obtained based on the fitted ellipse. Furthermore, based on the measurement of blob location, the radial and poloidal velocities of blobs are calculated. With the application of RMP, the edge poloidal shear flow is significantly weakened and the wave number spectrum changes from quasisymmetric to significantly up-down asymmetric. The application of RMP also causes the detected blob location to be much further into the far scrape-off layer (SOL) and increases the blob amplitude. Blob poloidal velocity in the SOL is slowed. Larger-size and longer-lifetime blobs are observed with RMP. With the application of RMP, stronger-amplitude and larger-size blobs are detected in the far SOL and they may cause a more serious erosion problem to the first wall.