Values Of Toroidal Magnetic Field Research Articles

Interplay of transitions between oscillations with emergence of fireballs and quantification of phase coherence, scaling index in a magnetized glow discharge plasma in a toroidal assembly

Interplay of transition of floating potential fluctuations in a glow discharge plasma in the toroidal vacuum vessel of SINP tokamak has been observed. With variation in the strength of the vertical and toroidal magnetic fields, regular and inverted relaxation oscillations as well as sinusoidal oscillations are observed with the slow and fast time scale of the relaxation oscillations reversing their nature at a high value of vertical magnetic field strength. However for small value of toroidal magnetic field the transitions follow relaxation → chaotic oscillations with the chaotic nature prevailing at higher values of toroidal magnetic field. Evolution of associated anode fireball dynamics under the action of increasing vertical, toroidal as well as increasing vertical field at a fixed toroidal field (mixed field) of different strength has been studied. Estimation of phase coherence index for each case has been carried out to examine the evidence of finite nonlinear interaction. A comprehensive study of the dynamics of the fireball is found to be associated with the values of phase coherence index. The index is found to take maximum values for the case of toroidal, mixed field when there is an existence of power/energy concentration in a large region of frequency band. A detailed study of the scaling region using detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) by estimating the scaling exponent has been carried out for increasing values of discharge voltage (DV), vertical, toroidal as well as the mixed field (toroidal plus vertical). A persistence long range behaviour associated with the nature of the anode glow has been investigated in case of higher values of toroidal, mixed field whereas increasing DV, vertical magnetic field lead to a perfectly correlated dynamics with values of scaling exponent greater than unity.

Overview of the FTU results

Experiments on runaway electrons have been performed for the determination of the critical electric field for runaway generation. A large database of post-disruption runaway beams has been analyzed in order to identify linear dynamical models for new position and current runaway beam controllers, and experiments of electron cyclotron assisted plasma start-up have shown the presence of runaway electrons also below the expected electric field threshold, indicating that the radio-frequency power acts as seeding for fast electrons. A linear micro-stability analysis of neon-doped pulses has been carried out to investigate the mechanisms leading to the observed density peaking. A study of the ion drift effects on the MARFE instability has been performed and the peaking of density profile in the high density regime has been well reproduced using a thermo-diffusive pinch in the particle transport equation. The study of the density limit performed in the past has been extended towards lower values of toroidal magnetic field and plasma current. The analysis of the linear stability of the 2/1 tearing mode observed in high density plasmas has highlighted a destabilization with increasing peaking of the current profile during the density ramp-up, while the final phase of the mode temporal evolution is characterized by limit cycles on the amplitude/frequency plane. A liquid lithium limiter with thermal load capability up to 10 MW m−2 has been tested. The pulse duration has been extended up to 4.5 s and elongated configurations have been obtained for 3.5 s, with the X-point just outside the plasma chamber. A W/Fe sample has been exposed in the scrape-off layer in order to study the sputtering of Fe and the W enrichment of the surface layer. Dusts have been collected and analyzed, showing that the metallic population exhibits a high fraction of magnetic grains. A new diagnostic for in-flight runaway electron studies has allowed the image and the visible/infrared spectrum of the forward and backward synchrotron radiation to be provided simultaneously. A fast infrared camera for thermo-graphic analysis has provided the pattern of the toroidal limiter heating by disruption heat loads, and a triple-GEM detector has been tested for soft x-ray diagnostics. The collective Thomson scattering diagnostic has been upgraded and used for investigations on parametric decay instability excitation by electron cyclotron beams correlated with magnetic islands, and new capabilities of the Cherenkov probe have been explored in the presence of beta-induced Alfvén eigenmodes associated to high amplitude magnetic islands.

Analytical relation between peripheral and central density limit on FTU

The commonly adopted scaling for the maximum achievable plasma density in tokamak fusion devices, the so-called ‘Greenwald limit’, refers to the line-averaged density along a central chord and depends only on the average plasma current density. However, the Greenwald limit has been exceeded in tokamak experiments in the case of peaked density profiles, indicating that the edge density is the real parameter responsible for the density limit. Furthermore, the Greenwald limit has been obtained for fixed density profiles, so that the scaling can be very different when introducing density profile dependencies on plasma parameters. Dedicated density limit experiments were performed in recent years on the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade, exploring the high density domain in a wide range of values of plasma current, toroidal magnetic field and edge safety factor. New data were collected in the latest experimental campaigns, extending the study of the density limit towards lower values of toroidal magnetic field and plasma current. These experiments confirmed the edge nature of the density limit, as a Greenwald-like scaling was obtained for the maximum achievable line-averaged density along a peripheral chord, while a clear scaling of the maximum achievable line-averaged density along a central chord with the toroidal magnetic field only was found and successfully interpreted as due to interplay between the peripheral Greenwald limit and the specific density profile behavior when approaching the density limit. In particular, an analytical relation between the peripheral and the central density limit was derived for the first time, with the introduction of a generalized parabolic density profile with the peaking factor dependent on the plasma parameters.

On the extended 23rd solar cycle

AbstractAn explanation of the mystery of the extended 23rd solar cycle duration about 13 years in the frame of non-linear regime of the αΩ- dynamo model is proposed. The calculated dynamo-period of the solar cycle, T, depends (in the inverse proportion) on the intensity of the α- effect in the solar convection zone (SCZ). As well, the intensity of the α- effect in non-linear regime depends (also in the inverse proportion) on the value of toroidal magnetic field, BT (magnetic alpha-quenching). Thus, the calculated period is in direct proportion to the value of toroidal magnetic field: the stronger toroidal field BT in certain cycle, the longer dynamo-period T of this cycle. Since the toroidal field is hidden in the deep layers of the SCZ, it is necessary to know some other magnetic experimental evidence that reflects something like information about inner toroidal field. In this connection we allow for that the strong toroidal field is transported by magnetic buoyancy to the solar surface and produces here the sunspots, so they carry indirect information on BT. In this connection we took into account up-to-date observed data on the essential increase of the averaged annual module of the magnetic field of the large-scale sunspots, Bsp, in the 23rd cycle; and then we made calculation of the alpha-quenching which depends on these referred data. It is important to know only relative variations of magnetic index Bsp for calculation of the dynamo-period variation. Our estimations showed that the average solar period, which is about 11 years, must increase by a factor of 1,2; so the calculated 23rd cycle dynamo-period would be about 13 years.

Inhomogeneous electron emission from a hot filament in a toroidal magnetic field

Experimental observations on toroidal discharges, with a thermionically electron emitting source, have established that discharge current depends upon the toroidal magnetic field. It is shown that discharge current saturates at a value of toroidal magnetic field that is much less than the surface value self-magnetic field of the filament. This paper presents a model for electron emission from a hot filament in the presence of an externally imposed toroidal field and electric field for acceleration. Particle trajectories in the vicinity of the filament with varying velocity components at different spatial locations and magnetic fields have been simulated. It is shown that escape or trapping of electrons emitted by the filament is strongly dependent on where the electron originated and its velocity. Consequently, escaping electrons responsible for ionization are inhomogeneously emitted. The degree of inhomogeneity is reduced as the magnetic field increases, leading to saturation. We have further examined the effect of reducing the filament diameter on the power requirement and operating toroidal magnetic field.

Effects of relativistic frequency downshift on measurements of electron cyclotron emission in Large Helical Device plasma

The effects of relativistic down shift frequency on the determination of the electron temperature profile from electron cyclotron emission (ECE) in a large helical device(LHD) have been studied by a numerical calculation. since the value of toroidal magnetic field has maximum at the magnetic axis along the sight line in the LHD, the emissivity at the magnetic axis decreases due to the relativistic effect. We found an apparent drop in electron temperature around the magnetic axis due to the relativistic effect. The parametric dependences of the relativistic effect on electron temperature measurement have been studied. When the electron temperature is higher and/or optical thickness is thinner, the gap from the nonrelativistic electron cyclotron frequency is wider. In the case of Te(0)=5 keV and ne=1×1019 m−3, the frequency gap is about 0.5 GHz. Calculation shows that the electron temperature at the central region (ρ<0.1) apparently decreases less than one-half even at 5 keV, in the case of ne=1×1019 m-3 due to the its unique magnetic configuration. Therefore, it is necessary for precise measurement of the electron temperature profile to take into account the relativistic downshift frequency in LHD plasma. To verify the relativistic effect on electron temperature measurement from ECE in the LHD experimentally, the parameter region is evaluated numerically. It is possible to verify the relativistic effect in LHD experimentally.

Curvature induced low frequency instabilities in a toroidal plasma

Study of curvature induced low frequency oscillations are reported in a toroidal system, BETA. At low values of toroidal magnetic field (typically 200 G) coherent fluctuations are observed around 9.0 kHz. The oscillation is identified as curvature induced Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability at outer locations. RT instability has been stabilized by introducing weak shear in the toroidal field.