T -matrix approach to quark-gluon plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shuai Y. F.; Rapp, Ralf

2018-03-01

A self-consistent thermodynamic T -matrix approach is deployed to study the microscopic properties of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), encompassing both light- and heavy-parton degrees of freedom in a unified framework. The starting point is a relativistic effective Hamiltonian with a universal color force. The input in-medium potential is quantitatively constrained by computing the heavy-quark (HQ) free energy from the static T -matrix and fitting it to pertinent lattice-QCD (lQCD) data. The corresponding T -matrix is then applied to compute the equation of state (EoS) of the QGP in a two-particle irreducible formalism, including the full off-shell properties of the selfconsistent single-parton spectral functions and their two-body interaction. In particular, the skeleton diagram functional is fully resummed to account for emerging bound and scattering states as the critical temperature is approached from above. We find that the solution satisfying three sets of lQCD data (EoS, HQ free energy, and quarkonium correlator ratios) is not unique. As limiting cases we discuss a weakly coupled solution, which features color potentials close to the free energy, relatively sharp quasiparticle spectral functions and weak hadronic resonances near Tc, and a strongly coupled solution with a strong color potential (much larger than the free energy), resulting in broad nonquasiparticle parton spectral functions and strong hadronic resonance states which dominate the EoS when approaching Tc.

Magnetic field approaches in dc thermal plasma modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freton, P; Gonzalez, J J; Masquere, M; Reichert, Frank

2011-01-01

The self-induced magnetic field has an important role in thermal plasma configurations generated by electric arcs as it generates velocity through Lorentz forces. In the models a good representation of the magnetic field is thus necessary. Several approaches exist to calculate the self-induced magnetic field such as the Maxwell-Ampere formulation, the vector potential approach combined with different kinds of boundary conditions or the Biot and Savart (B and S) formulation. The calculation of the self-induced magnetic field is alone a difficult problem and only few papers of the thermal plasma community speak on this subject. In this study different approaches with different boundary conditions are applied on two geometries to compare the methods and their limitations. The calculation time is also one of the criteria for the choice of the method and a compromise must be found between method precision and computation time. The study shows the importance of the current carrying path representation in the electrode on the deduced magnetic field. The best compromise consists of using the B and S formulation on the walls and/or edges of the calculation domain to determine the boundary conditions and to solve the vector potential in a 2D system. This approach provides results identical to those obtained using the B and S formulation over the entire domain but with a considerable decrease in calculation time.

Quasinormal modes of a strongly coupled nonconformal plasma and approach to criticality

Science.gov (United States)

Betzios, Panagiotis; Gürsoy, Umut; Järvinen, Matti; Policastro, Giuseppe

2018-04-01

We study fluctuations around equilibrium in a class of strongly interacting nonconformal plasmas using holographic techniques. In particular, we calculate the quasinormal mode spectrum of black hole backgrounds that approach Chamblin-Reall plasmas in the IR. In a specific limit, related to the exact linear-dilaton background in string theory, we observe that the plasma approaches criticality and we obtain the quasinormal spectrum analytically. We regulate the critical limit by gluing the IR geometry that corresponds to the nonconformal plasma to a part of AdS space-time in the UV. Near criticality, the spectrum can still be computed analytically and we find two sets of quasinormal modes, related to the IR and UV parts of the geometry. In the critical limit, the quasinormal modes accumulate to form a branch cut in the correlators of the energy-momentum tensor on the real axis of the complex frequency plane.

Resistive mode in rotating plasma columns including the hall current

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galvao, R.M.O.

1983-01-01

A new resistive mode is shown to exist in rotating plasma columns. The mode is localized in the neighbourhood of the radius where the angular velocity of the bulk plasma is equal to minus half the local angular velocity of the ions. This singular point is caused by the Hall term in the generalized Ohm law. The growth rate of the mode scales with eta sup(1/2), where eta is the plasma resistivity. (Author) [pt

Plasma Arc Cutting Dimensional Accuracy Optimization employing the Parameter Design approach

OpenAIRE

Kechagias John; Petousis Markos; Vidakis Nectarios; Mastorakis Nikos

2017-01-01

Plasma Arc Cutting (PAC) is a thermal manufacturing process used for metal plates cutting. This work experimentally investigates the influence of process parameters onto the dimensional accuracy performance of the plasma arc cutting process. The cutting parameters studied were cutting speed (mm/min), torch standoff distance (mm), and arc voltage (volts). Linear dimensions of a rectangular workpiece were measured after PAC cutting following the full factorial design experimental approach. For ...

Cosmic plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alfven, H [California Univ., San Diego, La Jolla (USA)

1981-01-01

The properties of space plasmas are analyzed, based on laboratory results and data obtained by in situ measurements in the magnetosphere (including the heliosphere). Attention is given to the question of how much knowledge can be gained by a systematic comparison of different regions of plasma, and plasmas are considered with linear dimensions varying from laboratory size up to the Hubble distance. The traditional magnetic field description of plasmas is supplemented by an electric current description and it is demonstrated that many problems are easier to understand with a dualistic approach. Using the general plasma properties obtained, the origin and evolution of the solar system is summarized and the evolution and present structure of the universe (cosmology) is discussed.

Stages of Plasma Cell Neoplasms (Including Multiple Myeloma)

Science.gov (United States)

... cancer treatment is also called biotherapy or immunotherapy. Immunomodulators are a type of biologic therapy. Thalidomide , lenalidomide , and pomalidomide are immunomodulators used to treat multiple myeloma and other plasma ...

Plasma processes including electron beam for off-gases purification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chmielewski, A.G.; Witman, S.; Licki, J.

2011-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. Non-thermal plasma technologies based on different methods of plasma generation are being applied for ozone generation for different applications, waste water and off-gases treatment. Plasmas create reactive species, in particular ions, radicals or other reactive compounds, which can decompose pollutant molecules, organic particulate matter or soot. Electron beam flue gas treatment is another plasma-based technology which has been successfully demonstrated on industrial scale coal fired power plants. High efficiency of SO 2 (> 95%) and NO x (> 70%) has been obtained and industrial plant applying this process has been built in Poland. The further investigations carried out all over the world have illustrated that the process can be applied for poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) destruction as well, and just recently research laboratories in the US and South Korea have reported in the feasibility of the process for mercury removal from the flue gas. The recent studies concern a new type of accelerators implementation in the industrial scale, application of the process in the high sulfur oil fired boilers and Diesel off - gases purification. The treatment of the flue gases with the high NOx concentration is a special challenge for the technology since the main energy consumption (and applied accelerators power) is related to this pollutant content in the processed off gases. The pulse beams and scavenger application can be a solution to reduce investment and operational costs. The further development of the technology is directly connected with high power accelerators development. Acknowledgement: The R and D activities are supported by the European Regional Development Found in the frame of the project PlasTEP 'Dissemination and fostering of plasma based technological innovation for environment protection in the Baltic Sea Region'.

Plasma Cell Neoplasms (Including Multiple Myeloma) Treatment (PDQ®)—Patient Version

Science.gov (United States)

Plasma cell neoplasms occur when abnormal plasma cells or myeloma cells form tumors in the bones or soft tissues of the body. Multiple myeloma, plasmacytoma, lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) are different types of plasma cell neoplasms. Find out about risk factors, symptoms, diagnostic tests, prognosis, and treatment for these diseases.

A matching approach to communicate through the plasma sheath surrounding a hypersonic vehicle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, Xiaotian; Jiang, Binhao

2015-01-01

In order to overcome the communication blackout problem suffered by hypersonic vehicles, a matching approach has been proposed for the first time in this paper. It utilizes a double-positive (DPS) material layer surrounding a hypersonic vehicle antenna to match with the plasma sheath enclosing the vehicle. Analytical analysis and numerical results indicate a resonance between the matched layer and the plasma sheath will be formed to mitigate the blackout problem in some conditions. The calculated results present a perfect radiated performance of the antenna, when the match is exactly built between these two layers. The effects of the parameters of the plasma sheath have been researched by numerical methods. Based on these results, the proposed approach is easier to realize and more flexible to the varying radiated conditions in hypersonic flight comparing with other methods

Modeling thrombin generation: plasma composition based approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Brummel-Ziedins, Kathleen E; Everse, Stephen J; Mann, Kenneth G; Orfeo, Thomas

2014-01-01

Thrombin has multiple functions in blood coagulation and its regulation is central to maintaining the balance between hemorrhage and thrombosis. Empirical and computational methods that capture thrombin generation can provide advancements to current clinical screening of the hemostatic balance at the level of the individual. In any individual, procoagulant and anticoagulant factor levels together act to generate a unique coagulation phenotype (net balance) that is reflective of the sum of its developmental, environmental, genetic, nutritional and pharmacological influences. Defining such thrombin phenotypes may provide a means to track disease progression pre-crisis. In this review we briefly describe thrombin function, methods for assessing thrombin dynamics as a phenotypic marker, computationally derived thrombin phenotypes versus determined clinical phenotypes, the boundaries of normal range thrombin generation using plasma composition based approaches and the feasibility of these approaches for predicting risk.

Jet-calculus approach including coherence effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, L.M.; Migneron, R.; Narayanan, K.S.S.

1987-01-01

We show how integrodifferential equations typical of jet calculus can be combined with an averaging procedure to obtain jet-calculus-based results including the Mueller interference graphs. Results in longitudinal-momentum fraction x for physical quantities are higher at intermediate x and lower at large x than with the conventional ''incoherent'' jet calculus. These results resemble those of Marchesini and Webber, who used a Monte Carlo approach based on the same dynamics

FENICIA: a generic plasma simulation code using a flux-independent field-aligned coordinate approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hariri, Farah

2013-01-01

The primary thrust of this work is the development and implementation of a new approach to the problem of field-aligned coordinates in magnetized plasma turbulence simulations called the FCI approach (Flux-Coordinate Independent). The method exploits the elongated nature of micro-instability driven turbulence which typically has perpendicular scales on the order of a few ion gyro-radii, and parallel scales on the order of the machine size. Mathematically speaking, it relies on local transformations that align a suitable coordinate to the magnetic field to allow efficient computation of the parallel derivative. However, it does not rely on flux coordinates, which permits discretizing any given field on a regular grid in the natural coordinates such as (x, y, z) in the cylindrical limit. The new method has a number of advantages over methods constructed starting from flux coordinates, allowing for more flexible coding in a variety of situations including X-point configurations. In light of these findings, a plasma simulation code FENICIA has been developed based on the FCI approach with the ability to tackle a wide class of physical models. The code has been verified on several 3D test models. The accuracy of the approach is tested in particular with respect to the question of spurious radial transport. Tests on 3D models of the drift wave propagation and of the Ion Temperature Gradient (ITG) instability in cylindrical geometry in the linear regime demonstrate again the high quality of the numerical method. Finally, the FCI approach is shown to be able to deal with an X-point configuration such as one with a magnetic island with good convergence and conservation properties. (author) [fr

Ab initio approach to the ion stopping power at the plasma-solid interface

Science.gov (United States)

Bonitz, Michael; Schlünzen, Niclas; Wulff, Lasse; Joost, Jan-Philip; Balzer, Karsten

2016-10-01

The energy loss of ions in solids is of key relevance for many applications of plasmas, ranging from plasma technology to fusion. Standard approaches are based on density functional theory or SRIM simulations, however, the applicability range and accuracy of these results are difficult to assess, in particular, for low energies. Here we present an independent approach that is based on ab initio nonequilibrium Green functions theory, e.g. that allows to incorporate electronic correlations effects of the solid. We present the first application of this method to low-temperature plasmas, concentrating on proton and alpha-particle stopping in a graphene layer. In addition to the stopping power we present time-dependent results for the local electron density, the spectral function and the photoemission spectrum that is directly accessible in optical, UV or x-ray diagnostics. http://www.itap.uni-kiel.de/theo-physik/bonitz/.

Plasmas: from space to laboratory. 'Introduction to plasma physics' course

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savoini, Philippe

2011-01-01

This course addresses the different basic concepts of plasma physics. After an introduction which addresses the plasma state, basic equations, the different theoretical approaches (orbitals, kinetic, multi-fluid, magnetohydrodynamics), and the different characteristic scales, waves are addressed and presented as a disordered electromagnetism: existence of plasma waves, generalities on waves, relationship of formal dispersion of plasmas, plasma without magnetic field (longitudinal, transverse, or low frequency wave), plasma with magnetic field (parallel, perpendicular, or arbitrary propagation). The next parts present various approaches: the particle-based approach (case of constant and uniform magnetic fields, case of non-uniform magnetic fields), the statistical approach (elements of kinetic theory, the collision phenomenon, the equilibrium state), and the fluid approach (fluid equations according to the multi-fluid theory, comparison with the particle-based approach, presentation of magnetohydrodynamics as the single-fluid model, validity of MHD)

Clinical veterinary proteomics: Techniques and approaches to decipher the animal plasma proteome.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghodasara, P; Sadowski, P; Satake, N; Kopp, S; Mills, P C

2017-12-01

Over the last two decades, technological advancements in the field of proteomics have advanced our understanding of the complex biological systems of living organisms. Techniques based on mass spectrometry (MS) have emerged as powerful tools to contextualise existing genomic information and to create quantitative protein profiles from plasma, tissues or cell lines of various species. Proteomic approaches have been used increasingly in veterinary science to investigate biological processes responsible for growth, reproduction and pathological events. However, the adoption of proteomic approaches by veterinary investigators lags behind that of researchers in the human medical field. Furthermore, in contrast to human proteomics studies, interpretation of veterinary proteomic data is difficult due to the limited protein databases available for many animal species. This review article examines the current use of advanced proteomics techniques for evaluation of animal health and welfare and covers the current status of clinical veterinary proteomics research, including successful protein identification and data interpretation studies. It includes a description of an emerging tool, sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion mass spectra (SWATH-MS), available on selected mass spectrometry instruments. This newly developed data acquisition technique combines advantages of discovery and targeted proteomics approaches, and thus has the potential to advance the veterinary proteomics field by enhancing identification and reproducibility of proteomics data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Treatment Options for Plasma Cell Neoplasms (Including Multiple Myeloma)

Science.gov (United States)

... cancer treatment is also called biotherapy or immunotherapy. Immunomodulators are a type of biologic therapy. Thalidomide , lenalidomide , and pomalidomide are immunomodulators used to treat multiple myeloma and other plasma ...

NBI - plasma vaporization hybrid approach in bladder cancer endoscopic management.

Science.gov (United States)

Stănescu, F; Geavlete, B; Georgescu, D; Jecu, M; Moldoveanu, C; Adou, L; Bulai, C; Ene, C; Geavlete, P

2014-06-15

A prospective study was performed aiming to evaluate the surgical efficacy, perioperative safety profile, diagnostic accuracy and medium term results of a multi-modal approach consisting in narrow band imaging (NBI) cystoscopy and bipolar plasma vaporization (BPV) when compared to the standard protocol represented by white light cystoscopy (WLC) and transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBT). A total of 260 patients with apparently at least one bladder tumor over 3 cm were included in the trial. In the first group, 130 patients underwent conventional and NBI cystoscopy followed by BPV, while in a similar number of cases of the second arm, classical WLC and TURBT were applied. In all non-muscle invasive bladder tumors' (NMIBT) pathologically confirmed cases, standard monopolar Re-TUR was performed at 4-6 weeks after the initial intervention, followed by one year' BCG immunotherapy. The follow-up protocol included abdominal ultrasound, urinary cytology and WLC, performed every 3 months for a period of 2 years. The obturator nerve stimulation, bladder wall perforation, mean hemoglobin level drop, postoperative bleeding, catheterization period and hospital stay were significantly reduced for the plasma vaporization technique by comparison to conventional resection. Concerning tumoral detection, the present data confirmed the NBI superiority when compared to standard WLC regardless of tumor stage (95.3% vs. 65.1% for CIS, 93.3% vs. 82.2% for pTa, 97.4% vs. 94% for pT1, 95% vs. 84.2% overall). During standard Re-TUR the overall (6.3% versus 17.4%) and primary site (3.6% versus 12.8%) residual tumors' rates were significantly lower for the NBI-BPV group. The 1 (7.2% versus 18.3%) and 2 (11.5% versus 25.8%) years' recurrence rates were substantially lower for the combined approach. NBI cystoscopy significantly improved diagnostic accuracy, while bipolar technology showed a higher surgical efficiency, lower morbidity and faster postoperative recovery. The combined

A statistical approach for predicting thermal diffusivity profiles in fusion plasmas as a transport model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokoyama, Masayuki

2014-01-01

A statistical approach is proposed to predict thermal diffusivity profiles as a transport “model” in fusion plasmas. It can provide regression expressions for the ion and electron heat diffusivities (χ i and χ e ), separately, to construct their radial profiles. An approach that this letter is proposing outstrips the conventional scaling laws for the global confinement time (τ E ) since it also deals with profiles (temperature, density, heating depositions etc.). This approach has become possible with the analysis database accumulated by the extensive application of the integrated transport analysis suite to experiment data. In this letter, TASK3D-a analysis database for high-ion-temperature (high-T i ) plasmas in the LHD (Large Helical Device) is used as an example to describe an approach. (author)

BOOK REVIEW: Kinetic theory of plasma waves, homogeneous plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Porkolab, Miklos

1998-11-01

The linear theory of plasma waves in homogeneous plasma is arguably the most mature and best understood branch of plasma physics. Given the recently revised version of Stix's excellent Waves in Plasmas (1992), one might ask whether another book on this subject is necessary only a few years later. The answer lies in the scope of this volume; it is somewhat more detailed in certain topics than, and complementary in many fusion research relevant areas to, Stix's book. (I am restricting these comments to the homogeneous plasma theory only, since the author promises a second volume on wave propagation in inhomogeneous plasmas.) This book is also much more of a theorist's approach to waves in plasmas, with the aim of developing the subject within the logical framework of kinetic theory. This may indeed be pleasing to the expert and to the specialist, but may be too difficult to the graduate student as an `introduction' to the subject (which the author explicitly states in the Preface). On the other hand, it may be entirely appropriate for a second course on plasma waves, after the student has mastered fluid theory and an introductory kinetic treatment of waves in a hot magnetized `Vlasov' plasma. For teaching purposes, my personal preference is to review the cold plasma wave treatment using the unified Stix formalism and notation (which the author wisely adopts in the present book, but only in Chapter 5). Such an approach allows one to deal with CMA diagrams early on, as well as to provide a framework to discuss electromagnetic wave propagation and accessibility in inhomogeneous plasmas (for which the cold plasma wave treatment is perfectly adequate). Such an approach does lack some of the rigour, however, that the author achieves with the present approach. As the author correctly shows, the fluid theory treatment of waves follows logically from kinetic theory in the cold plasma limit. I only question the pedagogical value of this approach. Otherwise, I welcome this

Dispersion in a thermal plasma including arbitrary degeneracy and quantum recoil.

Science.gov (United States)

Melrose, D B; Mushtaq, A

2010-11-01

The longitudinal response function for a thermal electron gas is calculated including two quantum effects exactly, degeneracy, and the quantum recoil. The Fermi-Dirac distribution is expanded in powers of a parameter that is small in the nondegenerate limit and the response function is evaluated in terms of the conventional plasma dispersion function to arbitrary order in this parameter. The infinite sum is performed in terms of polylogarithms in the long-wavelength and quasistatic limits, giving results that apply for arbitrary degeneracy. The results are applied to the dispersion relations for Langmuir waves and to screening, reproducing known results in the nondegenerate and completely degenerate limits, and generalizing them to arbitrary degeneracy.

Pre-equilibrium plasma dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heinz, U.

1986-01-01

Approaches towards understanding and describing the pre-equilibrium stage of quark-gluon plasma formation in heavy-ion collisions are reviewed. Focus is on a kinetic theory approach to non-equilibrium dynamics, its extension to include the dynamics of color degrees of freedom when applied to the quark-gluon plasma, its quantum field theoretical foundations, and its relationship to both the particle formation stage at the very beginning of the nuclear collision and the hydrodynamic stage at late collision times. The usefulness of this approach to obtain the transport coefficients in the quark-gluon plasma and to derive the collective mode spectrum and damping rates in this phase are discussed. Comments are made on the general difficulty to find appropriated initial conditions to get the kinetic theory started, and a specific model is given that demonstrates that, once given such initial conditions, the system can be followed all the way through into the hydrodynamical regime. 39 refs., 7 figs. (LEW)

Pre-equilibrium plasma dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinz, U.

1986-01-01

Approaches towards understanding and describing the pre-equilibrium stage of quark-gluon plasma formation in heavy-ion collisions are reviewed. Focus is on a kinetic theory approach to non-equilibrium dynamics, its extension to include the dynamics of color degrees of freedom when applied to the quark-gluon plasma, its quantum field theoretical foundations, and its relationship to both the particle formation stage at the very beginning of the nuclear collision and the hydrodynamic stage at late collision times. The usefulness of this approach to obtain the transport coefficients in the quark-gluon plasma and to derive the collective mode spectrum and damping rates in this phase are discussed. Comments are made on the general difficulty to find appropriated initial conditions to get the kinetic theory started, and a specific model is given that demonstrates that, once given such initial conditions, the system can be followed all the way through into the hydrodynamical regime. 39 refs., 7 figs

Therapeutical approach to plasma homocysteine and cardiovascular risk reduction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcello Ciaccio

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Marcello Ciaccio, Giulia Bivona, Chiara BelliaDepartment of Medical Biotechnologies and Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Palermo, ItalyAbstract: Homocysteine is a sulfur-containing aminoacid produced during metabolism of methionine. Since 1969 the relationship between altered homocysteine metabolism and both coronary and peripheral atherotrombosis is known; in recent years experimental evidences have shown that elevated plasma levels of homocysteine are associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular ischemic events. Several mechanisms by which elevated homocysteine impairs vascular function have been proposed, including impairment of endothelial function, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS and consequent oxidation of low-density lipids. Endothelial function is altered in subjects with hyperhomocysteinemia, and endothelial dysfunction is correlated with plasma levels of homocysteine. Folic acid and B vitamins, required for remethylation of homocysteine to methionine, are the most important dietary determinants of homocysteine and daily supplementation typically lowers plasma homocysteine levels; it is still unclear whether the decreased plasma levels of homocysteine through diet or drugs may be paralleled by a reduction in cardiovascular risk.Keywords: homocysteine, MTHFR, cardiovascular disease, folate, B vitamin

A plasma formulary for physics, technology, and astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Diver, Declan

2011-01-01

Plasma physics has matured rapidly as a discipline, and now touches on many different research areas, including manufacturing processes. This collection of fundamental formulae and definitions in plasma physics is vital to anyone with an interest in plasmas or ionized gases, whether in physics, astronomy or engineering.Both theorists and experimentalists will find this book useful, as it incorporates the latest results and findings.The text treats astrophysical plasmas, fusion plasmas, industrial plasmas and low temperature plasmas as aspects of the same discipline - a unique approach made pos

Plasma Arc Cutting Dimensional Accuracy Optimization employing the Parameter Design approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kechagias John

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Plasma Arc Cutting (PAC is a thermal manufacturing process used for metal plates cutting. This work experimentally investigates the influence of process parameters onto the dimensional accuracy performance of the plasma arc cutting process. The cutting parameters studied were cutting speed (mm/min, torch standoff distance (mm, and arc voltage (volts. Linear dimensions of a rectangular workpiece were measured after PAC cutting following the full factorial design experimental approach. For each one of the three process parameters, three parameter levels were used. Analysis of means (ANOM and analysis of variances (ANOVA were performed in order for the effect of each parameter on the leaner dimensional accuracy to be assessed.

Complex plasmas scientific challenges and technological opportunities

CERN Document Server

Lopez, Jose; Becker, Kurt; Thomsen, Hauke

2014-01-01

This book provides the reader with an introduction to the physics of complex plasmas, a discussion of the specific scientific and technical challenges they present, and an overview of their potential technological applications. Complex plasmas differ from conventional high-temperature plasmas in several ways: they may contain additional species, including nanometer- to micrometer-sized particles, negative ions, molecules and radicals, and they may exhibit strong correlations or quantum effects. This book introduces the classical and quantum mechanical approaches used to describe and simulate complex plasmas. It also covers some key experimental techniques used in the analysis of these plasmas, including calorimetric probe methods, IR absorption techniques and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The final part of the book reviews the emerging applications of microcavity and microchannel plasmas, the synthesis and assembly of nanomaterials through plasma electrochemistry, the large-scale generation of ozone using mi...

MHD model including small-scale perturbations in a plasma with temperature variations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuvshinov, B.N.; Mikhailovskii, A.B.

1996-01-01

The possibility is studied of using a hydrodynamic model to describe a magnetized plasma with density and temperature variations on scales that are arbitrary with respect to the ion Larmor radius. It is shown that the inertial component of the transverse ion thermal flux should be taken into account. This component is found from the collisionless kinetic equation. It can also be obtained from the equations of the Grad type. A set of two-dimensional hydrodynamic equations for ions is obtained with this component taken into account. These equations are used to derive model hydrodynamic expressions for the density and temperature variations. It is shown that, for large-scale perturbations (when the wavelengths are longer than the ion Larmor radius), the expressions derived coincide with the corresponding kinetic expressions and, for perturbations on sub-Larmor scales (when the wavelengths are shorter than the Larmor radius), they agree qualitatively. Hydrodynamic dispersion relations are derived for several types of drift waves with arbitrary wavenumbers. The range of applicability of the MHD model is determined from a comparison of these dispersion relations with the kinetic ones. It is noted that, on the basis of results obtained, drift effects can be included in numerical MHD codes for studying plasma instabilities in high-temperature regimes in tokamaks

A contoured gap coaxial plasma gun with injected plasma armature.

Science.gov (United States)

Witherspoon, F Douglas; Case, Andrew; Messer, Sarah J; Bomgardner, Richard; Phillips, Michael W; Brockington, Samuel; Elton, Raymond

2009-08-01

A new coaxial plasma gun is described. The long term objective is to accelerate 100-200 microg of plasma with density above 10(17) cm(-3) to greater than 200 km/s with a Mach number above 10. Such high velocity dense plasma jets have a number of potential fusion applications, including plasma refueling, magnetized target fusion, injection of angular momentum into centrifugally confined mirrors, high energy density plasmas, and others. The approach uses symmetric injection of high density plasma into a coaxial electromagnetic accelerator having an annular gap geometry tailored to prevent formation of the blow-by instability. The injected plasma is generated by numerous (currently 32) radially oriented capillary discharges arranged uniformly around the circumference of the angled annular injection region of the accelerator. Magnetohydrodynamic modeling identified electrode profiles that can achieve the desired plasma jet parameters. The experimental hardware is described along with initial experimental results in which approximately 200 microg has been accelerated to 100 km/s in a half-scale prototype gun. Initial observations of 64 merging injector jets in a planar cylindrical testing array are presented. Density and velocity are presently limited by available peak current and injection sources. Steps to increase both the drive current and the injected plasma mass are described for next generation experiments.

A contoured gap coaxial plasma gun with injected plasma armature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Witherspoon, F. Douglas; Case, Andrew; Messer, Sarah J.; Bomgardner, Richard II; Phillips, Michael W.; Brockington, Samuel; Elton, Raymond

2009-01-01

A new coaxial plasma gun is described. The long term objective is to accelerate 100-200 μg of plasma with density above 10 17 cm -3 to greater than 200 km/s with a Mach number above 10. Such high velocity dense plasma jets have a number of potential fusion applications, including plasma refueling, magnetized target fusion, injection of angular momentum into centrifugally confined mirrors, high energy density plasmas, and others. The approach uses symmetric injection of high density plasma into a coaxial electromagnetic accelerator having an annular gap geometry tailored to prevent formation of the blow-by instability. The injected plasma is generated by numerous (currently 32) radially oriented capillary discharges arranged uniformly around the circumference of the angled annular injection region of the accelerator. Magnetohydrodynamic modeling identified electrode profiles that can achieve the desired plasma jet parameters. The experimental hardware is described along with initial experimental results in which approximately 200 μg has been accelerated to 100 km/s in a half-scale prototype gun. Initial observations of 64 merging injector jets in a planar cylindrical testing array are presented. Density and velocity are presently limited by available peak current and injection sources. Steps to increase both the drive current and the injected plasma mass are described for next generation experiments.

Dusty Plasma Modeling of the Fusion Reactor Sheath Including Collisional-Radiative Effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dezairi, Aouatif; Samir, Mhamed; Eddahby, Mohamed; Saifaoui, Dennoun; Katsonis, Konstantinos; Berenguer, Chloe

2008-01-01

The structure and the behavior of the sheath in Tokamak collisional plasmas has been studied. The sheath is modeled taking into account the presence of the dust 2 and the effects of the charged particle collisions and radiative processes. The latter may allow for optical diagnostics of the plasma.

Plasma turbulence at ion scales: a comparison between particle in cell and Eulerian hybrid-kinetic approaches

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Cerri, S.S.; Franci, L.; Califano, F.; Landi, S.; Hellinger, Petr

2017-01-01

Roč. 83, č. 2 (2017), 705830202/1-705830202/19 ISSN 0022-3778 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-10057S Institutional support: RVO:67985815 Keywords : astrophysical plasmas * magnetized plasmas * space plasma physics Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics OBOR OECD: Fluids and plasma physics (including surface physics) Impact factor: 1.160, year: 2016

International school of plasma physics course on instabilities and confinement in toroidal plasmas. Varenna (Italy), September 27-October 9, 1971

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1974-11-01

The lectures of a Varenna Summer School about the theme Instabilities and Confinement in toroidal Plasmas are given. The topics included are: high-beta toroidal pinches, non-MHD instabilities and anomalous transport, analogy between turbulent transfer in velocity space and plasma collisioned transport in real space, the magnetohydrodynamic approach of plasma confinement in closed magnetic configurations, properties of isodynamical equilibrium configurations and their generalization, transport theory for toroidal plasmas, plasma physics, low-β toroidal machines, the neoclassical theory of transit time magnetic pumping, radio frequency heating of toroidal plasmas, plasma heating at lower hybrid frequency, RF-plasma heating with L-structures, numerical simulation, dynamical stabilization of low frequency waves in inhomogeneous plasmas, dynamic and feedback stabilization of plasmas and problems with nuclear fusion reactors

Foundations of modelling of nonequilibrium low-temperature plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, L. L.; Bogaerts, A.; Guerra, V.; Turner, M. M.

2018-02-01

This work explains the need for plasma models, introduces arguments for choosing the type of model that better fits the purpose of each study, and presents the basics of the most common nonequilibrium low-temperature plasma models and the information available from each one, along with an extensive list of references for complementary in-depth reading. The paper presents the following models, organised according to the level of multi-dimensional description of the plasma: kinetic models, based on either a statistical particle-in-cell/Monte-Carlo approach or the solution to the Boltzmann equation (in the latter case, special focus is given to the description of the electron kinetics); multi-fluid models, based on the solution to the hydrodynamic equations; global (spatially-average) models, based on the solution to the particle and energy rate-balance equations for the main plasma species, usually including a very complete reaction chemistry; mesoscopic models for plasma-surface interaction, adopting either a deterministic approach or a stochastic dynamical Monte-Carlo approach. For each plasma model, the paper puts forward the physics context, introduces the fundamental equations, presents advantages and limitations, also from a numerical perspective, and illustrates its application with some examples. Whenever pertinent, the interconnection between models is also discussed, in view of multi-scale hybrid approaches.

Towards modeling of nonlinear laser-plasma interactions with hydrocodes: The thick-ray approach

Science.gov (United States)

Colaïtis, A.; Duchateau, G.; Nicolaï, P.; Tikhonchuk, V.

2014-03-01

This paper deals with the computation of laser beam intensity in large-scale radiative hydrocodes applied to the modeling of nonlinear laser-plasma interactions (LPIs) in inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The paraxial complex geometrical optics (PCGO) is adapted for light waves in an inhomogeneous medium and modified to include the inverse bremsstrahlung absorption and the ponderomotive force. This thick-ray model is compared to the standard ray-tracing (RT) approach, both in the chic code. The PCGO model leads to different power deposition patterns and better diffraction modeling compared to standard RT codes. The intensity-reconstruction technique used in RT codes to model nonlinear LPI leads to artificial filamentation and fails to reproduce realistic ponderomotive self-focusing distances, intensity amplifications, and density channel depletions, whereas PCGO succeeds. Bundles of Gaussian thick rays can be used to model realistic non-Gaussian ICF beams. The PCGO approach is expected to improve the accuracy of ICF simulations and serve as a basis to implement diverse LPI effects in large-scale hydrocodes.

Plasmas for medicine

Science.gov (United States)

von Woedtke, Th.; Reuter, S.; Masur, K.; Weltmann, K.-D.

2013-09-01

Plasma medicine is an innovative and emerging field combining plasma physics, life science and clinical medicine. In a more general perspective, medical application of physical plasma can be subdivided into two principal approaches. (i) “Indirect” use of plasma-based or plasma-supplemented techniques to treat surfaces, materials or devices to realize specific qualities for subsequent special medical applications, and (ii) application of physical plasma on or in the human (or animal) body to realize therapeutic effects based on direct interaction of plasma with living tissue. The field of plasma applications for the treatment of medical materials or devices is intensively researched and partially well established for several years. However, plasma medicine in the sense of its actual definition as a new field of research focuses on the use of plasma technology in the treatment of living cells, tissues, and organs. Therefore, the aim of the new research field of plasma medicine is the exploitation of a much more differentiated interaction of specific plasma components with specific structural as well as functional elements or functionalities of living cells. This interaction can possibly lead either to stimulation or inhibition of cellular function and be finally used for therapeutic purposes. During recent years a broad spectrum of different plasma sources with various names dedicated for biomedical applications has been reported. So far, research activities were mainly focused on barrier discharges and plasma jets working at atmospheric pressure. Most efforts to realize plasma application directly on or in the human (or animal) body for medical purposes is concentrated on the broad field of dermatology including wound healing, but also includes cancer treatment, endoscopy, or dentistry. Despite the fact that the field of plasma medicine is very young and until now mostly in an empirical stage of development yet, there are first indicators of its enormous

Fundamental aspects of plasma chemical physics kinetics

CERN Document Server

Capitelli, Mario; Colonna, Gianpiero; Esposito, Fabrizio; Gorse, Claudine; Hassouni, Khaled; Laricchiuta, Annarita; Longo, Savino

2016-01-01

Describing non-equilibrium "cold" plasmas through a chemical physics approach, this book uses the state-to-state plasma kinetics, which considers each internal state as a new species with its own cross sections. Extended atomic and molecular master equations are coupled with Boltzmann and Monte Carlo methods to solve the electron energy distribution function. Selected examples in different applied fields, such as microelectronics, fusion, and aerospace, are presented and discussed including the self-consistent kinetics in RF parallel plate reactors, the optimization of negative ion sources and the expansion of high enthalpy flows through nozzles of different geometries. The book will cover the main aspects of the state-to-state kinetic approach for the description of nonequilibrium cold plasmas, illustrating the more recent achievements in the development of kinetic models including the self-consistent coupling of master equations and Boltzmann equation for electron dynamics. To give a complete portrayal, the...

A contoured gap coaxial plasma gun with injected plasma armature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Witherspoon, F. Douglas; Case, Andrew; Messer, Sarah J.; Bomgardner, Richard II; Phillips, Michael W.; Brockington, Samuel; Elton, Raymond [HyperV Technologies Corp., Chantilly, Virginia 20151 (United States)

2009-08-15

A new coaxial plasma gun is described. The long term objective is to accelerate 100-200 {mu}g of plasma with density above 10{sup 17} cm{sup -3} to greater than 200 km/s with a Mach number above 10. Such high velocity dense plasma jets have a number of potential fusion applications, including plasma refueling, magnetized target fusion, injection of angular momentum into centrifugally confined mirrors, high energy density plasmas, and others. The approach uses symmetric injection of high density plasma into a coaxial electromagnetic accelerator having an annular gap geometry tailored to prevent formation of the blow-by instability. The injected plasma is generated by numerous (currently 32) radially oriented capillary discharges arranged uniformly around the circumference of the angled annular injection region of the accelerator. Magnetohydrodynamic modeling identified electrode profiles that can achieve the desired plasma jet parameters. The experimental hardware is described along with initial experimental results in which approximately 200 {mu}g has been accelerated to 100 km/s in a half-scale prototype gun. Initial observations of 64 merging injector jets in a planar cylindrical testing array are presented. Density and velocity are presently limited by available peak current and injection sources. Steps to increase both the drive current and the injected plasma mass are described for next generation experiments.

A full-angle Monte-Carlo scattering technique including cumulative and single-event Rutherford scattering in plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Higginson, Drew P.

2017-11-01

We describe and justify a full-angle scattering (FAS) method to faithfully reproduce the accumulated differential angular Rutherford scattering probability distribution function (pdf) of particles in a plasma. The FAS method splits the scattering events into two regions. At small angles it is described by cumulative scattering events resulting, via the central limit theorem, in a Gaussian-like pdf; at larger angles it is described by single-event scatters and retains a pdf that follows the form of the Rutherford differential cross-section. The FAS method is verified using discrete Monte-Carlo scattering simulations run at small timesteps to include each individual scattering event. We identify the FAS regime of interest as where the ratio of temporal/spatial scale-of-interest to slowing-down time/length is from 10-3 to 0.3-0.7; the upper limit corresponds to Coulomb logarithm of 20-2, respectively. Two test problems, high-velocity interpenetrating plasma flows and keV-temperature ion equilibration, are used to highlight systems where including FAS is important to capture relevant physics.

Plasma Onco-Immunotherapy: Novel Approach to Cancer Treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Fridman, Alexander

2015-09-01

Presentation is reviewing the newest results obtained by researchers of A.J. Drexel Plasma Institute on direct application of non-thermal plasma for direct treatment of different types of cancer by means of specific stimulation of immune system in the frameworks of the so-called onco-immunotherapy. Especial attention is paid to analysis of depth of penetration of different plasma-medical effects, from ROS, RNS, and ions to special biological signaling and immune system related processes. General aspects of the plasma-stimulation of immune system are discussed, pointing out specific medical applications. Most of experiments have been carried out using nanosecond pulsed DBD at low power and relatively low level of treatment doses, guaranteeing non-damage no-toxicity treatment regime. The nanosecond pulsed DBD physics is discussed mostly regarding its space uniformity and control of plasma parameters relevant to plasma medical treatment, and especially relevant to depth of penetration of different plasma medical effects. Detailed mechanism of the plasma-induced onco-immunotherapy has been suggested based upon preliminary in-vitro experiments with DBD treatment of different cancer cells. Sub-elements of this mechanism related to activation of macrophages and dendritic cells, specific stressing of cancer cells and the immunogenic cell death (ICD) are to be discussed based on results of corresponding in-vitro experiments. In-vivo experiments focused on the plasma-induced onco-immunotherapy were carried out in collaboration with medical doctors from Jefferson University hospital of Philadelphia. Todays achievements and nearest future prospective of clinical test focused on plasma-controlled cancer treatment are discussed in conclusion.

MicroScale - Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sankaran, Mohan [Case Western Reserve University

2012-01-25

Low-temperature plasmas play an essential role in the manufacturing of integrated circuits which are ubiquitous in modern society. In recent years, these top-down approaches to materials processing have reached a physical limit. As a result, alternative approaches to materials processing are being developed that will allow the fabrication of nanoscale materials from the bottom up. The aim of our research is to develop a new class of plasmas, termed “microplasmas” for nanomaterials synthesis. Microplasmas are a special class of plasmas formed in geometries where at least one dimension is less than 1 mm. Plasma confinement leads to several unique properties including high-pressure stability and non-equilibrium that make microplasams suitable for nanomaterials synthesis. Vapor-phase precursors can be dissociated to homogeneously nucleate nanometer-sized metal and alloyed nanoparticles. Alternatively, metal salts dispersed in liquids or polymer films can be electrochemically reduced to form metal nanoparticles. In this talk, I will discuss these topics in detail, highlighting the advantages of microplasma-based systems for the synthesis of well-defined nanomaterials.

Gas plasma treatment: a new approach to surgery?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stoffels - Adamowicz, E.; Kieft, I.E.; Sladek, R.E.J.; Laan, van der E.P.; Slaaf, D.W.

2004-01-01

In this survey we analyse the status quo of gas plasma applications in medical sciences. Plasma is a partly ionized gas, which contains free charge carriers (electrons and ions), active radicals, and excited molecules. So-called nonthermal plasmas are particularly interesting, because they operate

Fluorogenic MMP activity assay for plasma including MMPs complexed to α2-macroglobulin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beekman, B.; Drijfhout, J.W.; Ronday, H.K.; TeKoppele, J.M.

1999-01-01

Elevated MMP activities are implicated in tissue degradation in, e.g., arthritis and cancer. The present study was designed to measure MMP enzyme activity in plasma. Free active MMP is unlikely to be present in plasma: upon entering the circulation, active MMP is expected to be captured by the

Laser-aided diagnostics of plasmas and gases

CERN Document Server

Muraoka, K

2000-01-01

Updated and expanded from the original Japanese edition, Laser-Aided Diagnostics of Gases and Plasmas takes a unique approach in treating laser-aided diagnostics. The book unifies the subject by joining applications instead of describing each application as a totally separate system. In taking this approach, it highlights the relative strengths of each method and shows how they can complement each other in the study of gases and plasmas.The first part of the book presents a general introduction to the laser-aided study of gases and plasmas, including the various principles and hardware needed for each method, while the second part describes the applications of each general system in detail.Beneficial to a wide spectrum of academic and industrial researchers, this book provides a solid examination of the various options and methods available when involved in the analysis and diagnostics of gases and plasmas.

Novel aspects of plasma control in ITER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Humphreys, D.; Jackson, G.; Walker, M.; Welander, A. [General Atomics P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-5608 (United States); Ambrosino, G.; Pironti, A. [CREATE/University of Naples Federico II, Napoli (Italy); Vries, P. de; Kim, S. H.; Snipes, J.; Winter, A.; Zabeo, L. [ITER Organization, St. Paul Lez durance Cedex (France); Felici, F. [Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Kallenbach, A.; Raupp, G.; Treutterer, W. [Max-Planck Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching (Germany); Kolemen, E. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-0451 (United States); Lister, J.; Sauter, O. [Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne (Switzerland); Moreau, D. [CEA, IRFM, 13108 St. Paul-lez Durance (France); Schuster, E. [Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (United States)

2015-02-15

ITER plasma control design solutions and performance requirements are strongly driven by its nuclear mission, aggressive commissioning constraints, and limited number of operational discharges. In addition, high plasma energy content, heat fluxes, neutron fluxes, and very long pulse operation place novel demands on control performance in many areas ranging from plasma boundary and divertor regulation to plasma kinetics and stability control. Both commissioning and experimental operations schedules provide limited time for tuning of control algorithms relative to operating devices. Although many aspects of the control solutions required by ITER have been well-demonstrated in present devices and even designed satisfactorily for ITER application, many elements unique to ITER including various crucial integration issues are presently under development. We describe selected novel aspects of plasma control in ITER, identifying unique parts of the control problem and highlighting some key areas of research remaining. Novel control areas described include control physics understanding (e.g., current profile regulation, tearing mode (TM) suppression), control mathematics (e.g., algorithmic and simulation approaches to high confidence robust performance), and integration solutions (e.g., methods for management of highly subscribed control resources). We identify unique aspects of the ITER TM suppression scheme, which will pulse gyrotrons to drive current within a magnetic island, and turn the drive off following suppression in order to minimize use of auxiliary power and maximize fusion gain. The potential role of active current profile control and approaches to design in ITER are discussed. Issues and approaches to fault handling algorithms are described, along with novel aspects of actuator sharing in ITER.

Two component plasma vortex approach to fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikuta, Kazunari.

1978-09-01

Two component operation of the field reversed theta pinch plasma by injection of the energetic ion beam with energy of the order of 1 MeV is considered. A possible trapping scheme of the ion beam in the plasma is discussed in detail. (author)

A novel approach to the pacemaker infection with non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yuchen; Li, Yu; Li, Yinglong; Yu, Shuang; Li, Haiyan; Zhang, Jue

2017-08-01

Although the pacemaker (PM) is a key cardiac implantable electrical device for life-threatening arrhythmias treatment, the related infection is a challenge. Thus, the aim of this study is to validate cold plasma as a potential technology for the disinfection of infected pacemakers. Fifty donated PMs were cleaned and sterilized before use and then infected with Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus). Then, each experimental group was treated with cold plasma treatment for 1 min, 3 min, 5 min and 7 min, while the control group was immersed with sterilized water. Effectiveness of disinfection was evaluated by using CFU counting method and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The physicochemical properties of water treated with cold plasma at different time were evaluated, including water temperature change and oxidation reduction potential (ORP). The major reactive species generated by the cold plasma equipment during cold plasma were analyzed with optical emission spectroscopy (OES). No live bacteria were detected with CFU counting method after 7 min of cold plasma treatment, which matches with the CLSM results. The ORP value of water and H2O2 concentration changed significantly after treating with cold plasma. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), especially NO, O (777 nm) and O (844 nm) were probably key inactivation agents in cold plasma treatment. These results indicate that cold plasma could be an effective technology for the disinfection of implantable devices.

Plasma surface interactions in Q-enhanced mirror systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Post, R.F.

1978-01-01

Two approaches to enhancement of the Q (energy gain) factor of mirror systems are under study at Livermore. These include the Tandem Mirror and the Field Reversed Mirror. Both of these new ideas preserve features of conventional mirror systems as far as plasma-wall interactions are concerned. Specifically in both approaches field lines exit from the ends of the system and impinge on walls located at a distance from the confinement chamber. It is possible to predict some aspects of the plasma/surface interactions of TM and FRM systems from experience obtained in the Livermore 2XIIB experiment. In particular, as observed in 2XIIB, effective isolation of the plasma from thermal contact with the ends owing to the development of sheath-like regions is to be expected. Studies presently underway directed toward still further enhancing the decoupling of the plasma from the effects of plasma surface interactions at the walls will be discussed, with particular reference to the problem of minimizing the effects of refluxing secondary electrons produced by plasma impact on the end walls

Plasma physics and fusion plasma electrodynamics

CERN Document Server

Bers, Abraham

2016-01-01

Plasma is a ubiquitous state of matter at high temperatures. The electrodynamics of plasmas encompasses a large number of applications, from understanding plasmas in space and the stars, to their use in processing semiconductors, and their role in controlled energy generation by nuclear fusion. This book covers collective and single particle dynamics of plasmas for fully ionized as well as partially ionized plasmas. Many aspects of plasma physics in current fusion energy generation research are addressed both in magnetic and inertial confinement plasmas. Linear and nonlinear dynamics in hydrodynamic and kinetic descriptions are offered, making both simple and complex aspects of the subject available in nearly every chapter. The approach of dividing the basic aspects of plasma physics as "linear, hydrodynamic descriptions" to be covered first because they are "easier", and postponing the "nonlinear and kinetic descriptions" for later because they are "difficult" is abandoned in this book. For teaching purpose...

Double radio sources and the new approach to cosmical plasma physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alfven, H.

1978-01-01

The methodology of cosmic plasma physics is discussed. It is hazardous to try to describe plasma phenomena by theories which have not been carefully tested experimentally. One present approach is to rely on laboratory measurements and in situ measurements in the magnetosphere and heliosphere, and to approach galactic phenomena by scaling up the wellknown phenomena to galactic dimensions. A summary is given of laboratory investigations of electric double layers, a phenomenon which is known to be very important in laboratory discharges. A summary is also given of the in situ measurements in the magnetosphere by which the importance of electric double layers in the Earth's surrounding is established. The scaling laws between laboratory and magnetospheric double layers are studied. The successful scaling between laboratory and magnetospheric phenomena encourages an extrapolation to heliospheric phenomena. A further extrapolation to galactic phenomena leads to a theory of double radio sources. In analogy with the Sun which, acting as a homopolar inductor, energizes the heliospheric current system, a rotating magnetized galaxy should produce a similar current system. From analogy with laboratory and magnetospheric current systems it is argued that the galactic current might produce double layers where a large energy dissipation takes place. This leads to a theory of the double radio sources which, within the necessary wide limits of uncertainty, is quantitatively reconcilable with observations. (Auth.)

Plasma technology - a novel solution for CO2 conversion?

Science.gov (United States)

Snoeckx, Ramses; Bogaerts, Annemie

2017-10-02

CO 2 conversion into value-added chemicals and fuels is considered as one of the great challenges of the 21st century. Due to the limitations of the traditional thermal approaches, several novel technologies are being developed. One promising approach in this field, which has received little attention to date, is plasma technology. Its advantages include mild operating conditions, easy upscaling, and gas activation by energetic electrons instead of heat. This allows thermodynamically difficult reactions, such as CO 2 splitting and the dry reformation of methane, to occur with reasonable energy cost. In this review, after exploring the traditional thermal approaches, we have provided a brief overview of the fierce competition between various novel approaches in a quest to find the most effective and efficient CO 2 conversion technology. This is needed to critically assess whether plasma technology can be successful in an already crowded arena. The following questions need to be answered in this regard: are there key advantages to using plasma technology over other novel approaches, and if so, what is the flip side to the use of this technology? Can plasma technology be successful on its own, or can synergies be achieved by combining it with other technologies? To answer these specific questions and to evaluate the potentials and limitations of plasma technology in general, this review presents the current state-of-the-art and a critical assessment of plasma-based CO 2 conversion, as well as the future challenges for its practical implementation.

Online tuning of impedance matching circuit for long pulse inductively coupled plasma source operation—An alternate approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudhir, Dass; Bandyopadhyay, M.; Chakraborty, A.; Kraus, W.; Gahlaut, A.; Bansal, G.

2014-01-01

Impedance matching circuit between radio frequency (RF) generator and the plasma load, placed between them, determines the RF power transfer from RF generator to the plasma load. The impedance of plasma load depends on the plasma parameters through skin depth and plasma conductivity or resistivity. Therefore, for long pulse operation of inductively coupled plasmas, particularly for high power (∼100 kW or more) where plasma load condition may vary due to different reasons (e.g., pressure, power, and thermal), online tuning of impedance matching circuit is necessary through feedback. In fusion grade ion source operation, such online methodology through feedback is not present but offline remote tuning by adjusting the matching circuit capacitors and tuning the driving frequency of the RF generator between the ion source operation pulses is envisaged. The present model is an approach for remote impedance tuning methodology for long pulse operation and corresponding online impedance matching algorithm based on RF coil antenna current measurement or coil antenna calorimetric measurement may be useful in this regard

Targeting the plasma membrane of neoplastic cells through alkylation: a novel approach to cancer chemotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Trendowski, Matthew; Fondy, Thomas P

2015-08-01

Although DNA-directed alkylating agents and related compounds have been a mainstay in chemotherapeutic protocols due to their ability to readily interfere with the rapid mitotic progression of malignant cells, their clinical utility is limited by DNA repair mechanisms and immunosuppression. However, the same destructive nature of alkylation can be reciprocated at the cell surface using novel plasma membrane alkylating agents. Plasma membrane alkylating agents have elicited long term survival in mammalian models challenged with carcinomas, sarcomas, and leukemias. Further, a specialized group of plasma membrane alkylating agents known as tetra-O-acetate haloacetamido carbohydrate analogs (Tet-OAHCs) potentiates a substantial leukocyte influx at the administration and primary tumor site, indicative of a potent immune response. The effects of plasma membrane alkylating agents may be further potentiated through the use of another novel class of chemotherapeutic agents, known as dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) inhibitors, since many cancer types are known to rely on the DHAP pathway for lipid synthesis. Despite these compelling data, preliminary clinical trials for plasma membrane-directed agents have yet to be considered. Therefore, this review is intended for academics and clinicians to postulate a novel approach of chemotherapy; altering critical malignant cell signaling at the plasma membrane surface through alkylation, thereby inducing irreversible changes to functions needed for cell survival.

Multiscale multiphysics nonempirical approach to calculation of light emission properties of chemically active nonequilibrium plasma: application to Ar-GaI3 system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adamson, S; Astapenko, V; Chernysheva, I; Chorkov, V; Deminsky, M; Demchenko, G; Demura, A; Demyanov, A; Dyatko, N; Eletzkii, A; Knizhnik, A; Kochetov, I; Napartovich, A; Rykova, E; Sukhanov, L; Umanskii, S; Vetchinkin, A; Zaitsevskii, A; Potapkin, B

2007-01-01

Present-day computational techniques provide a possibility of evaluating properties of macrosystems using ab initio quantum chemistry and theories of elementary processes. Physical and chemical phenomena on very different timescales have to be taken into account (excitation, emission, chemical reactions, diffusion) at different levels of refining. This refining covers a very wide region of parameters starting from the structure of species up to the macro chemical mechanism of their conversion. This multilevel approach is described in detail in the paper and includes interaction and data transfer between different levels of phenomena description. In the framework of the approach, unknown properties of molecules, ions and atoms (structure, potential energy curves, transition dipole moments) are calculated based on quantum-chemical methods. The calculation results are used to evaluate rate characteristics of physical and chemical processes. The developed kinetic state-to-state scheme is then used to calculate the macro properties of the system under investigation. As an example of the multilevel approach, the emission properties of the Ar-GaI 3 positive column discharge plasma were calculated using the Chemical Work Bench computational environment. The calculations yield the electron energy balance and emission efficiency as functions of plasma parameters

Design of experiment approach for sintering study of nanocrystalline SiC fabricated using plasma pressure compaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bothara M.G.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Plasma pressure compaction (P2C is a novel sintering technique that enables the consolidation of silicon carbide with a nanoscale microstructure at a relatively low temperature. To achieve a high final density with optimized mechanical properties, the effects of various sintering factors pertaining to the temperature-time profile and pressure were characterized. This paper reports a design of experiment approach used to optimize the processing for a 100 nm SiC powder focused on four sintering factors: temperature, time, pressure, and heating rate. Response variables included the density and mechanical properties. A L9 orthogonal array approach that includes the signal-to-noise (S/N ratio and analysis of variance (ANOVA was employed to optimize the processing factors. All of the sintering factors have significant effect on the density and mechanical properties. A final density of 98.1% was achieved with a temperature of 1600°C, hold time of 30 min, pressure of 50 MPa, and heating rate of 100°C/min. The hardness reached 18.4 GPa with a fracture toughness of 4.6 MPa√m, and these are comparable to reports from prior studies using higher consolidation temperatures.

On the wake structure in streaming complex plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludwig, Patrick; Kählert, Hanno; Bonitz, Michael; Miloch, Wojciech J

2012-01-01

The theoretical description of complex (dusty) plasmas requires multiscale concepts that adequately incorporate the correlated interplay of streaming electrons and ions, neutrals and dust grains. Knowing the effective dust-dust interaction, the multiscale problem can be effectively reduced to a one-component plasma model of the dust subsystem. The goal of this paper is a systematic evaluation of the electrostatic potential distribution around a dust grain in the presence of a streaming plasma environment by means of two complementary approaches: (i) a high-precision computation of the dynamically screened Coulomb potential from the dynamic dielectric function and (ii) full 3D particle-in-cell simulations, which self-consistently include dynamical grain charging and nonlinear effects. The range of applicability of these two approaches is addressed. (paper)

Minimum dissipative relaxed states in toroidal plasmas

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

organised equi- librium in RFP and tokamak by a deterministic approach to incompressible dissipative magnetohydrodynamics. In an earlier work Kondoh [8] formulated an energy principle including the edge plasma effects for a slightly resistive MHD ...

Self-focusing, self modulation and stability properties of laser beam propagating in plasma: A variational approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaur, Ravinder; Gill, Tarsem Singh; Mahajan, Ranju

2010-01-01

Laboratory as well as Particle in cell (PIC) simulation experiments reveal the strong flow of energetic electrons co-moving with laser beam in laser plasma interaction. Equation governing the evolution of complex envelope in slowly varying envelope approximation is nonlinear parabolic equation. A Lagrangian for the problem is set up and assuming a trial Gaussian profile, we solve the reduced Lagrangian problem for beam width and curvature. Besides self-focusing and self-modulation of laser beam, we observe that stability properties of such plasma system are studied about equilibrium values using this variational approach. We obtained an eigen value equation, which is cubic in nature and investigated the criterion for stability using Hurwitz conditions for laser beam plasma system.

Estimating plasma temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nash, J.K.; Iglesias, C.A.; Chen, M.H.; Rogers, F.J.

1992-04-01

Recent laser-produced plasma experiments have relied on spectroscopic comparisons with models to infer plasma temperatures. The models use an experimentally determined value for the matter density as input and treat the temperature as a free parameter to obtain a best fit to the experimental absorption spectrum. However, uncertainties in the ionization balance theories lead to inferred temperatures that are model dependent. We report results of a new approach which combines high=quality atomic data with an ionization balance obtained from systematic expansions of the grand canonical ensemble. The latter avoids the ad hoc cutoffs required in free energy minimization schemes and includes Coulomb corrections usually neglected in other models. Comparisons to experimental spectra show excellent agreement

Interaction of High Intensity Electromagnetic Waves with Plasmas: Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shvets, G.

2008-01-01

The focus of our work during the duration of this grant was on the following areas: (a) the fundamental plasma physics of intense laser-plasma interactions, including the nonlinear excitation of plasma waves for accelerator applications, as well as the recently discovered by us phenomenon of the relativistic bi-stability of relativistic plasma waves driven by a laser beatwave; (b) interaction of high power microwave beams with magnetized plasma, including some of the recently discovered by us phenomena such as the Undulator Induced Transparency (UIT) as well as the new approaches to dynamic manipulation of microwave pulses; (c) investigations of the multi-color laser pulse interactions in the plasma, including the recently discovered by us phenomenon of Electromagnetic Cascading (EC) and the effect of the EC of three-dimensional dynamics of laser pulses (enhanced/suppressed selffocusing etc.); (d) interaction of high-current electron beams with the ambient plasma in the context of Fast Ignitor (FI) physics, with the emphasis on the nonlinear dynamics of the Weibel instability and beam filamentation.

Including patients’ perspectives in patient information leaflets: A polyocular approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fage-Butler, Antoinette Mary

2013-01-01

Existing research reveals that patients’ perspectives are missing from mandatory patient information leaflets (PILs). At the same time, there is overwhelming consensus that they should be included in this genre, and a corresponding need for potential approaches to tackle this problem. This paper ...

Bifurcation of space-charge wave in a plasma waveguide including the wake potential effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Myoung-Jae [Department of Physics and Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763 (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Young-Dae, E-mail: ydjung@hanyang.ac.kr [Department of Applied Physics and Department of Bionanotechnology, Hanyang University, Ansan, Kyunggi-Do 15588, South Korea and Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, New York 12180-3590 (United States)

2016-09-15

The wake potential effects on the propagation of the space-charge dust ion-acoustic wave are investigated in a cylindrically bounded dusty plasma with the ion flow. The results show that the wake potential would generate the double frequency modes in a cylindrically bounded dusty plasma. It is found that the upper mode of the wave frequency with the root of higher-order is smaller than that with the root of lower-order in intermediate wave number domains. However, the lower mode of the scaled wave frequency with the root of higher-order is found to be greater than that with the root of lower-order. It is found that the influence in the order of the root of the Bessel function on the wave frequency of the space-charge dust-ion-acoustic wave in a cylindrically confined dusty plasma decreases with an increase in the propagation wave number. It is also found that the double frequency modes increase with increasing Mach number due to the ion flow in a cylindrical dusty plasma. In addition, it is found that the upper mode of the group velocity decreases with an increase in the scaled radius of the plasma cylinder. However, it is shown that the lower mode of the scaled group velocity of the space-charge dust ion acoustic wave increases with an increase in the radius of the plasma cylinder. The variation of the space-charge dust-ion-acoustic wave due to the wake potential and geometric effects is also discussed.

Contoured-gap coaxial guns for imploding plasma liner experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Witherspoon, F. D.; Case, A.; Brockington, S.; Cassibry, J. T.; Hsu, S. C.

2014-10-01

Arrays of supersonic, high momentum flux plasma jets can be used as standoff compression drivers for generating spherically imploding plasma liners for driving magneto-inertial fusion, hence the name plasma-jet-driven MIF (PJMIF). HyperV developed linear plasma jets for the Plasma Liner Experiment (PLX) at LANL where two guns were successfully tested. Further development at HyperV resulted in achieving the PLX goal of 8000 μg at 50 km/s. Prior work on contoured-gap coaxial guns demonstrated an approach to control the blowby instability and achieved substantial performance improvements. For future plasma liner experiments we propose to use contoured-gap coaxial guns with small Minirailgun injectors. We will describe such a gun for a 60-gun plasma liner experiment. Discussion topics will include impurity control, plasma jet symmetry and topology (esp. related to uniformity and compactness), velocity capability, and techniques planned for achieving gun efficiency of >50% using tailored impedance matched pulse forming networks. Mach2 and UAH SPH code simulations will be included. Work supported by US DOE DE-FG02-05ER54810.

Profiling the metabolome changes caused by cranberry procyanidins in plasma of female rats using (1) H NMR and UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS global metabolomics approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Haiyan; Garrett, Timothy J; Tayyari, Fariba; Gu, Liwei

2015-11-01

The objective was to investigate the metabolome changes in female rats gavaged with partially purified cranberry procyanidins (PPCP) using (1) H NMR and UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS metabolomics approaches, and to identify the contributing metabolites. Twenty-four female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly separated into two groups and administered PPCP or partially purified apple procyanidins (PPAP) for three times using a 250 mg extracts/kg body weight dose. Plasma was collected 6 h after the last gavage and analyzed using (1) H NMR and UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS. No metabolome difference was observed using (1) H NMR metabolomics approach. However, LC-HRMS metabolomics data show that metabolome in the plasma of female rats administered PPCP differed from those gavaged with PPAP. Eleven metabolites were tentatively identified from a total of 36 discriminant metabolic features based on accurate masses and/or product ion spectra. PPCP caused a greater increase of exogenous metabolites including p-hydroxybenzoic acid, phenol, phenol-sulphate, catechol sulphate, 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylvaleric acid, and 4'-O-methyl-(-)-epicatechin-3'-O-beta-glucuronide in rat plasma. Furthermore, the plasma level of O-methyl-(-)-epicatechin-O-glucuronide, 4-hydroxy-5-(hydroxyphenyl)-valeric acid-O-sulphate, 5-(hydroxyphenyl)-ϒ-valerolactone-O-sulphate, 4-hydroxydiphenylamine, and peonidin-3-O-hexose were higher in female rats administered with PPAP. The metabolome changes caused by cranberry procyanidins were revealed using an UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS global metabolomics approach. Exogenous and microbial metabolites were the major identified discriminate biomarkers. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Profiling the Metabolome Changes Caused by Cranberry Procyanidins in Plasma of Female Rats using 1H NMR and UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS Global Metabolomics Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Haiyan; Garrett, Timothy J.; Tayyari, Fariba; Gu, Liwei

2015-01-01

Scope The objective was to investigate the metabolome changes in female rats gavaged with partially purified cranberry procyanidins (PPCP) using 1H NMR and UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS metabolomics approaches, and to identify the contributing metabolites. Methods and results Twenty four female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly separated into two groups and administered PPCP or partially purified apple procyanidins (PPAP) for 3 times using a 250 mg extracts/kg body weight dose. Plasma were collected six hours after the last gavage and analyzed using 1H NMR and UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS. No metabolome difference was observed using 1H NMR metabolomics approach. However, LC-HRMS metabolomics data show that metabolome in plasma of female rats administered PPCP differed from those gavaged with PPAP. Eleven metabolites were tentatively identified from a total of 36 discriminant metabolic features based on accurate masses and/or product ion spectra. PPCP caused a greater increase of exogenous metabolites including p-hydroxybenzoic acid, phenol, phenol-sulfate, catechol sulphate, 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylvaleric acid, and 4′-O-methyl-(−)-epicatechin-3′-O-beta-glucuronide in rat plasma. Furthermore, the plasma level of O-methyl-(−)-epicatechin-O-glucuronide, 4-hydroxy-5-(hydroxyphenyl)-valeric acid-O-sulphate, 5-(hydroxyphenyl)-γ-valerolactone-O-sulphate, 4-hydroxydiphenylamine, and peonidin-3-O-hexose were higher in female rats administered with PPAP. Conclusion The metabolome changes caused by cranberry procyanidins were revealed using an UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS global metabolomics approach. Exogenous and microbial metabolites were the major identified discriminate biomarkers. PMID:26264887

Proteomic plasma membrane profiling reveals an essential role for gp96 in the cell surface expression of LDLR family members, including the LDL receptor and LRP6.

Science.gov (United States)

Weekes, Michael P; Antrobus, Robin; Talbot, Suzanne; Hör, Simon; Simecek, Nikol; Smith, Duncan L; Bloor, Stuart; Randow, Felix; Lehner, Paul J

2012-03-02

The endoplasmic reticulum chaperone gp96 is required for the cell surface expression of a narrow range of proteins, including toll-like receptors (TLRs) and integrins. To identify a more comprehensive repertoire of proteins whose cell surface expression is dependent on gp96, we developed plasma membrane profiling (PMP), a technique that combines SILAC labeling with selective cell surface aminooxy-biotinylation. This approach allowed us to compare the relative abundance of plasma membrane (PM) proteins on gp96-deficient versus gp96-reconstituted murine pre-B cells. Analysis of unfractionated tryptic peptides initially identified 113 PM proteins, which extended to 706 PM proteins using peptide prefractionation. We confirmed a requirement for gp96 in the cell surface expression of certain TLRs and integrins and found a marked decrease in cell surface expression of four members of the extended LDL receptor family (LDLR, LRP6, Sorl1 and LRP8) in the absence of gp96. Other novel gp96 client proteins included CD180/Ly86, important in the B-cell response to lipopolysaccharide. We highlight common structural motifs in these client proteins that may be recognized by gp96, including the beta-propeller and leucine-rich repeat. This study therefore identifies the extended LDL receptor family as an important new family of proteins whose cell surface expression is regulated by gp96.

On the Validity of Continuum Computational Fluid Dynamics Approach Under Very Low-Pressure Plasma Spray Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Ivchenko, Dmitrii; Zhang, Tao; Mariaux, Gilles; Vardelle, Armelle; Goutier, Simon; Itina, Tatiana E.

2018-01-01

Plasma spray physical vapor deposition aims to substantially evaporate powders in order to produce coatings with various microstructures. This is achieved by powder vapor condensation onto the substrate and/or by deposition of fine melted powder particles and nanoclusters. The deposition process typically operates at pressures ranging between 10 and 200 Pa. In addition to the experimental works, numerical simulations are performed to better understand the process and optimize the experimental conditions. However, the combination of high temperatures and low pressure with shock waves initiated by supersonic expansion of the hot gas in the low-pressure medium makes doubtful the applicability of the continuum approach for the simulation of such a process. This work investigates (1) effects of the pressure dependence of thermodynamic and transport properties on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions and (2) the validity of the continuum approach for thermal plasma flow simulation under very low-pressure conditions. The study compares the flow fields predicted with a continuum approach using CFD software with those obtained by a kinetic-based approach using a direct simulation Monte Carlo method (DSMC). It also shows how the presence of high gradients can contribute to prediction errors for typical PS-PVD conditions.

EDITORIAL: Plasma jets and plasma bullets Plasma jets and plasma bullets

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, M. G.; Ganguly, B. N.; Hicks, R. F.

2012-06-01

Plasma plumes, or plasma jets, belong to a large family of gas discharges whereby the discharge plasma is extended beyond the plasma generation region into the surrounding ambience, either by a field (e.g. electromagnetic, convective gas flow, or shock wave) or a gradient of a directionless physical quantity (e.g. particle density, pressure, or temperature). This physical extension of a plasma plume gives rise to a strong interaction with its surrounding environment, and the interaction alters the properties of both the plasma and the environment, often in a nonlinear and dynamic fashion. The plasma is therefore not confined by defined physical walls, thus extending opportunities for material treatment applications as well as bringing in new challenges in science and technology associated with complex open-boundary problems. Some of the most common examples may be found in dense plasmas with very high dissipation of externally supplied energy (e.g. in electrical, optical or thermal forms) and often in or close to thermal equilibrium. For these dense plasmas, their characteristics are determined predominantly by strong physical forces of different fields, such as electrical, magnetic, thermal, shock wave, and their nonlinear interactions [1]. Common to these dense plasma plumes are significant macroscopic plasma movement and considerable decomposition of solid materials (e.g. vaporization). Their applications are numerous and include detection of elemental traces, synthesis of high-temperature materials and welding, laser--plasma interactions, and relativistic jets in particle accelerators and in space [2]-[4]. Scientific challenges in the understanding of plasma jets are exciting and multidisciplinary, involving interweaving transitions of all four states of matter, and their technological applications are wide-ranging and growing rapidly. Using the Web of Science database, a search for journal papers on non-fusion plasma jets reveals that a long initial phase up

Multi-fluid Approach to High-frequency Waves in Plasmas. III. Nonlinear Regime and Plasma Heating

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Gómez, David; Soler, Roberto; Terradas, Jaume

2018-03-01

The multi-fluid modeling of high-frequency waves in partially ionized plasmas has shown that the behavior of magnetohydrodynamic waves in the linear regime is heavily influenced by the collisional interaction between the different species that form the plasma. Here, we go beyond linear theory and study large-amplitude waves in partially ionized plasmas using a nonlinear multi-fluid code. It is known that in fully ionized plasmas, nonlinear Alfvén waves generate density and pressure perturbations. Those nonlinear effects are more pronounced for standing oscillations than for propagating waves. By means of numerical simulations and analytical approximations, we examine how the collisional interaction between ions and neutrals affects the nonlinear evolution. The friction due to collisions dissipates a fraction of the wave energy, which is transformed into heat and consequently raises the temperature of the plasma. As an application, we investigate frictional heating in a plasma with physical conditions akin to those in a quiescent solar prominence.

New approach in two-dimensional fluid modeling of edge plasma transport with high intermittency due to blobs and edge localized modes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pigarov, A. Yu.; Krasheninnikov, S. I.; Rognlien, T. D.

2011-01-01

A new approach is proposed to simulate intermittent, non-diffusive plasma transport (via blobs and filaments of edge localized modes (ELMs)) observed in the tokamak edge region within the framework of two-dimensional transport codes. This approach combines the inherently three-dimensional filamentary structures associated with an ensemble of blobs into a macro-blob in the two-dimensional poloidal cross-section and advects the macro-blob ballistically across the magnetic field, B. Intermittent transport is represented as a sequence of macro-blobs appropriately seeded in the edge plasma according to experimental statistics. In this case, the code is capable of reproducing both the long-scale temporal evolution of the background plasma and the fast spatiotemporal dynamics of blobs. We report the results from a two-dimensional edge plasma code modeling of a single macro-blob dynamics, and its interaction with initially stationary background plasma as well as with material surfaces. The mechanisms of edge plasma particle and energy losses from macro-blobs are analyzed. The effects of macro-blob sizes and advection velocity on edge plasma profiles are studied. The macro-blob impact on power loading and sputtering rates on the chamber wall and on inner and outer divertor plates is discussed. Temporal evolution of particle inventory of the edge plasma perturbed by macro-blobs is analyzed. Application of macro-blobs to ELM modeling is highlighted.

Dynamic plasma screening effects on atomic collisions in dense plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young-Dae Jung

1999-01-01

Dynamic plasma screening effects are investigated on electron-ion collisional excitation and Coulomb Bremsstrahlung processes in dense plasmas. The electron-ion interaction potential is considered by introduction of the plasma dielectric function. The straight-ling trajectory method is applied to the path of the projectile electron. The transition probability including the dynamic plasma screening effect is found to be always greater than that including the static plasma screening effects. It is found that the differential Bremsstrahlung radiation cross section including the dynamic plasma screening effect is also greater than that including the static plasma screening effect. When the projectile velocity is smaller than the electron thermal velocity, the dynamic polarization screening effect becomes the static plasma screening effect. However, when the projectile velocity is greater than the electron thermal velocity, the interaction potential is almost unshielded

Plasma universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alfven, H.

1986-04-01

Traditionally the views in our cosmic environment have been based on observations in the visual octave of the electromagnetic spectrum, during the last half-century supplemented by infrared and radio observations. Space research has opened the full spectrum. Of special importance are the X-ray-gamma-ray regions, in which a number of unexpected phenomena have been discovered. Radiations in these regions are likely to originate mainly from magnetised cosmic plasma. Such a medium may also emit synchrotron radiation which is observable in the radio region. If we try to base a model of the universe on the plasma phenomena mentioned we find that the plasma universe is drastically different from the traditional visual universe. Information about the plasma universe can also be obtained by extrapolation of laboratory experiments and magnetospheric in situ measurements of plasma. This approach is possible because it is likely that the basic properties of plasma are the same everywhere. In order to test the usefulness of the plasma universe model we apply it to cosmogony. Such an approach seems to be rather successful. For example, the complicated structure of the Saturnian C ring can be accounted for. It is possible to reconstruct certain phenomena 4-5 bilions years ago with an accuracy of better than 1 percent

INTEGRATED PLASMA CONTROL FOR ADVANCED TOKAMAKS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HUMPHREYS, D.A.; FERRON, J.R.; JOHNSON, R.D; LEUER, J.A.; PENAFLOR, B.G.; WALKER, M.L.; WELANDER, A.S.; KHAYRUTDINOV, R.R; DOKOUKA, V.; EDGELL, D.H.; FRANSSON, C.M.

2004-03-01

OAK-B135 Advanced tokamaks (AT) are distinguished from conventional tokamaks by their high degree of shaping, achievement of profiles optimized for high confinement and stability characteristics, and active stabilization of MHD instabilities to attain high values of normalized beta and confinement. These high performance fusion devices thus require accurate regulation of the plasma boundary, internal profiles, pumping, fueling, and heating, as well as simultaneous and well-coordinated MHD control action to stabilize such instabilities as tearing modes and resistive wall modes. Satisfying the simultaneous demands on control accuracy, reliability, and performance for all of these subsystems requires a high degree of integration in both design and operation of the plasma control system in an advanced tokamak. The present work describes the approach, benefits, and progress made in integrated plasma control with application examples drawn from the DIII-D tokamak. The approach includes construction of plasma and system response models, validation of models against operating experiments, design of integrated controllers which operate in concert with one another as well as with supervisory modules, simulation of control action against off-line and actual machine control platforms, and iteration of the design-test loop to optimize performance

Evolution of α-particle distribution in burning plasmas including energy dependent α-transport effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamelander, G.; Sigmar, D.; Woloch, F.

1991-09-01

This report resumes the essential results of a common OEFZS/MIT (Plasma Fusion Center) project to investigate fusion alpha transport. A computer code has been developed going beyond standard FOKKER-PLANCK-codes assuming that the fusion products give their energy to the plasma on the place of their birth. The present transport code admits the calculation of the α-distribution function. By means of the distribution function the energy deposition rates are calculated. The time-evolution of the α-distribution function has been evaluated for an ignited plasma. A description of the transport code, of the subroutines and of the input data as well as a listing is enclosed to this report. (Authors)

Temperature of thermal plasma jets: A time resolved approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sahasrabudhe, S N; Joshi, N K; Barve, D N; Ghorui, S; Tiwari, N; Das, A K, E-mail: sns@barc.gov.i [Laser and Plasma Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai - 400 094 (India)

2010-02-01

Boltzmann Plot method is routinely used for temperature measurement of thermal plasma jets emanating from plasma torches. Here, it is implicitly assumed that the plasma jet is 'steady' in time. However, most of the experimenters do not take into account the variations due to ripple in the high current DC power supplies used to run plasma torches. If a 3-phase transductor type of power supply is used, then the ripple frequency is 150 Hz and if 3- phase SCR based power supply is used, then the ripple frequency is 300 Hz. The electrical power fed to plasma torch varies at ripple frequency. In time scale, it is about 3.3 to 6.7 ms for one cycle of ripple and it is much larger than the arc root movement times which are within 0.2 ms. Fast photography of plasma jets shows that the luminosity of plasma jet also varies exactly like the ripple in the power supply voltage and thus with the power. Intensity of line radiations varies nonlinearly with the instantaneous power fed to the torch and the simple time average of line intensities taken for calculation of temperature is not appropriate. In this paper, these variations and their effect on temperature determination are discussed and a method to get appropriate data is suggested. With a small adaptation discussed here, this method can be used to get temperature profile of plasma jet within a short time.

Thermal plasma waste treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heberlein, Joachim; Murphy, Anthony B

2008-01-01

Plasma waste treatment has over the past decade become a more prominent technology because of the increasing problems with waste disposal and because of the realization of opportunities to generate valuable co-products. Plasma vitrification of hazardous slags has been a commercial technology for several years, and volume reduction of hazardous wastes using plasma processes is increasingly being used. Plasma gasification of wastes with low negative values has attracted interest as a source of energy and spawned process developments for treatment of even municipal solid wastes. Numerous technologies and approaches exist for plasma treatment of wastes. This review summarizes the approaches that have been developed, presents some of the basic physical principles, provides details of some specific processes and considers the advantages and disadvantages of thermal plasmas in waste treatment applications. (topical review)

Plasma-particle interaction effects in induction plasma modelling under dense loading conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proulx, P.; Mostaghimi, J.; Boulos, M.

1983-07-01

The injection of solid particles or aerosol droplets in the fire-ball of an inductively coupled plasma can substantially perturb the plasma and even quench it under high loading conditions. This can be mainly attributed to the local cooling of the plasma by the particles or their vapour cloud, combined with the possible change of the thermodynamic and transport properties of the plasma in the presence of the particle vapour. This paper reports the state-of-the-art in the mathematical modelling of the induction plasma. A particle-in-cell model is used in order to combine the continuum approach for the calculation of the flow, temperature and concentration fields in the plasma, with the stochastic single particle approach, for the calculation of the particle trajectories and temperature histories. Results are given for an argon induction plasma under atmospheric pressure in which fine copper particles are centrally injected in the coil region of the discharge

Nonextensive statistical mechanics approach to electron trapping in degenerate plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Mebrouk, Khireddine; Gougam, Leila Ait; Tribeche, Mouloud

2016-06-01

The electron trapping in a weakly nondegenerate plasma is reformulated and re-examined by incorporating the nonextensive entropy prescription. Using the q-deformed Fermi-Dirac distribution function including the quantum as well as the nonextensive statistical effects, we derive a new generalized electron density with a new contribution proportional to the electron temperature T, which may dominate the usual thermal correction (∼T2) at very low temperatures. To make the physics behind the effect of this new contribution more transparent, we analyze the modifications arising in the propagation of ion-acoustic solitary waves. Interestingly, we find that due to the nonextensive correction, our plasma model allows the possibility of existence of quantum ion-acoustic solitons with velocity higher than the Fermi ion-sound velocity. Moreover, as the nonextensive parameter q increases, the critical temperature Tc beyond which coexistence of compressive and rarefactive solitons sets in, is shifted towards higher values.

Filamentary magnetohydrodynamic plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinney, R.; Tajima, T.; McWilliams, J.C.; Petviashvili, N.

1994-01-01

A filamentary construct of magnetohydrodynamical plasma dynamics based on the Elsaesser variables is developed. This approach is modeled after discrete vortex models of hydrodynamical turbulence, which cannot be expected in general to produce results identical to those based on a Fourier decomposition of the fields. In a highly intermittent plasma, the induction force is small compared to the convective motion, and when this force is neglected, the plasma vortex system is described by a Hamiltonian. A statistical treatment of a collection of discrete current-vorticity concentrations is given. Canonical and microcanonical statistical calculations show that both the vorticity and the current spectra are peaked at long wavelengths, and the expected states revert to known hydrodynamical states as the magnetic field vanishes. These results differ from previous Fourier-based statistical theories, but it is found that when the filament calculation is expanded to include the inductive force, the results approach the Fourier equilibria in the low-temperature limit, and the previous Hamiltonian plasma vortex results in the high-temperature limit. Numerical simulations of a large number of filaments are carried out and support the theory. A three-dimensional vortex model is presented as well, which is also Hamiltonian when the inductive force is neglected. A statistical calculation in the canonical ensemble and numerical simulations show that a nonzero large-scale magnetic field is statistically favored, and that the preferred shape of this field is a long, thin tube of flux. Possible applications to a variety of physical phenomena are suggested

Variational form for a viscous plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishida, A.; Steinhauer, L.C.; Berk, H.L.

1991-01-01

The variational formulation for a fluid plasma including the parallel and gyroviscosities is developed using the basic approach of Berk et al. [Phys. Fluids 24, 2245 (1981)]. The equivalence of the variational problem to the original viscous fluid equations of motion is shown. The theory is developed for an axisymmetric plasma with no magnetic field in the azimuthal direction and therefore applies to field-reversed configurations and axisymmetric mirrors. This theory offers the advantage of describing both parallel and transverse ion kinetic effects within the simplicity afforded by a variational fluid model

Plasma control using neural network and optical emission spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Byungwhan; Bae, Jung Ki; Hong, Wan-Shick

2005-01-01

Due to high sensitivity to process parameters, plasma processes should be tightly controlled. For plasma control, a predictive model was constructed using a neural network and optical emission spectroscopy (OES). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce OES dimensionality. This approach was applied to an oxide plasma etching conducted in a CHF 3 /CF 4 magnetically enhanced reactive ion plasma. The etch process was systematically characterized by means of a statistical experimental design. Three etch outputs (etch rate, profile angle, and etch rate nonuniformity) were modeled using three different approaches, including conventional, OES, and PCA-OES models. For all etch outputs, OES models demonstrated improved predictions over the conventional or PCA-OES models. Compared to conventional models, OES models yielded an improvement of more than 25% in modeling profile angle and etch rate nonuniformtiy. More than 40% improvement over PCA-OES model was achieved in modeling etch rate and profile angle. These results demonstrate that nonreduced in situ data are more beneficial than reduced one in constructing plasma control model

Multi-level molecular modelling for plasma medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogaerts, Annemie; Khosravian, Narjes; Van der Paal, Jonas; Verlackt, Christof C W; Yusupov, Maksudbek; Kamaraj, Balu; Neyts, Erik C

2016-01-01

Modelling at the molecular or atomic scale can be very useful for obtaining a better insight in plasma medicine. This paper gives an overview of different atomic/molecular scale modelling approaches that can be used to study the direct interaction of plasma species with biomolecules or the consequences of these interactions for the biomolecules on a somewhat longer time-scale. These approaches include density functional theory (DFT), density functional based tight binding (DFTB), classical reactive and non-reactive molecular dynamics (MD) and united-atom or coarse-grained MD, as well as hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods. Specific examples will be given for three important types of biomolecules, present in human cells, i.e. proteins, DNA and phospholipids found in the cell membrane. The results show that each of these modelling approaches has its specific strengths and limitations, and is particularly useful for certain applications. A multi-level approach is therefore most suitable for obtaining a global picture of the plasma–biomolecule interactions. (paper)

FEM-DBEM approach to analyse crack scenarios in a baffle cooling pipe undergoing heat flux from the plasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Citarella

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Wendelstein 7-X is the world’s largest nuclear fusion experiment of stellarator type, in which a hydrogen plasma is confined by a magnet field generated with external superconducting coils, allowing the plasma to be heated up to the fusion temperature. The water-cooled Plasma Facing Components (PFC protect the Plasma Vessel (PV against radiative and convective heat from the plasma. After the assembly process of heat shields and baffles, several cracks were found in the braze and cooling pipes. Due to heat load cycles occurring during each Operational Phase (OP, thermal stresses are generated in the heat sinks, braze root and cooling pipes, capable to drive fatigue crack-growth and, possibly, a water leak through the pipe thickness. The aim of this study is to assess the most dangerous initial crack configurations in one of the most critical baffles by using numerical models based on a FEM-DBEM approach.

Instabilities in the plasma focus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaeppeler, H.J.

1975-03-01

The plasma focus was studied by many research teams in view of a possible approach to controlled thermonuclear fusion. Though it is questionable whether the plasma focus will ever lead to a fusion reactor, it nevertheless constitutes a strong source of neutron, X- and gamma radiation for simulating fusion reactor conditions. Furthermore, the plasma focus yields very high temperatures (10 7 K) and densities (> 10 19 cm -3 ) and thus provides interesting conditions for the study of high density plasmas. This review paper starts with a description of the compression stage of the focussing plasma, using a snow-plough model. It is shown that sophisticated MHD calculations substantiate the snowplough theory, but are not suited to describe the phenomena in the final compressed stage. For this purpose, a particle-in-cell calculation is employed, yielding a beam-beam collision model for the neutron production. Experimental evidence indicates that neutron production is associated with the appearence of m = O instabilities and is the direct result of collisions between anomalously accelerated ions. One of the mechanisms of ion acceleration are strong local electric fields. Another possible mechanism can bee seen in beam-plasma instabilities caused by runaway electrons. The analytical derivation of the dispersion relation for plasma focus conditions including runaway effect is discussed (orig.) [de

Modeling magnetospheric plasma; Proceedings of the First Huntsville Workshop on Magnetosphere/Ionosphere Plasma Models, Guntersville, AL, Oct. 14-16, 1987

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, T.E.; Waite, J.H. Jr.

1988-01-01

The conference presents papers on the global modeling of magnetospheric plasma processes, the modeling of the midlatitude ionosphere and plasmasphere, the modeling of the auroral zone and boundary layer, the modeling of the polar magnetosphere and ionosphere, and the modeling of the plasma sheet and ring current. Particular attention is given to the kinetic approach in magnetospheric plasma transport modeling, self-consistent neutral point current and fields from single particle dynamics, preliminary statistical survey of plasmaspheric ion properties from observations by DE 1/RIMS, and a model of auroral potential structures based on dynamics explorer plasma data. Other topics include internal shear layers in auroral dynamics, quantitative parameterization of energetic ionospheric ion outflow, and open flux merging in an expanding polarcap model

Non Equilbrium Vibrational Kinetics in Expanding Plasma Flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colonna, Gianpiero

2008-01-01

The supersonic expansion of a plasma is a system of interest for aerospace applications, ranging from propulsion to hypersonic wind tunnels. Under these conditions the plasma shows significant departures from chemical and thermal equilibrium, similarly to post-discharge conditions. The multitemperature description is not adequate because the internal level distributions show tails overpopulated with respect to a Boltzmann distribution. The state-to-state approach has to be used, including the interaction with free electrons which follow non-maxwellian distributions.

Plasma cleaning techniques and future applications in environmentally conscious manufacturing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ward, P.P.

1995-07-01

Plasmas have frequently been used in industry as a last step surface preparation technique in an otherwise predominantly wet-etch process. The limiting factor in the usefulness of plasma cleaning techniques has been the rate at which organic materials are removed. Recent research in the field of plasma chemistry has provided some understanding of plasma processes. By controlling plasma conditions and gas mixtures, ultra-fast plasma cleaning and etching is possible. With enhanced organic removal rates, plasma processes become more desirable as an environmentally sound alternative to traditional solvent or acid dominated process, not only as a cleaning tool, but also as a patterning and machining tool. In this paper, innovations in plasma processes are discussed including enhanced plasma etch rates via plasma environment control and aggressive gas mixtures. Applications that have not been possible with the limited usefulness of past plasma processes are now approaching the realm of possibility. Some of these possible applications will be discussed along with their impact to environmentally conscious manufacturing.

A Reconstruction Approach to High-Order Schemes Including Discontinuous Galerkin for Diffusion

Science.gov (United States)

Huynh, H. T.

2009-01-01

We introduce a new approach to high-order accuracy for the numerical solution of diffusion problems by solving the equations in differential form using a reconstruction technique. The approach has the advantages of simplicity and economy. It results in several new high-order methods including a simplified version of discontinuous Galerkin (DG). It also leads to new definitions of common value and common gradient quantities at each interface shared by the two adjacent cells. In addition, the new approach clarifies the relations among the various choices of new and existing common quantities. Fourier stability and accuracy analyses are carried out for the resulting schemes. Extensions to the case of quadrilateral meshes are obtained via tensor products. For the two-point boundary value problem (steady state), it is shown that these schemes, which include most popular DG methods, yield exact common interface quantities as well as exact cell average solutions for nearly all cases.

High-temperature plasma physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furth, H.P.

1988-03-01

Both magnetic and inertial confinement research are entering the plasma parameter range of fusion reactor interest. This paper reviews the individual and common technical problems of these two approaches to the generation of thermonuclear plasmas, and describes some related applications of high-temperature plasma physics

A study of the potential of plasma processing in the chemical industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Estey, P.N.; Connolly, T.J.

1984-01-01

This work describes a systematic approach to determine the potential for plasma processing in the United States chemical industry. A model was developed that describes the physical inputs and outputs from a plasma based processing system. Based on these mass flows and the energy flows to the processor an economic assessment of the plasma processing system is made. This economic assessment which also includes the capital costs of the processor, can be used to determine if the plasma system is competitive with the conventional system

Metallurgical plasma torches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shapovalov, V.A.; Latash, Yu.V.

2000-01-01

The technological equipment for the plasma heating of metals, plasma melting and plasma treatment of the surface is usually developed on the basis of are plasma torches using direct or alternating current. The reasons which partly restrict the industrial application of the plasma torches are the relatively short service life of the electrode (cathode) on which the arc is supported, and the contamination of the treated metal with the products of failure of the electrode. The aim of this work was to determine the reasons for the occurrence of negative phenomena observed in the process of service of plasma torches, and propose suitable approaches to the design of metallurgical plasma torches characterised by a long service life

EMAPS: An Efficient Multiscale Approach to Plasma Systems with Non-MHD Scale Effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Omelchenko, Yuri A. [SciberQuest, Inc., Del Mar, CA (United States); Karimabadi, Homa [SciberQuest, Inc., Del Mar, CA (United States)

2014-10-14

Using Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) as a novel paradigm for time integration of large-scale physics-driven systems, we have achieved significant breakthroughs in simulations of multi-dimensional magnetized plasmas where ion kinetic and finite Larmor radius (FLR) and Hall effects play a crucial role. For these purposes we apply a unique asynchronous simulation tool: a parallel, electromagnetic Particle-in-Cell (PIC) code, HYPERS (Hybrid Particle Event-Resolved Simulator), which treats plasma electrons as a charge neutralizing fluid and solves a self-consistent set of non-radiative Maxwell, electron fluid equations and ion particle equations on a structured computational grid. HYPERS enables adaptive local time steps for particles, fluid elements and electromagnetic fields. This ensures robustness (stability) and efficiency (speed) of highly dynamic and nonlinear simulations of compact plasma systems such spheromaks, FRCs, ion beams and edge plasmas. HYPERS is a unique asynchronous code that has been designed to serve as a test bed for developing multi-physics applications not only for laboratory plasma devices but generally across a number of plasma physics fields, including astrophysics, space physics and electronic devices. We have made significant improvements to the HYPERS core: (1) implemented a new asynchronous magnetic field integration scheme that preserves local divB=0 to within round-off errors; (2) Improved staggered-grid discretizations of electric and magnetic fields. These modifications have significantly enhanced the accuracy and robustness of 3D simulations. We have conducted first-ever end-to-end 3D simulations of merging spheromak plasmas. The preliminary results show: (1) tilt-driven relaxation of a freely expanding spheromak to an m=1 Taylor helix configuration and (2) possibility of formation of a tilt-stable field-reversed configuration via merging and magnetic reconnection of two double-sided spheromaks with opposite helicities.

Proteomic-Biostatistic Integrated Approach for Finding the Underlying Molecular Determinants of Hypertension in Human Plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Gajjala, Prathibha R; Jankowski, Vera; Heinze, Georg; Bilo, Grzegorz; Zanchetti, Alberto; Noels, Heidi; Liehn, Elisa; Perco, Paul; Schulz, Anna; Delles, Christian; Kork, Felix; Biessen, Erik; Narkiewicz, Krzysztof; Kawecka-Jaszcz, Kalina; Floege, Juergen; Soranna, Davide; Zidek, Walter; Jankowski, Joachim

2017-08-01

Despite advancements in lowering blood pressure, the best approach to lower it remains controversial because of the lack of information on the molecular basis of hypertension. We, therefore, performed plasma proteomics of plasma from patients with hypertension to identify molecular determinants detectable in these subjects but not in controls and vice versa. Plasma samples from hypertensive subjects (cases; n=118) and controls (n=85) from the InGenious HyperCare cohort were used for this study and performed mass spectrometric analysis. Using biostatistical methods, plasma peptides specific for hypertension were identified, and a model was developed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression. The underlying peptides were identified and sequenced off-line using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization orbitrap mass spectrometry. By comparison of the molecular composition of the plasma samples, 27 molecular determinants were identified differently expressed in cases from controls. Seventy percent of the molecular determinants selected were found to occur less likely in hypertensive patients. In cross-validation, the overall R 2 was 0.434, and the area under the curve was 0.891 with 95% confidence interval 0.8482 to 0.9349, P hypertensive patients were found to be -2.007±0.3568 and 3.383±0.2643, respectively, P hypertensives and normotensives. The identified molecular determinants may be the starting point for further studies to clarify the molecular causes of hypertension. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

Plasma physics for controlled fusion. 2. ed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyamoto, Kenro

2016-08-01

This new edition presents the essential theoretical and analytical methods needed to understand the recent fusion research of tokamak and alternate approaches. The author describes magnetohydrodynamic and kinetic theories of cold and hot plasmas in detail. The book covers new important topics for fusion studies such as plasma transport by drift turbulence, which depend on the magnetic configuration and zonal flows. These are universal phenomena of microturbulence. They can modify the onset criterion for turbulent transport, instabilities driven by energetic particles as well as alpha particle generation and typical plasma models for computer simulation. The fusion research of tokamaks with various new versions of H modes are explained. The design concept of ITER, the international tokamak experimental reactor, is described for inductively driven operations as well as steady-state operations using non-inductive drives. Alternative approaches of reversed-field pinch and its relaxation process, stellator including quasi-symmetric system, open-end system of tandem mirror and inertial confinement are also explained. Newly added and updated topics in this second edition include zonal flows, various versions of H modes, and steady-state operations of tokamak, the design concept of ITER, the relaxation process of RFP, quasi-symmetric stellator, and tandem mirror. The book addresses graduate students and researchers in the field of controlled fusion.

Plasma physics for controlled fusion. 2. ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyamoto, Kenro

2016-01-01

This new edition presents the essential theoretical and analytical methods needed to understand the recent fusion research of tokamak and alternate approaches. The author describes magnetohydrodynamic and kinetic theories of cold and hot plasmas in detail. The book covers new important topics for fusion studies such as plasma transport by drift turbulence, which depend on the magnetic configuration and zonal flows. These are universal phenomena of microturbulence. They can modify the onset criterion for turbulent transport, instabilities driven by energetic particles as well as alpha particle generation and typical plasma models for computer simulation. The fusion research of tokamaks with various new versions of H modes are explained. The design concept of ITER, the international tokamak experimental reactor, is described for inductively driven operations as well as steady-state operations using non-inductive drives. Alternative approaches of reversed-field pinch and its relaxation process, stellator including quasi-symmetric system, open-end system of tandem mirror and inertial confinement are also explained. Newly added and updated topics in this second edition include zonal flows, various versions of H modes, and steady-state operations of tokamak, the design concept of ITER, the relaxation process of RFP, quasi-symmetric stellator, and tandem mirror. The book addresses graduate students and researchers in the field of controlled fusion.

FRC plasma studies on the FRX-L plasma injector for MTF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wurden, G.A.; Intrator, T.P.; Zhang, S.Y.; Furno, I.G.; Hsu, S.C.; Park, J.Y.; Kirkpatrick, R.; Renneke, R.M.; Schoenberg, K.F.; Taccetti, M.J.; Tuszewski, M.G.; Waganaar, W.J.; Zhehui Wang; Siemon, R.E.; Degnan, J.H.; Gale, D.G.; Grabowski, C.; Ruden, E.L.; Sommars, W.; Frese, M.H.; Coffey, S.; Craddock, G.; Frese, S.D.; Roderick, N.F.

2005-01-01

To demonstrate the physics basis for Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF), we have designed a field reversed configuration (FRC) target plasma to ultimately be compressed within an imploding metal flux conserver (liner). This new, high energy density FRC device, named FRX-L, is operating at Los Alamos as a compact 'theta-pinch' formation FRC. The system capability includes a 0.5 T bias field, 70 kV 250 kHz ringing pre-ionization, and a 1.5 MA, 200 kJ main-theta-coil bank. We show FRC data with plasma parameters approaching the desired MTF requirements, examples of substantial Ohmic heating from magnetic flux annihilation, and measurements of plasma anomalous resistivity. Improvements are underway to reduce the main bank crowbar ringing, which will increase the trapped flux in the FRC. A prototype deformable flux-conserving liner with large entrance holes to accept an FRC has also been designed with MACH2 (2-D MHD modelling code) and successfully imploded at Kirtland Air Force Base on the Shiva Star pulsed power facility. (author)

Discrete Variational Approach for Modeling Laser-Plasma Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, J. Paxon; Shadwick, B. A.

2014-10-01

The traditional approach for fluid models of laser-plasma interactions begins by approximating fields and derivatives on a grid in space and time, leading to difference equations that are manipulated to create a time-advance algorithm. In contrast, by introducing the spatial discretization at the level of the action, the resulting Euler-Lagrange equations have particular differencing approximations that will exactly satisfy discrete versions of the relevant conservation laws. For example, applying a spatial discretization in the Lagrangian density leads to continuous-time, discrete-space equations and exact energy conservation regardless of the spatial grid resolution. We compare the results of two discrete variational methods using the variational principles from Chen and Sudan and Brizard. Since the fluid system conserves energy and momentum, the relative errors in these conserved quantities are well-motivated physically as figures of merit for a particular method. This work was supported by the U. S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-SC0008382 and by the National Science Foundation under Contract No. PHY-1104683.

An introduction to the atomic and radiation physics of plasmas

CERN Document Server

Tallents, G J

2018-01-01

Plasmas comprise more than 99% of the observable universe. They are important in many technologies and are key potential sources for fusion power. Atomic and radiation physics is critical for the diagnosis, observation and simulation of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas, and plasma physicists working in a range of areas from astrophysics, magnetic fusion, and inertial fusion utilise atomic and radiation physics to interpret measurements. This text develops the physics of emission, absorption and interaction of light in astrophysics and in laboratory plasmas from first principles using the physics of various fields of study including quantum mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and statistical physics. Linking undergraduate level atomic and radiation physics with the advanced material required for postgraduate study and research, this text adopts a highly pedagogical approach and includes numerous exercises within each chapter for students to reinforce their understanding of the key concepts.

Two approaches to the reactor-relevant high-beta plasmas with profile control in the Large Helical Device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohdachi, S.; Watanabe, K.Y.; Sakakibara, S.

2008-10-01

From detailed optimization of configuration, volume averaged beta ∼ 5% has been achieved in the Large Helical Device(LHD). While the heating efficiency was the main point to be optimized in this approach, to form a more peaked pressure profile is another promising approach towards the high beta regime. A higher electron density profile with a steeper pressure gradient has been formed by pellet injection. From the MHD stability analysis, this peaked pressure profile is stable against the ideal MHD modes. By both approaches, the central plasma β 0 reaches about 10%. (author)

Tailored ion energy distributions on plasma electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Economou, Demetre J.

2013-01-01

As microelectronic device features continue to shrink approaching atomic dimensions, control of the ion energy distribution on the substrate during plasma etching and deposition becomes increasingly critical. The ion energy should be high enough to drive ion-assisted etching, but not too high to cause substrate damage or loss of selectivity. In many cases, a nearly monoenergetic ion energy distribution (IED) is desired to achieve highly selective etching. In this work, the author briefly reviews: (1) the fundamentals of development of the ion energy distribution in the sheath and (2) methods to control the IED on plasma electrodes. Such methods include the application of “tailored” voltage waveforms on an electrode in continuous wave plasmas, or the application of synchronous bias on a “boundary electrode” during a specified time window in the afterglow of pulsed plasmas

Controlled Distribution and Clustering of Silver in Ag-DLC Nanocomposite Coatings Using a Hybrid Plasma Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Cloutier, M; Turgeon, S; Busby, Y; Tatoulian, M; Pireaux, J-J; Mantovani, D

2016-08-17

Incorporation of selected metallic elements into diamond-like carbon (DLC) has emerged as an innovative approach to add unique functional properties to DLC coatings, thus opening up a range of new potential applications in fields as diverse as sensors, tribology, and biomaterials. However, deposition by plasma techniques of metal-containing DLC coatings with well-defined structural properties and metal distribution is currently hindered by the limited understanding of their growth mechanisms. We report here a silver-incorporated diamond-like carbon coating (Ag-DLC) prepared in a hybrid plasma reactor which allowed independent control of the metal content and the carbon film structure and morphology. Morphological and chemical analyses of Ag-DLC films were performed by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The vertical distribution of silver from the surface toward the coating bulk was found to be highly inhomogeneous due to top surface segregation and clustering of silver nanoparticles. Two plasma parameters, the sputtered Ag flux and ion energy, were shown to influence the spatial distribution of silver particles. On the basis of these findings, a mechanism for Ag-DLC growth by plasma was proposed.

RF wave simulation for cold edge plasmas using the MFEM library

Science.gov (United States)

Shiraiwa, S.; Wright, J. C.; Bonoli, P. T.; Kolev, T.; Stowell, M.

2017-10-01

A newly developed generic electro-magnetic (EM) simulation tool for modeling RF wave propagation in SOL plasmas is presented. The primary motivation of this development is to extend the domain partitioning approach for incorporating arbitrarily shaped SOL plasmas and antenna to the TORIC core ICRF solver, which was previously demonstrated in the 2D geometry [S. Shiraiwa, et. al., "HISTORIC: extending core ICRF wave simulation to include realistic SOL plasmas", Nucl. Fusion in press], to larger and more complicated simulations by including a 3D realistic antenna and integrating RF rectified sheath potential model. Such an extension requires a scalable high fidelity 3D edge plasma wave simulation. We used the MFEM [http://mfem.org], open source scalable C++ finite element method library, and developed a Python wrapper for MFEM (PyMFEM), and then a radio frequency (RF) wave physics module in Python. This approach allows for building a physics layer rapidly, while separating the physics implementation being apart from the numerical FEM implementation. An interactive modeling interface was built on pScope [S Shiraiwa, et. al. Fusion Eng. Des. 112, 835] to work with an RF simulation model in a complicated geometry.

Design of next step tokamak: Consistent analysis of plasma performance flux composition and poloidal field system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ane, J.M.; Grandgirard, V.; Albajar, F.; Johner, J.

2001-01-01

A consistent and simple approach to derive plasma scenarios for next step tokamak design is presented. It is based on successive plasma equilibria snapshots from plasma breakdown to end of ramp-down. Temperature and density profiles for each equilibrium are derived from a 2D plasma model. The time interval between two successive equilibria is then computed from the toroidal field magnetic energy balance, the resistive term of which depends on n, T profiles. This approach provides a consistent analysis of plasma performance, flux consumption and PF system, including average voltages waveforms across the PF coils. The plasma model and the Poynting theorem for the toroidal magnetic energy are presented. Application to ITER-FEAT and to M2, a Q=5 machine designed at CEA, are shown. (author)

Plasma and oscillations with contributions in memoriam including a complete bibliography of his works

CERN Document Server

Suits, C Guy

1961-01-01

The Collected Works of Irving Langmuir, Volume 5: Plasma and Oscillations is an 11-chapter text covers the extensive research study of Langmuir in the field of gas discharges. This book specifically tackles oscillations in ionized gases. The opening chapters describe the plasma-boundary phenomena and the use of a probe to separate the primary electron beam from the scattered electrons. The succeeding chapters deal with the collisions between electrons and gas molecules, oscillations in ionized gases, and the interaction of electron and positive ion space charges in cathode sheaths. These t

Identification of plasma biomarker candidates in glioblastoma using an antibody-array-based proteomic approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zupancic, Klemen; Blejec, Andrej; Herman, Ana; Veber, Matija; Verbovsek, Urska; Korsic, Marjan; Knezevic, Miomir; Rozman, Primoz; Turnsek, Tamara Lah; Gruden, Kristina; Motaln, Helena

2014-01-01

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a brain tumour with a very high patient mortality rate, with a median survival of 47 weeks. This might be improved by the identification of novel diagnostic, prognostic and predictive therapy-response biomarkers, preferentially through the monitoring of the patient blood. The aim of this study was to define the impact of GBM in terms of alterations of the plasma protein levels in these patients. We used a commercially available antibody array that includes 656 antibodies to analyse blood plasma samples from 17 healthy volunteers in comparison with 17 blood plasma samples from patients with GBM. We identified 11 plasma proteins that are statistically most strongly associated with the presence of GBM. These proteins belong to three functional signalling pathways: T-cell signalling and immune responses; cell adhesion and migration; and cell-cycle control and apoptosis. Thus, we can consider this identified set of proteins as potential diagnostic biomarker candidates for GBM. In addition, a set of 16 plasma proteins were significantly associated with the overall survival of these patients with GBM. Guanine nucleotide binding protein alpha (GNAO1) was associated with both GBM presence and survival of patients with GBM. Antibody array analysis represents a useful tool for the screening of plasma samples for potential cancer biomarker candidates in small-scale exploratory experiments; however, clinical validation of these candidates requires their further evaluation in a larger study on an independent cohort of patients

IEFIT - An Interactive Approach to High Temperature Fusion Plasma Magnetic Equilibrium Fitting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng, Q.; Schachter, J.; Schissel, D.P.; Lao, L.L.

1999-01-01

An interactive IDL based wrapper, IEFIT, has been created for the magnetic equilibrium reconstruction code EFIT written in FORTRAN. It allows high temperature fusion physicists to rapidly optimize a plasma equilibrium reconstruction by eliminating the unnecessarily repeated initialization in the conventional approach along with the immediate display of the fitting results of each input variation. It uses a new IDL based graphics package, GaPlotObj, developed in cooperation with Fanning Software Consulting, that provides a unified interface with great flexibility in presenting and analyzing scientific data. The overall interactivity reduces the process to minutes from the usual hours

Gaseous material capacity of open plasma jet in plasma spray-physical vapor deposition process

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Mei-Jun; Zhang, Meng; Zhang, Qiang; Yang, Guan-Jun; Li, Cheng-Xin; Li, Chang-Jiu

2018-01-01

Plasma spray-physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD) process, emerging as a highly efficient hybrid approach, is based on two powerful technologies of both plasma spray and physical vapor deposition. The maximum production rate is affected by the material feed rate apparently, but it is determined by the material vapor capacity of transporting plasma actually and essentially. In order to realize high production rate, the gaseous material capacity of plasma jet must be fundamentally understood. In this study, the thermal characteristics of plasma were measured by optical emission spectrometry. The results show that the open plasma jet is in the local thermal equilibrium due to a typical electron number density from 2.1 × 1015 to 3.1 × 1015 cm-3. In this condition, the temperature of gaseous zirconia can be equal to the plasma temperature. A model was developed to obtain the vapor pressure of gaseous ZrO2 molecules as a two dimensional map of jet axis and radial position corresponding to different average plasma temperatures. The overall gaseous material capacity of open plasma jet, take zirconia for example, was further established. This approach on evaluating material capacity in plasma jet would shed light on the process optimization towards both depositing columnar coating and a high production rate of PS-PVD.

Photons in a partonic transport approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greif, Moritz; Senzel, Florian; Greiner, Carsten [Goethe Universitaet Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 1 60438 Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

2015-07-01

Partonic transport approaches have proved to be valuable tools in describing the quark-gluon plasma, created in heavy-ion collisions. In this work, first steps towards a dynamical understanding of photonproduction in expanding heavy-ion collisions are presented. Several photon production processes are included in the partonic cascade BAMPS (Boltzmann Approach to Multi-Parton Scatterings). BAMPS provides a microscopic tool to study expanding fireballs, employing a stochastic method to solve the relativistic 3+1d Boltzmann equation. Subsequently, photon spectra can be investigated, and in particular, the influence of the quark-gluon plasma phase for the elliptic flow of photons is studied.

Comparative plasma lipidome between human and cynomolgus monkey: are plasma polar lipids good biomarkers for diabetic monkeys?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guanghou Shui

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Non-human primates (NHP are now being considered as models for investigating human metabolic diseases including diabetes. Analyses of cholesterol and triglycerides in plasma derived from NHPs can easily be achieved using methods employed in humans. Information pertaining to other lipid species in monkey plasma, however, is lacking and requires comprehensive experimental analysis. METHODOLOGIES/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We examined the plasma lipidome from 16 cynomolgus monkey, Macaca fascicularis, using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS. We established novel analytical approaches, which are based on a simple gradient elution, to quantify polar lipids in plasma including (i glycerophospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, PC; phosphatidylethanolamine, PE; phosphatidylinositol, PI; phosphatidylglycerol, PG; phosphatidylserine, PS; phosphatidic acid, PA; (ii sphingolipids (sphingomyelin, SM; ceramide, Cer; Glucocyl-ceramide, GluCer; ganglioside mannoside 3, GM3. Lipidomic analysis had revealed that the plasma of human and cynomolgus monkey were of similar compositions, with PC, SM, PE, LPC and PI constituting the major polar lipid species present. Human plasma contained significantly higher levels of plasmalogen PE species (p<0.005 and plasmalogen PC species (p<0.0005, while cynomolgus monkey had higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acyls (PUFA in PC, PE, PS and PI. Notably, cynomolgus monkey had significantly lower levels of glycosphingolipids, including GluCer (p<0.0005 and GM(3 (p<0.0005, but higher level of Cer (p<0.0005 in plasma than human. We next investigated the biochemical alterations in blood lipids of 8 naturally occurring diabetic cynomolgus monkeys when compared with 8 healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, we demonstrated that the plasma of human and cynomolgus monkey were of similar compositions, but contained different mol distribution of individual molecular species. Diabetic monkeys

Exploration of Plasma Jets Approach to High Energy Density Physics. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Chiping [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

2013-08-26

High-energy-density laboratory plasma (HEDLP) physics is an emerging, important area of research in plasma physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, and particle acceleration. While the HEDLP regime occurs at extreme conditions which are often found naturally in space but not on the earth, it may be accessible by colliding high intensity plasmas such as high-energy-density plasma jets, plasmoids or compact toroids from plasma guns. The physics of plasma jets is investigated in the context of high energy density laboratory plasma research. This report summarizes results of theoretical and computational investigation of a plasma jet undergoing adiabatic compression and adiabatic expansion. A root-mean-squared (rms) envelope theory of plasma jets is developed. Comparison between theory and experiment is made. Good agreement between theory and experiment is found.

Internet addiction neuroscientific approaches and therapeutical implications including smartphone addiction

CERN Document Server

Reuter, Martin

2017-01-01

The second edition of this successful book provides further and in-depth insight into theoretical models dealing with Internet addiction, as well as includes new therapeutical approaches. The editors also broach the emerging topic of smartphone addiction. This book combines a scholarly introduction with state-of-the-art research in the characterization of Internet addiction. It is intended for a broad audience including scientists, students and practitioners. The first part of the book contains an introduction to Internet addiction and their pathogenesis. The second part of the book is dedicated to an in-depth review of neuroscientific findings which cover studies using a variety of biological techniques including brain imaging and molecular genetics. The third part of the book focuses on therapeutic interventions for Internet addiction. The fourth part of the present book is an extension to the first edition and deals with a new emerging potential disorder related to Internet addiction – smartphone addicti...

Plants and fungi in the era of heterogeneous plasma membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

Opekarová, M; Malinsky, J; Tanner, W

2010-09-01

Examples from yeast and plant cells are described that show that their plasma membrane is laterally compartmented. Distinct lateral domains encompassing both specific lipids and integral proteins coexist within the plane of the plasma membrane. The compartments are either spatially stable and include distinct sets of proteins, or they are transiently formed to accomplish diverse functions. They are not related to lipid rafts or their clusters, as defined for mammalian cells. This review summarises only well-documented compartments of plasma membranes from plants and fungi, which have been recognised using microscopic approaches. In several cases, physiological functions of the membrane compartmentation are revealed.

Plasmas and fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1986-01-01

Plasma and fluid physics includes the fields of fusion research and space investigation. This book discusses the most important advances in these areas over the past decade and recommends a stronger commitment to basic research in plasma and fluid physics. The book recommends that plasma and fluid physics be included in physics curriculums because of their increasing importance in energy and defense. The book also lists recent accomplishments in the fields of general plasma physics, fusion plasma confinement and heating, space and astrophysical plasmas, and fluid physics and lists research opportunities in these areas. A funding summary explains how research monies are allocated and suggests ways to improve their effectiveness

Recent progress in the modelling of thermal plasma systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xi Chen

2002-01-01

Plasma flow and heat transfer in thermal plasma systems are often of three-dimensional (3-D) features and cannot be well studied by use of a two-dimensional modelling approach. 3-D modelling studies are recently performed in our group. It is found that appreciable 3-D effects exist within non-transferred DC arc plasma torches even for the case with axisymmetrical external conditions. The key for the successful 3-D modelling of the non-transferred arc plasma torch is that the anode-nozzle wall is included in the computational domain. The predicted results are favorably compared with experimental observation. 3-D modelling of the plasma jets with lateral injection of particulate matter and its carrier gas also reveals distinct 3-D effects with the injection velocity and the distance between the carrier-gas injection-tube tip and the jet edge as critical parameters. The 3-D effects appreciably influence the trajectories and heating histories of particles injected into the plasma jet. (author)

Overview of the preliminary design of the ITER plasma control system

Science.gov (United States)

Snipes, J. A.; Albanese, R.; Ambrosino, G.; Ambrosino, R.; Amoskov, V.; Blanken, T. C.; Bremond, S.; Cinque, M.; de Tommasi, G.; de Vries, P. C.; Eidietis, N.; Felici, F.; Felton, R.; Ferron, J.; Formisano, A.; Gribov, Y.; Hosokawa, M.; Hyatt, A.; Humphreys, D.; Jackson, G.; Kavin, A.; Khayrutdinov, R.; Kim, D.; Kim, S. H.; Konovalov, S.; Lamzin, E.; Lehnen, M.; Lukash, V.; Lomas, P.; Mattei, M.; Mineev, A.; Moreau, P.; Neu, G.; Nouailletas, R.; Pautasso, G.; Pironti, A.; Rapson, C.; Raupp, G.; Ravensbergen, T.; Rimini, F.; Schneider, M.; Travere, J.-M.; Treutterer, W.; Villone, F.; Walker, M.; Welander, A.; Winter, A.; Zabeo, L.

2017-12-01

An overview of the preliminary design of the ITER plasma control system (PCS) is described here, which focusses on the needs for 1st plasma and early plasma operation in hydrogen/helium (H/He) up to a plasma current of 15 MA with moderate auxiliary heating power in low confinement mode (L-mode). Candidate control schemes for basic magnetic control, including divertor operation and kinetic control of the electron density with gas puffing and pellet injection, were developed. Commissioning of the auxiliary heating systems is included as well as support functions for stray field topology and real-time plasma boundary reconstruction. Initial exception handling schemes for faults of essential plant systems and for disruption protection were developed. The PCS architecture was also developed to be capable of handling basic control for early commissioning and the advanced control functions that will be needed for future high performance operation. A plasma control simulator is also being developed to test and validate control schemes. To handle the complexity of the ITER PCS, a systems engineering approach has been adopted with the development of a plasma control database to keep track of all control requirements.

Influence of plasma background including neutrals on scrape-off layer filaments using 3D simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Schwörer

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the effect of the plasma background, including neutrals in a self-consistent way, on filaments in the scrape-off layer (SOL of fusion devices. A strong dependency of filament motion on background density and temperature is observed. The radial filament motion shows an increase in velocity with decreasing background density and increasing background temperature. In the simulations presented here, three neutral-filament interaction models have been compared, one with a static neutral background, one with no interaction between filaments and neutrals, and one co-evolving the neutrals self consistently with the filaments. With the background conditions employed here, which do not show detachment, there are no significant effects of neutrals on filaments, as by the time the filament reaches maximum velocity, the neutral density has not changed significantly.

Elements of plasma technology

CERN Document Server

Wong, Chiow San

2016-01-01

This book presents some fundamental aspects of plasma technology that are important for beginners interested to start research in the area of plasma technology . These include the properties of plasma, methods of plasma generation and basic plasma diagnostic techniques. It also discusses several low cost plasma devices, including pulsed plasma sources such as plasma focus, pulsed capillary discharge, vacuum spark and exploding wire; as well as low temperature plasmas such as glow discharge and dielectric barrier discharge which the authors believe may have potential applications in industry. The treatments are experimental rather than theoretical, although some theoretical background is provided where appropriate. The principles of operation of these devices are also reviewed and discussed.

plasmatis Center for Innovation Competence: Controlling reactive component output of atmospheric pressure plasmas in plasma medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Reuter, Stephan

2012-10-01

The novel approach of using plasmas in order to alter the local chemistry of cells and cell environment presents a significant development in biomedical applications. The plasmatis center for innovation competence at the INP Greifswald e.V. performs fundamental research in plasma medicine in two interdisciplinary research groups. The aim of our plasma physics research group ``Extracellular Effects'' is (a) quantitative space and time resolved diagnostics and modelling of plasmas and liquids to determine distribution and composition of reactive species (b) to control the plasma and apply differing plasma source concepts in order to produce a tailored output of reactive components and design the chemical composition of the liquids/cellular environment and (c) to identify and understand the interaction mechanisms of plasmas with liquids and biological systems. Methods to characterize the plasma generated reactive species from plasma-, gas- and liquid phase and their biological effects will be presented. The diagnostic spectrum ranges from absorption/emission/laser spectroscopy and molecular beam mass spectrometry to electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and cell biological diagnostic techniques. Concluding, a presentation will be given of the comprehensive approach to plasma medicine in Greifswald where the applied and clinical research of the Campus PlasmaMed association is combined with the fundamental research at plasmatis center.

Vibrational, atomical and electronic relaxation in a nitrogen plasma jet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asselin, P.; Dudeck, M.

1994-07-01

This is a simplified approach of the characterization of a plasma stationary flow in chemical and electronic disequilibrium conditions by Navier-Stokes equations. The INCA code (AMTEC, USA) is a three-dimensional monolithic calculation code. A computer program for a mono-dimensional evolution of the formed species concentrations in a nitrogen plasma, including conservative equations of vibrational and electronic energies in order to deduce the corresponding temperature profiles. (A.B.). 14 refs., 17 figs., 2 tabs

Integrated Approach to Dense Magnetized Plasmas Applications in Nuclear Fusion Technology. Report of a Coordinated Research Project 2007-2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-04-01

Through its coordinated research activities, the IAEA promotes the development and application of nuclear technologies in Member States. The scientific and technical knowledge required for the construction and operation of large nuclear fusion research facilities, including ITER and the Laser Megajoule in France, and the Z machine and the National Ignition Facility in the United States of America, necessitates several accompanying research and development programmes in physics and technology. This is particularly true in the areas of materials science and fusion technology. Hence, the long standing IAEA effort to conduct coordinated research projects (CRPs) in these areas is aimed at: (i) the development of appropriate technical tools to investigate the issue of materials damage and degradation in a fusion plasma environment; and (ii) the emergence of a knowledge based understanding of the various processes underlying materials damage and degradation, thereby leading to the identification of suitable candidate materials fulfilling the stringent requirements of a fusion environment in any next step facility. Dense magnetized plasma (DMP) devices serve as a first test bench for testing of fusion relevant plasma facing materials, diagnostic development and calibration, technologies and scaling to conceptual principles of larger devices while sophisticated testing facilities such as the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) are being designed. The CRP on Integrated Approach to Dense Magnetized Plasmas Applications in Nuclear Fusion Technology described herein was initiated in 2007 with the participation of 12 research institutions in 8 Member States and was concluded in 2011. It was designed with specific research objectives falling into two main categories: support to mainstream fusion research and development of DMP technology. This publication is a compilation of the individual reports submitted by the 12 CRP participants. These reports discuss

Atmospheric-pressure plasma technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kogelschatz, U

2004-01-01

Major industrial plasma processes operating close to atmospheric pressure are discussed. Applications of thermal plasmas include electric arc furnaces and plasma torches for generation of powders, for spraying refractory materials, for cutting and welding and for destruction of hazardous waste. Other applications include miniature circuit breakers and electrical discharge machining. Non-equilibrium cold plasmas at atmospheric pressure are obtained in corona discharges used in electrostatic precipitators and in dielectric-barrier discharges used for generation of ozone, for pollution control and for surface treatment. More recent applications include UV excimer lamps, mercury-free fluorescent lamps and flat plasma displays

Reduced, three-dimensional, nonlinear equations for high-β plasmas including toroidal effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmalz, R.

1980-11-01

The resistive MHD equations for toroidal plasma configurations are reduced by expanding to the second order in epsilon, the inverse aspect ratio, allowing for high β = μsub(o)p/B 2 of order epsilon. The result is a closed system of nonlinear, three-dimensional equations where the fast magnetohydrodynamic time scale is eliminated. In particular, the equation for the toroidal velocity remains decoupled. (orig.)

Plasma position control in a tokamak reactor around ignition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carretta, U.; Minardi, E.; Bacelli, N.

1986-01-01

Plasma position control in a tokamak reactor in the phase approaching ignition is closely related to burn control. If ignited burn corresponds to a thermally unstable situation the plasma becomes sensitive to the thermal instability already in the phase when ignition is approached so that the trajectory in the position-pressure (R,p) space becomes effectively unpredictable. For example, schemes involving closed cycles around ignition can be unstable in the heating-cooling phases, and the deviations may be cumulative in time. Reliable plasma control in pressure-position (p, R) space is achieved by beforehand constraining the p, R trajectory rigidly with suitable feedback vertical field stabilization, which is to be established already below ignition. A scheme in which ignition is approached in a stable and automatic way by feedback stabilization on the vertical field is proposed and studied in detail. The values of the gain coefficient ensuring stabilization and the associated p and R excursions are discussed both analytically, with a 0-D approximation including non-linear effects, and numerically with a 1-D code in cylindrical geometry. Profile effects increase the excursions, in particular above ignition. (author)

Kinetic stability constraints on magnetized plasma equilibria: Quasi-particle approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sosenko, P.; Weiland, J.

1996-01-01

Macroscopic adiabatic invariants for the magnetized plasma are studied within the context of the quasi-particle description, as well as constraints which they impose on energy transfer and stable plasma equilibria. 6 refs

Ionization-potential depression and dynamical structure factor in dense plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chengliang; Röpke, Gerd; Kraeft, Wolf-Dietrich; Reinholz, Heidi

2017-07-01

The properties of a bound electron system immersed in a plasma environment are strongly modified by the surrounding plasma. The modification of an essential quantity, the ionization energy, is described by the electronic and ionic self-energies, including dynamical screening within the framework of the quantum statistical theory. Introducing the ionic dynamical structure factor as the indicator for the ionic microfield, we demonstrate that ionic correlations and fluctuations play a critical role in determining the ionization potential depression. This is, in particular, true for mixtures of different ions with large mass and charge asymmetry. The ionization potential depression is calculated for dense aluminum plasmas as well as for a CH plasma and compared to the experimental data and more phenomenological approaches used so far.

Study of self-focusing of Non Gaussian laser beam in a plasma with density variation using moment theory approach

Science.gov (United States)

Pathak, Nidhi; Kaur, Sukhdeep; Singh, Sukhmander

2018-05-01

In this paper, self-focusing/defocusing effects have been studied by taking into account the combined effect of ponder-motive and relativistic non linearity during the laser plasma interaction with density variation. The formulation is based on the numerical analysis of second order nonlinear differential equation for appropriate set of laser and plasma parameters by employing moment theory approach. We found that self-focusing increases with increasing the laser intensity and density variation. The results obtained are valuable in high harmonic generation, inertial confinement fusion and charge particle acceleration.

X-ray Spectroscopic Characterization of Plasma for a Charged-Particle Energy-Loss Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Nm; Lee, Cl; Wilson, Dc; Barnes, Cris W.; Petrasso, Rd; Li, C.; Hicks, D.

2000-10-01

We are pursuing an approach to a charged-particle energy-loss experiment in which charged fusion products from an imploded ICF capsule travel through a well characterized, spatially separate plasma. For this purpose, a fully ionized, uniform, nearly steady-state carbon-hydrogen plasma will be created by laser irradiation of a plastic foil. The temperature and density structure of this plasma must be determined accurately in order to relate observed energy losses to predictions of theory. Various methods for diagnosing the plasma are possible, including Thomson scattering. Alternatively, if a small admixture of higher-Z material such as chlorine is included in the plastic, x-ray spectroscopic techniques will allow the plasma's temperature and density to be determined. Electron temperature is inferred from the ratios of line strengths of various chlorine ion stages, while electron density is determined from the spectra of lithium-like satellite lines near the He beta line of helium-like chlorine. We present results from detailed-configuration accounting (DCA) models of line emission from C+H+Cl plasmas, and estimate the accuracy with which such plasmas can be characterized.

Nanocarbon materials fabricated using plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Hatakeyama, Rikizo

2017-12-01

Since the discovery of fullerenes more than three decades ago, new kinds of nanoscale materials of carbon allotropes called "nanocarbons" have so far been discovered or synthesized at successive intervals as cases such as carbon nanotubes, carbon nanohorns, graphene, carbon nanowalls, and a carbon nanobelt, while nanodiamonds were actually discovered before then. Their attractively excellent mechanical, physical, and chemical properties have driven researchers to continuously create one of the hottest frontiers in materials science and technology. While plasma states have often been involved in their discovery, on the other hand, plasma-based approaches to this exciting field originally hold promising and enormous potentials for advancing and expanding industrial/biomedical applications of nanocarbons of great diversity. This article provides an extensive overview on plasma-fabricated nanocarbon materials, where the term "fabrication" is defined as synthesis, functionalization, and assembly of devices to cover a wide range of issues associated with the step-by-step plasma processes. Specific attention has been paid to the comparative examination between plasma-based and non-plasma methods for fabricating the nanocarobons with an emphasis on the advantages of plasma processing, such as low-temperature/large-scale fabrication and diversity-carrying structure controllability. The review ends with current challenges and prospects including a ripple effect of the nanocarbon studies on the development of related novel nanomaterials such as transition metal dichalcogenides. It contains not only the latest progress in the field for cutting-edge scientists and engineers, but also the introductory guidance to non-specialists such as lower-class graduate students.

Properties of the plasma of the scrape-off layer including the effects of polarization drift

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrov, V.G.

1987-01-01

The plasma of the scrape-off layer of a tokamak is analyzed. The toroidal electric drift and the polarization drift of the charged particles are taken into account. The buildup of electric charge in the shadow of the poloidal limiter which results from toroidal drift is offset by a current to the limiter. The radial electric current associated with the polarization drift of ions is important near the inner boundary of the scrape-off layer. The distributions of the electric potential and the plasma density in the scrape-off layer are derived

Physics of partially ionized plasmas

CERN Document Server

Krishan, Vinod

2016-01-01

Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter; the other three being solid, liquid and gas. Several components, such as molecular clouds, diffuse interstellar gas, the solar atmosphere, the Earth's ionosphere and laboratory plasmas, including fusion plasmas, constitute the partially ionized plasmas. This book discusses different aspects of partially ionized plasmas including multi-fluid description, equilibrium and types of waves. The discussion goes on to cover the reionization phase of the universe, along with a brief description of high discharge plasmas, tokomak plasmas and laser plasmas. Various elastic and inelastic collisions amongst the three particle species are also presented. In addition, the author demonstrates the novelty of partially ionized plasmas using many examples; for instance, in partially ionized plasma the magnetic induction is subjected to the ambipolar diffusion and the Hall effect, as well as the usual resistive dissipation. Also included is an observation of kinematic dynam...

Nosocomial infections—a new approach towards preventive medicine using plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Morfill, G. E.; Shimizu, T.; Steffes, B.; Schmidt, H.-U.

2009-11-01

A new, very efficient, large area scalable and robust electrode design for plasma production in air at atmosphere pressures has been developed and tested. This has made the development of a 'plasma dispenser' for hospital disinfection possible, which has certain advantages over current fluid disinfection systems. The properties of this device are presented, in particular the bactericidal and fungicidal efficiency, and the advantages are described. Such plasma dispensers could play an important role in the future fight against the alarming and growing threat posed by nosocomial (=hospital and community associated) bacterial infections.

Nosocomial infections-a new approach towards preventive medicine using plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morfill, G E; Shimizu, T; Steffes, B; Schmidt, H-U

2009-01-01

A new, very efficient, large area scalable and robust electrode design for plasma production in air at atmosphere pressures has been developed and tested. This has made the development of a 'plasma dispenser' for hospital disinfection possible, which has certain advantages over current fluid disinfection systems. The properties of this device are presented, in particular the bactericidal and fungicidal efficiency, and the advantages are described. Such plasma dispensers could play an important role in the future fight against the alarming and growing threat posed by nosocomial (=hospital and community associated) bacterial infections.

Correlation measurements for fusion plasma diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pazsit, I.

1995-01-01

A list of a few methods for plasma diagnostics via fluctuations (noise) analysis of random (both temporally and spatially) system parameters is reviewed. Analogy is drawn with certain noise analysis methods, used in the diagnostics of fission reactors. These methods have been applied also to fusion measurements to some extent. However, the treatment of fusion plasma fluctuations is dominated by an approach that allows for temporal randomness, but assumes periodicity in space. This approach suits well a large class of phenomena such as magnetic fluctuations (MHD effects), but is much less suited to treat localised effects such as turbulence and density fluctuations. This paper discusses the potentials of the former approach, i.e. ordinary noise analysis methods of non-periodic variables in fusion plasma diagnostics. A new recommendation is to use the crossed beam correlation analysis of soft X-ray signals for determining the local short-range correlations in the plasma and to perform a systematic exploration of the plasma spatial correlation structure with that and other methods. 16 refs, 7 figs

Ionization equilibrium in dense plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ying, R.

1987-01-01

The average degree of ionization for a strongly coupled plasma is investigated and calculated. Two widely used approaches: the Saha equation method and the Thomas-Fermi (TF) statistical atomic model are adopted to determine the degree of ionization. Both methods are modified in a number of ways to include the strong-coupling effect in the plasma. In the Saha equation approach, the strong-coupling effects are introduced through: (i) a replacement of the Coulomb potential by a screened Debye potential; (ii) adoption of the Planck-Larkin partition function; (iii) description of the electron component by Fermi-Dirac statistics. The calculated degree of ionization exceeds that obtained from the original Saha equation, exhibits a minimum as a function of the density and shows an abrupt phase transition from weakly ionized to a fully ionized state. The zero-temperature TF model for compressed ions and the finite-temperature TF model for ions are investigated for the first time. In order to take into account the strong-coupling effect in a systematic way, a strong-coupling TF model is set up. Favorable results with the relatively simple approximations indicate that the newly established strong-coupling TF model is a more systematic and physically consistent approach

Scaling of laser-plasma interactions with laser wavelength and plasma size

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Max, C.E.; Campbell, E.M.; Mead, W.C.; Kruer, W.L.; Phillion, D.W.; Turner, R.E.; Lasinski, B.F.; Estabrook, K.G.

1983-01-01

Plasma size is an important parameter in wavelength-scaling experiments because it determines both the threshold and potential gain for a variety of laser-plasma instabilities. Most experiments to date have of necessity produced relatively small plasmas, due to laser energy and pulse-length limitations. We have discussed in detail three recent Livermore experiments which had large enough plasmas that some instability thresholds were exceeded or approached. Our evidence for Raman scatter, filamentation, and the two-plasmon decay instability needs to be confirmed in experiments which measure several instability signatures simultaneously, and which produce more quantitative information about the local density and temperature profiles than we have today

Scaling of laser-plasma interactions with laser wavelength and plasma size

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Max, C.E.; Campbell, E.M.; Mead, W.C.; Kruer, W.L.; Phillion, D.W.; Turner, R.E.; Lasinski, B.F.; Estabrook, K.G.

1983-01-25

Plasma size is an important parameter in wavelength-scaling experiments because it determines both the threshold and potential gain for a variety of laser-plasma instabilities. Most experiments to date have of necessity produced relatively small plasmas, due to laser energy and pulse-length limitations. We have discussed in detail three recent Livermore experiments which had large enough plasmas that some instability thresholds were exceeded or approached. Our evidence for Raman scatter, filamentation, and the two-plasmon decay instability needs to be confirmed in experiments which measure several instability signatures simultaneously, and which produce more quantitative information about the local density and temperature profiles than we have today.

Pattern formation and filamentation in low temperature, magnetized plasmas - a numerical approach

Science.gov (United States)

Menati, Mohamad; Konopka, Uwe; Thomas, Edward

2017-10-01

In low-temperature discharges under the influence of high magnetic field, pattern and filament formation in the plasma has been reported by different groups. The phenomena present themselves as bright plasma columns (filaments) oriented parallel to the magnetic field lines at high magnetic field regime. The plasma structure can filament into different shapes from single columns to spiral and bright rings when viewed from the top. In spite of the extensive experimental observations, the observed effects lack a detailed theoretical and numerical description. In an attempt to numerically explain the plasma filamentation, we present a simplified model for the plasma discharge and power deposition into the plasma. Based on the model, 2-D and 3-D codes are being developed that solve Poisson's equation along with the fluid equations to obtain a self-consistent description of the plasma. The model and preliminary results applied to the specific plasma conditions will be presented. This work was supported by the US Dept. of Energy and NSF, DE-SC0016330, PHY-1613087.

MULTI-FLUID APPROACH TO HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES IN PLASMAS. I. SMALL-AMPLITUDE REGIME IN FULLY IONIZED MEDIUM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martínez-Gómez, David; Soler, Roberto; Terradas, Jaume, E-mail: david.martinez@uib.es [Departament de Física, Universitat de les Illes Balears, E-07122, Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

2016-12-01

Ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) provides an accurate description of low-frequency Alfvén waves in fully ionized plasmas. However, higher-frequency waves in many plasmas of the solar atmosphere cannot be correctly described by ideal MHD and a more accurate model is required. Here, we study the properties of small-amplitude incompressible perturbations in both the low- and the high-frequency ranges in plasmas composed of several ionized species. We use a multi-fluid approach and take into account the effects of collisions between ions and the inclusion of Hall’s term in the induction equation. Through the analysis of the corresponding dispersion relations and numerical simulations, we check that at high frequencies ions of different species are not as strongly coupled as in the low-frequency limit. Hence, they cannot be treated as a single fluid. In addition, elastic collisions between the distinct ionized species are not negligible for high-frequency waves, since an appreciable damping is obtained. Furthermore, Coulomb collisions between ions remove the cyclotron resonances and the strict cutoff regions, which are present when collisions are not taken into account. The implications of these results for the modeling of high-frequency waves in solar plasmas are discussed.

Plasma jet printing of electronic materials on flexible and nonconformal objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Gandhiraman, Ram P; Jayan, Vivek; Han, Jin-Woo; Chen, Bin; Koehne, Jessica E; Meyyappan, M

2014-12-10

We present a novel approach for the room-temperature fabrication of conductive traces and their subsequent site-selective dielectric encapsulation for use in flexible electronics. We have developed an aerosol-assisted atmospheric pressure plasma-based deposition process for efficiently depositing materials on flexible substrates. Silver nanowire conductive traces and silicon dioxide dielectric coatings for encapsulation were deposited using this approach as a demonstration. The paper substrate with silver nanowires exhibited a very low change in resistance upon 50 cycles of systematic deformation, exhibiting high mechanical flexibility. The applicability of this process to print conductive traces on nonconformal 3D objects was also demonstrated through deposition on a 3D-printed thermoplastic object, indicating the potential to combine plasma printing with 3D printing technology. The role of plasma here includes activation of the material present in the aerosol for deposition, increasing the deposition rate, and plasma polymerization in the case of inorganic coatings. The demonstration here establishes a low-cost, high-throughput, and facile process for printing electronic components on nonconventional platforms.

Plasma probe characteristics in low density hydrogen pulsed plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astakhov, D I; Lee, C J; Bijkerk, F; Goedheer, W J; Ivanov, V V; Krivtsun, V M; Zotovich, A I; Zyryanov, S M; Lopaev, D V

2015-01-01

Probe theories are only applicable in the regime where the probe’s perturbation of the plasma can be neglected. However, it is not always possible to know, a priori, that a particular probe theory can be successfully applied, especially in low density plasmas. This is especially difficult in the case of transient, low density plasmas. Here, we applied probe diagnostics in combination with a 2D particle-in-cell model, to an experiment with a pulsed low density hydrogen plasma. The calculations took into account the full chamber geometry, including the plasma probe as an electrode in the chamber. It was found that the simulations reproduce the time evolution of the probe IV characteristics with good accuracy. The disagreement between the simulated and probe measured plasma density is attributed to the limited applicability of probe theory to measurements of low density pulsed plasmas on a similarly short time scale as investigated here. Indeed, in the case studied here, probe measurements would lead to, either a large overestimate, or underestimate of the plasma density, depending on the chosen probe theory. In contrast, the simulations of the plasma evolution and the probe characteristics do not suffer from such strict applicability limits. These studies show that probe theory cannot be justified through probe measurements. However, limiting cases of probe theories can be used to estimate upper and lower bounds on plasma densities. These theories include and neglect orbital motion, respectively, with different collisional terms leading to intermediate estimates. (paper)

Interaction of energetic ions with high-density plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gericke, D.O.; Edie, D.; Grinenko, A.; Vorberger, J.

2010-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. The talk will review the importance of energetic ions in different inertial confinement fusion scenarios: i) heavy ion beams are very efficient drivers that can deliver the energy for compression in indirect as well as direct drive approaches; ii) the interaction of α-particles, that are created in a burning plasma, with the surrounding cold plasma is essential for creating a burn wave; iii) laser-produced ion beams are also a strong candidate to create the hot spot needed for fast ignition. In all applications the ions interact with dense matter that is characterized by strongly coupled ions and (possibly) partially degenerate electrons. Moreover, the coupling between beam ions and target electrons can be strong as well. Under these conditions, standard approaches for the beam-plasma interactions process are known to fail. The presentation will demonstrate how advanced models for the energy loss of ions in dense plasmas can resolve the issues mentioned above. These models are largely built on quantum kinetic theory that is able to describe degeneracy and strong coupling in a systematic way. In particular, strong interactions require a quantum description for electron-ion collisions in dense plasma environments, which is done by direct solutions of the Schroedinger equation. Degeneracy and collective excitations can be included via the Lenard-Balescu description where strong interactions may be included via a pseudo-potential approach. Finally, results are shown for all three fusion applications described above. The effects related to strong coupling and degeneracy mainly concern the end of the stopping range where the beam ion dose not have enough energy to excite all possible degrees of freedom and, thus, certain processes are frozen out. However, we also find a significant reduction of the range for swift heavy ions in the GeV-range when stopping in dense matter is considered. The stopping range of α-particles in the

Regular and stochastic particle motion in plasma dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufman, A.N.

1979-08-01

A Hamiltonian formalism is presented for the study of charged-particle trajectories in the self-consistent field of the particles. The intention is to develop a general approach to plasma dynamics. Transformations of phase-space variables are used to separate out the regular, adiabatic motion from the irregular, stochastic trajectories. Several new techniques are included in this presentation

Toward the automated analysis of plasma physics problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mynick, H.E.

1989-04-01

A program (CALC) is described, which carries out nontrivial plasma physics calculations, in a manner intended to emulate the approach of a human theorist. This includes the initial process of gathering the relevant equations from a plasma knowledge base, and then determining how to solve them. Solution of the sets of equations governing physics problems, which in general have a nonuniform,irregular structure, not amenable to solution by standardized algorithmic procedures, is facilitated by an analysis of the structure of the equations and the relations among them. This often permits decompositions of the full problem into subproblems, and other simplifications in form, which renders the resultant subsystems soluble by more standardized tools. CALC's operation is illustrated by a detailed description of its treatment of a sample plasma calculation. 5 refs., 3 figs

Dynamic identification of plasma magnetic contour in fusion machines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bettini, P.; Trevisan, F.; Cavinato, M.

2005-01-01

The paper presents a method to identify the plasma magnetic contour in fusion machines, when eddy currents are present in the conducting structures surrounding the plasma. The approach presented is based on the integration of an electromagnetic model of the plasma with a lumped parameters model of the conducting structures around the plasma. This approach has been validated against experimental data from RFX, a reversed field pinch machine. (author)

Green technology for conversion of renewable hydrocarbon based on plasma-catalytic approach

Science.gov (United States)

Fedirchyk, Igor; Nedybaliuk, Oleg; Chernyak, Valeriy; Demchina, Valentina

2016-09-01

The ability to convert renewable biomass into fuels and chemicals is one of the most important steps on our path to green technology and sustainable development. However, the complex composition of biomass poses a major problem for established conversion technologies. The high temperature of thermochemical biomass conversion often leads to the appearance of undesirable byproducts and waste. The catalytic conversion has reduced yield and feedstock range. Plasma-catalytic reforming technology opens a new path for biomass conversion by replacing feedstock-specific catalysts with free radicals generated in the plasma. We studied the plasma-catalytic conversion of several renewable hydrocarbons using the air plasma created by rotating gliding discharge. We found that plasma-catalytic hydrocarbon conversion can be conducted at significantly lower temperatures (500 K) than during the thermochemical ( 1000 K) and catalytic (800 K) conversion. By using gas chromatography, we determined conversion products and found that conversion efficiency of plasma-catalytic conversion reaches over 85%. We used obtained data to determine the energy yield of hydrogen in case of plasma-catalytic reforming of ethanol and compared it with other plasma-based hydrogen-generating systems.

Review: engineering particles using the aerosol-through-plasma method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phillips, Jonathan [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Luhrs, Claudia C [UNM; Richard, Monique [TEMA

2009-01-01

For decades, plasma processing of materials on the nanoscale has been an underlying enabling technology for many 'planar' technologies, particularly virtually every aspect of modern electronics from integrated-circuit fabrication with nanoscale elements to the newest generation of photovoltaics. However, it is only recent developments that suggest that plasma processing can be used to make 'particulate' structures of value in fields, including catalysis, drug delivery, imaging, higher energy density batteries, and other forms of energy storage. In this paper, the development of the science and technology of one class of plasma production of particulates, namely, aerosol-through-plasma (A-T-P), is reviewed. Various plasma systems, particularly RF and microwave, have been used to create nanoparticles of metals and ceramics, as well as supported metal catalysts. Gradually, the complexity of the nanoparticles, and concomitantly their potential value, has increased. First, unique two-layer particles were generated. These were postprocessed to create unique three-layer nanoscale particles. Also, the technique has been successfully employed to make other high-value materials, including carbon nanotubes, unsupported graphene, and spherical boron nitride. Some interesting plasma science has also emerged from efforts to characterize and map aerosol-containing plasmas. For example, it is clear that even a very low concentration of particles dramatically changes plasma characteristics. Some have also argued that the local-thermodynamic-equilibrium approach is inappropriate to these systems. Instead, it has been suggested that charged- and neutral-species models must be independently developed and allowed to 'interact' only in generation terms.

Plasma accelerators at the energy frontier and on tabletops

CERN Document Server

Joshi, Chandrashekhar

2003-01-01

New approaches to charged-particle acceleration by collective fields in plasma were discussed. These approaches show considerable promise for realizing plasma accelerators at the energy frontier as well as table-top electron and ion accelerators. Charged particles surfing on electron density waves in plasmas can experience enormous accelerating gradients. (Edited abstract) 45 Refs.

Merging for Particle-Mesh Complex Particle Kinetic Modeling of the Multiple Plasma Beams

Science.gov (United States)

Lipatov, Alexander S.

2011-01-01

We suggest a merging procedure for the Particle-Mesh Complex Particle Kinetic (PMCPK) method in case of inter-penetrating flow (multiple plasma beams). We examine the standard particle-in-cell (PIC) and the PMCPK methods in the case of particle acceleration by shock surfing for a wide range of the control numerical parameters. The plasma dynamics is described by a hybrid (particle-ion-fluid-electron) model. Note that one may need a mesh if modeling with the computation of an electromagnetic field. Our calculations use specified, time-independent electromagnetic fields for the shock, rather than self-consistently generated fields. While a particle-mesh method is a well-verified approach, the CPK method seems to be a good approach for multiscale modeling that includes multiple regions with various particle/fluid plasma behavior. However, the CPK method is still in need of a verification for studying the basic plasma phenomena: particle heating and acceleration by collisionless shocks, magnetic field reconnection, beam dynamics, etc.

Nonthermal plasma synthesis of size-controlled, monodisperse, freestanding germanium nanocrystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gresback, Ryan; Holman, Zachary; Kortshagen, Uwe

2007-01-01

Germanium nanocrystals may be of interest for a variety of electronic and optoelectronic applications including photovoltaics, primarily due to the tunability of their band gap from the infrared into the visible range of the spectrum. This letter discusses the synthesis of monodisperse germanium nanocrystals via a nonthermal plasma approach which allows for precise control of the nanocrystal size. Germanium crystals are synthesized from germanium tetrachloride and hydrogen entrained in an argon background gas. The crystal size can be varied between 4 and 50 nm by changing the residence times of crystals in the plasma between ∼30 and 440 ms. Adjusting the plasma power enables one to synthesize fully amorphous or fully crystalline particles with otherwise similar properties

Nonlinear waves in electron-positron-ion plasmas including charge separation

Science.gov (United States)

Mugemana, A.; Moolla, S.; Lazarus, I. J.

2017-02-01

Nonlinear low-frequency electrostatic waves in a magnetized, three-component plasma consisting of hot electrons, hot positrons and warm ions have been investigated. The electrons and positrons are assumed to have Boltzmann density distributions while the motion of the ions are governed by fluid equations. The system is closed with the Poisson equation. This set of equations is numerically solved for the electric field. The effects of the driving electric field, ion temperature, positron density, ion drift, Mach number and propagation angle are investigated. It is shown that depending on the driving electric field, ion temperature, positron density, ion drift, Mach number and propagation angle, the numerical solutions exhibit waveforms that are sinusoidal, sawtooth and spiky. The introduction of the Poisson equation increased the Mach number required to generate the waveforms but the driving electric field E 0 was reduced. The results are compared with satellite observations.

PlasmaPy: initial development of a Python package for plasma physics

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Nicholas; Leonard, Andrew J.; Stańczak, Dominik; Haggerty, Colby C.; Parashar, Tulasi N.; Huang, Yu-Min; PlasmaPy Community

2017-10-01

We report on initial development of PlasmaPy: an open source community-driven Python package for plasma physics. PlasmaPy seeks to provide core functionality that is needed for the formation of a fully open source Python ecosystem for plasma physics. PlasmaPy prioritizes code readability, consistency, and maintainability while using best practices for scientific computing such as version control, continuous integration testing, embedding documentation in code, and code review. We discuss our current and planned capabilities, including features presently under development. The development roadmap includes features such as fluid and particle simulation capabilities, a Grad-Shafranov solver, a dispersion relation solver, atomic data retrieval methods, and tools to analyze simulations and experiments. We describe several ways to contribute to PlasmaPy. PlasmaPy has a code of conduct and is being developed under a BSD license, with a version 0.1 release planned for 2018. The success of PlasmaPy depends on active community involvement, so anyone interested in contributing to this project should contact the authors. This work was partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.

A symbiotic approach to fluid equations and non-linear flux-driven simulations of plasma dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Halpern, Federico

2017-10-01

The fluid framework is ubiquitous in studies of plasma transport and stability. Typical forms of the fluid equations are motivated by analytical work dating several decades ago, before computer simulations were indispensable, and can be, therefore, not optimal for numerical computation. We demonstrate a new first-principles approach to obtaining manifestly consistent, skew-symmetric fluid models, ensuring internal consistency and conservation properties even in discrete form. Mass, kinetic, and internal energy become quadratic (and always positive) invariants of the system. The model lends itself to a robust, straightforward discretization scheme with inherent non-linear stability. A simpler, drift-ordered form of the equations is obtained, and first results of their numerical implementation as a binary framework for bulk-fluid global plasma simulations are demonstrated. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, Theory Program, under Award No. DE-FG02-95ER54309.

A new vision of plasma facing components

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nygren, Richard E., E-mail: renygre@sandia.gov [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Youchison, Dennis L. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Wirth, Brian D. [University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Snead, Lance L.

2016-11-01

Highlights: • New approach recommended to develop refractory fusion plasma facing components. • Need to develop engineered materials architecture with nano-features. • Need to develop PFCs with gas jet cooling with very fine scale for jet arrays. • Emphasis on role of additive manufacturing as needed method for fabrication. - Abstract: This paper advances a vision for plasma facing components (PFCs) that includes the following points. The solution for plasma facing materials likely consists of engineered structures in which the layer of plasma facing material (PFM) is integrated with an engineered structure that cools the PFM and may also transition with graded composition. The key to achieving this PFC architecture will likely lie in advanced manufacturing methods, e.g., additive manufacturing, that can produce layers with controlled porosity and features such as micro-fibers and/or nano-particles that can collect He and transmutation products, limit tritium retention, and do all this in a way that maintains adequate robustness for a satisfactory lifetime. This vision has significant implications for how we structure a development program.

Introduction to complex plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonitz, Michael; Ludwig, Patrick; Horing, Norman

2010-01-01

Complex plasmas differ from traditional plasmas in many ways: these are low-temperature high pressure systems containing nanometer to micrometer size particles which may be highly charged and strongly interacting. The particles may be chemically reacting or be in contact with solid surfaces, and the electrons may show quantum behaviour. These interesting properties have led to many applications of complex plasmas in technology, medicine and science. Yet complex plasmas are extremely complicated, both experimentally and theoretically, and require a variety of new approaches which go beyond standard plasma physics courses. This book fills this gap presenting an introduction to theory, experiment and computer simulation in this field. Based on tutorial lectures at a very successful recent Summer Institute, the presentation is ideally suited for graduate students, plasma physicists and experienced undergraduates. (orig.)

Introduction to Complex Plasmas

CERN Document Server

Bonitz, Michael; Ludwig, Patrick

2010-01-01

Complex plasmas differ from traditional plasmas in many ways: these are low-temperature high pressure systems containing nanometer to micrometer size particles which may be highly charged and strongly interacting. The particles may be chemically reacting or be in contact with solid surfaces, and the electrons may show quantum behaviour. These interesting properties have led to many applications of complex plasmas in technology, medicine and science. Yet complex plasmas are extremely complicated, both experimentally and theoretically, and require a variety of new approaches which go beyond standard plasma physics courses. This book fills this gap presenting an introduction to theory, experiment and computer simulation in this field. Based on tutorial lectures at a very successful recent Summer Institute, the presentation is ideally suited for graduate students, plasma physicists and experienced undergraduates.

Plasma cleaning for waste minimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ward, P.P.

1993-07-01

Although plasma cleaning is a recognized substitute for solvent cleaning in removing organic contaminants, some universal problems in plasma cleaning processes prevent wider use of plasma techniques. Lack of understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of the process, unreliable endpoint detection techniques, and slow process times make plasma cleaning processes less than desirable. Our approach to address these plasma cleaning problems is described. A comparison of plasma cleaning rates of oxygen and oxygen/sulfur hexafluoride gases shows that fluorine-containing plasmas can enhance etch rates by 400% over oxygen alone. A discussion of various endpoint indication techniques is discussed and compared for application suitability. Work toward a plasma cleaning database is discussed. In addition to the global problems of plasma cleaning, an experiment where the specific mixed-waste problem of removal of machine oils from radioactive scrap metal is discussed.

Recent progress in plasma modelling at INFN-LNS

Science.gov (United States)

Neri, L.; Castro, G.; Torrisi, G.; Galatà, A.; Mascali, D.; Celona, L.; Gammino, S.

2016-02-01

At Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare - Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (INFN-LNS), the development of intense ion and proton sources has been supported by a great deal of work on the modelling of microwave generated plasmas for many years. First, a stationary version of the particle-in-cell code was developed for plasma modelling starting from an iterative strategy adopted for the space charge dominated beam transport simulations. Electromagnetic properties of the plasma and full-waves simulations are now affordable for non-homogenous and non-isotropic magnetized plasma via "cold" approximation. The effects of Coulomb collisions on plasma particles dynamics was implemented with the Langevin formalism, instead of simply applying the Spitzer 90° collisions through a Monte Carlo technique. A wide database of different cross sections related to reactions occurring in a hydrogen plasma was implemented. The next step consists of merging such a variety of approaches for retrieving an "as-a-whole" picture of plasma dynamics in ion sources. The preliminary results will be summarized in the paper for a microwave discharge ion source designed for intense and high quality proton beams production, proton source for European Spallation Source project. Even if the realization of a predictive software including the complete processes involved in plasma formation is still rather far, a better comprehension of the source behavior is possible and so the simulations may support the optimization phase.

MAMP (microbe-associated molecular pattern)-induced changes in plasma membrane-associated proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Uhlíková, Hana; Solanský, Martin; Hrdinová, Vendula; Šedo, Ondrej; Kašparovský, Tomáš; Hejátko, Jan; Lochman, Jan

2017-03-01

Plant plasma membrane associated proteins play significant roles in Microbe-Associated Molecular Pattern (MAMP) mediated defence responses including signal transduction, membrane transport or energetic metabolism. To elucidate the dynamics of proteins associated with plasma membrane in response to cryptogein, a well-known MAMP of defence reaction secreted by the oomycete Phytophthora cryptogea, 2D-Blue Native/SDS gel electrophoresis of plasma membrane fractions was employed. This approach revealed 21 up- or down-regulated protein spots of which 15 were successfully identified as proteins related to transport through plasma membrane, vesicle trafficking, and metabolic enzymes including cytosolic NADP-malic enzyme and glutamine synthetase. Observed changes in proteins were also confirmed on transcriptional level by qRT-PCR analysis. In addition, a significantly decreased accumulation of transcripts observed after employment of a mutant variant of cryptogein Leu41Phe, exhibiting a conspicuous defect in induction of resistance, sustains the contribution of identified proteins in cryptogein-triggered cellular responses. Our data provide further evidence for dynamic MAMP-induced changes in plasma membrane associated proteins. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Performance analyses of Elmo Bumpy Torus plasmas and plasma support systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fenstermacher, M.E.

1979-01-01

The development and applcation of the OASIS Code (Operational Analysis of ELMO Bumpy Torus Support and Ignition Systems) for the study of EBT device and plasma performance are presented. The code performs a time-independent, zero-dimensional self-consistent calculation of plasma and plasmasupport systems parameters for the physics and engineering of EBT devices. The features of OASIS modeling for the EBT plasma include: (1) particle balance of the bulk toroidal and electron ring plasma components for experimental (H-H, D-D, He-He etc.) as well as reactor (D-T) devices; (2) energy balance in the bulk and ring plasmas for externally heated or ignition devices; (3) alpha particle effects for reactor devices; (4) auxiliary heating effects, including microwave (ECRH), RF heating (e.g., ICRH), and neutral beam methods; and (5) ignition conditions, including fusion power, alpha power and neutron wall loading. The performance studies using OASIS focussed on variation in plasma and device size and on microwave input power and frequency. An additional study was performed to determine the characteristics of an EBT reactor proof-of-principle device operated with a deuterium-tritium plasma. Sensitivity studies were performed for variation in the input microwave power sharing fractions and the dependence of the bulk n tau scaling law on bulk electron temperature

Flight Plasma Diagnostics for High-Power, Solar-Electric Deep-Space Spacecraft

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Lee; De Soria-Santacruz Pich, Maria; Conroy, David; Lobbia, Robert; Huang, Wensheng; Choi, Maria; Sekerak, Michael J.

2018-01-01

NASA's Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM) project plans included a set of plasma and space environment instruments, the Plasma Diagnostic Package (PDP), to fulfill ARRM requirements for technology extensibility to future missions. The PDP objectives were divided into the classes of 1) Plasma thruster dynamics, 2) Solar array-specific environmental effects, 3) Plasma environmental spacecraft effects, and 4) Energetic particle spacecraft environment. A reference design approach and interface requirements for ARRM's PDP was generated by the PDP team at JPL and GRC. The reference design consisted of redundant single-string avionics located on the ARRM spacecraft bus as well as solar array, driving and processing signals from multiple copies of several types of plasma, effects, and environments sensors distributed over the spacecraft and array. The reference design sensor types were derived in part from sensors previously developed for USAF Research Laboratory (AFRL) plasma effects campaigns such as those aboard TacSat-2 in 2007 and AEHF-2 in 2012.

Plasma medicine: an introductory review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kong, M.G.; Kroesen, G.M.W.; Morfill, G.; Nosenko, T.; Shimizu, T.; Dijk, van J.; Zimmermann, J.L.

2009-01-01

This introductory review on plasma health care is intended to provide the interested reader with a summary of the current status of this emerging field, its scope, and its broad interdisciplinary approach, ranging from plasma physics, chemistry and technology, to microbiology, biochemistry,

Fusion Plasma Theory: Task 1, Magnetic confinement Fusion Plasma Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callen, J.D.

1993-01-01

The research performed under this grant during the current year has concentrated on few tokamak plasma confinement issues: applications of our new Chapman-Enskog-like approach for developing hybrid fluid/kinetic descriptions of tokamak plasmas; multi-faceted studies as part of our development of a new interacting island paradigm for the tokamak equilibrium'' and transport; investigations of the resolution power of BES and ECE diagnostics for measuring core plasma fluctuations; and studies of net transport in the presence of fluctuating surfaces. Recent progress and publications in these areas, and in the management of the NERSC node and the fusion theory workstations are summarized briefly in this report

Electromagnetic microinstabilities in tokamak plasmas using a global spectral approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Falchetto, G. L

2002-03-01

Electromagnetic microinstabilities in tokamak plasmas are studied by means of a linear global eigenvalue numerical code. The code is the electromagnetic extension of an existing electrostatic global gyrokinetic spectral toroidal code, called GLOGYSTO. Ion dynamics is described by the gyrokinetic equation, so that ion finite Larmor radius effects are taken into account to all orders. Non adiabatic electrons are included in the model, with passing particles described by the drift-kinetic equation and trapped particles through the bounce averaged drift-kinetic equation. A low frequency electromagnetic perturbation is applied to a low -but finite- {beta}plasma (where the parameter {beta} identifies the ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure); thus, the parallel perturbations of the magnetic field are neglected. The system is closed by the quasi-neutrality equation and the parallel component of Ampere's law. The formulation is applied to a large aspect ratio toroidal configuration, with circular shifted surfaces. Such a simple configuration enables one to derive analytically the gyrocenter trajectories. The system is solved in Fourier space, taking advantage of a decomposition adapted to the toroidal geometry. The major contributions of this thesis are as follows. The electromagnetic effects on toroidal Ion Temperature Gradient driven (ITG) modes are studied. The stabilization of these modes with increasing {beta}, as predicted in previous work, is confirmed. The inclusion of trapped electron dynamics enables the study of its coupling to the ITG modes and of Trapped Electron Modes (TEM) .The effects of finite {beta} are considered together with those of different magnetic shear profiles and of the Shafranov shift. The threshold for the destabilization of an electromagnetic mode is identified. Moreover, the global formulation yields for the first time the radial structure of this so-called Alfvenic Ion Temperature Gradient (AITG) mode. The stability of the

All Plasma Products Are Not Created Equal: Characterizing Differences Between Plasma Products

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-01

Research and the US Department of Defense. The pooling and solvent detergent treatment processes performed to manufacture the Octaplas and Kedrion products ...All plasma products are not created equal: Characterizing differences between plasma products Philip C. Spinella, MD, Elfaridah Frazier, PhD, Heather... products that may affect efficacy and safety. METHODS: Four different plasma products were analyzed to include fresh frozen plasma (FFP), liquid plasma

Weakly nonlinear electron plasma waves in collisional plasmas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pecseli, H. L.; Rasmussen, J. Juul; Tagare, S. G.

1986-01-01

The nonlinear evolution of a high frequency plasma wave in a weakly magnetized, collisional plasma is considered. In addition to the ponderomotive-force-nonlinearity the nonlinearity due to the heating of the electrons is taken into account. A set of nonlinear equations including the effect...

Experimental plasma research project summaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-06-01

This is the latest in a series of Project Summary books going back to 1976 and is the first after a hiatus of several years. They are published to provide a short description of each project supported by the Experimental Plasma Research Branch of the Division of Applied Plasma Physics in the Office of Fusion Energy. The Experimental Plasma Research Branch seeks to provide a broad range of experimental data, physics understanding, and new experimental techniques that contribute to operation, interpretation, and improvement of high temperature plasma as a source of fusion energy. In pursuit of these objectives, the branch supports research at universities, DOE laboratories, other federal laboratories and industry. About 70 percent of the funds expended are spent at universities and a significant function of this program is the training of students in fusion physics. The branch supports small- and medium-scale experimental studies directly related to specific critical plasma issues of the magnetic fusion program. Plasma physics experiments are conducted on transport of particles and energy within plasma and innovative approaches for operating, controlling, and heating plasma are evaluated for application to the larger confinement devices of the magnetic fusion program. New diagnostic approaches to measuring the properties of high temperature plasmas are developed to the point where they can be applied with confidence on the large-scale confinement experiments. Atomic data necessary for impurity control, interpretation of diagnostic data, development of heating devices, and analysis of cooling by impurity ion radiation are obtained. The project summaries are grouped into these three categories of plasma physics, diagnostic development and atomic physics

Bifurcation analysis for ion acoustic waves in a strongly coupled plasma including trapped electrons

Science.gov (United States)

El-Labany, S. K.; El-Taibany, W. F.; Atteya, A.

2018-02-01

The nonlinear ion acoustic wave propagation in a strongly coupled plasma composed of ions and trapped electrons has been investigated. The reductive perturbation method is employed to derive a modified Korteweg-de Vries-Burgers (mKdV-Burgers) equation. To solve this equation in case of dissipative system, the tangent hyperbolic method is used, and a shock wave solution is obtained. Numerical investigations show that, the ion acoustic waves are significantly modified by the effect of polarization force, the trapped electrons and the viscosity coefficients. Applying the bifurcation theory to the dynamical system of the derived mKdV-Burgers equation, the phase portraits of the traveling wave solutions of both of dissipative and non-dissipative systems are analyzed. The present results could be helpful for a better understanding of the waves nonlinear propagation in a strongly coupled plasma, which can be produced by photoionizing laser-cooled and trapped electrons [1], and also in neutron stars or white dwarfs interior.

Plasma waves

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Swanson, D. G

1989-01-01

... Swanson, D.G. (Donald Gary), D a t e - Plasma waves. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Plasma waves. QC718.5.W3S43 1989 ISBN 0-12-678955-X I. Title. 530.4'4 88-34388 Printed in the United Sta...

Plasma chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1984-01-01

This book examines the fundamental theory and various applications of ion mobility spectroscopy. Plasma chromatography developed from research on the diffusion and mobility of ions. Topics considered include instrument design and description (e.g., performance, spectral interpretation, sample handling, mass spectrometry), the role of ion mobility in plasma chromatography (e.g., kinetic theory of ion transport), atmospheric pressure ionization (e.g., rate equations), the characterization of isomers by plasma chromatography (e.g., molecular ion characteristics, polynuclear aromatics), plasma chromatography as a gas chromatographic detection method (e.g., qualitative analysis, continuous mobility monitoring, quantitative analysis), the analysis of toxic vapors by plasma chromatography (e.g., plasma chromatograph calibration, instrument control and data processing), the analysis of semiconductor devices and microelectronic packages by plasma chromatography/mass spectroscopy (e.g., analysis of organic surface contaminants, analysis of water in sealed electronic packages), and instrument design and automation (hardware, software)

Doping control analysis of 46 polar drugs in horse plasma and urine using a 'dilute-and-shoot' ultra high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwok, Wai Him; Choi, Timmy L S; Kwok, Karen Y; Chan, George H M; Wong, Jenny K Y; Wan, Terence S M

2016-06-17

The high sensitivity of ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) allows the identification of many prohibited substances without pre-concentration, leading to the development of simple and fast 'dilute-and-shoot' methods for doping control for human and equine sports. While the detection of polar drugs in plasma and urine is difficult using liquid-liquid or solid-phase extraction as these substances are poorly extracted, the 'dilute-and-shoot' approach is plausible. This paper describes a 'dilute-and-shoot' UHPLC-HRMS screening method to detect 46 polar drugs in equine urine and plasma, including some angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, sympathomimetics, anti-epileptics, hemostatics, the new doping agent 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR), as well as two threshold substances, namely dimethyl sulfoxide and theobromine. For plasma, the sample (200μL) was protein precipitated using trichloroacetic acid, and the resulting supernatant was diluted using Buffer A with an overall dilution factor of 3. For urine, the sample (20μL) was simply diluted 50-fold with Buffer A. The diluted plasma or urine sample was then analysed using a UHPLC-HRMS system in full-scan ESI mode. The assay was validated for qualitative identification purpose. This straightforward and reliable approach carried out in combination with other screening procedures has increased the efficiency of doping control analysis in the laboratory. Moreover, since the UHPLC-HRMS data were acquired in full-scan mode, the method could theoretically accommodate an unlimited number of existing and new doping agents, and would allow a retrospectively search for drugs that have not been targeted at the time of analysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electron heating via self-excited plasma series resonance in geometrically symmetric multi-frequency capacitive plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schüngel, E; Brandt, S; Schulze, J; Donkó, Z; Korolov, I; Derzsi, A

2015-01-01

The self-excitation of plasma series resonance (PSR) oscillations plays an important role in the electron heating dynamics in capacitively coupled radio-frequency (CCRF) plasmas. In a combined approach of PIC/MCC simulations and a theoretical model based on an equivalent circuit, we investigate the self-excitation of PSR oscillations and their effect on the electron heating in geometrically symmetric CCRF plasmas driven by multiple consecutive harmonics. The discharge symmetry is controlled via the electrical asymmetry effect (EAE), i.e. by varying the total number of harmonics and tuning the phase shifts between them. It is demonstrated that PSR oscillations will be self-excited under both symmetric and asymmetric conditions, if (i) the charge–voltage relation of the plasma sheaths deviates from a simple quadratic behavior and (ii) the inductance of the plasma bulk exhibits a temporal modulation. These two effects have been neglected up to now, but we show that they must be included in the model in order to properly describe the nonlinear series resonance circuit and reproduce the self-excitation of PSR oscillations, which are observed in the electron current density resulting from simulations of geometrically symmetric CCRF plasmas. Furthermore, the effect of PSR self-excitation on the discharge current and the plasma properties, such as the potential profile, is illustrated by applying Fourier analysis. High-frequency oscillations in the entire spectrum between the applied frequencies and the local electron plasma frequency are observed. As a consequence, the electron heating is strongly enhanced by the presence of PSR oscillations. A complex electron heating dynamics is found during the expansion phase of the sheath, which is fully collapsed, when the PSR is initially self-excited. The nonlinear electron resonance heating (NERH) associated with the PSR oscillations causes a spatial asymmetry in the electron heating. By discussing the resulting ionization

Free-flow electrophoresis of plasma membrane vesicles enriched by two-phase partitioning enhances the quality of the proteome from Arabidopsis seedlings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Michele, Roberto; McFarlane, Heather E; Parsons, Harriet Tempé

2016-01-01

The plant plasma membrane is the interface between the cell and its environment undertaking a range of important functions related to transport, signaling, cell wall biosynthesis, and secretion. Multiple proteomic studies have attempted to capture the diversity of proteins in the plasma membrane...... using biochemical fractionation techniques. In this study, two-phase partitioning was combined with free-flow electrophoresis to produce a population of highly purified plasma membrane vesicles that were subsequently characterized by tandem mass spectroscopy. This combined high-quality plasma membrane...... isolation technique produced a reproducible proteomic library of over 1000 proteins with an extended dynamic range including plasma membrane-associated proteins. The approach enabled the detection of a number of putative plasma membrane proteins not previously identified by other studies, including...

Effects of neutrals on plasma rotation in DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monier-Garbet, P.; Burrell, K.H.; Hinton, F.L.; Kim, J.; Garbet, X.; Groebner, R.J.

1997-01-01

Friction due to charge exchange with cold neutral atoms in the edge is investigated as a candidate to govern the poloidal rotation in the edge of a tokamak plasma. The Hirshman and Sigmar neoclassical moment approach is used to determine the rotation velocities of the main plasma ions and of one impurity species, when charge exchange friction is included. It is found that the poloidal rotation of the main plasma ions is controlled by charge exchange friction with neutrals. The impurity ion poloidal rotation is governed by the balance between the impurity viscous force and the main-ion-impurity-ion friction force. The results of the calculation are compared with the measurements obtained in the edge of a DIII-D high (H) mode plasma, using charge exchange recombination (CER) spectroscopy. It is found that the measured main ion poloidal rotation can be accurately predicted by the neoclassical theory including the effect of neutrals, assuming a neutral density n > = 3 x 10 17 m -3 at the separatrix, decreasing exponentially inside the plasma with an e-folding length of 0.012 m, and peaking near the X point region with a poloidal peaking parameter y ≡ n > 2 >/ n B 2 > = 1.5. However, for the impurity ions, the neoclassical theory including a single impurity charge state, and regardless of the effect of the neutrals, gives a prediction that has the correct sign, but whose value is a factor of 5 or 6 different from the experimental value. (author). 12 refs, 7 figs, 1 tab

Arc generators of low-temperature plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krolikowski, Cz.; Niewiedzial, R.; Siwiec, J.

1979-01-01

This paper is a review of works concerning investigation and use of low-temperature plasma in arc plasma generators made in Electric Power Institute of PP. There are discussed: analytical approach to a problem of volt-current and operational characteristics of DC arc plasma generators, determination of limits of their stable work and possibilities of their use to technological aims. (author)

Recent progress in plasma modelling at INFN-LNS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neri, L., E-mail: neri@lns.infn.it; Castro, G.; Mascali, D.; Celona, L.; Gammino, S. [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via S. Sofia 62, 95125 Catania (Italy); Torrisi, G. [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via S. Sofia 62, 95125 Catania (Italy); Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Via Graziella, 89100 Reggio Calabria (Italy); Galatà, A. [INFN-Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Viale dell’Università 2, 35020 Legnaro, Padova (Italy)

2016-02-15

At Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare - Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (INFN-LNS), the development of intense ion and proton sources has been supported by a great deal of work on the modelling of microwave generated plasmas for many years. First, a stationary version of the particle-in-cell code was developed for plasma modelling starting from an iterative strategy adopted for the space charge dominated beam transport simulations. Electromagnetic properties of the plasma and full-waves simulations are now affordable for non-homogenous and non-isotropic magnetized plasma via “cold” approximation. The effects of Coulomb collisions on plasma particles dynamics was implemented with the Langevin formalism, instead of simply applying the Spitzer 90° collisions through a Monte Carlo technique. A wide database of different cross sections related to reactions occurring in a hydrogen plasma was implemented. The next step consists of merging such a variety of approaches for retrieving an “as-a-whole” picture of plasma dynamics in ion sources. The preliminary results will be summarized in the paper for a microwave discharge ion source designed for intense and high quality proton beams production, proton source for European Spallation Source project. Even if the realization of a predictive software including the complete processes involved in plasma formation is still rather far, a better comprehension of the source behavior is possible and so the simulations may support the optimization phase.

Penetration of magnetic fields into plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bengtson, R.D.

1976-01-01

A pulsed plasma experiment was constructed to study the penetration of a fast-rising magnetic pulse into an initially unmagnetized, weakly ionized plasma of density 10 11 to 10 13 cm -3 . Magnetic probe data was analyzed using a magnetohydrodynamic approach to obtain detailed information about the dynamics of the penetration mechanism. In particular it is possible to obtain the local resistivity and thus the collision frequency from this data. These collision frequencies compare favorably with theoretical estimates of turbulent collision frequencies. The data indicates that sufficient energy is absorbed to heat the bulk of the plasma to temeratures in excess of 1 keV. A differential rotation of a collisionless theta-pinch column during implosion has been observed and explained by a model in which the driving mechanism is the off-diagonal element p/sub r theta/ of the pressure tensor. Rotational motion was detected by directional probes and spectroscopic techniques. Experimental data were modeled by a one-dimensional hybrid code which included ionization and charge exchange of protons with neutral H atoms

Streaming metal plasma generation by vacuum arc plasma guns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacGill, R.A.; Dickinson, M.R.; Anders, A.; Monteiro, O.R.; Brown, I.G.

1998-01-01

We have developed several different embodiments of repetitively pulsed vacuum arc metal plasma gun, including miniature versions, multicathode versions that can produce up to 18 different metal plasma species between which one can switch, and a compact high-duty cycle well-cooled version, as well as a larger dc gun. Plasma guns of this kind can be incorporated into a vacuum arc ion source for the production of high-energy metal ion beams, or used as a plasma source for thin film formation and for metal plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition. The source can also be viewed as a low-energy metal ion source with ion drift velocity in the range 20 - 200 eV depending on the metal species used. Here we describe the plasma sources that we have developed, the properties of the plasma generated, and summarize their performance and limitations. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

Novel Approach in the Use of Plasma Spray: Preparation of Bulk Titanium for Bone Augmentations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michaela Fousova

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Thermal plasma spray is a common, well-established technology used in various application fields. Nevertheless, in our work, this technology was employed in a completely new way; for the preparation of bulk titanium. The aim was to produce titanium with properties similar to human bone to be used for bone augmentations. Titanium rods sprayed on a thin substrate wire exerted a porosity of about 15%, which yielded a significant decrease of Young′s modulus to the bone range and provided rugged topography for enhanced biological fixation. For the first verification of the suitability of the selected approach, tests of the mechanical properties in terms of compression, bending, and impact were carried out, the surface was characterized, and its compatibility with bone cells was studied. While preserving a high enough compressive strength of 628 MPa, the elastic modulus reached 11.6 GPa, thus preventing a stress-shielding effect, a generally known problem of implantable metals. U-2 OS and Saos-2 cells derived from bone osteosarcoma grown on the plasma-sprayed surface showed good viability.

Theory of dielectronic recombination and plasma effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yukap Hahn

2000-01-01

Current status of the various theoretical approaches to calculation of dielectronic recombination rates is summarized, with emphasis on the available data base and on the plasma effects of both the plasma ion (and external) fields and plasma electron collisional effects which seriously affect the rates and complicate compilation of data. (author)

A dynamics investigation into edge plasma turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomsen, H.

2002-08-01

The present experimental work investigates plasma turbulence in the edge region of magnetized high-temperature plasmas. A main topic is the turbulent dynamics parallel to the magnetic field, where hitherto only a small data basis existed, especially for very long scale lengths in the order of ten of meters. A second point of special interest is the coupling of the dynamics parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field. This anisotropic turbulent dynamics is investigated by two different approaches. Firstly, spatially and temporally high-resolution measurements of fluctuating plasma parameters are investigated by means of two-point correlation analysis. Secondly, the propagation of signals externally imposed into the turbulent plasma background is studied. For both approaches, Langmuir probe arrays were utilized for diagnostic purposes. (orig.)

The genetic network controlling plasma cell differentiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nutt, Stephen L; Taubenheim, Nadine; Hasbold, Jhagvaral; Corcoran, Lynn M; Hodgkin, Philip D

2011-10-01

Upon activation by antigen, mature B cells undergo immunoglobulin class switch recombination and differentiate into antibody-secreting plasma cells, the endpoint of the B cell developmental lineage. Careful quantitation of these processes, which are stochastic, independent and strongly linked to the division history of the cell, has revealed that populations of B cells behave in a highly predictable manner. Considerable progress has also been made in the last few years in understanding the gene regulatory network that controls the B cell to plasma cell transition. The mutually exclusive transcriptomes of B cells and plasma cells are maintained by the antagonistic influences of two groups of transcription factors, those that maintain the B cell program, including Pax5, Bach2 and Bcl6, and those that promote and facilitate plasma cell differentiation, notably Irf4, Blimp1 and Xbp1. In this review, we discuss progress in the definition of both the transcriptional and cellular events occurring during late B cell differentiation, as integrating these two approaches is crucial to defining a regulatory network that faithfully reflects the stochastic features and complexity of the humoral immune response. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plasma properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weitzner, H.

1991-06-01

The Magneto-Fluid Dynamics Division continues to study a broad range of problems originating in plasma physics. Its principal focus is fusion plasma physics, and most particularly topics of particular significance for the world magnetic fusion program. During the calendar year 1990 we explored a wide range of topics including RF-induced transport as a plasma control mechanism, edge plasma modelling, further statistical analysis of L and H mode tokamak plasmas, antenna design, simulation of the edge of a tokamak plasma and the L-H transition, interpretation of the CCT experimental results at UCLA, turbulent transport, studies in chaos, the validity of moment approximations to kinetic equations and improved neoclassical modelling. In more basic studies we examined the statistical mechanisms of Coulomb systems and applied plasma ballooning mode theory to conventional fluids in order to obtain novel fluid dynamics stability results. In space plasma physics we examined the problem of reconnection, the effect of Alfven waves in space environments, and correct formulation of boundary conditions of the Earth for waves in the ionosphere

Towards structural and functional analysis of the plant plasma membrane proton pump

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Justesen, Bo Højen

The plasma membrane H+-ATPase is a proton pump essential for several physiological important processes in plants. Through the extrusion of protons from the cell, the PM H+-ATPase establishes and maintains a proton gradient used by proton coupled transporters and secondary active transport...... of nutrients and metabolites across the plasma membrane. Additional processes involving the PM H+-ATPase includes plant growth, development, and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Extensive efforts have been made in attempts to elucidate the detailed physiological role and biochemical characteristics...... of plasma membrane H+-ATPases. Studies on the plasma membrane H+-ATPases have involved both in vivo and in vitro approaches, with the latter employing either solubilisation by detergent micelles, or reconstitution into lipid vesicles. Despite resulting in a large body of information on structure, function...

Charged particle and photon acceleration by wakefield plasma waves in non-uniform plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulanov, S.V.; Kirsanov, V.I.; Sakharov, A.S.; Pegoraro, F.

1993-01-01

We discuss the acceleration of charged particles and the upshift of the frequency of short wave packets of laser radiation. The acceleration and the upshift are caused by wake plasma waves excited by a strong laser pulse in a non-uniform plasma. We show that unlimited acceleration of charged particles is possible for specific spatial dependencies of the plasma density. In this unlimited acceleration regime, particles have a fixed phase relationship with respect to the plasma wave, while their energy increases with time. When the wave breaking limit is approached and surpassed, the efficiency of the acceleration of the charged particles and of the frequency upshift of the photons can be increased significantly. (author) 3 refs

EMAPS: An Efficient Multiscale Approach to Plasma Systems with Non-MHD Scale Effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Omelchenko, Yuri A. [Trinum Research, Inc., San Diego, CA (United States)

2016-08-08

we have developed a novel Event-driven Multiscale Asynchronous Parallel Simulation (EMAPS) technology that replaces time stepping with self-adaptive update events. Local calculations are carried out only on an “as needed basis”. EMAPS (i) guarantees accurate and stable processing of physical variables in time accurate simulations, and (ii) eliminates unnecessary computation. Applying EMAPS to the hybrid model has resulted in the development of a unique parallel code, dimension-independent (compile-time-configurable) HYPERS (Hybrid Parallel Event-Resolved Simulator) that scales to hundreds of thousands of parallel processors. HYPERS advances electromagnetic fields and particles asynchronously on time scales determined by local physical laws and mesh properties. To achieve high computational accuracy in complex device geometries, HYPERS employs high-fidelity Cartesian grids with masked conductive cells. The HYPERS model includes multiple ion species, energy and momentum conserving ion-ion collisions, and provides a number of approximations for plasma resistivity and vacuum regions. Both local and periodic boundary conditions are allowed. The HYPERS solver preserves zero divergence of magnetic field. The project has demonstrated HYPERS capabilities on a number of applications of interest to fusion and astrophysical plasma physics applications listed below. 1. Theta-pinch formation of FRCs The formation, spontaneous spin-up, and stability of theta-pinch formed field-reversed configurations have been studied self-consistently in 3D. The end-to-end hybrid simulations reveal poloidal profiles of implosion-driven fast toroidal plasma rotation and demonstrate three discharge regimes as a function of experimental parameters: the decaying stable configuration, the tilt unstable configuration, and the nonlinear evolution of a fast growing tearing mode. 2. FRC collisions with magnetic mirrors Interactions of fast plasma streams and objects with magnetic obstacles (dipoles

Plasma equilibrium response modelling and validation on JT-60U

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lister, J.B.; Sharma, A.; Limebeer, D.J.N.; Wainwright, J.P.; Nakamura, Y.; Yoshino, R.

2002-01-01

A systematic procedure to identify the plasma equilibrium response to the poloidal field coil voltages has been applied to the JT-60U tokamak. The required response was predicted with a high accuracy by a state-space model derived from first principles. The ab initio derivation of linearized plasma equilibrium response models is re-examined using an approach standard in analytical mechanics. A symmetric formulation is naturally obtained, removing a previous weakness in such models. RZIP, a rigid current distribution model, is re-derived using this approach and is compared with the new experimental plasma equilibrium response data obtained from Ohmic and neutral beam injection discharges in the JT-60U tokamak. In order to remove any bias from the comparison between modelled and measured plasma responses, the electromagnetic response model without plasma was first carefully tuned against experimental data, using a parametric approach, for which different cost functions for quantifying model agreement were explored. This approach additionally provides new indications of the accuracy to which various plasma parameters are known, and to the ordering of physical effects. Having taken these precautions when tuning the plasmaless model, an empirical estimate of the plasma self-inductance, the plasma resistance and its radial derivative could be established and compared with initial assumptions. Off-line tuning of the JT-60U controller is presented as an example of the improvements which might be obtained by using such a model of the plasma equilibrium response. (author)

Dynamic plasma screening effects on semiclassical inelastic electron endash ion collisions in dense plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Y.

1997-01-01

In dense plasmas, dynamic plasma screening effects are investigated on 1s→2p dipole transition probabilities for electron-impact excitation of hydrogenic ions. The electron endash ion interaction potential is considered by introduction of the plasma dielectric function. A semiclassical straight-line trajectory method is applied to the path of the projectile electron in order to visualize the semiclassical transition probability as a function of the impact parameter, projectile energy, and plasma parameters. The transition probability including the dynamic plasma screening effect is always greater than that including the static plasma screening effect. When the projectile velocity is smaller than the electron thermal velocity, the dynamic polarization screening effect becomes the static plasma screening effect. When the projectile velocity is greater than the electron thermal velocity, then the interaction potential is almost unshielded. The difference between the dynamic and static plasma screening effects is more significant for low-energy projectiles. It is also found that the static plasma screening formula obtained by the Debye endash Hueckel model overestimates the plasma screening effects on the atomic excitation processes in dense plasmas. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Plasma immersion surface modification with metal ion plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, I.G.; Yu, K.M.; Godechot, X.

1991-04-01

We describe here a novel technique for surface modification in which metal plasma is employed and by which various blends of plasma deposition and ion implantation can be obtained. The new technique is a variation of the plasma immersion technique described by Conrad and co-workers. When a substrate is immersed in a metal plasma, the plasma that condenses on the substrate remains there as a film, and when the substrate is then implanted, qualitatively different processes can follow, including' conventional' high energy ion implantation, recoil implantation, ion beam mixing, ion beam assisted deposition, and metallic thin film and multilayer fabrication with or without species mixing. Multiple metal plasma guns can be used with different metal ion species, films can be bonded to the substrate through ion beam mixing at the interface, and multilayer structures can be tailored with graded or abrupt interfaces. We have fabricated several different kinds of modified surface layers in this way. 22 refs., 4 figs

Rates of Thermonuclear Reactions in Dense Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsytovich, V.N.; Bornatici, M.

2000-01-01

The problem of plasma screening of thermonuclear reactions has attracted considerable scientific interest ever since Salpeter's seminal paper, but it is still faced with controversial statements and without any definite conclusion. It is of relevant importance to thermonuclear reactions in dense astrophysical plasmas, for which charge screening can substantially affect the reaction rates. Whereas Salpeter and a number of subsequent investigations have dealt with static screening, Carraro, Schafer, and Koonin have drawn attention to the fact that plasma screening of thermonuclear reactions is an essentially dynamic effect. In addressing the issue of collective plasma effects on the thermonuclear reaction rates, the first critical overview of most of the work carried out so far is presented and the validity of the test particle approach is assessed. In contrast to previous investigations, we base our description on the kinetic equation for nonequilibrium plasmas, which accounts for the effects on the rates of thermonuclear reactions of both plasma fluctuations and screening and allows one to analyze explicitly the effects of the fluctuations on the reaction rates. Such a kinetic formulation is more general than both Salpeter's approach and the recently developed statistical approaches and makes it possible to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the problem. A noticeable result of the fluctuation approach is that the static screening, which affects both the interaction and the self-energy of the reacting nuclei, does not affect the reaction rates, in contrast with the results obtained so far. Instead, a reduction of the thermonuclear reaction rates is obtained as a result of the effect of plasma fluctuations related to the free self-energy of the reacting nuclei. A simple physical explanation of the slowing down of the reaction rates is given, and the relation to the dynamically screened test particle approach is discussed. Corrections to the reaction rates

Excitation of accelerating plasma waves by counter-propagating laser beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shvets, Gennady; Fisch, Nathaniel J.; Pukhov, Alexander

2002-01-01

The conventional approach to exciting high phase velocity waves in plasmas is to employ a laser pulse moving in the direction of the desired particle acceleration. Photon downshifting then causes momentum transfer to the plasma and wave excitation. Novel approaches to plasma wake excitation, colliding-beam accelerator (CBA), which involve photon exchange between the long and short counter-propagating laser beams, are described. Depending on the frequency detuning Δω between beams and duration τ L of the short pulse, there are two approaches to CBA. First approach assumes (τ L ≅2/ω p ). Photons exchanged between the beams deposit their recoil momentum in the plasma driving the plasma wake. Frequency detuning between the beams determines the direction of the photon exchange, thereby controlling the phase of the plasma wake. This phase control can be used for reversing the slippage of the accelerated particles with respect to the wake. A variation on the same theme, super-beatwave accelerator, is also described. In the second approach, a short pulse with τ L >>ω p -1 detuned by Δω∼2ω p from the counter-propagating beam is employed. While parametric excitation of plasma waves by the electromagnetic beatwave at 2ω p of two co-propagating lasers was first predicted by Rosenbluth and Liu [M. N. Rosenbluth and C. S. Liu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 29, 701 (1972)], it is demonstrated that the two excitation beams can be counter-propagating. The advantages of using this geometry (higher instability growth rate, insensitivity to plasma inhomogeneity) are explained, and supporting numerical simulations presented

Plasma diagnostics by means of electric probes; Diagnostico del plasma por medio de sondas electricas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Colunga S, S

1991-04-15

In this work a summary of the classical theoretical models to interpret the characteristic curve of a Langmuir electric probe placed in a plasma without magnetic field and with the one is made. The methodology for the electron temperature calculation and the density of the plasma in both cases is given, starting from the characteristic curve of the probe, as well as the approaches for the correct application of this diagnostic method of the plasma. (Author)

Beam-plasma interaction in a synchrotron-cooler ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itahashi, T.

1989-01-01

We propose a plasma target installed in the synchrotron-cooler ring in order to study the beam-plasma interaction. Various types of beam diagnostic devices and precise techniques developed for stochastic cooling and rf-stacking in the storage ring would be a powerful tool to approach the problems concerning the plasma behavior induced by the beam, such as plasma lens effect, anomalous stopping power and plasma instability. (author)

Integrated plasma control for high performance tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Humphreys, D.A.; Deranian, R.D.; Ferron, J.R.; Johnson, R.D.; LaHaye, R.J.; Leuer, J.A.; Penaflor, B.G.; Walker, M.L.; Welander, A.S.; Jayakumar, R.J.; Makowski, M.A.; Khayrutdinov, R.R.

2005-01-01

Sustaining high performance in a tokamak requires controlling many equilibrium shape and profile characteristics simultaneously with high accuracy and reliability, while suppressing a variety of MHD instabilities. Integrated plasma control, the process of designing high-performance tokamak controllers based on validated system response models and confirming their performance in detailed simulations, provides a systematic method for achieving and ensuring good control performance. For present-day devices, this approach can greatly reduce the need for machine time traditionally dedicated to control optimization, and can allow determination of high-reliability controllers prior to ever producing the target equilibrium experimentally. A full set of tools needed for this approach has recently been completed and applied to present-day devices including DIII-D, NSTX and MAST. This approach has proven essential in the design of several next-generation devices including KSTAR, EAST, JT-60SC, and ITER. We describe the method, results of design and simulation tool development, and recent research producing novel approaches to equilibrium and MHD control in DIII-D. (author)

Plasma physics for controlled fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyamoto, K.

2010-01-01

The primary objective of this lecture note is to present the theories and experiments of plasma physics for recent activities of controlled fusion research for graduate and senior undergraduate students. Chapters 1-6 describe the basic knowledge of plasma and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). MHD instabilities limit the beta ratio (ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure) of confined plasma. Chapters 7-9 provide the kinetic theory of hot plasma and discuss the wave heating and non-inductive current drive. The dispersion relation derived by the kinetic theory are used to discuss plasma waves and perturbed modes. Landau damping is the essential mechanism of plasma heating and the stabilization of perturbation. Landau inverse damping brings the amplification of waves and the destabilization of perturbed modes. Chapter 10 explains the plasma transport due to turbulence, which is the most important and challenging subject for plasma confinement. Theories and simulations including subject of zonal flow are introduced. Chapters 11, 12 and 13 describe the recent activities of tokamak including ITER as well as spherical tokamak, reversed field pinch (RFP) and stellarator including quasi-symmetric configurations. Emphasis has been given to tokamak research since it made the most remarkable progress and the construction phase of 'International Tokamak Experimental Reactor' called ITER has already started. (author)

Evolution of the mirror approach to fusion: some conjectures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Post, R.E.

1984-01-01

Some possible directions for the future evolution of the mirror approach to fusion are outlined, in the context of economically-motivated criteria. Speculations are given as to the potential advantages, economic and otherwise, of the use of axially-symmetric systems, operated in semi-collisional regimes of lower Q (fusion power balance ratio) than that projected for present-day tandem mirror designs. These regims include barely tandem modes, and ion-heated modes, in association with higher efficiency direct conversion. Another possible economically advantageous approach mentioned is the use of a tandem mirror plasma to stabilize a FRM (field-reversed mirror) plasma, with potential synergistic advantages

Experimental investigation of plasma relaxation using a compact coaxial magnetized plasma gun in a background plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yue; Lynn, Alan; Gilmore, Mark; Hsu, Scott; University of New Mexico Collaboration; Los Alamos National Laboratory Collaboration

2013-10-01

A compact coaxial plasma gun is employed for experimental studies of plasma relaxation in a low density background plasma. Experiments are being conducted in the linear HelCat device at UNM. These studies will advance the knowledge of basic plasma physics in the areas of magnetic relaxation and space and astrophysical plasmas, including the evolution of active galactic jets/radio lobes within the intergalactic medium. The gun is powered by a 120pF ignitron-switched capacitor bank which is operated in a range of 5-10 kV and ~100 kA. Multiple diagnostics are employed to investigate plasma relaxation process. Magnetized Argon plasma bubbles with velocities ~1.2Cs and densities ~1020 m-3 have been achieved. Different distinct regimes of operation with qualitatively different dynamics are identified by fast CCD camera images, with the parameter determining the operation regime. Additionally, a B-dot probe array is employed to measure the spatial toroidal and poloidal magnetic flux evolution to identify detached plasma bubble configurations. Experimental data and analysis will be presented.

Optimization of Dimensional accuracy in plasma arc cutting process employing parametric modelling approach

Science.gov (United States)

Naik, Deepak kumar; Maity, K. P.

2018-03-01

Plasma arc cutting (PAC) is a high temperature thermal cutting process employed for the cutting of extensively high strength material which are difficult to cut through any other manufacturing process. This process involves high energized plasma arc to cut any conducting material with better dimensional accuracy in lesser time. This research work presents the effect of process parameter on to the dimensional accuracy of PAC process. The input process parameters were selected as arc voltage, standoff distance and cutting speed. A rectangular plate of 304L stainless steel of 10 mm thickness was taken for the experiment as a workpiece. Stainless steel is very extensively used material in manufacturing industries. Linear dimension were measured following Taguchi’s L16 orthogonal array design approach. Three levels were selected to conduct the experiment for each of the process parameter. In all experiments, clockwise cut direction was followed. The result obtained thorough measurement is further analyzed. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Analysis of means (ANOM) were performed to evaluate the effect of each process parameter. ANOVA analysis reveals the effect of input process parameter upon leaner dimension in X axis. The results of the work shows that the optimal setting of process parameter values for the leaner dimension on the X axis. The result of the investigations clearly show that the specific range of input process parameter achieved the improved machinability.

Plasma Exosome Profiling of Cancer Patients by a Next Generation Systems Biology Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Domenyuk, Valeriy; Zhong, Zhenyu; Stark, Adam; Xiao, Nianqing; O'Neill, Heather A; Wei, Xixi; Wang, Jie; Tinder, Teresa T; Tonapi, Sonal; Duncan, Janet; Hornung, Tassilo; Hunter, Andrew; Miglarese, Mark R; Schorr, Joachim; Halbert, David D; Quackenbush, John; Poste, George; Berry, Donald A; Mayer, Günter; Famulok, Michael; Spetzler, David

2017-02-20

Technologies capable of characterizing the full breadth of cellular systems need to be able to measure millions of proteins, isoforms, and complexes simultaneously. We describe an approach that fulfils this criterion: Adaptive Dynamic Artificial Poly-ligand Targeting (ADAPT). ADAPT employs an enriched library of single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides (ssODNs) to profile complex biological samples, thus achieving an unprecedented coverage of system-wide, native biomolecules. We used ADAPT as a highly specific profiling tool that distinguishes women with or without breast cancer based on circulating exosomes in their blood. To develop ADAPT, we enriched a library of ~10 11 ssODNs for those associating with exosomes from breast cancer patients or controls. The resulting 10 6 enriched ssODNs were then profiled against plasma from independent groups of healthy and breast cancer-positive women. ssODN-mediated affinity purification and mass spectrometry identified low-abundance exosome-associated proteins and protein complexes, some with known significance in both normal homeostasis and disease. Sequencing of the recovered ssODNs provided quantitative measures that were used to build highly accurate multi-analyte signatures for patient classification. Probing plasma from 500 subjects with a smaller subset of 2000 resynthesized ssODNs stratified healthy, breast biopsy-negative, and -positive women. An AUC of 0.73 was obtained when comparing healthy donors with biopsy-positive patients.

High speed cine film studies of plasma behaviour and plasma surface interactions in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodall, D.H.J.

1982-01-01

High speed cine photography is a useful diagnostic aid for studying plasma behaviour and plasma surface interactions. Several workers have filmed discharges in tokamaks including ASDEX, DITE, DIVA, ISX, JFT2, TFR and PLT. These films are discussed and examples given of the observed phenomena which include plasma limiter interactions, diverted discharges, disruptions, magnetic islands and moving glowing objects often known as 'UFOs'. Examples of plasma structures in ASDEX and DITE not previously published are also given. The paper also reports experiments in DITE to determine the origin of UFOs. (orig.)

Modelling of new generation plasma optical devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Litovko Irina V.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The paper presents new generation plasma optical devices based on the electrostatic plasma lens configuration that opens a novel attractive possibility for effective high-tech practical applications. Original approaches to use of plasma accelerators with closed electron drift and open walls for the creation of a cost-effective low-maintenance plasma lens with positive space charge and possible application for low-cost, low-energy rocket engine are described. The preliminary experimental, theoretical and simulation results are presented. It is noted that the presented plasma devices are attractive for many different applications in the state-of-the-art vacuum-plasma processing.

Studies on waves and turbulence in natural plasmas and in laboratory plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferreira, J.L.

1990-09-01

The project for studying plasma waves and plasma turbulence submitted to CAPES to be included in the CAPES/COFECUB international cooperation agreement is presented. The project will be carry out in cooperation with Paris University aiming to simulate in laboratory wave-particle interaction phenomena occuring in space plasma. (M.C.K.)

Design and testing of miniaturized plasma sensor for measuring hypervelocity impact plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goel, A., E-mail: ashish09@stanford.edu; Tarantino, P. M.; Lauben, D. S.; Close, S. [Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States)

2015-04-15

An increasingly notable component of the space environment pertains to the impact of meteoroids and orbital debris on spacecraft and the resulting mechanical and electrical damages. Traveling at speeds of tens of km/s, when these particles, collectively referred to as hypervelocity particles, impact a satellite, they vaporize, ionize, and produce a radially expanding plasma that can generate electrically harmful radio frequency emission or serve as a trigger for electrostatic discharge. In order to measure the flux, composition, energy distribution, and temperature of ions and electrons in this plasma, a miniaturized plasma sensor has been developed for carrying out in-situ measurements in space. The sensor comprises an array of electrostatic analyzer wells split into 16 different channels, catering to different species and energy ranges in the plasma. We present results from numerical simulation based optimization of sensor geometry. A novel approach of fabricating the sensor using printed circuit boards is implemented. We also describe the test setup used for calibrating the sensor and show results demonstrating the energy band pass characteristics of the sensor. In addition to the hypervelocity impact plasmas, the plasma sensor developed can also be used to carry out measurements of ionospheric plasma, diagnostics of plasma propulsion systems, and in other space physics experiments.

Statistical approach for calculating opacities of high-Z plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishikawa, Takeshi; Nakamura, Shinji; Takabe, Hideaki; Mima, Kunioki

1992-01-01

For simulating the X-ray radiation from laser produced high-Z plasma, an appropriate atomic modeling is necessary. Based on the average ion model, we have used a rather simple atomic model for opacity calculation in a hydrodynamic code and obtained a fairly good agreement with the experiment on the X-ray spectra from the laser-produced plasmas. We have investigated the accuracy of the atomic model used in the hydrodynamic code. It is found that transition energies of 4p-4d, 4d-4f, 4p-5d, 4d-5f and 4f-5g, which are important in laser produced high-Z plasma, can be given within an error of 15 % compared to the values by the Hartree-Fock-Slater (HFS) calculation and their oscillator strengths obtained by HFS calculation vary by a factor two according to the difference of charge state. We also propose a statistical method to carry out detail configuration accounting for electronic state by use of the population of bound electrons calculated with the average ion model. The statistical method is relatively simple and provides much improvement in calculating spectral opacities of line radiation, when we use the average ion model to determine electronic state. (author)

Fundamental aspects of plasma chemical physics Thermodynamics

CERN Document Server

Capitelli, Mario; D'Angola, Antonio

2012-01-01

Fundamental Aspects of Plasma Chemical Physics - Thermodynamics develops basic and advanced concepts of plasma thermodynamics from both classical and statistical points of view. After a refreshment of classical thermodynamics applied to the dissociation and ionization regimes, the book invites the reader to discover the role of electronic excitation in affecting the properties of plasmas, a topic often overlooked by the thermal plasma community. Particular attention is devoted to the problem of the divergence of the partition function of atomic species and the state-to-state approach for calculating the partition function of diatomic and polyatomic molecules. The limit of ideal gas approximation is also discussed, by introducing Debye-Huckel and virial corrections. Throughout the book, worked examples are given in order to clarify concepts and mathematical approaches. This book is a first of a series of three books to be published by the authors on fundamental aspects of plasma chemical physics.  The next bo...

Plasma Process Modeling for Integrated Circuits Manufacturing

OpenAIRE

M. Meyyappan; T. R. Govindan

1998-01-01

A reactor model for plasma-based deposition and etching is presented. Two-dimensional results are discussed in terms of plasma density, ion flux, and ion energy. Approaches to develop rapid CAD-type models are discussed.

New Statistical Multiparticle Approach to the Acceleration of Electrons by the Ion Field in Plasmas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugene Oks

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The phenomenon of the acceleration of the (perturbing electrons by the ion field (AEIF significantly reduces Stark widths and shifts in plasmas of relatively high densities and/or relatively low temperature. Our previous analytical calculations of the AEIF were based on the dynamical treatment: the starting point was the ion-microfield-caused changes of the trajectories and velocities of individual perturbing electrons. In the current paper, we employ a statistical approach: the starting point is the electron velocity distribution function modified by the ion microfield. The latter had been calculated by Romanovsky and Ebeling in the multiparticle description of the ion microfield. The result shows again the reduction of the electron Stark broadening. Thus two totally different analytical approaches (dynamical and statistical agree with each other and therefore disprove the corresponding recent fully-numerical simulations by Stambulchik et al. that claimed an increase of the electron Stark broadening.

Space plasma branch at NRL

Science.gov (United States)

The Naval Research Laboratory (Washington, D.C.) formed the Space Plasma Branch within its Plasma Physics Division on July 1. Vithal Patel, former Program Director of Magnetospheric Physics, National Science Foundation, also joined NRL on the same date as Associate Superintendent of the Plasma Physics Division. Barret Ripin is head of the newly organized branch. The Space Plasma branch will do basic and applied space plasma research using a multidisciplinary approach. It consolidates traditional rocket and satellite space experiments, space plasma theory and computation, with laboratory space-related experiments. About 40 research scientists, postdoctoral fellows, engineers, and technicians are divided among its five sections. The Theory and Computation sections are led by Joseph Huba and Joel Fedder, the Space Experiments section is led by Paul Rodriguez, and the Pharos Laser Facility and Laser Experiments sections are headed by Charles Manka and Jacob Grun.

Hierarchical modeling of plasma and transport phenomena in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Bali, N.; Aggelopoulos, C. A.; Skouras, E. D.; Tsakiroglou, C. D.; Burganos, V. N.

2017-12-01

A novel dual-time hierarchical approach is developed to link the plasma process to macroscopic transport phenomena in the interior of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor that has been used for soil remediation (Aggelopoulos et al 2016 Chem. Eng. J. 301 353-61). The generation of active species by plasma reactions is simulated at the microseconds (µs) timescale, whereas convection and thermal conduction are simulated at the macroscopic (minutes) timescale. This hierarchical model is implemented in order to investigate the influence of the plasma DBD process on the transport and reaction mechanisms during remediation of polluted soil. In the microscopic model, the variables of interest include the plasma-induced reactive concentrations, while in the macroscopic approach, the temperature distribution, and the velocity field both inside the discharge gap and within the polluted soil material as well. For the latter model, the Navier-Stokes and Darcy Brinkman equations for the transport phenomena in the porous domain are solved numerically using a FEM software. The effective medium theory is employed to provide estimates of the effective time-evolving and three-phase transport properties in the soil sample. Model predictions considering the temporal evolution of the plasma remediation process are presented and compared with corresponding experimental data.

Long conduction time plasma opening switch experiments at Sandia National Laboratories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savage, M.E.; Simpson, W.W.; Cooper, G.W.; Usher, M.A.

1993-01-01

Sandia National Laboratories has undertaken an ambitious program to reduce the size and cost of large pulsed power drivers. The program basis is inductive energy storage and Plasma Opening Switches (POS). Inductive energy storage has well known advantages, including increased efficiency and reduced stress on the vacuum interface. The Sandia approach is to retain the reliable and efficient Marx generator and the temporal pulse compression of the water dielectric capacitor. A triggered closing switch, developed at Sandia, transfers the capacitor charge into the energy storage inductor. This approach has several advantages, including relaxed requirements on Marx jitter and inductance, and much faster current risetime in the energy storage inductor. The POS itself is the key to the Sandia program. The switch design uses an auxiliary magnetic field to inject the plasma and hold it in place during conduction. After opening begins, the self magnetic field of the power pulse pushes on the plasma to increase the opened gap. The authors use magnetic pressure because they desire POS gaps of several cm. Typical plasma opening switches do not achieve large gaps. Improved opening allows more efficient transfer to loads. They present results from recent experiments at Sandia. Their driver presently supplies 650 kA with a 240 ns risetime to the input of the POS. The storage inductor is a 17 Ohm magnetically insulated transmission line (MITL) that is five meters long. They discuss the ways in which magnetic field influences the POS, and the ways in which they control the magnetic fields

Views of Prospective Science Teachers on Including the Concept of Plasma in Science Curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Balbag, Mustafa Zafer

2018-01-01

States of matter are structures that we may easily encounter in the universe as well as our close environment. The plasma state is the fourth state of matter, and it has much different properties in comparison to the solid, liquid and gas states of matter. In order to understand the universe and the environment we live in better, one needs to have…

Microwave reflectometry for fusion plasma diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

This document contains a collection of 26 papers on ''Microwave Reflectometry for Fusion Plasma Diagnostics'', presented at the IAEA Technical Committee Meeting of the same name held at the JET Joint Undertaking, Abingdon, United Kingdom, March 4-6, 1992. It contains five papers on the measurement of plasma density profiles, six papers on theory and simulations in support of the development and application of this type of plasma diagnostics, eight papers on the measurement of density transients and fluctuations, and seven on new approaches to reflectometry-based plasma diagnostics. Refs, figs and tabs

Quasilinear diffusion in inhomogeneous plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hooley, D.L.

1975-05-01

The problem of inhomogeneous diffusion in a plasma is considered with emphasis on its possible application to relativistic electron beams. A one-dimensional model with a background electrostatic field is used to illustrate the basic approach, which is then extended to a two-dimensional plasma with a background magnetic field. Only preliminary results are available. (U.S.)

Identification of chronic heart failure patients with a high 12-month mortality risk using biomarkers including plasma C-terminal pro-endothelin-1.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ewa A Jankowska

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: We hypothesised that assessment of plasma C-terminal pro-endothelin-1 (CT-proET-1, a stable endothelin-1 precursor fragment, is of prognostic value in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF, beyond other prognosticators, including N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP. METHODS: We examined 491 patients with systolic CHF (age: 63±11 years, 91% men, New York Heart Association [NYHA] class [I/II/III/IV]: 9%/45%/38%/8%, 69% ischemic etiology. Plasma CT-proET-1 was detected using a chemiluminescence immunoassay. RESULTS: Increasing CT-proET-1 was a predictor of increased cardiovascular mortality at 12-months of follow-up (standardized hazard ratio 1.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.95, p = 0.03 after adjusting for NT-proBNP, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF, age, creatinine, NYHA class. In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, areas under curve for 12-month follow-up were similar for CT-proET-1 and NT-proBNP (p = 0.40. Both NT-proBNP and CT-proET-1 added prognostic value to a base model that included LVEF, age, creatinine, and NYHA class. Adding CT-proET-1 to the base model had stronger prognostic power (p<0.01 than adding NT-proBNP (p<0.01. Adding CT-proET-1 to NT-proBNP in this model yielded further prognostic information (p = 0.02. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma CT-proET-1 constitutes a novel predictor of increased 12-month cardiovascular mortality in patients with CHF. High CT-proET-1 together with high NT-proBNP enable to identify patients with CHF and particularly unfavourable outcomes.

Impacts of recessed gate and fluoride-based plasma treatment approaches toward normally-off AlGaN/GaN HEMT.

Science.gov (United States)

Heo, Jun-Woo; Kim, Young-Jin; Kim, Hyun-Seok

2014-12-01

We report two approaches to fabricating high performance normally-off AIGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). The fabrication techniques employed were based on recessed-metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) gate and recessed fluoride-based plasma treatment. They were selectively applied to the area under the gate electrode to deplete the two-dimensional electron gas (2-DEG) density. We found that the recessed gate structure was effective in shifting the threshold voltage by controlling the etching depth of gate region to reduce the AIGaN layer thickness to less than 8 nm. Likewise, the CF4 plasma treatment effectively incorporated negatively charged fluorine ions into the thin AIGaN barrier so that the threshold voltage shifted to higher positive values. In addition to the increased threshold voltage, experimental results showed a maximum drain current and a maximum transconductance of 315 mA/mm and 100 mS/mm, respectively, for the recessed-MIS gate HEMT, and 340 mA/mm and 330 mS/mm, respectively, for the fluoride-based plasma treated HEMT.

Plasmas in Multiphase Media: Bubble Enhanced Discharges in Liquids and Plasma/Liquid Phase Boundaries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kushner, Mark Jay [University of Michigan

2014-07-10

In this research project, the interaction of atmospheric pressure plasmas with multi-phase media was computationally investigated. Multi-phase media includes liquids, particles, complex materials and porous surfaces. Although this investigation addressed fundamental plasma transport and chemical processes, the outcomes directly and beneficially affected applications including biotechnology, medicine and environmental remediation (e.g., water purification). During this project, we made advances in our understanding of the interaction of atmospheric pressure plasmas in the form of dielectric barrier discharges and plasma jets with organic materials and liquids. We also made advances in our ability to use computer modeling to represent these complex processes. We determined the method that atmospheric pressure plasmas flow along solid and liquid surfaces, and through endoscopic like tubes, deliver optical and high energy ion activation energy to organic and liquid surfaces, and produce reactivity in thin liquid layers, as might cover a wound. We determined the mechanisms whereby plasmas can deliver activation energy to the inside of liquids by sustaining plasmas in bubbles. These findings are important to the advancement of new technology areas such as plasma medicine

Applied plasma physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1978-01-01

Applied Plasma Physics is a major sub-organizational unit of the MFE Program. It includes Fusion Plasma Theory and Experimental Plasma Research. The Fusion Plasma Theory group has the responsibility for developing theoretical-computational models in the general areas of plasma properties, equilibrium, stability, transport, and atomic physics. This group has responsibility for giving guidance to the mirror experimental program. There is a formal division of the group into theory and computational; however, in this report the efforts of the two areas are not separated since many projects have contributions from members of both. Under the Experimental Plasma Research Program, we are developing the intense, pulsed neutral-beam source (IPINS) for the generation of a reversed-field configuration on 2XIIB. We are also studying the feasibility of utilizing certain neutron-detection techniques as plasma diagnostics in the next generation of thermonuclear experiments

Single-sample 99mTc-diethylenetriamine penta-acetate plasma clearance in advanced renal failure by the mean sojourn time approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Gref, Margareta C; Karp, Kjell H

2009-03-01

The single-sample Tc-diethylenetriamine penta-acetate (DTPA) clearance method by Christensen and Groth is recommended by the Radionuclides in Nephrourology Committee on Renal Clearance for use in adults with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) > or = 30 ml/min. The purpose of this study was to test a new Tc-DTPA single-sample low clearance formula for GFR lesser than 30 ml/min. Twenty-one adult patients (29 investigations) were included. Reference clearance was calculated with both Cr-EDTA and Tc-DTPA according to Brøchner-Mortensen with samples drawn between 3 and 24 h. Single-sample clearance was calculated from a 24 h sample using the low clearance formula(Equation is included in full-text article.) C(t) is the activity of the tracer in the plasma sample t minutes after the injection and Q0 is the injected amount. ECV is the extracellular volume in ml defined as the distribution volume of the tracer. ECV is estimated from the body surface area as ECV=8116.6xbody surface area-28.2. The mean difference between reference and Tc-DTPA single-sample clearance was -0.5 ml/min (SD 1.0 ml/min) for Tc-DTPA and -0.8 ml/min (SD 1.2 ml/min) for Cr-EDTA as reference clearance. In adult patients it is possible, even with GFR lesser than 30 ml/min, to get an accurate determination of Tc-DTPA plasma clearance from a single sample using the mean sojourn time approach. The blood sample should be obtained about 24 h after injection of the GFR tracer.

Plasma-based radar cross section reduction

CERN Document Server

Singh, Hema; Jha, Rakesh Mohan

2016-01-01

This book presents a comprehensive review of plasma-based stealth, covering the basics, methods, parametric analysis, and challenges towards the realization of the idea. The concealment of aircraft from radar sources, or stealth, is achieved through shaping, radar absorbing coatings, engineered materials, or plasma, etc. Plasma-based stealth is a radar cross section (RCS) reduction technique associated with the reflection and absorption of incident electromagnetic (EM) waves by the plasma layer surrounding the structure. A plasma cloud covering the aircraft may give rise to other signatures such as thermal, acoustic, infrared, or visual. Thus it is a matter of concern that the RCS reduction by plasma enhances its detectability due to other signatures. This needs a careful approach towards the plasma generation and its EM wave interaction. The book starts with the basics of EM wave interactions with plasma, briefly discuss the methods used to analyze the propagation characteristics of plasma, and its generatio...

The plasma universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faelthammar, C.G.

1989-12-01

The term 'Plasma Universe', coined by Hannes Alfven, emphasices the fact that plasma phenomena discovered in the laboratory and in accessible regions of space. must be important also in the rest of the universe, which consists almost entirely of matter in the plasma state. Relevant aspect of this concept will be discussed. They include the response of the plasma to electric currents, the support of magnetic-field aligned electric fields, violation of the frozen-field condition, rapid release of magnetically stored energy, acceleration of charged particles, chemical separation, and filamentary and cellular structures. (authors)

Design concept of conducting shell and in-vessel components suitable for plasma vertical stability and remote maintenance scheme in DEMO reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Utoh, Hiroyasu, E-mail: uto.hiroyasu@jaea.go.jp [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Obuchi, Rokkasho-mura, Aomori-ken 039-3212 (Japan); International Fusion Energy Research Centre, 2-166, Obuchi, Rokkasho, Aomori 039-3212 (Japan); Takase, Haruhiko [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Obuchi, Rokkasho-mura, Aomori-ken 039-3212 (Japan); International Fusion Energy Research Centre, 2-166, Obuchi, Rokkasho, Aomori 039-3212 (Japan); Sakamoto, Yoshiteru; Tobita, Kenji [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Obuchi, Rokkasho-mura, Aomori-ken 039-3212 (Japan); Mori, Kazuo; Kudo, Tatsuya [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Obuchi, Rokkasho-mura, Aomori-ken 039-3212 (Japan); International Fusion Energy Research Centre, 2-166, Obuchi, Rokkasho, Aomori 039-3212 (Japan); Someya, Youji; Asakura, Nobuyuki; Hoshino, Kazuo; Nakamura, Makoto; Tokunaga, Shinsuke [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Obuchi, Rokkasho-mura, Aomori-ken 039-3212 (Japan)

2016-02-15

Highlights: • Conceptual design of in-vessel component including conducting shell has been investigated. • The conducting shell design for plasma vertical stability was clarified from the plasma vertical stability analysis. • The calculation results showed that the double-loop shell has the most effect on plasma vertical stability. - Abstract: In order to realize a feasible DEMO, we designed an in-vessel component including the conducting shell. The project is affiliated with the broader approach DEMO design activities and is conceptualized from a plasma vertical stability and engineering viewpoint. The dependence of the plasma vertical stability on the conducing shell parameters and the electromagnetic force at plasma disruption were investigated in numerical simulations (programmed in the 3D eddy current analysis code and a plasma position control code). The simulations assumed the actual shape and position of the vacuum vessel and in-vessel components. The plasma vertical stability was most effectively maintained by the double-loop shell.

Moderator's view: High-volume plasma exchange: pro, con and consensus.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Andre A

2017-09-01

I have been asked to comment on the pro and con opinions regarding high-volume plasma exchange. The authors of both positions have provided cogent arguments and a reasonable approach to choosing the exchange volume for any given therapeutic plasma exchange. The major issue of relevance in this discussion is the nature of the toxins targeted for removal. These parameters include molecular weight, the apparent volume of distribution, the degree of protein binding, the biologic and chemical half-life, and the severity and rapidity of its toxicity. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

Alfven Waves in Gyrokinetic Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, W.W.; Qin, H.

2003-01-01

A brief comparison of the properties of Alfven waves that are based on the gyrokinetic description with those derived from the MHD equations is presented. The critical differences between these two approaches are the treatment of the ion polarization effects. As such, the compressional Alfven waves in a gyrokinetic plasma can be eliminated through frequency ordering, whereas geometric simplifications are needed to decouple the shear Alfven waves from the compressional Alfven waves within the context of MHD. Theoretical and numerical procedures of using gyrokinetic particle simulation for studying microturbulence and kinetic-MHD physics including finite Larmor radius effects are also presented

A variational approach to parametric instabilities in inhomogeneous plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Afeyan, B.B.

1993-12-31

A variational principle is constructed for the pump strength of a three-wave parametric instability in a spatially nonuniform medium. Using this expression together with appropriate trial functions, analytic estimates of the growth rate of the most unstable mode of a given parametric instability may be calculated. The usefullness of the variational method is first demonstrated on the Rosenbluth model problem with a power-law phase-mismatch, followed by a treatment of the Liu, Rosenbluth, and White sidescattering model equation. Two particular instabilities which are of interest in laser fusion and laser-plasma interaction experiments are treated next. These are Stimulated Raman Scattering and Two-Plasmon Decay. Various incidence and scattering geometries, and different density profiles are considered. Previously known results are reproduced in a unified manner and extended to cases where the usual local-expansion techniques do not apply. In particular, using the variational approach, the growth rate of the Two-Plasmon Decay instability occurring at or anywhere below the apex of a parabolic density profile is obtained for the first time. Similarly, Stimulated Raman Scattering from a density extremum at or anywhere below quarter critical, and for all scattering angles from backscattering to sidescattering inclusively is considered for the first time. The limit where the Two-Plasmon Decay and Stimulated Raman Scattering instabilities merge and become indistinguishable is also treated.

Implosive Thermal Plasma Source for Energy Conversion

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Šonský, Jiří; Tesař, Václav; Gruber, Jan; Mašláni, Alan

2017-01-01

Roč. 4, č. 1 (2017), s. 87-90 ISSN 2336-2626 Institutional support: RVO:61388998 ; RVO:61389021 Keywords : implosion * thermal plasma * detonation wave Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics; BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics (UFP-V) OBOR OECD: Fluids and plasma physics (including surface physics); Fluids and plasma physics (including surface physics) (UFP-V) https://ppt.fel.cvut.cz/ppt2017.html#number1

Plasma Liner Research for MTF at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

Science.gov (United States)

Thio, Y. C. F.; Eskridge, R.; Lee, M.; Martin, A.; Smith, J.; Cassibry, J. T.; Wu, S. T.; Kirkpatrick, R. C.; Knapp, C. E.; Turchi, P. J.;

Database structure for plasma modeling programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dufresne, M.; Silvester, P.P.

1993-01-01

Continuum plasma models often use a finite element (FE) formulation. Another approach is simulation models based on particle-in-cell (PIC) formulation. The model equations generally include four nonlinear differential equations specifying the plasma parameters. In simulation a large number of equations must be integrated iteratively to determine the plasma evolution from an initial state. The complexity of the resulting programs is a combination of the physics involved and the numerical method used. The data structure requirements of plasma programs are stated by defining suitable abstract data types. These abstractions are then reduced to data structures and a group of associated algorithms. These are implemented in an object oriented language (C++) as object classes. Base classes encapsulate data management into a group of common functions such as input-output management, instance variable updating and selection of objects by Boolean operations on their instance variables. Operations are thereby isolated from specific element types and uniformity of treatment is guaranteed. Creation of the data structures and associated functions for a particular plasma model is reduced merely to defining the finite element matrices for each equation, or the equations of motion for PIC models. Changes in numerical method or equation alterations are readily accommodated through the mechanism of inheritance, without modification of the data management software. The central data type is an n-relation implemented as a tuple of variable internal structure. Any finite element program may be described in terms of five relational tables: nodes, boundary conditions, sources, material/particle descriptions, and elements. Equivalently, plasma simulation programs may be described using four relational tables: cells, boundary conditions, sources, and particle descriptions

Individual renal plasma flow determination in 2 minutes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlegel, J.U.; Hamway, S.A.

1976-01-01

A method is described for determining effective renal plasma flow, using the renal counts 1 to 2 minutes after injection and applying background subtraction as a ratio to the total amount of radioactivity injected intravenously with appropriate correction for kidney depth. It appears that this simple approach for determination of effective renal plasma flow within a matter of 2 minutes is accurate and reliable, and should be useful for a number of applications when it is important to determine total and individual renal plasma flow. The approach is recommended as a screening procedure in lieu of the determination of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine, with the additional advantages of gross morphology and determination of individual renal plasma flow in an absolute as well as relative manner

Alcohol intake and colorectal cancer: a comparison of approaches for including repeated measures of alcohol consumption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thygesen, Lau Caspar; Wu, Kana; Grønbaek, Morten

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: In numerous studies, alcohol intake has been found to be positively associated with colorectal cancer risk. However, the majority of studies included only one exposure measurement, which may bias the results if long-term intake is relevant.METHODS: We compared different approaches...... for including repeated measures of alcohol intake among 47,432 US men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Questionnaires including questions on alcohol intake had been completed in 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998. The outcome was incident colorectal cancer during follow-up from 1986 to 2002.RESULTS......: During follow-up, 868 members of the cohort experienced colorectal cancer. Baseline, updated, and cumulative average alcohol intakes were positively associated with colorectal cancer, with only minor differences among the approaches. These results support moderately increased risk for intake >30 g...

Principles of laser-plasma accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malka, V.; Mora, P.

2009-01-01

The continuing development of powerful laser systems has permitted to extend the interaction of laser beams with matter far into the relativistic domain in which extremely high electric and magnetic fields are generated. Thanks to these tremendous fields, that only plasma can support and sustain, new and compact approaches for producing energetic particle beams have been recently achieved (for example the bubble regime and the colliding laser pulses scheme). The incredible progress of these laser-plasma accelerators has allowed physicists to produce high quality beams of energetic radiation and particles. These beams have interesting properties such as shortness, brightness and spatial quality, and could lend themselves to applications in many fields, including medicine (radiotherapy, proton therapy, imaging), radiation biology (short-time-scale), chemistry (radiolysis), physics and material science (radiography, electron and photon diffraction), security (material inspection), and of course accelerator science. Stimulated by the advent of compact and powerful lasers, with moderate costs and high repetition rate, this research field has witnessed considerable growth in the past few years, and the promises of laser-plasma accelerators are in tremendous progress. The recent years in particular have seen spectacular progress in the acceleration of electrons and of ions, both in terms of energy and in terms of quality of the beams. (authors)

Computational and experimental investigation of plasma deflagration jets and detonation shocks in coaxial plasma accelerators

Science.gov (United States)

Subramaniam, Vivek; Underwood, Thomas C.; Raja, Laxminarayan L.; Cappelli, Mark A.

2018-02-01

We present a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulation to study the physical mechanisms underlying plasma acceleration in a coaxial plasma gun. Coaxial plasma accelerators are known to exhibit two distinct modes of operation depending on the delay between gas loading and capacitor discharging. Shorter delays lead to a high velocity plasma deflagration jet and longer delays produce detonation shocks. During a single operational cycle that typically consists of two discharge events, the plasma acceleration exhibits a behavior characterized by a mode transition from deflagration to detonation. The first of the discharge events, a deflagration that occurs when the discharge expands into an initially evacuated domain, requires a modification of the standard MHD algorithm to account for rarefied regions of the simulation domain. The conventional approach of using a low background density gas to mimic the vacuum background results in the formation of an artificial shock, inconsistent with the physics of free expansion. To this end, we present a plasma-vacuum interface tracking framework with the objective of predicting a physically consistent free expansion, devoid of the spurious shock obtained with the low background density approach. The interface tracking formulation is integrated within the MHD framework to simulate the plasma deflagration and the second discharge event, a plasma detonation, formed due to its initiation in a background prefilled with gas remnant from the deflagration. The mode transition behavior obtained in the simulations is qualitatively compared to that observed in the experiments using high framing rate Schlieren videography. The deflagration mode is further investigated to understand the jet formation process and the axial velocities obtained are compared against experimentally obtained deflagration plasma front velocities. The simulations are also used to provide insight into the conditions responsible for the generation and sustenance of

Plasma lactate concentrations in free-ranging moose (Alces alces) immobilized with etorphine.

Science.gov (United States)

Haga, Henning A; Wenger, Sandra; Hvarnes, Silje; Os, Oystein; Rolandsen, Christer M; Solberg, Erling J

2009-11-01

To investigate plasma lactate concentrations of etorphine-immobilized moose in relation to environmental, temporal and physiological parameters. Prospective clinical study. Fourteen female and five male moose (Alces alces), estimated age range 1-7 years. The moose were darted from a helicopter with 7.5 mg etorphine per animal using projectile syringes and a dart gun. Once immobilized, the moose were approached, a venous blood sample was obtained and vital signs including pulse oximetry were recorded. Diprenorphine was administered to reverse the effects of etorphine. Timing of events, ambient temperature and snow depth were recorded. Blood samples were cooled and centrifuged before plasma was harvested and frozen. The plasma was thawed later and lactate analysed. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. All animals recovered uneventfully and were alive 12 weeks after immobilization. Mean +/- SD plasma lactate was found to be 9.2 +/- 2.1 mmol L(-1). Plasma lactate concentrations were related positively to snow depth and negatively to time from induction of immobilization to blood sampling. The model that best described the variability in plasma lactate concentrations used induction time (time from firing the dart to the moose being immobilized). The second best model included induction time and snow depth. Plasma lactate concentrations in these etorphine-immobilized moose were in the range reported for other immobilized wild ruminants. Decreasing induction time, which may be related to a more profound etorphine effect, and increasing snow depth possibly may increase plasma lactate concentrations in etorphine-immobilized moose.

Plasma physics for controlled fusion

CERN Document Server

Miyamoto, Kenro

2016-01-01

This new edition presents the essential theoretical and analytical methods needed to understand the recent fusion research of tokamak and alternate approaches. The author describes magnetohydrodynamic and kinetic theories of cold and hot plasmas in detail. The book covers new important topics for fusion studies such as plasma transport by drift turbulence, which depend on the magnetic configuration and zonal flows. These are universal phenomena of microturbulence. They can modify the onset criterion for turbulent transport, instabilities driven by energetic particles as well as alpha particle generation and typical plasma models for computer simulation. The fusion research of tokamaks with various new versions of H modes are explained. The design concept of ITER, the international tokamak experimental reactor, is described for inductively driven operations as well as steady-state operations using non-inductive drives. Alternative approaches of reversed-field pinch and its relaxation process, stellator includi...

Toroidal confinement of non-neutral plasma - A new approach to high-beta equilibrium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, Z.; Ogawa, Y.; Morikawa, J.

2001-01-01

Departure from the quasi-neutral condition allows us to apply significant two-fluid effects that impart a new freedom to the design of high-performance fusion plasma. The self-electric field in a non-neutralized plasma induces a strong ExB-drift flow. A fast flow produces a large hydrodynamic pressure that can balance with the thermal pressure of the plasma. Basic concepts to produce a toroidal non-neutral plasma have been examined on the internal-conductor toroidal confinement device Proto-RT. A magnetic separatrix determines the boundary of the confinement region. Electrons describe chaotic orbits in the neighborhood of the magnetic null point on the separatrix. The chaos yields collisionless diffusion of electrons from the particle source (electron gun) towards the confinement region. Collisionless heating also occurs in the magnetic null region, which can be applied to produce a plasma. (author)

Applied plasma physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1979-01-01

Applied Plasma Physics is a major sub-organizational unit of the Magnetic Fusion Energy (MFE) Program. It includes Fusion Plasma Theory and Experimental Plasma Research. The Fusion Plasma Theory group has the responsibility for developing theoretical-computational models in the general areas of plasma properties, equilibrium, stability, transport, and atomic physics. This group has responsibility for giving guidance to the mirror experimental program. There is a formal division of the group into theory and computational; however, in this report the efforts of the two areas are not separated since many projects have contributions from members of both. Under the Experimental Plasma Research Program we are developing a neutral-beam source, the intense, pulsed ion-neutral source (IPINS), for the generation of a reversed-field configuration on 2XIIB. We are also studying the feasibility of using certain neutron-detection techniques as plasma diagnostics in the next generation of thermonuclear experiments

Scalable graphene production: perspectives and challenges of plasma applications

Science.gov (United States)

Levchenko, Igor; Ostrikov, Kostya (Ken); Zheng, Jie; Li, Xingguo; Keidar, Michael; B. K. Teo, Kenneth

2016-05-01

Graphene, a newly discovered and extensively investigated material, has many unique and extraordinary properties which promise major technological advances in fields ranging from electronics to mechanical engineering and food production. Unfortunately, complex techniques and high production costs hinder commonplace applications. Scaling of existing graphene production techniques to the industrial level without compromising its properties is a current challenge. This article focuses on the perspectives and challenges of scalability, equipment, and technological perspectives of the plasma-based techniques which offer many unique possibilities for the synthesis of graphene and graphene-containing products. The plasma-based processes are amenable for scaling and could also be useful to enhance the controllability of the conventional chemical vapour deposition method and some other techniques, and to ensure a good quality of the produced graphene. We examine the unique features of the plasma-enhanced graphene production approaches, including the techniques based on inductively-coupled and arc discharges, in the context of their potential scaling to mass production following the generic scaling approaches applicable to the existing processes and systems. This work analyses a large amount of the recent literature on graphene production by various techniques and summarizes the results in a tabular form to provide a simple and convenient comparison of several available techniques. Our analysis reveals a significant potential of scalability for plasma-based technologies, based on the scaling-related process characteristics. Among other processes, a greater yield of 1 g × h-1 m-2 was reached for the arc discharge technology, whereas the other plasma-based techniques show process yields comparable to the neutral-gas based methods. Selected plasma-based techniques show lower energy consumption than in thermal CVD processes, and the ability to produce graphene flakes of various

Scalable graphene production: perspectives and challenges of plasma applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Levchenko, Igor; Ostrikov, Kostya Ken; Zheng, Jie; Li, Xingguo; Keidar, Michael; B K Teo, Kenneth

2016-05-19

Graphene, a newly discovered and extensively investigated material, has many unique and extraordinary properties which promise major technological advances in fields ranging from electronics to mechanical engineering and food production. Unfortunately, complex techniques and high production costs hinder commonplace applications. Scaling of existing graphene production techniques to the industrial level without compromising its properties is a current challenge. This article focuses on the perspectives and challenges of scalability, equipment, and technological perspectives of the plasma-based techniques which offer many unique possibilities for the synthesis of graphene and graphene-containing products. The plasma-based processes are amenable for scaling and could also be useful to enhance the controllability of the conventional chemical vapour deposition method and some other techniques, and to ensure a good quality of the produced graphene. We examine the unique features of the plasma-enhanced graphene production approaches, including the techniques based on inductively-coupled and arc discharges, in the context of their potential scaling to mass production following the generic scaling approaches applicable to the existing processes and systems. This work analyses a large amount of the recent literature on graphene production by various techniques and summarizes the results in a tabular form to provide a simple and convenient comparison of several available techniques. Our analysis reveals a significant potential of scalability for plasma-based technologies, based on the scaling-related process characteristics. Among other processes, a greater yield of 1 g × h(-1) m(-2) was reached for the arc discharge technology, whereas the other plasma-based techniques show process yields comparable to the neutral-gas based methods. Selected plasma-based techniques show lower energy consumption than in thermal CVD processes, and the ability to produce graphene flakes of

Three-Dimensional Simulation of Plasma Deformation During Contact Opening in a Circuit Breaker, Including the Analysis of Kink Instability and Sausage Instability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbasi, Vahid; Gholami, Ahmad; Niayesh, Kaveh

2012-01-01

A three-dimensional (3-D) transient model has been developed to investigate plasma deformation driven by a magnetic field and its influence on arc stability in a circuit breaker. The 3-D distribution of electric current density is obtained from a current continuity equation along with the generalized Ohm's law; while the magnetic field induced by the current flowing through the arc column is calculated by the magnetic vector potential equation. When gas interacts with an arc column, fundamental factors, such as Ampere's law, Ohm's law, the turbulence model, transport equations of mass, momentum and energy of plasma flow, have to be coupled for analyzing the phenomenon. The coupled interactions between arc and plasma flow are described in the framework of time-dependent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations in conjunction with a K-ε turbulence model. Simulations have been focused on sausage and kink instabilities in plasma (these phenomena are related to pinch effects and electromagnetic fields). The 3-D simulation reveals the relation between plasma deformation and instability phenomena, which affect arc stability during circuit breaker operation. Plasma deformation is the consequence of coupled interactions between the electromagnetic force and plasma flow described in simulations. (plasma technology)

Plasma Physics Applied (New Book)

Science.gov (United States)

Grabbe, Crockett

2007-03-01

0.5cm Plasma physics applications are one of the most rapidly growing fields in engineering & applied science today. The last decade alone has seen the rapid emergence of new applications such as dusty plasmas in the semiconductor and microchip industries, and plasma TVs. In addition, this last decade saw the achievement of the 50-year Lawson breakeven condition for fusion. With new discoveries in space plasma physics and applications to spacecraft for worldwide communication and space weather, as well as new applications being discovered, this diversity is always expanding. The new book Plasma Physics Applied reviews developments in several of these areas. Chapter 1 reviews the content and its authors, and is followed by a more comprehensive review of plasma physics applications in general in Chapter 2. Plasma applications in combustion and environmental uses are presented in Chapter 3. Lightning effects in planetary magnetospheres and potential application are described in Chapter 4. The area of dusty plasmas in both industrial and space plasmas and their applications are reviewed in Chapter 5. The particular area of Coulomb clusters in dusty plasmas is presented in Chapter 6. The variety of approaches to plasma confinement in magnetic devices for fusion are laid out in Chapter 7. Finally, an overview of plasma accelerator developments and their applications are presented in Chapter 8.

Magnetospheric plasma waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shawhan, S.D.

1977-01-01

A brief history of plasma wave observations in the Earth's magnetosphere is recounted and a classification of the identified plasma wave phenomena is presented. The existence of plasma waves is discussed in terms of the characteristic frequencies of the plasma, the energetic particle populations and the proposed generation mechanisms. Examples are given for which plasmas waves have provided information about the plasma parameters and particle characteristics once a reasonable theory has been developed. Observational evidence and arguments by analogy to the observed Earth plasma wave processes are used to identify plasma waves that may be significant in other planetary magnetospheres. The similarities between the observed characteristics of the terrestrial kilometric radiation and radio bursts from Jupiter, Saturn and possibly Uranus are stressed. Important scientific problems concerning plasma wave processes in the solar system and beyond are identified and discussed. Models for solar flares, flare star radio outbursts and pulsars include elements which are also common to the models for magnetospheric radio bursts. Finally, a listing of the research and development in terms of instruments, missions, laboratory experiments, theory and computer simulations needed to make meaningful progress on the outstanding scientific problems of plasma wave research is given. (Auth.)

Negative ion surface plasma source development for plasma trap injectors in Novosibirsk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bel'chenko, Yu.I.; Dimov, G.I.; Dudnikov, V.G.; Kupriyanov, A.S.

1989-01-01

Work on high-current ion sources carried out at the Novosibirsk Institute of Nuclear Physics (INP) is presented. The INP investigations on ''pure plasma'' planotron and ''pure surface'' secondary emission systems of H - generation, which preceded the surface-plasma concept developed in Novosibirsk, are described. The physical basis of the surface-plasma method of negative-ion production is considered. The versions and operating characteristics of different surface-plasma sources including the multi-ampere (approx-gt 10A) source are discussed. Research on efficient large-area (∼10 2 cm 2 ) negative ion surface-plasma emitters is described. The INP long-pulse multiaperture surface- plasma generators, with a current of about 1A, are described. 38 refs., 17 figs

Nonlinear Plasma Waves Excitation by Intense Ion Beams in Background Plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaganovich, Igor D.; Startsev, Edward A.; Davidson, Ronald C.

2004-01-01

Plasma neutralization of an intense ion pulse is of interest for many applications, including plasma lenses, heavy ion fusion, cosmic ray propagation, etc. An analytical electron fluid model has been developed to describe the plasma response to a propagating ion beam. The model predicts very good charge neutralization during quasi-steady-state propagation, provided the beam pulse duration τ b is much longer than the electron plasma period 2π/ω p , where ω p = (4πe 2 n p /m) 1/2 is the electron plasma frequency and n p is the background plasma density. In the opposite limit, the beam pulse excites large-amplitude plasma waves. If the beam density is larger than the background plasma density, the plasma waves break. Theoretical predictions are compared with the results of calculations utilizing a particle-in-cell (PIC) code. The cold electron fluid results agree well with the PIC simulations for ion beam propagation through a background plasma. The reduced fluid description derived in this paper can provide an important benchmark for numerical codes and yield scaling relations for different beam and plasma parameters. The visualization of numerical simulation data shows complex collective phenomena during beam entry and exit from the plasma

Nonlinear plasma waves excitation by intense ion beams in background plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaganovich, Igor D.; Startsev, Edward A.; Davidson, Ronald C.

2004-01-01

Plasma neutralization of an intense ion pulse is of interest for many applications, including plasma lenses, heavy ion fusion, cosmic ray propagation, etc. An analytical electron fluid model has been developed to describe the plasma response to a propagating ion beam. The model predicts very good charge neutralization during quasi-steady-state propagation, provided the beam pulse duration τ b is much longer than the electron plasma period 2π/ω p , where ω p =(4πe 2 n p /m) 1/2 is the electron plasma frequency, and n p is the background plasma density. In the opposite limit, the beam pulse excites large-amplitude plasma waves. If the beam density is larger than the background plasma density, the plasma waves break. Theoretical predictions are compared with the results of calculations utilizing a particle-in-cell (PIC) code. The cold electron fluid results agree well with the PIC simulations for ion beam propagation through a background plasma. The reduced fluid description derived in this paper can provide an important benchmark for numerical codes and yield scaling relations for different beam and plasma parameters. The visualization of numerical simulation data shows complex collective phenomena during beam entry and exit from the plasma

Studies of the ablated plasma from experimental plasma gun disruption simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rockett, P.D.; Hunter, J.A.; Bradley, J.T. III; Gahl, J.M.; Litunovsky, V.N.; Ovchinnokov, I.B.; Ljublin, B.V.; Kuznetsov, B.E.; Titov, V.A.; Zhitlukhin, A.; Arkhipov, K.; Bakhtin, V.; Toporkov, D.

1995-01-01

Extensive simulations of tokamak disruptions have provided a picture of material erosion that is limited by the transfer of energy from the incident plasma to the armor solid surface through a dense plasma shield. Radiation spectra were recorded in the VUV and in the visible at the Efremov Laboratories on VIKA using graphite targets. The VUV data were recorded with a Sandia Labs transmission grating spectrograph, covering 1-40 nm. Plasma parameters were evaluated with incident plasma energy densities varying from 10-100 MJ/m 2 . A second transmission grating spectrograph was taken to 2MK-200 at TRINITI to study the plasma-material interface in magnetic cusp plasma. Target materials included POCO graphite, ATJ graphite, boron nitride, and plasma-sprayed tungsten. Detailed spectra were recorded with a spatial resolution of similar 1 mm. Time-resolved data with 40-200 ns resolution was also recorded. The data from both plasma gun facilities demonstrated that the hottest plasma region was sitting several millimeters above the armor tile surface. ((orig.))

Promoting Plasma Physics as a Career: A Generational Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, James

2005-10-01

A paradigm shift is occurring in education physics programs. Educators are shifting from the traditional teaching focus to concentrate on student learning. Students are unaware of physics as a career, plasma physics or the job opportunities afforded to them with a physics degree. The physics profession needs to promote itself to the younger generations, or specifically the millennial generation (Born in the 1980's-2000's). Learning styles preferred by ``Millennials'' include a technological environment that promotes learning through active task performance rather than passive attendance at lectures. Millennials respond well to anything experiential and will be motivated by opportunities for creativity and challenging learning environments. The open-ended access to information, the ability to tailor learning paths, and continuous and instantaneous performance assessment offer flexibility in the design of curricula as well as in the method of delivery. Educators need to understand the millennial generation, appeal to their motivations and offer a learning environment designed for their learning style. This poster suggests promoting a physics career by focusing on generational learning styles and preferences.

Integrated models for plasma/material interaction during loss of plasma confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassanein, A.

1998-01-01

A comprehensive computer package, High Energy Interaction with General Heterogeneous Target Systems (HEIGHTS), has been developed to evaluate the damage incurred on plasma-facing materials during loss of plasma confinement. The HEIGHTS package consists of several integrated computer models that follow the start of a plasma disruption at the scrape-off layer (SOL) through the transport of the eroded debris and splashed target materials to nearby locations as a result of the energy deposited. The package includes new models to study turbulent plasma behavior in the SOL and predicts the plasma parameters and conditions at the divertor plate. Full two-dimensional comprehensive radiation magnetohydrodynamic models are coupled with target thermodynamics and liquid hydrodynamics to evaluate the integrated response of plasma-facing materials. A brief description of the HEIGHTS package and its capabilities are given in this work with emphasis on turbulent plasma behavior in the SOL during disruptions

Novel biomaterials: plasma-enabled nanostructures and functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levchenko, Igor; Ostrikov, Kostya; Keidar, Michael; Cvelbar, Uroš; Mariotti, Davide; Mai-Prochnow, Anne; Fang, Jinghua

2016-01-01

Material processing techniques utilizing low-temperature plasmas as the main process tool feature many unique capabilities for the fabrication of various nanostructured materials. As compared with the neutral-gas based techniques and methods, the plasma-based approaches offer higher levels of energy and flux controllability, often leading to higher quality of the fabricated nanomaterials and sometimes to the synthesis of the hierarchical materials with interesting properties. Among others, nanoscale biomaterials attract significant attention due to their special properties towards the biological materials (proteins, enzymes), living cells and tissues. This review briefly examines various approaches based on the use of low-temperature plasma environments to fabricate nanoscale biomaterials exhibiting high biological activity, biological inertness for drug delivery system, and other features of the biomaterials make them highly attractive. In particular, we briefly discuss the plasma-assisted fabrication of gold and silicon nanoparticles for bio-applications; carbon nanoparticles for bioimaging and cancer therapy; carbon nanotube-based platforms for enzyme production and bacteria growth control, and other applications of low-temperature plasmas in the production of biologically-active materials. (topical review)

Multi-fluid Approach to High-frequency Waves in Plasmas. II. Small-amplitude Regime in Partially Ionized Media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martínez-Gómez, David; Soler, Roberto; Terradas, Jaume, E-mail: david.martinez@uib.es [Departament de Física, Universitat de les Illes Balears, E-07122, Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

2017-03-01

The presence of neutral species in a plasma has been shown to greatly affect the properties of magnetohydrodynamic waves. For instance, the interaction between ions and neutrals through momentum transfer collisions causes the damping of Alfvén waves and alters their oscillation frequency and phase speed. When the collision frequencies are larger than the frequency of the waves, single-fluid magnetohydrodynamic approximations can accurately describe the effects of partial ionization, since there is a strong coupling between the various species. However, at higher frequencies, the single-fluid models are not applicable and more complex approaches are required. Here, we use a five-fluid model with three ionized and two neutral components, which takes into consideration Hall’s current and Ohm’s diffusion in addition to the friction due to collisions between different species. We apply our model to plasmas composed of hydrogen and helium, and allow the ionization degree to be arbitrary. By analyzing the corresponding dispersion relation and numerical simulations, we study the properties of small-amplitude perturbations. We discuss the effect of momentum transfer collisions on the ion-cyclotron resonances and compare the importance of magnetic resistivity, and ion–neutral and ion–ion collisions on the wave damping at various frequency ranges. Applications to partially ionized plasmas of the solar atmosphere are performed.

Plasmas applied atomic collision physics, v.2

CERN Document Server

Barnett, C F

1984-01-01

Applied Atomic Collision Physics, Volume 2: Plasmas covers topics on magnetically confined plasmas. The book starts by providing the history of fusion research and describing the various approaches in both magnetically and inertially confined plasmas. The text then gives a general discussion of the basic concepts and properties in confinement and heating of a plasma. The theory of atomic collisions that result in excited quantum states, particularly highly ionized impurity atoms; and diverse diagnostic topics such as emission spectra, laser scattering, electron cyclotron emission, particle bea

A New Approach to Adaptive Control of Multiple Scales in Plasma Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Omelchenko, Yuri

2007-04-01

A new approach to temporal refinement of kinetic (Particle-in-Cell, Vlasov) and fluid (MHD, two-fluid) simulations of plasmas is presented: Discrete-Event Simulation (DES). DES adaptively distributes CPU resources in accordance with local time scales and enables asynchronous integration of inhomogeneous nonlinear systems with multiple time scales on meshes of arbitrary topologies. This removes computational penalties usually incurred in explicit codes due to the global Courant-Friedrich-Levy (CFL) restriction on a time-step size. DES stands apart from multiple time-stepping algorithms in that it requires neither selecting a global synchronization time step nor pre-determining a sequence of time-integration operations for individual parts of the system (local time increments need not bear any integer multiple relations). Instead, elements of a mesh-distributed solution self-adaptively predict and synchronize their temporal trajectories by directly enforcing local causality (accuracy) constraints, which are formulated in terms of incremental changes to the evolving solution. Together with flux-conservative propagation of information, this new paradigm ensures stable and fast asynchronous runs, where idle computation is automatically eliminated. DES is parallelized via a novel Preemptive Event Processing (PEP) technique, which automatically synchronizes elements with similar update rates. In this mode, events with close execution times are projected onto time levels, which are adaptively determined by the program. PEP allows reuse of standard message-passing algorithms on distributed architectures. For optimum accuracy, DES can be combined with adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) techniques for structured and unstructured meshes. Current examples of event-driven models range from electrostatic, hybrid particle-in-cell plasma systems to reactive fluid dynamics simulations. They demonstrate the superior performance of DES in terms of accuracy, speed and robustness.

Preliminary scaling laws for plasma current, ion kinetic temperature, and plasma number density in the NASA Lewis bumpy torus plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, J. R.

1976-01-01

Parametric variation of independent variables which may affect the characteristics of bumpy torus plasma have identified those which have a significant effect on the plasma current, ion kinetic temperature, and plasma number density, and those which do not. Empirical power law correlations of the plasma current, and the ion kinetic temperature and number density were obtained as functions of potential applied to the midplane electrode rings, the background neutral gas pressure, and the magnetic field strength. Additional parameters studied included the type of gas, the polarity of the midplane electrode rings, the mode of plasma operation, and the method of measuring the plasma number density. No significant departures from the scaling laws appear to occur at the highest ion kinetic temperatures or number densities obtained to date.

Proton-driven Plasma Wakefield Acceleration

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

The construction of ever larger and costlier accelerator facilities has a limited future, and new technologies will be needed to push the energy frontier. Plasma wakefield acceleration is a rapidly developing field and is a promising candidate technology for future high energy colliders. We focus on the recently proposed idea of proton-driven plasma wakefield acceleration and describe the current status and plans for this approach.

Pubertal induction in hypogonadism: Current approaches including use of gonadotrophins.

Science.gov (United States)

Zacharin, Margaret

2015-06-01

Primary disorders of the gonad or those secondary to abnormalities of the hypothalamic pituitary axis result in hypogonadism. The range of health problems of childhood and adolescence that affect this axis has increased, as most children now survive chronic illness, but many have persisting deficits in gonadal function as a result of their underlying condition or its treatment. An integrated approach to hormone replacement is needed to optimize adult hormonal and bone health, and to offer opportunities for fertility induction and preservation that were not considered possible in the past. Timing of presentation ranges from birth, with disorders of sexual development, through adolescent pubertal failure, to adult fertility problems. This review addresses diagnosis and management of hypogonadism and focuses on new management strategies to address current concerns with fertility preservation. These include Turner syndrome, and fertility presevation prior to childhood cancer treatment. New strategies for male hormone replacement therapy that may impinge upon future fertility are emphasized. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New approach to controlling impurity contamination of a plasma-gun-produced compact torus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Post, R.F.; Turner, W.C.

1982-01-01

The presence of impurity ions, notably carbon and oxygen, has been determined to be a major factor limiting the lifetime of field-reversed plasma entities produced by coaxial plasma guns such as the Beta II gun at LLNL. Similar problems are encountered in other toroidal plasmas, e.g. those in tokamaks. However, the solution employed there, discharge cleaning, followed by initiation of the plasma at low density (where impurity radiation losses are exceeded by ohmic heating rates) is not applicable here. This note discusses a proposed means for drastically reducing the level of impurities. (These are believed to be evolved from the gun electrode surfaces as a result of thermal shock associated with UV emission from the gun plasma). The idea: take advantage of the UV pulse preferentially to release hydrogen from the electrode surfaces. These surfaces are to be coated with a few-micron-thick layer of titanium, outgassed by preheating and subsequently loaded with hydrogen

Plasma physics

CERN Document Server

Cairns, R A

1985-01-01

This book is intended as an introduction to plasma physics at a level suitable for advanced undergraduates or beginning postgraduate students in physics, applied mathematics or astrophysics. The main prerequisite is a knowledge of electromagnetism and of the associated mathematics of vector calculus. SI units are used throughout. There is still a tendency amongst some plasma physics researchers to· cling to C.g.S. units, but it is the author's view that universal adoption of SI units, which have been the internationally agreed standard since 1960, is to be encouraged. After a short introductory chapter, the basic properties of a plasma con­ cerning particle orbits, fluid theory, Coulomb collisions and waves are set out in Chapters 2-5, with illustrations drawn from problems in nuclear fusion research and space physics. The emphasis is on the essential physics involved and (he theoretical and mathematical approach has been kept as simple and intuitive as possible. An attempt has been made to draw attention t...

Plasma response to electron energy filter in large volume plasma device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanyasi, A. K.; Awasthi, L. M.; Mattoo, S. K.; Srivastava, P. K.; Singh, S. K.; Singh, R.; Kaw, P. K.

2013-01-01

An electron energy filter (EEF) is embedded in the Large Volume Plasma Device plasma for carrying out studies on excitation of plasma turbulence by a gradient in electron temperature (ETG) described in the paper of Mattoo et al. [S. K. Mattoo et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 255007 (2012)]. In this paper, we report results on the response of the plasma to the EEF. It is shown that inhomogeneity in the magnetic field of the EEF switches on several physical phenomena resulting in plasma regions with different characteristics, including a plasma region free from energetic electrons, suitable for the study of ETG turbulence. Specifically, we report that localized structures of plasma density, potential, electron temperature, and plasma turbulence are excited in the EEF plasma. It is shown that structures of electron temperature and potential are created due to energy dependence of the electron transport in the filter region. On the other hand, although structure of plasma density has origin in the particle transport but two distinct steps of the density structure emerge from dominance of collisionality in the source-EEF region and of the Bohm diffusion in the EEF-target region. It is argued and experimental evidence is provided for existence of drift like flute Rayleigh-Taylor in the EEF plasma

Antimatter plasmas and antihydrogen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greaves, R.G.; Surko, C.M.

1997-01-01

Recent successes in confining antimatter in the form of positron and antiproton plasmas have created new scientific and technological opportunities. Plasma techniques have been the cornerstone of experimental work in this area, and this is likely to be true for the foreseeable future. Work by a number of groups on trapping antimatter plasmas is summarized, and an overview of the promises and challenges in this field is presented. Topics relating to positron plasmas include the use of positrons to study the unique properties of electron endash positron plasmas, the interaction between positrons and ordinary matter, and the laboratory modeling of positron-annihilation processes in interstellar media. The availability of cold, trapped antiprotons and positrons makes possible the production of neutral antimatter in the form of antihydrogen. This is expected to enable precise comparisons of the properties of matter and antimatter, including tests of fundamental symmetries and the measurement of the interaction of antimatter with gravity. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Dense Plasma Focus - From Alternative Fusion Source to Versatile High Energy Density Plasma Source for Plasma Nanotechnology

Science.gov (United States)

Rawat, R. S.

2015-03-01

The dense plasma focus (DPF), a coaxial plasma gun, utilizes pulsed high current electrical discharge to heat and compress the plasma to very high density and temperature with energy densities in the range of 1-10 × 1010 J/m3. The DPF device has always been in the company of several alternative magnetic fusion devices as it produces intense fusion neutrons. Several experiments conducted on many different DPF devices ranging over several order of storage energy have demonstrated that at higher storage energy the neutron production does not follow I4 scaling laws and deteriorate significantly raising concern about the device's capability and relevance for fusion energy. On the other hand, the high energy density pinch plasma in DPF device makes it a multiple radiation source of ions, electron, soft and hard x-rays, and neutrons, making it useful for several applications in many different fields such as lithography, radiography, imaging, activation analysis, radioisotopes production etc. Being a source of hot dense plasma, strong shockwave, intense energetic beams and radiation, etc, the DPF device, additionally, shows tremendous potential for applications in plasma nanoscience and plasma nanotechnology. In the present paper, the key features of plasma focus device are critically discussed to understand the novelties and opportunities that this device offers in processing and synthesis of nanophase materials using, both, the top-down and bottom-up approach. The results of recent key experimental investigations performed on (i) the processing and modification of bulk target substrates for phase change, surface reconstruction and nanostructurization, (ii) the nanostructurization of PLD grown magnetic thin films, and (iii) direct synthesis of nanostructured (nanowire, nanosheets and nanoflowers) materials using anode target material ablation, ablated plasma and background reactive gas based synthesis and purely gas phase synthesis of various different types of

Dense Plasma Focus - From Alternative Fusion Source to Versatile High Energy Density Plasma Source for Plasma Nanotechnology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rawat, R S

2015-01-01

The dense plasma focus (DPF), a coaxial plasma gun, utilizes pulsed high current electrical discharge to heat and compress the plasma to very high density and temperature with energy densities in the range of 1-10 × 10 10 J/m 3 . The DPF device has always been in the company of several alternative magnetic fusion devices as it produces intense fusion neutrons. Several experiments conducted on many different DPF devices ranging over several order of storage energy have demonstrated that at higher storage energy the neutron production does not follow I 4 scaling laws and deteriorate significantly raising concern about the device's capability and relevance for fusion energy. On the other hand, the high energy density pinch plasma in DPF device makes it a multiple radiation source of ions, electron, soft and hard x-rays, and neutrons, making it useful for several applications in many different fields such as lithography, radiography, imaging, activation analysis, radioisotopes production etc. Being a source of hot dense plasma, strong shockwave, intense energetic beams and radiation, etc, the DPF device, additionally, shows tremendous potential for applications in plasma nanoscience and plasma nanotechnology. In the present paper, the key features of plasma focus device are critically discussed to understand the novelties and opportunities that this device offers in processing and synthesis of nanophase materials using, both, the top-down and bottom-up approach. The results of recent key experimental investigations performed on (i) the processing and modification of bulk target substrates for phase change, surface reconstruction and nanostructurization, (ii) the nanostructurization of PLD grown magnetic thin films, and (iii) direct synthesis of nanostructured (nanowire, nanosheets and nanoflowers) materials using anode target material ablation, ablated plasma and background reactive gas based synthesis and purely gas phase synthesis of various different types of

3D nozzle flow simulations including state-to-state kinetics calculation

Science.gov (United States)

Cutrone, L.; Tuttafesta, M.; Capitelli, M.; Schettino, A.; Pascazio, G.; Colonna, G.

2014-12-01

In supersonic and hypersonic flows, thermal and chemical non-equilibrium is one of the fundamental aspects that must be taken into account for the accurate characterization of the plasma. In this paper, we present an optimized methodology to approach plasma numerical simulation by state-to-state kinetics calculations in a fully 3D Navier-Stokes CFD solver. Numerical simulations of an expanding flow are presented aimed at comparing the behavior of state-to-state chemical kinetics models with respect to the macroscopic thermochemical non-equilibrium models that are usually used in the numerical computation of high temperature hypersonic flows. The comparison is focused both on the differences in the numerical results and on the computational effort associated with each approach.

The biology of platelet-rich plasma and its application in oral surgery: literature review.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nikolidakis, D.; Jansen, J.A.

2008-01-01

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a new approach in tissue regeneration and a developing area for clinicians and researchers. It is used in various surgical fields, including oral and maxillofacial surgery. PRP is prepared from the patient's own blood and contains growth factors that influence wound

Modeling of Plasma-Induced Ignition and Combustion

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Boyd, Iain D; Keidar, Michael

2008-01-01

.... Phenomena that must be considered in an electrothermal chemical gun model include the initial capillary plasma properties, the plasma-air interaction, plasma sheath effects, and the plasma-propellant interaction itself...

Radiofrequency power in plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-12-31

This document includes the various communications that were presented at the 11th topical conference on radio frequency power in plasmas which took place in Palm Springs in May 1995. It includes current diffusion studies to assess the non-inductive current deposition profiles, experiments for plasma to reach quickly an equilibrium state, and modelling of electrons in plasma. Some comparison studies also reveal the efficiency of the Quasi-Optical Grill antenna for reactor applications. Finally, a scenario for efficient mode conversion heating in the ion cyclotron range of frequency is presented. Separate abstracts were prepared for the 6 papers in this volume. (TEC).

Quantitative lipidomic analysis of plasma and plasma lipoproteins using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Serna, Jorge; García-Seisdedos, David; Alcázar, Alberto; Lasunción, Miguel Ángel; Busto, Rebeca; Pastor, Óscar

2015-07-01

Knowledge of the plasma lipid composition is essential to clarify the specific roles of different lipid species in various pathophysiological processes. In this study, we developed an analytical strategy combining high-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD) and off-line coupling with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS) to determine the composition of plasma and major lipoproteins at two levels, lipid classes and lipid species. We confirmed the suitability of MALDI-TOF/MS as a quantitative measurement tool studying the linearity and repeatability for triglycerides (TG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine (PC). Moreover, data obtained with this method were correlated with other lipid classes and species measurements using currently available technologies. To establish the potential utility of our approach, human plasma very low density- (VLDL), low density- (LDL) and high density- (HDL) lipoproteins from 10 healthy donors were separated using ultracentrifugation, and compositions of nine lipid classes, cholesteryl esters (CE), TG, free cholesterol (FC), PE, phosphatidylinositol (PI), sulfatides (S), PC, lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) and sphingomyelin (SM), analyzed. In total, 157 lipid species in plasma, 182 in LDL, 171 in HDL, and 148 in VLDL were quantified. The lipidomic profile was consistent with known differences in lipid classes, but also revealed unexpected differences in lipid species distribution of lipoproteins, particularly for LPC and SM. In summary, the methodology developed in this study constitutes a valid approach to determine the lipidomic composition of plasma and lipoproteins. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two approaches to the clinical dilemma of treating TTP with therapeutic plasma exchange in patients with a history of anaphylactic reactions to plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Sidhu, Davinder; Snyder, Edward L; Tormey, Christopher A

2017-06-01

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare but serious disease caused by autoantibody-mediated deficiency in von Willebrand factor (VWF) cleaving protease, ADAMTS-13. The primary acute treatment is therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). However, some patients can develop allergic/anaphylactic reactions to the replacement (i.e., donor) plasma over time. Two potential treatment strategies for patients with TTP who demonstrate severe allergic reactions to plasma used for exchange were examined. Two patients with TTP exacerbations who developed severe allergic reactions to donor plasma were identified. One patient's TPE was re-initiated with Octaplas, a lot-batched solvent and detergent treated, type-specific, pooled donor plasma product. The other patient was exchanged with primarily albumin, followed by slow incremental exposures to donor plasma to mitigate exposures and allergic risks. Both patients were assessed for anaphylaxis. Both treatment strategies were successful in preventing any further clinically significant allergic/anaphylactic reactions and facilitated both patients' TTP remissions. Based on our experience with two similar patients with TTP exacerbations and history of anaphylactic reactions to plasma during TPE, we have identified two possible treatment protocols to achieve remission in this clinical dilemma. Substituting Octaplas for standard plasma or, alternatively, using albumin with slowly increasing amounts of standard plasma may help to mitigate the risk of further anaphylactic adverse events. J. Clin. Apheresis 32:158-162, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

RFP plasma experiment at INPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueda, M.; Aso, Y.

1988-01-01

Plasma experiments in CECI, a small Reversed Field Pinch (RFP) apparatus, are described. Preliminary measurements in this device shown the production of a plasma with peak current of 1.3kA and discharge duration of nearly 80μs, when a toroidal DC field of 100G was used. A loop voltage of 40V was measured and a maximum electron temperature of 3eV was estimated for these discharges. Experimental points in the F-θ diagram for CECI indicate that its plasma is approaching the RFP configuration when the discharge is optimize. The probe data also show that the plasma column expands outward. Numerical results indicate that leakage fields have to be reduced below 5G to form appropriate magnetic surfaces. (author) [pt

Studies of the ablated plasma from experimental plasma gun disruption simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rockett, P.D.; Hunter, J.A.; Bradley, J.T.

1994-01-01

Extensive simulations of Tokamak disruptions have provided a picture of material erosion that is limited by the transfer of energy from the incident plasma to the armor solid surface through a dense vapor shield. Radiation spectra were recorded in the VUV and in the visible at the Efremov Laboratories on VIKA using graphite targets. The VUV data were recorded with a Sandia Labs transmission grating spectrograph, covering 1--40 nm. Plasma parameters were evaluated with incident plasma energy densities varying from 1--10 kJ/cm 2 . A second transmission grating spectrograph was taken to 2MK-200 at TRINITI to study the plasma-material interface in magnetic cusp plasma. Target materials included POCO graphite, ATJ graphite, boron nitride, and plasma-sprayed tungsten. Detailed spectra were recorded with a spatial resolution of ∼1 mm resolution. Time-resolved data with 40--200 ns resolution was also recorded. The data from both plasma gun facilities demonstrated that the hottest plasma region was sitting several millimeters above the armor tile surface

High Temperature Plasmas Theory and Mathematical Tools for Laser and Fusion Plasmas

CERN Document Server

Spatschek, Karl-Heinz

2012-01-01

Filling the gap for a treatment of the subject as an advanced course in theoretical physics with a huge potential for future applications, this monograph discusses aspects of these applications and provides theoretical methods and tools for their investigation. Throughout this coherent and up-to-date work the main emphasis is on classical plasmas at high-temperatures, drawing on the experienced author's specialist background. As such, it covers the key areas of magnetic fusion plasma, laser-plasma-interaction and astrophysical plasmas, while also including nonlinear waves and phenomena.

Analysis of plasma instabilities and verification of the BOUT code for the Large Plasma Device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popovich, P.; Carter, T. A.; Friedman, B.; Umansky, M. V.

2010-01-01

The properties of linear instabilities in the Large Plasma Device [W. Gekelman et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 62, 2875 (1991)] are studied both through analytic calculations and solving numerically a system of linearized collisional plasma fluid equations using the three-dimensional fluid code BOUT[M. Umansky et al., Contrib. Plasma Phys. 180, 887 (2009)], which has been successfully modified to treat cylindrical geometry. Instability drive from plasma pressure gradients and flows is considered, focusing on resistive drift waves and the Kelvin-Helmholtz and rotational interchange instabilities. A general linear dispersion relation for partially ionized collisional plasmas including these modes is derived and analyzed. For Large Plasma Device relevant profiles including strongly driven flows, it is found that all three modes can have comparable growth rates and frequencies. Detailed comparison with solutions of the analytic dispersion relation demonstrates that BOUT accurately reproduces all characteristics of linear modes in this system.

Collisionless scattering of plasma cloud in a dipole magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osipyan, D.A.

2006-01-01

Results of numerical simulation of dense plasma cloud scattering dynamics in a magnetized background and MHD indignations generation are presented. The magnetic field has dipole structure. The initial system of equations includes the Vlasov equations for ionic components of plasma, hydrodynamic approach for electrons and Maxwell's system of equations. The method of solution is based on the use of the method of particles in cells and finite difference splitting schemes. Quantitative characteristics of dependence of scattering cloud parameters from the Mach-Alfven number and parameter of magnetic laminar interaction are observed. In particular, a condition of more effective deformation of a cloud is large values of the Mach-Alfven numbers and small parameters of the magnetic laminar interaction

The isentropic relation in plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burm, K T A L

2004-01-01

The isentropic relation from gas dynamics relates pressure, density and temperature. The use of this relation may ease the hydrodynamic modelling effort. Characteristic for the isentropic relation is the constant isentropic exponent. The isentropic exponent is also in the case of plasmas a constant as long as the ionization degree is between 5 and 80%. This constant is lower due to the extra degree of freedom which comes with ionization in plasmas. The occurrence of ionization means that plasmas are never isentropic. The isentropic relation itself is therefore adapted here to include plasmas within its concept. From the plasma isentropic relation a further extension is to include viscosity and heating. It is found that all extra non-isentropic inclusions further lower the (quasi-) isentropic exponent in the adapted isentropic relation

Physical properties of dense, low-temperature plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redmer, R.

1997-01-01

Plasmas occur in a wide range of the density-temperature plane. The physical quantities can be expressed by Green's functions which are evaluated by means of standard quantum statistical methods. The influences of many-particle effects such as dynamic screening and self-energy, structure factor and local-field corrections, formation and decay of bound states, degeneracy and Pauli exclusion principle are studied. As a basic concept for partially ionized plasmas, a cluster decomposition is performed for the self-energy as well as for the polarization function. The general model of a partially ionized plasma interpolates between low-density, nonmetallic systems such as atomic vapors and high-density, conducting systems such as metals or fully ionized plasmas. The equations of state, including the location of the critical point and the shape of the coexistence curve, are determined for expanded alkali-atom and mercury fluids. The occurrence of a metal-nonmetal transition near the critical point of the liquid-vapor phase transition leads in these materials to characteristic deviations from the behavior of nonconducting fluids such as the inert gases. Therefore, a unified approach is needed to describe the drastic changes of the electronic properties as well as the variation of the physical properties with the density. Similar results are obtained for the hypothetical plasma phase transition in hydrogen plasma. The transport coefficients (electrical and thermal conductivity, thermopower) are studied wthin linear response theory given here in the formulation of Zubarev which is valid for arbitrary degeneracy and yields the transport coefficients for the limiting cases of nondegenerate, weakly coupled plasmas (Spitzer theory) as well as degenerate, strongly coupled plasmas (Ziman theory). mercury within the MHNC scheme via effective ion-ion potentials which are derived from the polarization function within an extended RPA. The optical properties of dense plasmas, the shift

Experimental studies of collisional plasma shocks and plasma interpenetration via merging supersonic plasma jets

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, S. C.; Moser, A. L.; Merritt, E. C.; Adams, C. S.

2015-11-01

Over the past 4 years on the Plasma Liner Experiment (PLX) at LANL, we have studied obliquely and head-on-merging supersonic plasma jets of an argon/impurity or hydrogen/impurity mixture. The jets are formed/launched by pulsed-power-driven railguns. In successive experimental campaigns, we characterized the (a) evolution of plasma parameters of a single plasma jet as it propagated up to ~ 1 m away from the railgun nozzle, (b) density profiles and 2D morphology of the stagnation layer and oblique shocks that formed between obliquely merging jets, and (c) collisionless interpenetration transitioning to collisional stagnation between head-on-merging jets. Key plasma diagnostics included a fast-framing CCD camera, an 8-chord visible interferometer, a survey spectrometer, and a photodiode array. This talk summarizes the primary results mentioned above, and highlights analyses of inferred post-shock temperatures based on observations of density gradients that we attribute to shock-layer thickness. We also briefly describe more recent PLX experiments on Rayleigh-Taylor-instability evolution with magnetic and viscous effects, and potential future collisionless shock experiments enabled by low-impurity, higher-velocity plasma jets formed by contoured-gap coaxial guns. Supported by DOE Fusion Energy Sciences and LANL LDRD.

Collisional-radiative model including recombination processes for W27+ ion★

Science.gov (United States)

Murakami, Izumi; Sasaki, Akira; Kato, Daiji; Koike, Fumihiro

2017-10-01

We have constructed a collisional-radiative (CR) model for W27+ ions including 226 configurations with n ≤ 9 and ł ≤ 5 for spectroscopic diagnostics. We newly include recombination processes in the model and this is the first result of extreme ultraviolet spectrum calculated for recombining plasma component. Calculated spectra in 40-70 Å range in ionizing and recombining plasma components show similar 3 strong lines and 1 line weak in recombining plasma component at 45-50 Å and many weak lines at 50-65 Å for both components. Recombination processes do not contribute much to the spectrum at around 60 Å for W27+ ion. Dielectronic satellite lines are also minor contribution to the spectrum of recombining plasma component. Dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficient from W28+ to W27+ ions is also calculated with the same atomic data in the CR model. We found that larger set of energy levels including many autoionizing states gave larger DR rate coefficients but our rate agree within factor 6 with other works at electron temperature around 1 keV in which W27+ and W28+ ions are usually observed in plasmas. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Atomic and Molecular Data and their Applications", edited by Gordon W.F. Drake, Jung-Sik Yoon, Daiji Kato, and Grzegorz Karwasz.

Plasma processing for VLSI

CERN Document Server

Einspruch, Norman G

1984-01-01

VLSI Electronics: Microstructure Science, Volume 8: Plasma Processing for VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) discusses the utilization of plasmas for general semiconductor processing. It also includes expositions on advanced deposition of materials for metallization, lithographic methods that use plasmas as exposure sources and for multiple resist patterning, and device structures made possible by anisotropic etching.This volume is divided into four sections. It begins with the history of plasma processing, a discussion of some of the early developments and trends for VLSI. The second section

A fluorogenic probe for SNAP-tagged plasma membrane proteins based on the solvatochromic molecule Nile Red.

Science.gov (United States)

Prifti, Efthymia; Reymond, Luc; Umebayashi, Miwa; Hovius, Ruud; Riezman, Howard; Johnsson, Kai

2014-03-21

A fluorogenic probe for plasma membrane proteins based on the dye Nile Red and SNAP-tag is introduced. It takes advantage of Nile Red, a solvatochromic molecule highly fluorescent in an apolar environment, such as cellular membranes, but almost dark in a polar aqueous environment. The probe possesses a tuned affinity for membranes allowing its Nile Red moiety to insert into the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane, becoming fluorescent, only after its conjugation to a SNAP-tagged plasma membrane protein. The fluorogenic character of the probe was demonstrated for different SNAP-tag fusion proteins, including the human insulin receptor. This work introduces a new approach for generating a powerful turn-on probe for "no-wash" labeling of plasma membrane proteins with numerous applications in bioimaging.

Particle beams and plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofmann, A.; Messerschmid, E.; Lawson, J.D.

1976-01-01

These lectures present a survey of some of the concepts of plasma physics and look at some situations familiar to particle-accelerator physicists from the point of view of a plasma physicist, with the intention of helping to link together the two fields. At the outset, basic plasma concepts are presented, including definitions of a plasma, characteristic parameters, magnetic pressure and confinement. This is followed by a brief discussion on plasma kinetic theory, non-equilibrium plasma, and the temperature of moving plasmas. Examples deal with beams in the CERN Intersecting Storage Rings as well as with non-steady beams in cyclic accelerators and microwave tubes. In the final chapters, time-varying systems are considered: waves in free space and the effect of cylinder bounds, wave motion in cold stationary plasmas, and waves in plasmas with well-defined streams. The treatment throughout is informal, with emphasis on the essential physical properties of continuous beams in accelerators and storage rings in relation to the corresponding problems in plasma physics and microwave tubes. (Author)

Present status of plasma-wall interactions research and materials development activities in the US

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirooka, Y.; Conn, R.W.

1989-08-01

It is well known in the fusion engineering community that the plasma confinement performance in magnetic fusion devices is strongly affected by edge-plasma interactions with surface components. These plasma-material interactions (PMI) include fuel particle recycling and impurity generation both during normal and off-normal operation. To understand and then to control PMI effects, considerable effort has been made, particularly over the last decade in US, supported by Department of Energy, Division of Development and Technology. Also, because plasma-facing components are generally expected to receive significant amount of heat due to plasma bombardment and run-away electrons, materials must tolerate high-heat fluxes (HHF). The HHF-component research has been conducted in parallel with PMI research. One strong motivation for these research activities is that DT-burning experiments are currently planned in the Tokamak Test Fusion Reactor (TFTR) in early 1990s. Several different but mutually complementary approaches have been taken in the PMI+HHF research. The first approach is to conduct PMI experiments using toroidal fusion devices such as TFTR. The second one is to simulate elemental processes involved in PMI using ion beams and electron beams, etc. The last one but not least is to use non-tokamak plasma facilities. Along with these laboratory activities, new materials have been developed and evaluated from the PMI+HHF point of view. In this paper, several major PMI+HHF research facilities in US and their activities are briefly reviewed. 21 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs

Boundary Plasma Turbulence Simulations for Tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, X.; Umansky, M.; Dudson, B.; Snyder, P.

2008-05-01

The boundary plasma turbulence code BOUT models tokamak boundary-plasma turbulence in a realistic divertor geometry using modified Braginskii equations for plasma vorticity, density (ni), electron and ion temperature (T e ; T i ) and parallel momenta. The BOUT code solves for the plasma fluid equations in a three dimensional (3D) toroidal segment (or a toroidal wedge), including the region somewhat inside the separatrix and extending into the scrape-off layer; the private flux region is also included. In this paper, a description is given of the sophisticated physical models, innovative numerical algorithms, and modern software design used to simulate edge-plasmas in magnetic fusion energy devices. The BOUT code's unique capabilities and functionality are exemplified via simulations of the impact of plasma density on tokamak edge turbulence and blob dynamics

A high-throughput microfluidic approach for 1000-fold leukocyte reduction of platelet-rich plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Hui; Strachan, Briony C.; Gifford, Sean C.; Shevkoplyas, Sergey S.

2016-10-01

Leukocyte reduction of donated blood products substantially reduces the risk of a number of transfusion-related complications. Current ‘leukoreduction’ filters operate by trapping leukocytes within specialized filtration material, while allowing desired blood components to pass through. However, the continuous release of inflammatory cytokines from the retained leukocytes, as well as the potential for platelet activation and clogging, are significant drawbacks of conventional ‘dead end’ filtration. To address these limitations, here we demonstrate our newly-developed ‘controlled incremental filtration’ (CIF) approach to perform high-throughput microfluidic removal of leukocytes from platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in a continuous flow regime. Leukocytes are separated from platelets within the PRP by progressively syphoning clarified PRP away from the concentrated leukocyte flowstream. Filtrate PRP collected from an optimally-designed CIF device typically showed a ~1000-fold (i.e. 99.9%) reduction in leukocyte concentration, while recovering >80% of the original platelets, at volumetric throughputs of ~1 mL/min. These results suggest that the CIF approach will enable users in many fields to now apply the advantages of microfluidic devices to particle separation, even for applications requiring macroscale flowrates.

Electrochemical approach for acute myocardial infarction diagnosis based on direct antibodies-free analysis of human blood plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Suprun, Elena V; Saveliev, Anatoly A; Evtugyn, Gennady A; Lisitsa, Alexander V; Bulko, Tatiana V; Shumyantseva, Victoria V; Archakov, Alexander I

2012-03-15

A novel direct antibodies-free electrochemical approach for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) diagnosis has been developed. For this purpose, a combination of the electrochemical assay of plasma samples with chemometrics was proposed. Screen printed carbon electrodes modified with didodecyldimethylammonium bromide were used for plasma charactrerization by cyclic (CV) and square wave voltammetry and square wave (SWV) voltammetry. It was shown that the cathodic peak in voltammograms at about -250 mV vs. Ag/AgCl can be associated with AMI. In parallel tests, cardiac myoglobin and troponin I, the AMI biomarkers, were determined in each sample by RAMP immunoassay. The applicability of the electrochemical testing for AMI diagnostics was confirmed by statistical methods: generalized linear model (GLM), linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), artificial neural net (multi-layer perception, MLP), and support vector machine (SVM), all of which were created to obtain the "True-False" distribution prediction where "True" and "False" are, respectively, positive and negative decision about an illness event. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Proteomic Approach for Plasma Biomarker Discovery with iTRAQ Labelling and OFFGEL Fractionation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilie Ernoult

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Human blood plasma contains a plethora of proteins, encompassing not only proteins that have plasma-based functionalities, but also possibly every other form of low concentrated human proteins. As it circulates through the tissues, the plasma picks up proteins that are released from their origin due to physiological events such as tissue remodeling and cell death. Specific disease processes or tumors are often characterized by plasma “signatures,” which may become obvious via changes in the plasma proteome profile, for example, through over expression of proteins. However, the wide dynamic range of proteins present in plasma makes their analysis very challenging, because high-abundance proteins tend to mask those of lower abundance. In the present study, we used a strategy combining iTRAQ as a reagent which improved the peptide ionization and peptide OFFGEL fractionation that has already been shown, in our previous research, to improve the proteome coverage of cellular extracts. Two prefractioning methods were compared: immunodepletion and a bead-based library of combinatorial hexapeptide technology. Our data suggested that both methods were complementary, with regard to the number of identified proteins. iTRAQ labelling, in association with OFFGEL fractionation, allowed more than 300 different proteins to be characterized from 400 μg of plasma proteins.

A proteomic approach for plasma biomarker discovery with iTRAQ labelling and OFFGEL fractionation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ernoult, Emilie; Bourreau, Anthony; Gamelin, Erick; Guette, Catherine

2010-01-01

Human blood plasma contains a plethora of proteins, encompassing not only proteins that have plasma-based functionalities, but also possibly every other form of low concentrated human proteins. As it circulates through the tissues, the plasma picks up proteins that are released from their origin due to physiological events such as tissue remodeling and cell death. Specific disease processes or tumors are often characterized by plasma "signatures," which may become obvious via changes in the plasma proteome profile, for example, through over expression of proteins. However, the wide dynamic range of proteins present in plasma makes their analysis very challenging, because high-abundance proteins tend to mask those of lower abundance. In the present study, we used a strategy combining iTRAQ as a reagent which improved the peptide ionization and peptide OFFGEL fractionation that has already been shown, in our previous research, to improve the proteome coverage of cellular extracts. Two prefractioning methods were compared: immunodepletion and a bead-based library of combinatorial hexapeptide technology. Our data suggested that both methods were complementary, with regard to the number of identified proteins. iTRAQ labelling, in association with OFFGEL fractionation, allowed more than 300 different proteins to be characterized from 400 microg of plasma proteins.

Characterization of pulsed atmospheric-pressure plasma streams (PAPS) generated by a plasma gun

Science.gov (United States)

Robert, E.; Sarron, V.; Riès, D.; Dozias, S.; Vandamme, M.; Pouvesle, J.-M.

2012-06-01

An experimental study of atmospheric-pressure rare gas plasma propagation in a high-aspect-ratio capillary is reported. The plasma is generated with a plasma gun device based on a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor powered by either nanosecond or microsecond rise-time high-voltage pulses at single-shot to multi-kHz frequencies. The influence of the voltage waveform, pulse polarity, pulse repetition rate and capillary material have been studied using nanosecond intensified charge-coupled device imaging and plasma-front velocity measurements. The evolution of the plasma appearance during its propagation and the study of the role of the different experimental parameters lead us to suggest a new denomination of pulsed atmospheric-pressure plasma streams to describe all the plasma features, including the previously so-called plasma bullet. The unique properties of such non-thermal plasma launching in capillaries, far from the primary DBD plasma, are associated with a fast ionization wave travelling with velocity in the 107-108 cm s-1 range. Voltage pulse tailoring is shown to allow for a significant improvement of such plasma delivery. Thus, the plasma gun device affords unique opportunities in biomedical endoscopic applications.

Characterization of pulsed atmospheric-pressure plasma streams (PAPS) generated by a plasma gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robert, E; Sarron, V; Riès, D; Dozias, S; Vandamme, M; Pouvesle, J-M

2012-01-01

An experimental study of atmospheric-pressure rare gas plasma propagation in a high-aspect-ratio capillary is reported. The plasma is generated with a plasma gun device based on a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor powered by either nanosecond or microsecond rise-time high-voltage pulses at single-shot to multi-kHz frequencies. The influence of the voltage waveform, pulse polarity, pulse repetition rate and capillary material have been studied using nanosecond intensified charge-coupled device imaging and plasma-front velocity measurements. The evolution of the plasma appearance during its propagation and the study of the role of the different experimental parameters lead us to suggest a new denomination of pulsed atmospheric-pressure plasma streams to describe all the plasma features, including the previously so-called plasma bullet. The unique properties of such non-thermal plasma launching in capillaries, far from the primary DBD plasma, are associated with a fast ionization wave travelling with velocity in the 10 7 –10 8 cm s −1 range. Voltage pulse tailoring is shown to allow for a significant improvement of such plasma delivery. Thus, the plasma gun device affords unique opportunities in biomedical endoscopic applications. (paper)

Proceedings of the Japan-US workshop on plasma polarization spectroscopy and the fourth international symposium on plasma polarization spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujimoto, Takashi; Beiersdorfer, Peter [eds.

2004-07-01

The international meeting on Plasma Polarization Spectroscopy (PPS) was held at Kyoto University during February 4-6, 2004. This Proceedings book includes the summaries of the talks given in that meeting. Starting with the Overview talk by Csanak, the subjects cover: x-ray polarization experiments on z-pinches (plasma foci), and an x-pinch, a laser-produced plasma in a gas atmosphere, an interpretation of the polarized 1<- 0 x-ray laser line, polarization observation from various laser-produced plasmas including a recombining phase plasma, a report on the on-going project of a laser facility, several polarization observations on magnetically confined plasmas including the Large Helical Device and an ECR plasma, a new laser-induced fluorescence diagnostic method. On atomic physics side given are: various polarization measurements on EBIT, precision spectroscopy on the TEXTOR, user-friendly atomic codes. Instrumentation is also a subject of this book. The 18 of the presented papers are indexed individually. (J.P.N.)

Modeling and simulation of plasma materials processing devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graves, D.B.

1996-01-01

Plasma processing has emerged as a central technology in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs) and related industries. These plasmas are weakly to partially ionized gases, typically operated at a few to several hundred mTorr gas pressure, with neutral temperatures ranging from room temperature to 500 degrees K. Electron mean energies are typically a few eV and ion energies in the bulk plasma are about 0.05-0.5 eV. Positive ions axe accelerated in the sheaths to impact surfaces with energies ranging from about 10 eV to hundreds of eV. These energetic ions profoundly affect rates of surface chemical reactions. One of the consequences of the recent rapid growth in the IC industry has been a greater focus on manufacturing productivity. The capital costs of equipment that is used in manufacturing IC's has become a large fraction of the ∼ $1 billion cost of building a wafer fab. There is now a strong economic incentive to develop workstation-based simulations of plasma chemical reactors in order to design, optimize and control plasma reactors. I will summarize efforts to develop such models, including electromagnetic coupling, and transport and kinetics of charged and neutral species. Length and time scale disparities in the plasma tool challenge current simulation approaches, and I will address strategies to attack aspects of this problem. In addition, I will present some of our recent efforts to exploit molecular dynamics simulations employing empirical potentials to get hints about qualitative mechanisms and ideas on how to formulate rate expressions for plasma-surface chemical processes. Video illustrations of selected sets of ion trajectories impacting near-surface regions of the substrate will be presented

Plasma Colloquium Travel Grant Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hazeltine, R.D.

1998-01-01

OAK B188 Plasma Colloquium Travel Grant Program. The purpose of the Travel Grant Program is to increase the awareness of plasma research. The new results and techniques of plasma research in fusion plasmas, plasma processing space plasmas, basic plasma science, etc, have broad applicability throughout science. The benefits of these results are limited by the relatively low awareness and appreciation of plasma research in the larger scientific community. Whereas spontaneous interactions between plasma scientists and other scientists are useful, a focused effort in education and outreach to other scientists is efficient and is needed. The academic scientific community is the initial focus of this effort, since that permits access to a broad cross-section of scientists and future scientists including undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and research staff

High spatial resolution in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of expanding plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siegel, J.; Epurescu, G.; Perea, A.; Gordillo-Vazquez, F.J.; Gonzalo, J.; Afonso, C.N.

2005-01-01

We report a technique that is able to achieve high spatial resolution in the measurement of the temporal and spectral emission characteristics of laser-induced expanding plasmas. The plasma is imaged directly onto the slit of an imaging spectrograph coupled to a time-gated intensified camera, with the plasma expansion direction being parallel to the slit extension. In this way, a single hybrid detection system is used to acquire the spatial, spectral and temporal characteristics of the laser induced plasma. The parallel acquisition approach of this technique ensures a much better spatial resolution in the expansion direction, reproducibility and data acquisition speed than commonly obtained by sequential measurements at different distances from the target. We have applied this technique to study the laser-induced plasma in LiNbO 3 and Bi 12 Ge 1 O 20 , revealing phenomena not seen in such detail with standard instruments. These include extreme line broadening up to a few nanometers accompanied by self-absorption near the target surface, as well as different ablation and expansion dynamics for the different species ejected. Overall, the high precision and wealth of quantitative information accessible with this technique open up new possibilities for the study of fundamental plasma expansion processes during pulsed laser ablation

[Plasma properties: Annual report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

The Magneto-Fluid Dynamics Division of the Courant Institute is engaged in a broad program of basic research in the theoretical aspects of plasma physics and magneto-fluid dynamics with emphasis on those areas which are relevant to the fusion energy program. The total research program in the division includes efforts in the areas of plasma containment, stability, equilibrium, transport, wave propagation (including shock waves), heating, orbit theory, as well as numerical experiments and the development of practical numerical methods in all plasma problems. Applications are made to the following project areas: Tokamaks, Mirrors, Stellarators, and Alternate Concepts. Developments include the whole spectrum of models from macroscopic MHD and guiding center to Vlasov, drift kinetic Fokker-Planck, and Boltzmann. This document describes research completed as well as programs in progress

An ArcGIS approach to include tectonic structures in point data regionalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Darsow, Andreas; Schafmeister, Maria-Theresia; Hofmann, Thilo

2009-01-01

Point data derived from drilling logs must often be regionalized. However, aquifers may show discontinuous surface structures, such as the offset of an aquitard caused by tectonic faults. One main challenge has been to incorporate these structures into the regionalization process of point data. We combined ordinary kriging and inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation to account for neotectonic structures in the regionalization process. The study area chosen to test this approach is the largest porous aquifer in Austria. It consists of three basins formed by neotectonic events and delimited by steep faults with a vertical offset of the aquitard up to 70 m within very short distances. First, ordinary kriging was used to incorporate the characteristic spatial variability of the aquitard location by means of a variogram. The tectonic faults could be included into the regionalization process by using breaklines with buffer zones. All data points inside the buffer were deleted. Last, IDW was performed, resulting in an aquitard map representing the discontinuous surface structures. This approach enables one to account for such surfaces using the standard software package ArcGIS; therefore, it could be adopted in many practical applications.

Alternative lines with magnetic plasma confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wobig, H.

1981-01-01

Plasma confinement with the aid of a magnetic field is the most common and also the most frequently investigated principle on the way to controlled nuclear fusion. Apart from the Tokamak principle, which is the most advanced principle as far as fusion-relevant plasma parameters are concerned, also other approaches are being investigated, e.g. the mirror device, the bumpy tons, and the stellarator. In principle, all three concepts permit 'stationary' plasma confinement in a stationary fusion reactor. Compared with the pulsed Tokamak reactor, this is a considerable advantage. (orig./GG) [de

Technological uses of low temperature plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawton, J.

1975-01-01

Types of low temperature plasma sources considered include; arc discharge, high pressure discharge, low pressure discharge and flame. The problems of uniform heating of a gas are discussed and it is considered that the most reliable technique is the magnetically rotated arc, but expanded discharges of one kind or another are likely to be serious competitors in the future. The uses of low temperature plasma in chemistry and combustion are considered. The potential for plasma chemistry lies with processes in which the reactions occur in the plasma itself or its neighbouring gas phase, including those which require the vaporization of liquefaction of a refractory material and also highly endothermic reactions. The production of thixotropic silica and acetylene are discussed as examples of such reactions. The field of plasma and combustion including; ignition, flame ionization and soot formation, and the MHD generator, is considered. (U.K.)

Enzyme-labeled Antigen Method: Development and Application of the Novel Approach for Identifying Plasma Cells Locally Producing Disease-specific Antibodies in Inflammatory Lesions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizutani, Yasuyoshi; Shiogama, Kazuya; Onouchi, Takanori; Sakurai, Kouhei; Inada, Ken-ichi; Tsutsumi, Yutaka

2016-01-01

In chronic inflammatory lesions of autoimmune and infectious diseases, plasma cells are frequently observed. Antigens recognized by antibodies produced by the plasma cells mostly remain unclear. A new technique identifying these corresponding antigens may give us a breakthrough for understanding the disease from a pathophysiological viewpoint, simply because the immunocytes are seen within the lesion. We have developed an enzyme-labeled antigen method for microscopic identification of the antigen recognized by specific antibodies locally produced in plasma cells in inflammatory lesions. Firstly, target biotinylated antigens were constructed by the wheat germ cell-free protein synthesis system or through chemical biotinylation. Next, proteins reactive to antibodies in tissue extracts were screened and antibody titers were evaluated by the AlphaScreen method. Finally, with the enzyme-labeled antigen method using the biotinylated antigens as probes, plasma cells producing specific antibodies were microscopically localized in fixed frozen sections. Our novel approach visualized tissue plasma cells that produced 1) autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis, 2) antibodies against major antigens of Porphyromonas gingivalis in periodontitis or radicular cyst, and 3) antibodies against a carbohydrate antigen, Strep A, of Streptococcus pyogenes in recurrent tonsillitis. Evaluation of local specific antibody responses expectedly contributes to clarifying previously unknown processes in inflammatory disorders

Plasma exchange combining with plasma bilirubin adsorption effectively removes toxic substances and improves liver functions of hepatic failure patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Che, X-Q; Li, Z-Q; Chen, Z; Guo, D; Jia, Q-Y; Jiang, S-C; Cai, J

2018-02-01

Hepatic failure (HF) is a kind of complex disease characterizing with liver dysfunction and a few clinical complications. Artificial liver support system (ALSS) has been applied to HF patients to improve dysfunctional liver in recent years. This study aims to evaluate therapeutic effects of ALSS approaches, including plasma exchange (PE), plasma diafiltration (PDF) and plasma bilirubin adsorption (PBA), on liver function of HF patients. This study is a retrospective analysis involving 516 patients diagnosed as HF between February 2014 and February 2015. Patients were randomly divided into PE, PDF, PE plus PBA, and PDF plus PBA group. Meanwhile, single-drug group and combined-drug group were also divided. The liver functions, capability of removing toxic substances and coagulation functions were evaluated both pre-treatment and post-treatment. The side effects and hospital improvement rate were also observed post-treatment. Hospital improvement rate achieves to 69.6%. TBIL levels and MELD scores were significantly decreased post-treatment compared to pre-treatment (phigher compared to PE and PDF group (p=0.002, 0.002, respectively). MELD scores were significantly decreased post-treatment compared to pre-treatment in each group (pbetter role in removing toxic substances, improving liver functions of HF patients.

Alpha particle effects in burning tokamak plasmas: overview and specific examples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sigmar, D.J.

1986-07-01

Using the total power balance of an ignited tokamak plasma as a guideline, a range of alpha driven effects is surveyed regarding their impact on achieving and maintaining fusion burn. Specific examples of MHD and kinetic modes and multi species transport dynamics are discussed, including the possible interaction of these categories of effects. This power balance approach rather than a straightforward enumeration of possible effects serves to reveal their non-linear dependence and the ensuing fragility of our understanding of the approach to and maintenance of ignition. Specific examples are given of the interaction between α-power driven sawtoothing and ideal MHD stability, and direct α-effects on MHD modes including kinetic corrections. Anomalous ion heat transport and central impurity peaking mechanisms and anomalous and collisional α-transport including the ambipolar electric field are discussed

Stable-isotope dilution GC-MS approach for nitrite quantification in human whole blood, erythrocytes, and plasma using pentafluorobenzyl bromide derivatization: nitrite distribution in human blood.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwarz, Alexandra; Modun, Darko; Heusser, Karsten; Tank, Jens; Gutzki, Frank-Mathias; Mitschke, Anja; Jordan, Jens; Tsikas, Dimitrios

2011-05-15

Previously, we reported on the usefulness of pentafluorobenzyl bromide (PFB-Br) for the simultaneous derivatization and quantitative determination of nitrite and nitrate in various biological fluids by GC-MS using their (15)N-labelled analogues as internal standards. As nitrite may be distributed unevenly in plasma and blood cells, its quantification in whole blood rather than in plasma or serum may be the most appropriate approach to determine nitrite concentration in the circulation. So far, GC-MS methods based on PFB-Br derivatization failed to measure nitrite in whole blood and erythrocytes because of rapid nitrite loss by oxidation and other unknown reactions during derivatization. The present article reports optimized and validated procedures for sample preparation and nitrite derivatization which allow for reliable quantification of nitrite in human whole blood and erythrocytes. Essential measures for stabilizing nitrite in these samples include sample cooling (0-4°C), hemoglobin (Hb) removal by precipitation with acetone and short derivatization of the Hb-free supernatant (5 min, 50°C). Potassium ferricyanide (K(3)Fe(CN)(6)) is useful in preventing Hb-caused nitrite loss, however, this chemical is not absolutely required in the present method. Our results show that accurate GC-MS quantification of nitrite as PFB derivative is feasible virtually in every biological matrix with similar accuracy and precision. In EDTA-anticoagulated venous blood of 10 healthy young volunteers, endogenous nitrite concentration was measured to be 486±280 nM in whole blood, 672±496 nM in plasma (C(P)), and 620±350 nM in erythrocytes (C(E)). The C(E)-to-C(P) ratio was 0.993±0.188 indicating almost even distribution of endogenous nitrite between plasma and erythrocytes. By contrast, the major fraction of nitrite added to whole blood remained in plasma. The present GC-MS method is useful to investigate distribution and metabolism of endogenous and exogenous nitrite in blood

Plasma diagnostics by means of electric probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colunga S, S.

1991-04-01

In this work a summary of the classical theoretical models to interpret the characteristic curve of a Langmuir electric probe placed in a plasma without magnetic field and with the one is made. The methodology for the electron temperature calculation and the density of the plasma in both cases is given, starting from the characteristic curve of the probe, as well as the approaches for the correct application of this diagnostic method of the plasma. (Author)

Selective heating and separation of isotopes in a metallic plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moffa, P.; Cheshire, D.; Flanders, B.; Myer, R.; Robinette, W.; Thompson, J.; Young, S.

1983-01-01

Several types of metallic plasmas have been produced at the Plasma Separation Process facility of TRW. Selective heating and separation of specific isotopes in these plasmas have been achieved. In this presentation the authors concentrate on the modeling of the selective heating and separation of the isotope Ni 58 . Two models are currently used to describe the excitation process. In both, the electromagnetic fields in the plasma produced by the ICRH antenna are calculated self-consistently using a kinetic description of the warm plasma dielectric. In the Process Model Code, both the production of the plasma and the heating are calculated using a Monte Carlo approach. Only the excitation process is treated in the second simplified model. Test particles that sample an initial parallel velocity distribution are launched into the heating region and the equations of motion including collisional damping are calculated. For both models, the perpendicular energy for a number of particles with different initial conditions and representing the different isotopes is calculated. This information is then input into a code that models the performance of our isotope separation collector. The motion of the ions of each isotope through the electrically biased collector is followed. An accounting of where each particle is deposited is kept and hence the isotope separation performance of the collector is predicted

Laser-plasma interactions and applications

CERN Document Server

Neely, David; Bingham, Robert; Jaroszynski, Dino

2013-01-01

Laser-Plasma Interactions and Applications covers the fundamental and applied aspects of high power laser-plasma physics. With an internationally renowned team of authors, the book broadens the knowledge of young researchers working in high power laser-plasma science by providing them with a thorough pedagogical grounding in the interaction of laser radiation with matter, laser-plasma accelerators, and inertial confinement fusion. The text is organised such that the theoretical foundations of the subject are discussed first, in Part I. In Part II, topics in the area of high energy density physics are covered. Parts III and IV deal with the applications to inertial confinement fusion and as a driver of particle and radiation sources, respectively. Finally, Part V describes the principle diagnostic, targetry, and computational approaches used in the field. This book is designed to give students a thorough foundation in the fundamental physics of laser-plasma interactions. It will also provide readers with knowl...

Plasma contactor development for Space Station

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Michael J.; Hamley, John A.; Sarmiento, Charles J.; Manzella, David H.; Sarver-Verhey, Timothy; Soulas, George C.; Nelson, Amy

1993-01-01

Plasma contactors have been baselined for the Space Station (SS) to control the electrical potentials of surfaces to eliminate/mitigate damaging interactions with the space environment. The system represents a dual-use technology which is a direct outgrowth of the NASA electric propulsion program and, in particular, the technology development effort on ion thrustor systems. The plasma contactor subsystems include the plasma contactor unit, a power electronics unit, and an expellant management unit. Under this pre-flight development program these will all be brought to breadboard or engineering model status. Development efforts for the plasma contactor include optimizing the design and configuration of the contactor, validating its required lifetime, and characterizing the contactor plume and electromagnetic interference. The plasma contactor unit design selected for the SS is an enclosed keeper, xenon hollow cathode plasma source. This paper discusses the test results and development status of the plasma contactor unit subsystem for the SS.

MTF Driven by Plasma Liner Dynamically Formed by the Merging of Plasma Jets: An Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Thio, Y. C. Francis; Eskridge, Richard; Martin, Adam; Smith, James; Lee, Michael; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

One approach for standoff delivery of the momentum flux for compressing the target in MTF consists of using a spherical array of plasma jets to form a spherical plasma shell imploding towards the center of a magnetized plasma, a compact toroid (Figure 1). A 3-year experiment (PLX-1) to explore the physics of forming a 2-D plasma liner (shell) by merging plasma jets is described. An overview showing how this 3-year project (PLX-1) fits into the program plan at the national and international level for realizing MTF for energy and propulsion is discussed. Assuming that there will be a parallel program in demonstrating and establishing the underlying physics principles of MTF using whatever liner is appropriate (e.g. a solid liner) with a goal of demonstrating breakeven by 2010, the current research effort at NASA MSFC attempts to complement such a program by addressing the issues of practical embodiment of MTF for propulsion. Successful conclusion of PLX-1 will be followed by a Physics Feasibility Experiment (PLX-2) for the Plasma Liner Driven MTF.

Interlayer utilization (including metal borides) for subsequent deposition of NSD films via microwave plasma CVD on 316 and 440C stainless steels

Science.gov (United States)

Ballinger, Jared

Diamond thin films have promising applications in numerous fields due to the extreme properties of diamonds in conjunction with the surface enhancement of thin films. Biomedical applications are numerous including temporary implants and various dental and surgical instruments. The unique combination of properties offered by nanostructured diamond films that make it such an attractive surface coating include extreme hardness, low obtainable surface roughness, excellent thermal conductivity, and chemical inertness. Regrettably, numerous problems exist when attempting to coat stainless steel with diamond generating a readily delaminated film: outward diffusion of iron to the surface, inward diffusion of carbon limiting necessary surface carbon precursor, and the mismatch between the coefficients of thermal expansion yielding substantial residual stress. While some exotic methods have been attempted to overcome these hindrances, the most common approach is the use of an intermediate layer between the stainless steel substrate and the diamond thin film. In this research, both 316 stainless steel disks and 440C stainless steel ball bearings were tested with interlayers including discrete coatings and graded, diffusion-based surface enhancements. Titanium nitride and thermochemical diffusion boride interlayers were both examined for their effectiveness at allowing for the growth of continuous and adherent diamond films. Titanium nitride interlayers were deposited by cathodic arc vacuum deposition on 440C bearings. Lower temperature diamond processing resulted in improved surface coverage after cooling, but ultimately, both continuity and adhesion of the nanostructured diamond films were unacceptable. The ability to grow quality diamond films on TiN interlayers is in agreement with previous work on iron and low alloy steel substrates, and the similarly seen inadequate adhesion strength is partially a consequence of the lacking establishment of an interfacial carbide phase

Fusion Plasma Physics and ITER - An Introduction (2/4)

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2011-01-01

The second lecture will explore some of the key physics phenomena which govern the behaviour of magnetic fusion plasmas and which have been the subject of intense research during the past 50 years: plasma confinement, magnetohydrodynamic stability and plasma-wall interactions encompass the major areas of plasma physics which must be understood to assemble an overall description of fusion plasma behaviour. In addition, as fusion plasmas approach the “burning plasma” regime, where internal heating due to fusion products dominates other forms of heating, the physics of the interaction between the α-particles produced by D-T fusion reactions and the thermal “background” plasma becomes significant. This lecture will also introduce the basic physics of fusion plasma production, plasma heating and current drive, and plasma measurements (“diagnostics”).

Application of a pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics approach to the free propofol plasma levels during coronary artery bypass grafting surgery with hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos R. Silva-Filho

2018-02-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to apply a pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics approach to investigate the free propofol plasma levels in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting under hypothermic conditions compared with the off-pump procedure. METHODS: Nineteen patients scheduled for on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting under hypothermic conditions (n=10 or the equivalent off-pump surgery (n=9 were anesthetized with sufentanil and propofol target-controlled infusion (2 μg/mL during surgery. The propofol concentration was then reduced to 1 μg/mL, and a pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics analysis using the maximum-effect-sigmoid model obtained by plotting the bispectral index values against the free propofol plasma levels was performed. RESULTS: Significant increases (two- to five-fold in the free propofol plasma levels were observed in the patients subjected to coronary artery bypass grafting under hypothermic conditions. The pharmacokinetics of propofol varied according to the free drug levels in the hypothermic on-pump group versus the off-pump group. After hypothermic coronary artery bypass was initiated, the distribution volume increased, and the distribution half-life was prolonged. Propofol target-controlled infusion was discontinued when orotracheal extubation was indicated, and the time to patient extubation was significantly higher in the hypothermic on-pump group than in the off-pump group (459 versus 273 min, p=0.0048. CONCLUSIONS: The orotracheal intubation time was significantly longer in the hypothermic on-pump group than in the off-pump group. Additionally, residual hypnosis was identified through the pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics approach based on decreases in drug plasma protein binding in the hypothermic on-pump group, which could explain the increased hypnosis observed with this drug in this group of patients.

Dynamic plasma screening effects on electron capture process in hydrogenic ion fully stripped ion collisions in dense plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Y.

1997-01-01

In dense plasmas, dynamic plasma screening effects are investigated on electron capture from hydrogenic ions by past fully stripped ions. The classical Bohr Lindhard model has been applied to obtain the electron capture probability. The interaction potential in dense plasmas is represented in terms of the longitudinal dielectric function. The classical straight-line trajectory approximation is applied to the motion of the projectile ion in order to visualize the electron capture probability as a function of the impact parameter, projectile energy, and plasma parameters. The electron capture probability including the dynamic plasma screening effect is always greater than that including the static plasma screening effect. When the projectile velocity is smaller than the electron thermal velocity, the dynamic polarization screening effect becomes the static plasma screening effect. When the projectile velocity is greater than the plasma electron thermal velocity, the interaction potential is almost unshielded. The difference between the dynamic and static plasma screening effects is more significant for low energy projectiles. It is found that the static screening formula obtained by the Debye Hueckel model overestimates the plasma screening effects on the electron capture processes in dense plasmas. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

An impedance function approach for soil-structure interaction analyses including structure-to-structure interaction effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gantayat, A.; Kamil, H.

1981-01-01

The dynamic soil-structure and structure-to-structure interaction effects may be determined in one of the two ways: by modeling the entire soil-structure system by a finite-element model, or by using a frequency-dependent (or frequency-independent) impedance function approach. In seismic design of nuclear power plant structures, the normal practice is to use the first approach because of its simplicity and easy availability of computer codes to perform such analyses. However, in the finite-element approach, because of the size and cost restrictions, the three-dimensional behavior of the entire soil-structure system and the radiation damping in soil are only approximately included by using a two-dimensional finite-element mesh. In using the impedance function approach, the soil-structure analyses can be performed in four steps: (a) determination of the dynamic properties of the fixed base superstructure, (b) determination of foundation and structure impedance matrices and input motions, (c) evaluation of foundation motion, (d) analysis of the fixed base superstructure using computed foundation motion. (orig./RW)

On improved understanding of plasma-chemical processes in complex low-temperature plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Röpcke, Jürgen; Loffhagen, Detlef; von Wahl, Eric; Nave, Andy S. C.; Hamann, Stephan; van Helden, Jean-Piere H.; Lang, Norbert; Kersten, Holger

2018-05-01

Over the last years, chemical sensing using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) in the visible spectral range has been combined with methods of mid infrared laser absorption spectroscopy (MIR-LAS) in the molecular fingerprint region from 3 to 20 μm, which contains strong rotational-vibrational absorption bands of a large variety of gaseous species. This optical approach established powerful in situ diagnostic tools to study plasma-chemical processes of complex low-temperature plasmas. The methods of MIR-LAS enable to detect stable and transient molecular species in ground and excited states and to measure the concentrations and temperatures of reactive species in plasmas. Since kinetic processes are inherent to discharges ignited in molecular gases, high time resolution on sub-second timescales is frequently desired for fundamental studies as well as for process monitoring in applied research and industry. In addition to high sensitivity and good temporal resolution, the capacity for broad spectral coverage enabling multicomponent detection is further expanding the use of OES and MIR-LAS techniques. Based on selected examples, this paper reports on recent achievements in the understanding of complex low-temperature plasmas. Recently, a link with chemical modeling of the plasma has been provided, which is the ultimate objective for a better understanding of the chemical and reaction kinetic processes occurring in the plasma. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Fundamentals of Complex Plasmas", edited by Jürgen Meichsner, Michael Bonitz, Holger Fehske, Alexander Piel.

Experimental Plasma Research project summaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-09-01

This report contains descriptions of the activities supported by the Experimental Plasma Research Branch of APP. The individual project summaries were prepared by the principal investigators and include objectives and milestones for each project. The projects are arranged in six research categories: Plasma Properties; Plasma Heating; Plasma Diagnostics; Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics; Advanced Superconducting Materials; and the Fusion Plasma Research Facility (FPRF). Each category is introduced with a statement of objectives and recent progress and followed by descriptions of individual projects. An overall budget summary is provided at the beginning of the report

Experimental Plasma Research project summaries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1980-09-01

This report contains descriptions of the activities supported by the Experimental Plasma Research Branch of APP. The individual project summaries were prepared by the principal investigators and include objectives and milestones for each project. The projects are arranged in six research categories: Plasma Properties; Plasma Heating; Plasma Diagnostics; Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics; Advanced Superconducting Materials; and the Fusion Plasma Research Facility (FPRF). Each category is introduced with a statement of objectives and recent progress and followed by descriptions of individual projects. An overall budget summary is provided at the beginning of the report.

Waves and Oscillations in Plasmas

CERN Document Server

Pecseli, Hans L

2012-01-01

The result of more than 15 years of lectures in plasma sciences presented at universities in Denmark, Norway, and the United States, Waves and Oscillations in Plasmas addresses central issues in modern plasma sciences. The book covers fluid models as well as kinetic plasma models, including a detailed discussion of, for instance, collisionless Landau damping. Offering a clear separation of linear and nonlinear models, the book can be tailored for readers of varying levels of expertise.Designed to provide basic training in linear as well as nonlinear plasma dynamics, and practical in areas as d

An unstructured shock-fitting solver for hypersonic plasma flows in chemical non-equilibrium

Science.gov (United States)

Pepe, R.; Bonfiglioli, A.; D'Angola, A.; Colonna, G.; Paciorri, R.

2015-11-01

A CFD solver, using Residual Distribution Schemes on unstructured grids, has been extended to deal with inviscid chemical non-equilibrium flows. The conservative equations have been coupled with a kinetic model for argon plasma which includes the argon metastable state as independent species, taking into account electron-atom and atom-atom processes. Results in the case of an hypersonic flow around an infinite cylinder, obtained by using both shock-capturing and shock-fitting approaches, show higher accuracy of the shock-fitting approach.

Unified model to the Tungsten inert Gas welding process including the cathode, the plasma and the anode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brochard, M.

2009-06-01

During this work, a 2D axially symmetric model of a TIG arc welding process had been developed in order to predict for given welding parameters, the needed variables for a designer of welded assembly: the heat input on the work piece, the weld pool geometry,... The developed model, using the Cast3M finite elements software, deals with the physical phenomena acting in each part of the process: the cathode, the plasma, the work piece with a weld pool, and the interfaces between these parts. To solve this model, the thermohydraulics equations are coupled with the electromagnetic equations that are calculated in part using the least squares finite element method. The beginning of the model validation consisted in comparing the results obtained with the ones available in the scientific literature. Thus, this step points out the action of each force in the weld pool, the contribution of each heat flux in the energy balance. Finally, to validate the model predictiveness, experimental and numerical sensitivity analyses were conducted using a design of experiments approach. The effects of the process current, the arc gap and the electrode tip angle on the weld pool geometry and the energy transferred to the work piece and the arc efficiency were studied. The good agreement obtained by the developed model for these outputs shows the good reproduction of the process physics. (author)

Collisional damping rates for plasma waves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tigik, S. F., E-mail: sabrina.tigik@ufrgs.br; Ziebell, L. F., E-mail: luiz.ziebell@ufrgs.br [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 91501-970 Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil); Yoon, P. H., E-mail: yoonp@umd.edu [Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States); School of Space Research, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, Gyeonggi 446-701 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-06-15

The distinction between the plasma dynamics dominated by collisional transport versus collective processes has never been rigorously addressed until recently. A recent paper [P. H. Yoon et al., Phys. Rev. E 93, 033203 (2016)] formulates for the first time, a unified kinetic theory in which collective processes and collisional dynamics are systematically incorporated from first principles. One of the outcomes of such a formalism is the rigorous derivation of collisional damping rates for Langmuir and ion-acoustic waves, which can be contrasted to the heuristic customary approach. However, the results are given only in formal mathematical expressions. The present brief communication numerically evaluates the rigorous collisional damping rates by considering the case of plasma particles with Maxwellian velocity distribution function so as to assess the consequence of the rigorous formalism in a quantitative manner. Comparison with the heuristic (“Spitzer”) formula shows that the accurate damping rates are much lower in magnitude than the conventional expression, which implies that the traditional approach over-estimates the importance of attenuation of plasma waves by collisional relaxation process. Such a finding may have a wide applicability ranging from laboratory to space and astrophysical plasmas.

Determination of plasma temperature and electron density in river sediment plasma using calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Austria, Elmer S. Jr.; Lamorena-Lim, Rheo B.

2015-01-01

Calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) technique is an approach used to quantitatively measure elemental composition of samples without the use of standard reference materials (SRMs). Due to the unavailability of most SRMs for specific samples, the CF-LIBS approach is steadily becoming more prevalent. CF-LIBS also minimizes interferences from the sample matrix by accounting spectral line intensifies of different elements. The first part of the CF-LIBS algorithm is the calculation of plasma temperature and electron density of the sample while the second part deals with the self-absorption correction and quantitative elemental analysis. In this study, the precursor parameters for the algorithm - plasma temperature and electron density - were measured through the neutral atom and ion line emissions of Fe and Cu in the time window of 0.1 to 10 μs. Plasma from river sediment samples were produced by a 1064 nm nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser at atmospheric pressure. The plasma temperature and electron density were calculated from the Boltzmann plot and Saha-Boltzmann equation methods, respectively. These precursor parameters can be used in calculating the time window wherein the plasma is optically thin at local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and for quantitative multi-elemental analysis. (author)

Plasma characterization using ultraviolet Thomson scattering from ion-acoustic and electron plasma waves (invited)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Follett, R. K., E-mail: rfollett@lle.rochester.edu; Delettrez, J. A.; Edgell, D. H.; Henchen, R. J.; Katz, J.; Myatt, J. F.; Froula, D. H. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623 (United States)

2016-11-15

Collective Thomson scattering is a technique for measuring the plasma conditions in laser-plasma experiments. Simultaneous measurements of ion-acoustic and electron plasma-wave spectra were obtained using a 263.25-nm Thomson-scattering probe beam. A fully reflective collection system was used to record light scattered from electron plasma waves at electron densities greater than 10{sup 21} cm{sup −3}, which produced scattering peaks near 200 nm. An accurate analysis of the experimental Thomson-scattering spectra required accounting for plasma gradients, instrument sensitivity, optical effects, and background radiation. Practical techniques for including these effects when fitting Thomson-scattering spectra are presented and applied to the measured spectra to show the improvements in plasma characterization.

Radiative losses and electron cooling rates for carbon and oxygen plasma impurities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchand, R.; Bonnin, X.

1992-01-01

Radiative losses and electron cooling rates are calculated for carbon and oxygen ions under conditions relevant to fusion plasmas. Both rates are calculated with the most recent recommended atomic data. A modified coronal model which includes the effects of metastable states is described and used to calculate the rates. Comparisons with other approaches are also discussed. (author). 36 ref, figs

Dusty-Plasma Particle Accelerator

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, John E.

2005-01-01

A dusty-plasma apparatus is being investigated as means of accelerating nanometer- and micrometer-sized particles. Applications for the dusty-plasma particle accelerators fall into two classes: Simulation of a variety of rapidly moving dust particles and micrometeoroids in outer-space environments that include micrometeoroid streams, comet tails, planetary rings, and nebulae and Deposition or implantation of nanoparticles on substrates for diverse industrial purposes that could include hardening, increasing thermal insulation, altering optical properties, and/or increasing permittivities of substrate materials. Relative to prior apparatuses used for similar applications, dusty-plasma particle accelerators offer such potential advantages as smaller size, lower cost, less complexity, and increased particle flux densities. A dusty-plasma particle accelerator exploits the fact that an isolated particle immersed in plasma acquires a net electric charge that depends on the relative mobilities of electrons and ions. Typically, a particle that is immersed in a low-temperature, partially ionized gas, wherein the average kinetic energy of electrons exceeds that of ions, causes the particle to become negatively charged. The particle can then be accelerated by applying an appropriate electric field. A dusty-plasma particle accelerator (see figure) includes a plasma source such as a radio-frequency induction discharge apparatus containing (1) a shallow cup with a biasable electrode to hold the particles to be accelerated and (2) a holder for the substrate on which the particles are to impinge. Depending on the specific design, a pair of electrostatic-acceleration grids between the substrate and discharge plasma can be used to both collimate and further accelerate particles exiting the particle holder. Once exposed to the discharge plasma, the particles in the cup quickly acquire a negative charge. Application of a negative voltage pulse to the biasable electrode results in the

Investigating plasma-rotation methods for the Space-Plasma Physics Campaign at UCLA's BAPSF.

Science.gov (United States)

Finnegan, S. M.; Koepke, M. E.; Reynolds, E. W.

2006-10-01

In D'Angelo et al., JGR 79, 4747 (1974), rigid-body ExB plasma flow was inferred from parabolic floating-potential profiles produced by a spiral ionizing surface. Here, taking a different approach, we report effects on barium-ion azimuthal-flow profiles using either a non-emissive or emissive spiral end-electrode in the WVU Q-machine. Neither electrode produced a radially-parabolic space-potential profile. The emissive spiral, however, generated controllable, radially-parabolic structure in the floating potential, consistent with a second population of electrons having a radially-parabolic parallel-energy profile. Laser-induced-fluorescence measurements of spatially resolved, azimuthal-velocity distribution functions show that, for a given flow profile, the diamagnetic drift of hot (>>0.2eV) ions overwhelms the ExB-drift contribution. Our experiments constitute a first attempt at producing controllable, rigid-body, ExB plasma flow for future experiments on the LArge-Plasma-Device (LAPD), as part of the Space-Plasma Physics Campaign (at UCLA's BAPSF).

Manufacturing technology development for vacuum vessel and plasma facing components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laitinen, Arttu; Liimatainen, Jari; Hallila, Pentti

2005-01-01

Vacuum vessel and plasma facing components of the ITER construction including shield modules and primary first wall panels have great impact on the production costs and reliability of the installation. From the manufacturing technology point of view, accuracy of shape, properties of the various austenitic stainless steel/austenitic stainless steel interfaces or CuCrZr/austenitic stainless steel interfaces as well as those of the base materials are crucial for technical reliability of the construction. The current approach in plasma facing components has been utilisation of solid-HIP technology and solid-powder-HIP technology. Due to the large size of especially shield modules shape, control of the internal cavities and cooling channels is extremely demanding. This requires strict control of the raw materials and manufacturing parameters

Novel Approach to Plasma Facing Materials in Nuclear Fusion Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livramento, V.; Correia, J. B.; Shohoji, N.; Osawa, E.; Nunes, D.; Carvalho, P. A.; Fernandes, H.; Silva, C.; Hanada, K.

2008-01-01

A novel material design in nuclear fusion reactors is proposed based on W-nDiamond nanostructured composites. Generally, a microstructure refined to the nanometer scale improves the mechanical strength due to modification of plasticity mechanisms. Moreover, highly specific grain-boundary area raises the number of sites for annihilation of radiation induced defects. However, the low thermal stability of fine-grained and nanostructured materials demands the presence of particles at the grain boundaries that can delay coarsening by a pinning effect. As a result, the concept of a composite is promising in the field of nanostructured materials. The hardness of diamond renders nanodiamond dispersions excellent reinforcing and stabilization candidates and, in addition, diamond has extremely high thermal conductivity. Consequently, W-nDiamond nanocomposites are promising candidates for thermally stable first-wall materials. The proposed design involves the production of W/W-nDiamond/W-Cu/Cu layered castellations. The W, W-nDiamond and W-Cu layers are produced by mechanical alloying followed by a consolidation route that combines hot rolling with spark plasma sintering (SPS). Layer welding is achieved by spark plasma sintering. The present work describes the mechanical alloying processsing and consolidation route used to produce W-nDiamond composites, as well as microstructural features and mechanical properties of the material produced Long term plasma exposure experiments are planned at ISTTOK and at FTU (Frascati)

Non-thermal plasma technology for the development of antimicrobial surfaces: a review

Science.gov (United States)

Nikiforov, Anton; Deng, Xiaolong; Xiong, Qing; Cvelbar, U.; DeGeyter, N.; Morent, R.; Leys, Christophe

2016-05-01

Antimicrobial coatings are in high demand in many fields including the biomaterials and healthcare sectors. Within recent progress in nanoscience and engineering at the nanoscale, preparation of nanocomposite films containing metal nanoparticles (such as silver nanoparticles, copper nanoparticles, zinc oxide nanoparticles) is becoming an important step in manufacturing biomaterials with high antimicrobial activity. Controlled release of antibiotic agents and eliminating free nanoparticles are of equal importance for engineering antimicrobial nanocomposite materials. Compared to traditional chemical ‘wet’ methods, plasma deposition and plasma polymerization are promising approaches for the fabrication of nanocomposite films with the advantages of gas phase dry processes, effective use of chemicals and applicability to various substrates. In this article, we present a short overview of state-of-the-art engineering of antimicrobial materials based on the use of non-thermal plasmas at low and atmospheric pressure.

Isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantification (iTRAQ)-Based Untargeted Quantitative Proteomic Approach To Identify Change of the Plasma Proteins by Salbutamol Abuse in Beef Cattle.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Kai; Tang, Chaohua; Liang, Xiaowei; Zhao, Qingyu; Zhang, Junmin

2018-01-10

Salbutamol, a selective β 2 -agonist, endangers the safety of animal products as a result of illegal use in food animals. In this study, an iTRAQ-based untargeted quantitative proteomic approach was applied to screen potential protein biomarkers in plasma of cattle before and after treatment with salbutamol for 21 days. A total of 62 plasma proteins were significantly affected by salbutamol treatment, which can be used as potential biomarkers to screen for the illegal use of salbutamol in beef cattle. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay measurements of five selected proteins demonstrated the reliability of iTRAQ-based proteomics in screening of candidate biomarkers among the plasma proteins. The plasma samples collected before and after salbutamol treatment were well-separated by principal component analysis (PCA) using the differentially expressed proteins. These results suggested that an iTRAQ-based untargeted quantitative proteomic strategy combined with PCA pattern recognition methods can discriminate differences in plasma protein profiles collected before and after salbutamol treatment.

Introduction to Plasma Technology Science, Engineering and Applications

CERN Document Server

Harry, John Ernest

2011-01-01

Written by a university lecturer with more than forty years experience in plasma technology, this book adopts a didactic approach in its coverage of the theory, engineering and applications of technological plasmas. The theory is developed in a unified way to enable brevity and clarity, providing readers with the necessary background to assess the factors that affect the behavior of plasmas under different operating conditions. The major part of the book is devoted to the applications of plasma technology and their accompanying engineering aspects, classified by the various pressure and densit

Generators of nonequilibrium low-temperature plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dautov, G.Yu.

1988-01-01

Results are described of a study and of the characteristics of sources of a non-equilibrium gas-discharge plasma. The plasma generators considered include glow, high frequency, and arc discharge generators. Thermodynamic, ionic, and electronic processes occurring in the plasmas are evaluated

Numerical Coupling of the Particulate Phase to the Plasma Phase in Modeling of Multi-Arc Plasma Spraying

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bobzin, K.; Öte, M.

2017-01-01

Inherent to Euler-Lagrange formulation, which can be used in order to describe the particle behavior in plasma spraying, particle in-flight characteristics are determined by calculating the impulse, heat and mass transfer between the plasma jet and individual powder particles. Based on the assumption that the influence of the particulate phase on the fluid phase is insignificant, impulse, heat and mass transfer from particles to the plasma jet can be neglected using the so-called numerical approach of “one-way coupling”. On the other hand, so-called “two-way coupling” considers the two-sided transfer between both phases. The former is a common simplification used in the literature to describe the plasma-particle interaction in thermal spraying. This study focuses on the significance of this simplification on the calculated results and shows that the use of this simplification leads to significant errors in calculated plasma and particle in-flight characteristics in three-cathode plasma spraying process. (paper)

Density effects on electronic configurations in dense plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Faussurier, Gérald; Blancard, Christophe

2018-02-01

We present a quantum mechanical model to describe the density effects on electronic configurations inside a plasma environment. Two different approaches are given by starting from a quantum average-atom model. Illustrations are shown for an aluminum plasma in local thermodynamic equilibrium at solid density and at a temperature of 100 eV and in the thermodynamic conditions of a recent experiment designed to characterize the effects of the ionization potential depression treatment. Our approach compares well with experiment and is consistent in that case with the approach of Stewart and Pyatt to describe the ionization potential depression rather than with the method of Ecker and Kröll.

Kinetic simulations in plasmas: a general view and some applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alves, Maria Virginia [Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil). Lab. Associado de Plasma]. E-mail: alves@plasma.inpe.br

1999-07-01

In these lecture notes we talk about kinetic simulations plasma physics. We present a general view of the different approach that can be given to kinetic plasmas depending on the physical problem to be investigated. Some applications of kinetic simulations to space plasma phenomena and Pierce electrodes are introduced. (author)

Kinetic simulations in plasmas: a general view and some applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alves, Maria Virginia

1999-01-01

In these lecture notes we talk about kinetic simulations plasma physics. We present a general view of the different approach that can be given to kinetic plasmas depending on the physical problem to be investigated. Some applications of kinetic simulations to space plasma phenomena and Pierce electrodes are introduced. (author)

Composition and plasma properties of the plasma sheet in the Earth's magnetotail

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orsini, S.; Altwegg, K.; Balsiger, H.

1986-01-01

A statistical study of the plasma sheet properties, based on 300 h of data from the ISEE-1 Ion Composition Experiment, yiels a description of H + and He ++ densities and temperatures as functions of magnetospheric substorm activity and geocentric distance. The H + and He ++ temperatures are found to be well correlated, such that a ratio T(He ++ )/T(H + ) = 2.7±0.1 is typical. However, linear-regression analysis typically yields a nonvanishing T(He ++ ) in the limit T(H + ) #-> # 0, a limit that is approached through the addition of cold ionospheric H + to the plasma sheet during active periods. The plasma sheet proton temperature T(H + ) varies inversely with geocentric distance, and the radial gradient of T(H + ) increases with increasing activity index AE. The density ratio N (He ++ )/N(H + ) increases with geocentric distance, irrespective of AE

Online plasma calculator

Science.gov (United States)

Wisniewski, H.; Gourdain, P.-A.

2017-10-01

APOLLO is an online, Linux based plasma calculator. Users can input variables that correspond to their specific plasma, such as ion and electron densities, temperatures, and external magnetic fields. The system is based on a webserver where a FastCGI protocol computes key plasma parameters including frequencies, lengths, velocities, and dimensionless numbers. FastCGI was chosen to overcome security problems caused by JAVA-based plugins. The FastCGI also speeds up calculations over PHP based systems. APOLLO is built upon the WT library, which turns any web browser into a versatile, fast graphic user interface. All values with units are expressed in SI units except temperature, which is in electron-volts. SI units were chosen over cgs units because of the gradual shift to using SI units within the plasma community. APOLLO is intended to be a fast calculator that also provides the user with the proper equations used to calculate the plasma parameters. This system is intended to be used by undergraduates taking plasma courses as well as graduate students and researchers who need a quick reference calculation.

Comprehensive Analysis of Low-Molecular-Weight Human Plasma Proteome Using Top-Down Mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheon, Dong Huey; Nam, Eun Ji; Park, Kyu Hyung; Woo, Se Joon; Lee, Hye Jin; Kim, Hee Cheol; Yang, Eun Gyeong; Lee, Cheolju; Lee, Ji Eun

2016-01-04

While human plasma serves as a great source for disease diagnosis, low-molecular-weight (LMW) proteome (mass spectrometry to analyze the LMW proteoforms present in four types of human plasma samples pooled from three healthy controls (HCs) without immunoaffinity depletion and with depletion of the top two, six, and seven high-abundance proteins. The LMW proteoforms were first fractionated based on molecular weight using gel-eluted liquid fraction entrapment electrophoresis (GELFrEE). Then, the GELFrEE fractions containing up to 30 kDa were subjected to nanocapillary-LC-MS/MS, and the high-resolution MS and MS/MS data were processed using ProSightPC 3.0. As a result, a total of 442 LMW proteins and cleaved products, including those with post-translational modifications and single amino acid variations, were identified. From additional comparative analysis of plasma samples without immunoaffinity depletion between HCs and colorectal cancer (CRC) patients via top-down approach, tens of LMW proteoforms, including platelet factor 4, were found to show >1.5-fold changes between the plasma samples of HCs and CRC patients, and six of the LMW proteins were verified by Western blot analysis.

Experimental plasma research project summaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-08-01

This report contans descriptions of the activities supported by the Experimental Plasma Research Branch of APP. The individual project summaries were prepared by the principal investigators and include objectives and milestones for each project. The projects are arranged in six research categories: Plasma Properties; Plasma Heating; Plasma Measurements and Instrumentation; Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics; Advanced Superconducting Materials; and the Fusion Plasma Research Facility (FPRF). Each category is introduced with a statement of objectives and recent progress and followed by descriptions of individual projects. An overall budget summary is provided at the beginning of the report

[Plasma properties research: Task 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The principal research activities of the Magneto-Fluid Dynamics Division relate to magnetic fusion plasma physics. In addition, there is a modest amount of work in closely related areas, including space plasma physics, fluid dynamics, and dynamical systems. Members of the Magneto-Fluid Dynamics Division maintain close contacts with fusion researchers in the US and abroad. Some of the work of the Division is clearly directed towards ITER and TPX, while other problems relate to the broader development of fusion plasma physics and to the support of other issues arising in the many experimental programs. Topics of some note in the last year that are discussed in this report are: Application of sophisticated statistical techniques to tokamak data reduction, including time series analysis of TFTR fluctuation data and spline analysis of profile data. Continuing development of edge plasma and divertor modelling, including initial ergodic divertor studies. Analysis of energetic fusion products losses from TFTR plasmas. Examination of anomalous transport in dynamical systems induced by chaotic-like Hamiltonian motion. Numerical simulation of the development of singular MHD equilibria. Exploration of the validity of moment expansions of kinetic equations for weakly collisional systems. Studies of RF- and ripple-induced helium ash removal. Ballooning mode studies in fluids and rotating stars. Studies in dynamical systems, including explosive instabilities, development of chaos, and motion of collisionless particles in a domain with overlapping islands

Kinetics and spectroscopy of low temperature plasmas

CERN Document Server

Loureiro, Jorge

2016-01-01

This is a comprehensive textbook designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Both authors rely on more than 20 years of teaching experience in renowned Physics Engineering courses to write this book addressing the students’ needs. Kinetics and Spectroscopy of Low Temperature Plasmas derives in a full self-consistent way the electron kinetic theory used to describe low temperature plasmas created in the laboratory with an electrical discharge, and presents the main optical spectroscopic diagnostics used to characterize such plasmas. The chapters with the theoretical contents make use of a deductive approach in which the electron kinetic theory applied to plasmas with basis on the electron Boltzmann equation is derived from the basic concepts of Statistical and Plasma Physics. On the other hand, the main optical spectroscopy diagnostics used to characterize experimentally such plasmas are presented and justified from the point of view of the Atomic and Molecular Physics. Low temperature plasmas...

Computational study of sheath structure in oxygen containing plasmas at medium pressures

Science.gov (United States)

Hrach, Rudolf; Novak, Stanislav; Ibehej, Tomas; Hrachova, Vera

2016-09-01

Plasma mixtures containing active species are used in many plasma-assisted material treatment technologies. The analysis of such systems is rather difficult, as both physical and chemical processes affect plasma properties. A combination of experimental and computational approaches is the best suited, especially at higher pressures and/or in chemically active plasmas. The first part of our study of argon-oxygen mixtures was based on experimental results obtained in the positive column of DC glow discharge. The plasma was analysed by the macroscopic kinetic approach which is based on the set of chemical reactions in the discharge. The result of this model is a time evolution of the number densities of each species. In the second part of contribution the detailed analysis of processes taking place during the interaction of oxygen containing plasma with immersed substrates was performed, the results of the first model being the input parameters. The used method was the particle simulation technique applied to multicomponent plasma. The sheath structure and fluxes of charged particles to substrates were analysed in the dependence on plasma pressure, plasma composition and surface geometry.

Spectroscopic diagnostics of industrial plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joshi, N.K.

2004-01-01

Plasmas play key role in modern industry and are being used for processing micro electronic circuits to the destruction of toxic waste. Characterization of industrial plasmas which includes both 'thermal plasmas' and non-equilibrium plasmas or 'cold plasmas' in industrial environment offers quite a challenge. Numerous diagnostic techniques have been developed for the measurement of these partially ionized plasma and/or particulate parameters. The 'simple' non-invasive spectroscopic methods for characterization of industrial plasmas will be discussed in detail in this paper. The excitation temperature in thermal (DC/RF) plasma jets has been determined using atomic Boltzmann technique. The central axis temperature of thermal plasma jets in a spray torch can be determined using modified atomic Boltzmann technique with out using Abel inversion. The Stark broadening of H β and Ar-I (430 nm) lines have been used to determine the electron number density in thermal plasma jets. In low-pressure non-equilibrium argon plasma, electron temperature has been measured using the Corona model from the ratio of line intensities of atomic and ionic transitions. (author)

Advanced real-time control systems for magnetically confined fusion plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goncalves, B.; Sousa, J.; Fernandes, H.; Rodrigues, A.P.; Carvalho, B.B.; Neto, A.; Varandas, C.A.F.

2008-01-01

Real-time control of magnetically confined plasmas is a critical issue for the safety, operation and high performance scientific exploitation of the experimental devices on regimes beyond the current operation frontiers. The number of parameters and the data volumes used for the plasma properties identification scale normally not only with the machine size but also with the technology improvements, leading to a great complexity of the plant system. A strong computational power and fast communication infrastructure are needed to handle in real-time this information, allowing just-in-time decisions to achieve the fusion critical plasma conditions. These advanced control systems require a tiered infrastructure including the hardware layer, the signal-processing middleware, real-time timing and data transport, the real-time operating system tools and drivers, the framework for code development, simulation, deployment and experiment parameterization and the human real-time plasma condition monitoring and management. This approach is being implemented at CFN by offering a vertical solution for the forthcoming challenges, including ITER, the first experimental fusion reactor. A given set of tools and systems are described on this paper, namely: (i) an ATCA based hardware multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) platform, PCI and PCIe acquisition and control modules; (ii) FPGA and DSP parallelized signal processing algorithms; (iii) a signal data and event distribution system over a 2.5/10Gb optical network with sub-microsecond latencies; (iv) RTAI and Linux drivers; and (v) the FireSignal, FusionTalk, SDAS FireCalc application tools. (author)

High-performance modeling of plasma-based acceleration and laser-plasma interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Vay, Jean-Luc; Blaclard, Guillaume; Godfrey, Brendan; Kirchen, Manuel; Lee, Patrick; Lehe, Remi; Lobet, Mathieu; Vincenti, Henri

2016-10-01

Large-scale numerical simulations are essential to the design of plasma-based accelerators and laser-plasma interations for ultra-high intensity (UHI) physics. The electromagnetic Particle-In-Cell (PIC) approach is the method of choice for self-consistent simulations, as it is based on first principles, and captures all kinetic effects, and also scale favorably to many cores on supercomputers. The standard PIC algorithm relies on second-order finite-difference discretization of the Maxwell and Newton-Lorentz equations. We present here novel formulations, based on very high-order pseudo-spectral Maxwell solvers, which enable near-total elimination of the numerical Cherenkov instability and increased accuracy over the standard PIC method for standard laboratory frame and Lorentz boosted frame simulations. We also present the latest implementations in the PIC modules Warp-PICSAR and FBPIC on the Intel Xeon Phi and GPU architectures. Examples of applications will be given on the simulation of laser-plasma accelerators and high-harmonic generation with plasma mirrors. Work supported by US-DOE Contracts DE-AC02-05CH11231 and by the European Commission through the Marie Slowdoska-Curie fellowship PICSSAR Grant Number 624543. Used resources of NERSC.

Plasma-enhanced mixing and flameholding in supersonic flow.

Science.gov (United States)

Firsov, Alexander; Savelkin, Konstantin V; Yarantsev, Dmitry A; Leonov, Sergey B

2015-08-13

The results of experimental study of plasma-based mixing, ignition and flameholding in a supersonic model combustor are presented in the paper. The model combustor has a length of 600 mm and cross section of 72 mm width and 60 mm height. The fuel is directly injected into supersonic airflow (Mach number M=2, static pressure P(st)=160-250 Torr) through wall orifices. Two series of tests are focused on flameholding and mixing correspondingly. In the first series, the near-surface quasi-DC electrical discharge is generated by flush-mounted electrodes at electrical power deposition of W(pl)=3-24 kW. The scope includes parametric study of ignition and flame front dynamics, and comparison of three schemes of plasma generation: the first and the second layouts examine the location of plasma generators upstream and downstream from the fuel injectors. The third pattern follows a novel approach of combined mixing/ignition technique, where the electrical discharge distributes along the fuel jet. The last pattern demonstrates a significant advantage in terms of flameholding limit. In the second series of tests, a long discharge of submicrosecond duration is generated across the flow and along the fuel jet. A gasdynamic instability of thermal cavity developed after a deposition of high-power density in a thin plasma filament promotes the air-fuel mixing. The technique studied in this work has weighty potential for high-speed combustion applications, including cold start/restart of scramjet engines and support of transition regime in dual-mode scramjet and at off-design operation. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Plasma devices for hydrocarbon reformation

KAUST Repository

Cha, Min

2017-01-01

Plasma devices for hydrocarbon reformation are provided. Methods of using the devices for hydrocarbon reformation are also provided. The devices can include a liquid container to receive a hydrocarbon source, and a plasma torch configured

ICTP-IAEA Workshop on Dense Magnetized Plasma and Plasma Diagnostics: an executive summary

Science.gov (United States)

Gribkov, V. A.; Mank, G.; Markowicz, A.; Miklaszewski, R.; Tuniz, C.; Crespo, M. L.

2011-12-01

The Workshop on Dense Magnetized Plasma and Plasma Diagnostics was held from 15 to 26 November 2010 at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy. It was attended by 60 participants, including 15 lecturers, 2 tutors and 37 trainees, representing 25 countries.

Plasma heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilhelm, R.

1989-01-01

Successful plasma heating is essential in present fusion experiments, for the demonstration of DpT burn in future devices and finally for the fusion reactor itself. This paper discusses the common heating systems with respect to their present performance and their applicability to future fusion devices. The comparative discussion is oriented to the various function of heating, which are: - plasma heating to fusion-relevant parameters and to ignition in future machines, -non-inductive, steady-pstate current drive, - plasma profile control, -neutral gas breakdown and plasma build-up. In view of these different functions, the potential of neutral beam injection (NBI) and the various schemes of wave heating (ECRH, LH, ICRH and Alven wave heating) is analyzed in more detail. The analysis includes assessments of the present physical and technical state of these heating methods, and makes suggestions for future developments and about outstanding problems. Specific attention is given to the still critical problem of efficient current drive, especially with respect to further extrapolation towards an economically operating tokamak reactor. Remarks on issues such as reliability, maintenance and economy conclude this comparative overview on plasma heating systems. (author). 43 refs.; 13 figs.; 3 tabs

Variety of RNAs in Peripheral Blood Cells, Plasma, and Plasma Fractions

Science.gov (United States)

Kuligina, Elena V.; Bariakin, Dmitry N.; Kozlov, Vadim V.; Richter, Vladimir A.; Semenov, Dmitry V.

2017-01-01

Human peripheral blood contains RNA in cells and in extracellular membrane vesicles, microvesicles and exosomes, as well as in cell-free ribonucleoproteins. Circulating mRNAs and noncoding RNAs, being internalized, possess the ability to modulate vital processes in recipient cells. In this study, with SOLiD sequencing technology, we performed identification, classification, and quantification of RNAs from blood fractions: cells, plasma, plasma vesicles pelleted at 16,000g and 160,000g, and vesicle-depleted plasma supernatant of healthy donors and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. It was determined that 16,000g blood plasma vesicles were enriched with cell-free mitochondria and with a set of mitochondrial RNAs. The variable RNA set of blood plasma 160,000g pellets reflected the prominent contribution of U1, U5, and U6 small nuclear RNAs' fragments and at the same time was characterized by a remarkable depletion of small nucleolar RNAs. Besides microRNAs, the variety of fragments of mRNAs and snoRNAs dominated in the set of circulating RNAs differentially expressed in blood fractions of NSCLC patients. Taken together, our data emphasize that not only extracellular microRNAs but also circulating fragments of messenger and small nuclear/nucleolar RNAs represent prominent classes of circulating regulatory ncRNAs as well as promising circulating biomarkers for the development of disease diagnostic approaches. PMID:28127559

Proceedings of the Japan-US workshop on plasma polarization spectroscopy and the international seminar on plasma polarization spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujimoto, Takashi; Beiersdorfer, Peter [eds.

1998-06-01

The international meeting on Plasma Polarization Spectroscopy (PPS) was held in Kyoto during January 26-28, 1998. This Proceedings book includes the papers of the talks given at the meeting. These include: overviews of PPS from the aspects of atomic physics, and of plasma physics; several PPS and MSE (motional Stark effect) experiments on magnetically confined plasmas and a laser-produced plasma; polarized laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, several experiments on EBITs (electron beam ion trap) and their theoretical interpretations; polarized profiles of spectral lines, basic formulation of PPS; inelastic and elastic electron collisions leading to polarized atomic states; polarization in recombining plasma; relationship between the collisional polarization relaxation and the line broadening; and characteristics of the plasma produced by very short pulse and high power laser irradiation. The 19 of the presented papers are indexed individually. (J.P.N.)

Plasma fractionation issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Farrugia, Albert; Evers, Theo; Falcou, Pierre-Francois; Burnouf, Thierry; Amorim, Luiz; Thomas, Sylvia

2009-04-01

Procurement and processing of human plasma for fractionation of therapeutic proteins or biological medicines used in clinical practice is a multi-billion dollar international trade. Together the private sector and public sector (non-profit) provide large amounts of safe and effective therapeutic plasma proteins needed worldwide. The principal therapeutic proteins produced by the dichotomous industry include gamma globulins or immunoglobulins (including pathogen-specific hyperimmune globulins, such as hepatitis B immune globulins) albumin, factor VIII and Factor IX concentrates. Viral inactivation, principally by solvent detergent and other processes, has proven highly effective in preventing transmission of enveloped viruses, viz. HBV, HIV, and HCV.

Modelling RF-plasma interaction in ECR ion sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mascali David

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes three-dimensional self-consistent numerical simulations of wave propagation in magnetoplasmas of Electron cyclotron resonance ion sources (ECRIS. Numerical results can give useful information on the distribution of the absorbed RF power and/or efficiency of RF heating, especially in the case of alternative schemes such as mode-conversion based heating scenarios. Ray-tracing approximation is allowed only for small wavelength compared to the system scale lengths: as a consequence, full-wave solutions of Maxwell-Vlasov equation must be taken into account in compact and strongly inhomogeneous ECRIS plasmas. This contribution presents a multi-scale temporal domains approach for simultaneously including RF dynamics and plasma kinetics in a “cold-plasma”, and some perspectives for “hot-plasma” implementation. The presented results rely with the attempt to establish a modal-conversion scenario of OXB-type in double frequency heating inside an ECRIS testbench.

1990's annual report of INPE's Plasma Associated Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-06-01

This is the 1990's annual report of INPE's Plasma Associated Laboratory it contains information on current research developed at the laboratory including quiescent plasma, magnetized plasma, plasma centrifuge, plasma and radiation (gyrotron), ionic propulsion, and toroidal plasma. (A.C.A.S.)

Demonstration of Subscale Cermet Fuel Specimen Fabrication Approach Using Spark Plasma Sintering and Diffusion Bonding

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, Marvin W.; Tucker, Dennis S.; Benensky, Kelsa M.

2018-01-01

Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) has the potential to expand the limits of human space exploration by enabling crewed missions to Mars and beyond. The viability of NTP hinges on the development of a robust nuclear fuel material that can perform in the harsh operating environment (> or = 2500K, reactive hydrogen) of a nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) engine. Efforts are ongoing to develop fuel material and to assemble fuel elements that will be stable during the service life of an NTR. Ceramic-metal (cermet) fuels are being actively pursued by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) due to their demonstrated high-temperature stability and hydrogen compatibility. Building on past cermet fuel development research, experiments were conducted to investigate a modern fabrication approach for cermet fuel elements. The experiments used consolidated tungsten (W)-60vol%zirconia (ZrO2) compacts that were formed via spark plasma sintering (SPS). The consolidated compacts were stacked and diffusion bonded to assess the integrity of the bond lines and internal cooling channel cladding. The assessment included hot hydrogen testing of the manufactured surrogate fuel and pure W for 45 minutes at 2500 K in the compact fuel element environmental test (CFEET) system. Performance of bonded W-ZrO2 rods was compared to bonded pure W rods to access bond line integrity and composite stability. Bonded surrogate fuels retained structural integrity throughout testing and incurred minimal mass loss.

Global approach to the spectral problem of microinstabilities in tokamak plasmas using a gyrokinetic model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunner, S.

1997-08-01

Ion temperature gradient (ITG)-related instabilities are studied in tokamak-like plasmas with the help of a new global eigenvalue code. Ions are modelled in the frame of gyrokinetic theory so that finite Larmor radius effects of these particles are retained to all orders. Non-adiabatic trapped electron dynamics is taken into account through the bounce-averaged drift kinetic equation. Assuming electrostatic perturbations, the system is closed with the quasineutrality relation. Practical methods are presented which make this global approach feasible. These include a non-standard wave decomposition compatible with the curved geometry as well as adapting an efficient root finding algorithm for computing the unstable spectrum. These techniques are applied to a low pressure configuration given by a large aspect ratio torus with circular, concentric magnetic surfaces. Simulations from a linear, time evolution, particle in cell code provide a useful benchmark. Comparisons with local ballooning calculations for different parameter scans enable further validation while illustrating the limits of that representation at low toroidal wave numbers or for non-interchange-like instabilities. The stabilizing effect of negative magnetic shear is also considered, in which case the global results show not only an attenuation of the growth rate but also a reduction of the radial extent induced by a transition from the toroidal- to the slab-ITG mode. Contributions of trapped electrons to the ITG instability as well as the possible coupling to the trapped electron mode are clearly brought to the fore. (author) figs., tabs., 69 refs

Whistleron gas in magnetized plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Martino, Salvatore; Falanga, Mariarosaria; Tzenov, Stephan I.

2005-01-01

The nonlinear dynamics of whistler waves in magnetized plasmas is studied. Since the plasmas and beam-plasma systems considered here are assumed to be weakly collisional, the point of reference for the analysis performed in the present paper is the system of hydrodynamic and field equations. The renormalization group method is applied to obtain dynamical equations for the slowly varying amplitudes of whistler waves. Further, it has been shown that the amplitudes of eigenmodes satisfy an infinite system of coupled nonlinear Schroedinger equations. In this sense, the whistler eigenmodes form a sort of a gas of interacting quasiparticles, while the slowly varying amplitudes can be considered as dynamical variables heralding the relevant information about the system. An important feature of the approach is that whistler waves do not perturb the initial uniform density of plasma electrons. The plasma response to the induced whistler waves consists in velocity redistribution which follows exactly the behavior of the whistlers. In addition, selection rules governing the nonlinear mode coupling have been derived, which represent another interesting peculiarity of the description presented here

Plasma physics and controlled nuclear fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Tetsuya

1993-05-01

The report contains the proceedings of a conference on plasma physics. A fraction of topics included MHD instabilities, magnetic confinement and plasma heating in the field of fusion plasmas, in 8 papers falling in the INIS scope have been abstracted and indexed for the INIS database. (K.A.)

An approach to include soil carbon changes in life cycle assessments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Bjorn Molt; Knudsen, Marie Trydeman; Hermansen, John Erik

2013-01-01

to estimate carbon sequestration to be included in LCA is suggested and applied to two examples where the inclusion of carbon sequestration is especially relevant: 1) Bioenergy: removal of straw from a Danish soil for energy purposes and 2) Organic versus conventional farming: comparative study of soybean...... comparable to the IPCC 2006 tier I approach in a time perspective of 20 year, where after the suggested methodology showed a continued soil carbon change toward a new steady state. The suggested method estimated a carbon sequestration for the first example when storing straw in the soil instead of using...... it for bioenergy of 54, 97 and 213 kg C t(-1) straw C in a 200, 100 and 20 years perspective, respectively. For the conversion from conventional to organic soybean production, a difference of 32, 60 or 143 kg soil C ha(-1) yr(-1) in a 200,100 or 20 years perspective, respectively was found. The study indicated...

ICTP-IAEA Workshop on Dense Magnetized Plasma and Plasma Diagnostics: an executive summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gribkov, V.A.; Mank, G.; Markowicz, A.; Miklaszewski, R.; Tuniz, C.; Crespo, M.L.

2011-01-01

The Workshop on Dense Magnetized Plasma and Plasma Diagnostics was held from 15 to 26 November 2010 at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy. It was attended by 60 participants, including 15 lecturers, 2 tutors and 37 trainees, representing 25 countries. (conference report)

Moderate plasma activated media suppresses proliferation and migration of MDCK epithelial cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohades, Soheila; Laroussi, Mounir; Maruthamuthu, Venkat

2017-01-01

Low-temperature plasma has been shown to have diverse biomedical uses, including its applications in cancer and wound healing. One recent approach in treating mammalian cells with plasma is through the use of plasma activated media (PAM), which is produced by exposing cell culture media to plasma. While the adverse effects of PAM treatment on cancerous epithelial cell lines have been recently studied, much less is known about the interaction of PAM with normal epithelial cells. In this paper, non-cancerous canine kidney MDCK (Madin-Darby Canine Kidney) epithelial cells were treated by PAM and time-lapse microscopy was used to directly monitor their proliferation and random migration upon treatment. While longer durations of PAM treatment led to cell death, we found that moderate levels of PAM treatment inhibited proliferation in these epithelial cells. We also found that PAM treatment reduced random cell migration within epithelial islands. Immunofluorescence staining showed that while there were no major changes in the actin/adhesion apparatus, there was a significant change in the nuclear localization of proliferation marker Ki-67, consistent with our time-lapse results. (paper)

ORNL neutral gas shielding model for pellet-plasma interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milora, S.L; Foster, C.A.

1977-05-01

A revised neutral molecule ablation model is derived to describe the evaporation of a solid hydrogen pellet in a tokamak plasma. The approach taken is based on the theory of Parks, Turnbull, and Foster who postulate that a cloud of molecular hydrogen surrounding the pellet shields the surface from incoming energetic electrons and, in so doing, regulates the evaporation rate. This treatment differs from an earlier model in that the hydrodynamic behavior of the molecular cloud is treated in a self-consistent manner. Numerical solutions of the fluid dynamic equations, which include the effects of strong electron heating locally in the gas, reveal that the flow of material away from the pellet is initially retarded by the heating and then rapidly accelerated and rarefied. This behavior is more pronounced for higher temperature plasmas and the net effect is that pellet lifetimes are prolonged slightly by including the heating effects. A comparison is made with the results of the recent pellet injection experiments on ORMAK and a simple injection depth scaling law is derived

Concept of a staged FEL enabled by fast synchrotron radiation cooling of laser-plasma accelerated beam by solenoidal magnetic fields in plasma bubble

Science.gov (United States)

Seryi, Andrei; Lesz, Zsolt; Andreev, Alexander; Konoplev, Ivan

2017-03-01

A novel method for generating GigaGauss solenoidal fields in a laser-plasma bubble, using screw-shaped laser pulses, has been recently presented. Such magnetic fields enable fast synchrotron radiation cooling of the beam emittance of laser-plasma accelerated leptons. This recent finding opens a novel approach for design of laser-plasma FELs or colliders, where the acceleration stages are interleaved with laser-plasma emittance cooling stages. In this concept paper, we present an outline of what a staged plasma-acceleration FEL could look like, and discuss further studies needed to investigate the feasibility of the concept in detail.

The electron-electron instability in a spherical plasma structure with an intermediate double layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lapuerta, V.; Ahedo, E.

2003-01-01

A linear dynamic model of a spherical plasma structure with an intermediate double layer is analyzed in the high-frequency range. The two ion populations tend to stay frozen in their stationary response and this prevents the displacement of the double layer. Different electron modes dominate the plasma dynamics in each quasineutral region. The electrostatic potential and the electron current are the magnitudes most perturbed. The structure develops a reactive electron-electron instability, which is made up of a countable family of eigenmodes. Space-charge effects must be included in the quasineutral regions to determine the eigenmode carrying the maximum growth rate. Except for very small Debye lengths, the fundamental eigenmode governs the instability. The growth rate for the higher harmonics approaches that of an infinite plasma. The instability modes develop mainly on the plasma at the high-potential side of the double layer. The influence of the parameters defining the stationary solution on the instability growth rate is investigated, and the parametric regions of stability are found. The comparison with a couple of experiments on plasma contactors is satisfactory

DBD plasma assisted combustion for 1D flat flame

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elkholy, A.H.E.

2015-01-01

The potential use of non-equilibrium plasma for ignition and combustion control has garnered increasing interest due to the possibility of plasma-assisted approaches for ignition and flame stabilization. During the past decade, significant progress has been made toward understanding the mechanisms

Atmospheric pressure cold plasma as an antifungal therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Peng; Wu Haiyan; Sun Yi; Liu Wei; Li Ruoyu; Zhu Weidong; Lopez, Jose L.; Zhang Jue; Fang Jing

2011-01-01

A microhollow cathode based, direct-current, atmospheric pressure, He/O 2 (2%) cold plasma microjet was used to inactive antifungal resistants Candida albicans, Candida krusei, and Candida glabrata in air and in water. Effective inactivation (>90%) was achieved in 10 min in air and 1 min in water. Antifungal susceptibility tests showed drastic reduction of the minimum inhibitory concentration after plasma treatment. The inactivation was attributed to the reactive oxygen species generated in plasma or in water. Hydroxyl and singlet molecular oxygen radicals were detected in plasma-water system by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. This approach proposed a promising clinical dermatology therapy.

Hydrocarbon transport in the laboratory plasma (MAP)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsuyama, Seiji; Yamaguchi, Kenji; Yamawaki, Michio [Tokyo Univ., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Nuclear Engineering Research Lab.; Tanaka, Satoru

1996-10-01

Hydrocarbons are admitted in the laboratory plasma in order to investigate the transport processes of carbon - containing molecules in relation to redeposition processes in the fusion boundary plasma. When CH{sub 4} was introduced into the plasma, CH radical band spectra were optically identified, while in the case of C{sub 2}H{sub 2} introduction, C{sub 2} radicals were also identified in addition to CH radicals. Excitation temperature was determined from CH and C{sub 2} spectra band, which was observed to increase on approaching to the target. (author)

Plasma functionalization of powdery nanomaterials using porous filter electrode and sample circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Deuk Yeon; Choi, Jae Hong; Shin, Jung Chul; Jung, Man Ki; Song, Seok Kyun; Suh, Jung Ki; Lee, Chang Young

2018-06-01

Compared with wet processes, dry functionalization using plasma is fast, scalable, solvent-free, and thus presents a promising approach for grafting functional groups to powdery nanomaterials. Previous approaches, however, had difficulties in maintaining an intimate sample-plasma contact and achieving uniform functionalization. Here, we demonstrate a plasma reactor equipped with a porous filter electrode that increases both homogeneity and degree of functionalization by capturing and circulating powdery carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via vacuum and gas blowing. Spectroscopic measurements verify that treatment with O2/air plasma generates oxygen-containing groups on the surface of CNTs, with the degree of functionalization readily controlled by varying the circulation number. Gas sensors fabricated using the plasma-treated CNTs confirm alteration of molecular adsorption on the surface of CNTs. A sequential treatment with NH3 plasma following the oxidation pre-treatment results in the functionalization with nitrogen species of up to 3.2 wt%. Our approach requiring no organic solvents not only is cost-effective and environmentally friendly, but also serves as a versatile tool that applies to other powdery micro or nanoscale materials for controlled modification of their surfaces.

Measurements of plasma density fluctuations and electric wave fields using spherical electrostatic probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eriksson, A.I.; Bostroem, R.

1995-04-01

Spherical electrostatic probes are in wide use for the measurements of electric fields and plasma density. This report concentrates on the measurements of fluctuations of these quantities rather than background values. Potential problems with the technique include the influence of density fluctuations on electric field measurements and vice versa, effects of varying satellite potential, and non-linear rectification in the probe and satellite sheaths. To study the actual importance of these and other possible effects, we simulate the response of the probe-satellite system to various wave phenomena in the plasma by applying approximate analytical as well as numerical methods. We use a set of non-linear probe equations, based on probe characteristics experimentally obtained in space, and therefore essentially independent of any specific probe theory. This approach is very useful since the probe theory for magnetized plasmas is incomplete. 47 refs

Platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology.

Science.gov (United States)

Stavrakas, M; Karkos, P D; Markou, K; Grigoriadis, N

2016-12-01

Platelet-rich plasma is a novel material that is being used more frequently in many surgical specialties. A literature review on the current and potential uses of platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology was performed. There is limited evidence on the use of platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology compared with other specialties: only 11 studies on various subspecialties (otology, rhinology and laryngology) were included in the final review. Based on the limited number of studies, we cannot draw safe conclusions about the value of platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology. Nevertheless, the available literature suggests that platelet-rich plasma holds promise for future research and may have a number of clinical applications.

Plasma devices for hydrocarbon reformation

KAUST Repository

Cha, Min Suk

2017-02-16

Plasma devices for hydrocarbon reformation are provided. Methods of using the devices for hydrocarbon reformation are also provided. The devices can include a liquid container to receive a hydrocarbon source, and a plasma torch configured to be submerged in the liquid. The plasma plume from the plasma torch can cause reformation of the hydrocarbon. The device can use a variety of plasma torches that can be arranged in a variety of positions in the liquid container. The devices can be used for the reformation of gaseous hydrocarbons and/or liquid hydrocarbons. The reformation can produce methane, lower hydrocarbons, higher hydrocarbons, hydrogen gas, water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, or a combination thereof.

Development of high energy pulsed plasma simulator for plasma-lithium trench experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Soonwook

To simulate detrimental events in a tokamak and provide a test-stand for a liquid lithium infused trench (LiMIT) device, a pulsed plasma source utilizing a theta pinch in conjunction with a coaxial plasma accelerator has been developed. An overall objective of the project is to develop a compact device that can produce 100 MW/m2 to 1 GW/m2 of plasma heat flux (a typical heat flux level in a major fusion device) in ~ 100 mus (≤ 0.1 MJ/m2) for a liquid lithium plasma facing component research. The existing theta pinch device, DEVeX, was built and operated for study on lithium vapor shielding effect. However, a typical plasma energy of 3 - 4 kJ/m2 is too low to study an interaction of plasma and plasma facing components in fusion devices. No or little preionized plasma, ringing of magnetic field, collisions of high energy particles with background gas have been reported as the main issues. Therefore, DEVeX is reconfigured to mitigate these issues. The new device is mainly composed of a plasma gun for a preionization source, a theta pinch for heating, and guiding magnets for a better plasma transportation. Each component will be driven by capacitor banks and controlled by high voltage / current switches. Several diagnostics including triple Langmuir probe, calorimeter, optical emission measurement, Rogowski coil, flux loop, and fast ionization gauge are used to characterize the new device. A coaxial plasma gun is manufactured and installed in the previous theta pinch chamber. The plasma gun is equipped with 500 uF capacitor and a gas puff valve. The increase of the plasma velocity with the plasma gun capacitor voltage is consistent with the theoretical predictions and the velocity is located between the snowplow model and the weak - coupling limit. Plasma energies measured with the calorimeter ranges from 0.02 - 0.065 MJ/m2 and increases with the voltage at the capacitor bank. A cross-check between the plasma energy measured with the calorimeter and the triple probe

Fluorescence interference contrast based approach to study real time interaction of melittin with plasma membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Sharad; Gui, Dong; Zandi, Roya; Gill, Sarjeet; Mohideen, Umar

2014-03-01

Melittin is an anti-bacterial and hemolytic toxic peptide found in bee venom. Cell lysis behavior of peptides has been widely investigated, but the exact interaction mechanism of lytic peptides with lipid membranes and its constituents has not been understood completely. In this paper we study the melittin interaction with lipid plasma membranes in real time using non-invasive and non-contact fluorescence interference contrast microscopy (FLIC). Particularly the interaction of melittin with plasma membranes was studied in a controlled molecular environment, where these plasma membrane were composed of saturated lipid, 1,2-diphytanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPhPC) and unsaturated lipid, 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine(DOPC) with and without cholesterol. We found out that melittin starts to form nanometer size pores in the plasma membranes shortly after interacting with membranes. But the addition of cholesterol in plasma membrane slows down the pore formation process. Our results show that inclusion of cholesterol to the plasma membranes make them more resilient towards pore formation and lysis of membrane.

Pedestal Temperature Model for Type III ELMy H-mode Plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buangam, W.; Suwanna, S.; Onjun, T.; Poolyarat, N.; Picha, R.; Singhsomroje, W.

2009-07-01

Full text: It is widely known that the improved performance of H-mode plasma results mainly from a formation of the pedestal, which is a narrow region of strong pressure gradient near the edge of plasma. A predictive capability for the conditions at the top of the pedestal is important, especially for predictive simulations of future experiments. New models for predicting the temperature values at the top of the pedestal for type III ELMy H-mode plasma are developed by using two different approaches: a theory-based approaches and an empirical approach. For a theory-based approach, a model is developed based on the calculation of thermal energy in the pedestal region and on accepted scaling laws of energy confinement time. For an empirical model, a scaling law for pedestal temperature in terms of plasma controlled parameters, such as plasma current, magnetic field, heating power, is deduced from experimental data. Predictions from these models are compared with experimental data from the Pedestal International Database. Statistical quantities, such as Root-Mean Square Error (RMSE) and offset values, are computed to quantify the predictive capability of the models. It is found that the theory-based model predicts the pedestal temperature values moderately well yielding RMSE between 30% and 40%. The IPB98(y,3) scaling law yields with best agreement with RMSE of 30.4%. The empirical model predicts the pedestal temperature value with better agreement, yield RMSE of 25.9%

Study of wave-particle interaction from the linear regime to dynamical chaos in a magnetized plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fasoli, A.

1993-10-01

Deterministic chaos generated by the interaction between charged particles and electrostatic plasma waves has been observed in a linear magnetized plasma. The target plasma is created by a barium Q-source, guaranteeing low fluctuation levels and a high degree of uniformity over an extended plasma volume. Characteristics of the background plasma are investigated by a variety of diagnostic techniques, including laser induced fluorescence (LIF) and optical tagging (OT). Particular tagging schemes and specific theoretical approaches to data interpretation (both for LIF and OT) have been developed during this work. As part of these background plasma studies, special attention has been devoted to an investigation of test-ion cross-field transport under different conditions. Test-ions are created and followed in their motion across the magnetic field lines via spin state tagging. In the unperturbed plasma this motion is found to be a diffusive process, supported by classical mechanisms, even in the presence of relatively high pressures of non-reactive neutral gases injected into the plasma volume. Electrostatic waves are excited using a ring antenna structure encircling the plasma column and electrically isolated from it. This system has been chosen on the basis of a comparative analysis of different ion wave launching methods, including the use of grids, inductive coils coupled electromagnetically to the plasma and modulated high frequency electron waves. Two modes propagating parallel to the magnetic field, one of which has two perpendicular components (ion Bernstein and ion acoustic-like waves), characterize the spectrum excited by the electrostatic ring antenna for a single frequency, f, chosen in the range f ci ci . (author) figs., tabs., 134 refs

Energy principle with included boundary conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehnert, B.

1994-01-01

Earlier comments by the author on the limitations of the classical form of the extended energy principle are supported by a complementary analysis on the potential energy change arising from free-boundary displacements of a magnetically confined plasma. In the final formulation of the extended principle, restricted displacements, satisfying pressure continuity by means of plasma volume currents in a thin boundary layer, are replaced by unrestricted (arbitrary) displacements which can give rise to induced surface currents. It is found that these currents contribute to the change in potential energy, and that their contribution is not taken into account by such a formulation. A general expression is further given for surface currents induced by arbitrary displacements. The expression is used to reformulate the energy principle for the class of displacements which satisfy all necessary boundary conditions, including that of the pressure balance. This makes a minimization procedure of the potential energy possible, for the class of all physically relevant test functions which include the constraints imposed by the boundary conditions. Such a procedure is also consistent with a corresponding variational calculus. (Author)

Differential plasma protein binding to metal oxide nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng, Zhou J; Mortimer, Gysell; Minchin, Rodney F; Schiller, Tara; Musumeci, Anthony; Martin, Darren

2009-01-01

Nanoparticles rapidly interact with the proteins present in biological fluids, such as blood. The proteins that are adsorbed onto the surface potentially dictate the biokinetics of the nanomaterials and their fate in vivo. Using nanoparticles with different sizes and surface characteristics, studies have reported the effects of physicochemical properties on the composition of adsorbed plasma proteins. However, to date, few studies have been conducted focusing on the nanoparticles that are commonly exposed to the general public, such as the metal oxides. Using previously established ultracentrifugation approaches, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, the current study investigated the binding of human plasma proteins to commercially available titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles. We found that, despite these particles having similar surface charges in buffer, they bound different plasma proteins. For TiO 2 , the shape of the nanoparticles was also an important determinant of protein binding. Agglomeration in water was observed for all of the nanoparticles and both TiO 2 and ZnO further agglomerated in biological media. This led to an increase in the amount and number of different proteins bound to these nanoparticles. Proteins with important biological functions were identified, including immunoglobulins, lipoproteins, acute-phase proteins and proteins involved in complement pathways and coagulation. These results provide important insights into which human plasma proteins bind to particular metal oxide nanoparticles. Because protein absorption to nanoparticles may determine their interaction with cells and tissues in vivo, understanding how and why plasma proteins are adsorbed to these particles may be important for understanding their biological responses.

Nonideal plasmas as non-equilibrium media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morozov, I V; Norman, G E; Valuev, A A; Valuev, I A

2003-01-01

Various aspects of the collective behaviour of non-equilibrium nonideal plasmas are studied. The relaxation of kinetic energy to the equilibrium state is simulated by the molecular dynamics (MD) method for two-component non-degenerate strongly non-equilibrium plasmas. The initial non-exponential stage, its duration and the subsequent exponential stage of the relaxation process are studied for a wide range of ion charge, nonideality parameter and ion mass. A simulation model of the nonideal plasma excited by an electron beam is proposed. An approach is developed to calculate the dynamic structure factor in non-stationary conditions. Instability increment is obtained from MD simulations

Plasma Science Committee (PLSC)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

The Plasma Science Committee (PLSC) is a standing committee under the auspices of the Board on Physics and Astronomy, Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications of the National Academy of Sciences--National Research Council. Plasma sciences represent a broad and diverse field. The PLSC has accepted the responsibility of monitoring the continuing development and assessing the general health of the field as whole. Although select advisory bodies have been created to address specific issues that affect plasma science, such as the Fusion Policy Advisory Committee (FPAC), the PLSC provides a focus for the plasma science community that is unique and essential. The membership of the PLSC is drawn from research laboratories in universities, industry, and government. Areas of expertise on the committee include accelerators and beams, space physics, astrophysics, computational physics and applied mathematics, fusion plasmas, fundamental experiments and theory, radiation sources, low temperature plasmas, and plasma-surface interactions. The PLSC is well prepared to respond to requests for studies on specific issues. This report discusses ion of the PLSC work

International Conference on Plasma Physics ICPP 1994. Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakanaka, P.H.; Tendler, M.

1995-01-01

These proceedings represent the papers presented at the 1994 International Conference on Plasma Physics held in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil. The scope of the conference was broad and covered all aspects of plasma physics. Some of the topics discussed include space and astrophysical plasmas,fusion plasmas, small and large Tokamak plasmas, non-Tokamak plasmas, inertial confinement fusion plasmas, plasma based neutron sources and plasma applications. There are 60 papers in these proceedings and out of these, 35 have been abstracted for the Energy Science and Technology database

Self-consistent non-linear description of radio-frequency wave propagation and of the edge of a magnetized plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacquot, Jonathan

2013-01-01

A correct understanding of the interactions between the edge plasma and the ion cyclotron (IC) waves (40-80 MHz) is needed to inject reliably large amount of power required for self-sustainable fusion plasmas. These thesis objectives were to model separately, with Comsol Multiphysics, but in compatible approaches the wave coupling and the radio-frequency (RF) sheath formation to anticipate development of a single code combining both. Modelling of fast wave coupling requires a detailed description of the antenna (2D or 3D) and of the plasma environment by a full wave approach for a cold plasma. Absorption of outgoing waves is emulated by perfectly matched layers, rendered compatible with a plasma dielectric tensor. Experimental trends for the coupling resistance of the antennas of Tore Supra are qualitatively reproduced but the coupling efficiency is overestimated. In parallel a novel self-consistent description, including RF sheaths, of the interplay between the cold wave propagation and DC biasing of the magnetized edge plasma of a tokamak was developed with the minimum set of physics ingredients. For Tore Supra antenna cases, the code coupled with TOPICA allowed to unveil qualitatively some unexpected observations on the latest design of Tore Supra Faraday screens whose electrical design was supposed to minimize RF sheaths. From simulations, a DC (Direct Current) current transport appears necessary to explain the radial structures of measurements. Cantilevered bars have been identified as the design element in the antenna structure enhancing the plasma potential. (author) [fr

Characterization of cable gun plasma with a charge collector array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yulan; Zeng Zhengzhong; Sun Fengju; Kuai Bin; Qiu Aici; Yin Jiahui; Cong Peitian; Liang Tianxue

2003-01-01

The density, drift velocity and reproducibility of the plasma produced by a cable plasma gun array have been measured with a charge collector array. The plasma is used to prefill a coaxial plasma-opening switch with a conducting time approaching 0.4 μs. The reproducibility of the plasma source in subsequent shots is better than 5%. Near the gun nozzle and the opposite electrode, the plasma density amounts to 10 15 cm -3 , which is 2 times to 3 times that in the gap between the two coaxial electrodes. A plasma drift velocity of about 2.4 cm/μs is observed from the time of flight of the charged particles. Both plasma density and drift velocity increase almost linearly with the rise in charge voltage

A LC-MS metabolomics approach to investigate the effect of raw apple intake in the rat plasma metabolome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rago, Daniela; Kristensen, Mette; Gürdeniz, Gözde

2013-01-01

Fruit and vegetable consumption has been associated with several health benefits; however the mechanisms are largely unknown at the biochemical level. Our research aims to investigate whether plasma metabolome profiling can reflect biological effects after feeding rats with raw apple by using...... an untargeted UPLC–ESI– TOF–MS based metabolomics approach in both positive and negative mode. Eighty young male rats were randomised into groups receiving daily 0, 5 or 10 g fresh apple slices, respectively, for 13 weeks. During weeks 3–6 some of the animals were receiving 4 mg/ml 1,2-dimethylhydrazine...

Automated processing of whole blood samples into microliter aliquots of plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Burtis, C A; Johnson, W W; Walker, W A

1988-01-01

A rotor that accepts and automatically processes a bulk aliquot of a single blood sample into multiple aliquots of plasma has been designed and built. The rotor consists of a central processing unit, which includes a disk containing eight precision-bore capillaries. By varying the internal diameters of the capillaries, aliquot volumes ranging 1 to 10 mul can be prepared. In practice, an unmeasured volume of blood is placed in a centre well, and, as the rotor begins to spin, is moved radially into a central annular ring where it is distributed into a series of processing chambers. The rotor is then spun at 3000 rpm for 10 min. When the centrifugal field is removed by slowly decreasing the rotor speed, an aliquot of plasma is withdrawn by capillary action into each of the capillary tubes. The disk containing the eight measured aliquots of plasma is subsequently removed and placed in a modifed rotor for conventional centrifugal analysis. Initial evaluation of the new rotor indicates that it is capable of producing discrete, microliter volumes of plasma with a degree of accuracy and precision approaching that of mechanical pipettes.

Diffusion in a cylindrical plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reid, J.

1977-04-01

Modern plasma containment devices, such as the Tokamak, employ magnetic fields which are toroidal in shape. They are able to contain a plasma for times approaching a second. Magnetohydrodynamics (M.H.D.) is one of the most attractive theoretical methods for understanding their behaviour, but the equations involved are complex non-linear partial differential equations, and analytic methods are not available for their solution. Numerical methods must be used. A model system of equations representing a cylindrical plasma with no axial variation is considered. It is convenient to introduce a flux function psi for the component of the magnetic field directed around the axis of the cylinder, called the poloidal field, and the M.H.D. equations are rewritten in terms of psi. This produces a set of highly coupled equations describing the evolution of the flux function, the axial field and the plasma pressure. Various steps are taken to gain a better understanding of the properties of these equations. (author)

Free-Flow Electrophoresis of Plasma Membrane Vesicles Enriched by Two-Phase Partitioning Enhances the Quality of the Proteome from Arabidopsis Seedlings.

Science.gov (United States)

de Michele, Roberto; McFarlane, Heather E; Parsons, Harriet T; Meents, Miranda J; Lao, Jeemeng; González Fernández-Niño, Susana M; Petzold, Christopher J; Frommer, Wolf B; Samuels, A Lacey; Heazlewood, Joshua L

2016-03-04

The plant plasma membrane is the interface between the cell and its environment undertaking a range of important functions related to transport, signaling, cell wall biosynthesis, and secretion. Multiple proteomic studies have attempted to capture the diversity of proteins in the plasma membrane using biochemical fractionation techniques. In this study, two-phase partitioning was combined with free-flow electrophoresis to produce a population of highly purified plasma membrane vesicles that were subsequently characterized by tandem mass spectroscopy. This combined high-quality plasma membrane isolation technique produced a reproducible proteomic library of over 1000 proteins with an extended dynamic range including plasma membrane-associated proteins. The approach enabled the detection of a number of putative plasma membrane proteins not previously identified by other studies, including peripheral membrane proteins. Utilizing multiple data sources, we developed a PM-confidence score to provide a value indicating association to the plasma membrane. This study highlights over 700 proteins that, while seemingly abundant at the plasma membrane, are mostly unstudied. To validate this data set, we selected 14 candidates and transiently localized 13 to the plasma membrane using a fluorescent tag. Given the importance of the plasma membrane, this data set provides a valuable tool to further investigate important proteins. The mass spectrometry data are available via ProteomeXchange, identifier PXD001795.

Plasma-mediated ablation for the management of obstructive sleep apnea

Science.gov (United States)

Puchalski, Robert; Shah, Udayan K.

2000-05-01

Plasma-mediated ablation (PMA) removes tissue by developing an electrically induced plasma layer between the instrument and target tissue. Charged particles within the plasma field then accelerate toward the tissue, breaking the molecular bonds within the top layer of tissue. Thermal damage to collateral tissue is minimal, resulting in the moniker, 'cold' ablation, for this method. Recently, instrumentation has been developed to permit application for soft tissue resection in Otolaryngology. Presentation of the theory, as well as the benefits and disadvantages associated with CoblationTM technology will be followed by examples of its use. A brief videotape will demonstrate the application of PMA for UPPP, tonsillectomy and nasal turbinate reduction. Preliminary experience from our institution, including eighteen children treated with tonsillectomy and followed for at least one month post-operatively, has provided an initial cohort for comparing the risks and benefits of the approach. The advantage of CoblationTM technology identified thus far, that of less thermal damage, is balanced against a decreased level of hemostasis (compared to MES) and an increased cost.

Time resolved plasma characterization in a long conduction time planar plasma opening switch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adler, L.K.; Greenly, J.B.; Qi, N.; Hammer, D.A.

1989-01-01

The authors discuss additional experiments in which the plasma dynamics and properties will be monitored in detail before and during opening. Space and time resolved density, temperature and motion information about the plasma and neutrals is given by emission spectroscopy and streak photography and correlated to the current and voltage traces. Specifically, we will look for the effects of neutrals evolving off of surfaces, stagnation of the switch plasma, and rvec J x rvec B motion of the plasma downstream of the switch. Diagnostics include current and voltage monitors, a multi-aperture biased Faraday cup, emission spectroscopy and streak photography. Pairs of B dot loops are positioned in the stripline just upstream and downstream of the POS. Also, two single B loops were placed further downstream to look for bulk plasma motion. An inductive monitor gives the voltage at the upstream side of the POS and the Faraday cup monitors the gun plasma consistency from shot to shot

Instabilities, turbulence and transport in a magnetized plasma; Instabilites, turbulence et transport dans un plasma magnetise

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garbet, X

2001-06-01

The purpose of this work is to introduce the main processes that occur in a magnetized plasma. During the last 2 decades, the understanding of turbulence has made great progress but analytical formulas and simulations are far to produce reliable predictions. The values of transport coefficients in a tokamak plasma exceed by far those predicted by the theory of collisional transport. This phenomenon is called abnormal transport and might be due to plasma fluctuations. An estimation of turbulent fluxes derived from the levels of fluctuations, is proposed. A flow description of plasma allows the understanding of most micro-instabilities. The ballooning representation deals with instabilities in a toric geometry. 3 factors play an important role to stabilize plasmas: density pinch, magnetic shear and speed shear. The flow model of plasma gives an erroneous value for the stability threshold, this is due to a bad description of the resonant interaction between wave and particle. As for dynamics, flow models can be improved by adding dissipative terms so that the linear response nears the kinetic response. The kinetic approach is more accurate but is complex because of the great number of dimensions involved. (A.C.)

The impact of boundary plasma conditions on the plasma performance of the Wendelstein 7-AS stellarator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grigull, P; Behrisch, R; Brakel, R; Burhenn, R; Elsner, A; Hacker, H; Hartfuss, H J; Herre, G; Hildebrandt, D; Jaenicke, R; Kisslinger, J; Maassberg, H; Mahn, C; Niedermeyer, H; Pech, P; Renner, H; Ringler, H; Rau, F; Roth, J; Sardei, F; Schneider, U; Wagner, F; Weller, A; Wobig, H; Wolff, H [Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Plasmaphysik, Garching (Germany); W7-AS Team; NBI Team; ECRH Group

1992-12-01

In the modular advanced stellarator W7-AS, the plasma performance and the main characteristics of the plasma-wall interaction are strongly affected by the three-dimensional edge topology. Both limiter- and separatrix-dominated configurations are possible. TiC and bulk-boronized limiter materials have been used. The impurity behaviour and the accessible plasma parameter ranges are compared for different limiter and wall conditions. With limiters, optimum plasma performance in currentless ECRF- or NBI-heated discharges was achieved with bulk-boronized graphite limiter material and boronized walls. Solid target sputter boronization, however, was found to be ineffective in comparison with boronization by He/B[sub 2]H[sub 6] glow discharge. For separatrix-dominated discharges, conditioning by wall coating has short-term effects only. Enhanced, localized plasma outflow to the wall due to islands at the boundary quickly erodes the layers. The possibility to develop a divertor concept is discussed. Basic properties of the plasma edge as derived from Langmuir probes and limiter calorimetry are described. Modeling is complicated by three-dimensionality. In a first approach, a 1D edge transport model on the basis of distinct flux bundles is applied. (orig.).

Interpreting Disruption Prediction Models to Improve Plasma Control

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, Matthew

2017-10-01

In order for the tokamak to be a feasible design for a fusion reactor, it is necessary to minimize damage to the machine caused by plasma disruptions. Accurately predicting disruptions is a critical capability for triggering any mitigative actions, and a modest amount of attention has been given to efforts that employ machine learning techniques to make these predictions. By monitoring diagnostic signals during a discharge, such predictive models look for signs that the plasma is about to disrupt. Typically these predictive models are interpreted simply to give a `yes' or `no' response as to whether a disruption is approaching. However, it is possible to extract further information from these models to indicate which input signals are more strongly correlated with the plasma approaching a disruption. If highly accurate predictive models can be developed, this information could be used in plasma control schemes to make better decisions about disruption avoidance. This work was supported by a Grant from the 2016-2017 Fulbright U.S. Student Program, administered by the Franco-American Fulbright Commission in France.

SUPERFAST THERMALIZATION OF PLASMA

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, C.C.

1962-06-12

A method is given for the superfast thermalization of plasma by shock conversion of the kinetic energy stored in rotating plasma rings or plasmoids colliding at near supersonic speeds in a containment field to heat energy in the resultant confined plasma mass. The method includes means for generating rotating plasmoids at the opposite ends of a Pyrotron or Astron containment field. The plasmoids are magnetically accelerated towards each other into the opposite ends of time containment field. During acceleration of the plasmoids toward the center of the containment field, the intensity of the field is sequentially increased to adiabatically compress the plasmoids and increase the plasma energy. The plasmoids hence collide with a violent shock at the eenter of the containment field, causing the substantial kinetic energy stored in the plasmoids to be converted to heat in the resultant plasma mass. (AEC)

Simulation of an ITER-like dissipative divertor plasma with a combined edge plasma Navier-Stokes neutral model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knoll, D.A.; McHugh, P.R.; Krasheninnikov, S.I.; Sigmar, D.J.

1996-01-01

A combined edge plasma/Navier-Stokes neutral transport model is used to simulate dissipative divertor plasmas in the collisional limit for neutrals on a simplified two-dimensional slab geometry with ITER-like plasma conditions and scale lengths. The neutral model contains three momentum equations which are coupled to the plasma through ionization, recombination, and ion-neutral elastic collisions. The neutral transport coefficients are evaluated including both ion-neutral and neutral-neutral collisions. (orig.)

Remote operation of the vertical plasma stabilization @ the GOLEM tokamak for the plasma physics education

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Svoboda, V., E-mail: svoboda@fjfi.cvut.cz [Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering CTU Prague, CZ-115 19 (Czech Republic); Kocman, J.; Grover, O. [Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering CTU Prague, CZ-115 19 (Czech Republic); Krbec, J.; Stöckel, J. [Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering CTU Prague, CZ-115 19 (Czech Republic); Institute of Plasma Physics AS CR, CZ-182 21 Prague (Czech Republic)

2015-10-15

Graphical abstract: * Understandable remote operation of a vertical plasma position control system in the tokamak GOLEM for educational purposes.* Two combinable modes of real-time plasma position control: position based feedback and a pre-defined waveform.* More than 20% plasma life prolongation with plasma position control in feedback mode. - Highlights: • Understandable remote operation of a vertical plasma position control system in the tokamak GOLEM for educational purposes. • Two combinable modes of real-time plasma position control: position based feedback and a pre-defined waveform. • More than 20% plasma life prolongation with plasma position control in feedback mode. - Abstract: The GOLEM tokamak at the Czech Technical University has been established as an educational tokamak device for domestic and foreign students. Remote participation in the scope of several laboratory practices, plasma physics schools and workshops has been successfully performed from abroad. A new enhancement allowing understandable remote control of vertical plasma position in two modes (i) predefined and (ii) feedback control is presented. It allows to drive the current in the stabilization coils in any time-dependent scenario, which can include as a parameter the actual plasma position measured by magnetic diagnostics. Arbitrary movement of the plasma column in a vertical direction, stabilization of the plasma column in the center of the tokamak vessel as well as prolongation/shortening of plasma life according to the remotely defined request are demonstrated.

Coherent nonlinear backscattering by laser-plasma interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, D.; Wilhelmsson, H.

1974-01-01

A theoretical analysis is carried out for the problem of coherent nonlinear backscattering of laser radiation by a high density plasma. A number of effects of direct interest to the DT-pellet fusion research is investigated. A simple physical description is introduced, which relies on a nonlinear potential formulation of the scattering equations. The simplicity and the unified nature of the approach enables one to evaluate and compare the influence on the radiation reflectivity of different effects, such as e.g. inhomogeneities, blow-off velocities, temperature gradients, laser band width and relativistic oscillatory velocities. The understanding of the role played by the various phenomena has consequently improved and it is thought that this approach should be useful for the interpretation of laser-plasma data obtained by computer simulation or laboratory experiments. The results may also be utilized to estimate how and to what extent one may avoid undesired anomalous reflection when planning new laser-plasma devices. (Auth.)

MICROWAVE INTERACTIONS WITH INHOMOGENEOUS PARTIALLY IONIZED PLASMA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kritz, A. H.

1962-11-15

Microwave interactions with inhomogeneous plasmas are often studied by employing a simplified electromagnetic approach, i.e., by representing the effects of the plasma by an effective dielectric coefficient. The problems and approximations associated with this procedure are discussed. The equation describing the microwave field in an inhomogeneous partially ionized plasma is derived, and the method that is applied to obtain the reflected, transmitted, and absorbed intensities in inhomogeneous plasmas is presented. The interactions of microwaves with plasmas having Gaussian electron density profiles are considered. The variation of collision frequency with position is usually neglected. In general, the assumption of constant collision frequency is not justified; e.g., for a highly ionized plasma, the electron density profile determines, in part, the profile of the electron-ion collision frequency. The effect of the variation of the collision frequency profile on the interaction of microwaves with inhomogeneous plasmas is studied in order to obtain an estimate of the degree of error that may result when constant collision frequency is assumed instead of a more realistic collision frequency profile. It is shown that the degree of error is of particular importance when microwave analysis is used as a plasma diagnostic. (auth)

Plasma-Induced, Self-Masking, One-Step Approach to an Ultrabroadband Antireflective and Superhydrophilic Subwavelength Nanostructured Fused Silica Surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Xin; Shao, Ting; Sun, Laixi; Wu, Jingjun; Wang, Fengrui; He, Junhui; Jiang, Xiaodong; Wu, Wei-Dong; Zheng, Wanguo

2018-04-25

In this work, antireflective and superhydrophilic subwavelength nanostructured fused silica surfaces have been created by one-step, self-masking reactive ion etching (RIE). Bare fused silica substrates with no mask were placed in a RIE vacuum chamber, and then nanoscale fluorocarbon masks and subwavelength nanostructures (SWSs) automatically formed on these substrate after the appropriate RIE plasma process. The mechanism of plasma-induced self-masking SWS has been proposed in this paper. Plasma parameter effects on the morphology of SWS have been investigated to achieve perfect nanocone-like SWS for excellent antireflection, including process time, reactive gas, and pressure of the chamber. Optical properties, i.e., antireflection and optical scattering, were simulated by the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. Calculated data agree well with the experiment results. The optimized SWS show ultrabroadband antireflective property (up to 99% from 500 to 1360 nm). An excellent improvement of transmission was achieved for the deep-ultraviolet (DUV) range. The proposed low-cost, highly efficient, and maskless method was applied to achieve ultrabroadband antireflective and superhydrophilic SWSs on a 100 mm optical window, which promises great potential for applications in the automotive industry, goggles, and optical devices.

Refraction-enhanced backlit imaging of axially symmetric inertial confinement fusion plasmas.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Jeffrey A; Landen, Otto L; Suter, Laurence J; Masse, Laurent P; Clark, Daniel S; Ross, James S; Mackinnon, Andrew J; Meezan, Nathan B; Thomas, Cliff A; Ping, Yuan

2013-05-20

X-ray backlit radiographs of dense plasma shells can be significantly altered by refraction of x rays that would otherwise travel straight-ray paths, and this effect can be a powerful tool for diagnosing the spatial structure of the plasma being radiographed. We explore the conditions under which refraction effects may be observed, and we use analytical and numerical approaches to quantify these effects for one-dimensional radial opacity and density profiles characteristic of inertial-confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. We also show how analytical and numerical approaches allow approximate radial plasma opacity and density profiles to be inferred from point-projection refraction-enhanced radiography data. This imaging technique can provide unique data on electron density profiles in ICF plasmas that cannot be obtained using other techniques, and the uniform illumination provided by point-like x-ray backlighters eliminates a significant source of uncertainty in inferences of plasma opacity profiles from area-backlit pinhole imaging data when the backlight spatial profile cannot be independently characterized. The technique is particularly suited to in-flight radiography of imploding low-opacity shells surrounding hydrogen ice, because refraction is sensitive to the electron density of the hydrogen plasma even when it is invisible to absorption radiography. It may also provide an alternative approach to timing shockwaves created by the implosion drive, that are currently invisible to absorption radiography.

Plasma-focused cyclic accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mondelli, A.A.; Chernin, D.P.

1985-01-01

The use of ambient plasma to neutralize the transverse forces of an intense particle beam has been known for many years. Most recently, the so-called ion-focused regime (IFR) for beam propagation has been used as a means of focusing intense electron beams in linear accelerators and suggested for injecting an electron beam across magnetic field lines into a high-current cyclic accelerator. One technique for generating the required background plasma for IFR propagation is to use a laser to ionize ambient gas in the accelerator chamber. This paper discusses an alternative means of plasma production for IFR, viz. by using RF breakdown. For this approach the accelerator chamber acts as a waveguide. This technique is not limited to toroidal accelerators. It may be applied to any accelerator or recirculator geometry as well as for beam steering and for injection or extraction of beams in closed accelerator configurations

Formation of cavities in dusty plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kravchenko, O.Yu.; Chutov, Yu.Yi.; Yurchuk, M.M.

2003-01-01

The computer modeling of evolution one-dimensional dusty of sheaths which is taking place in unbounded argon plasma will be carried out. For examination the magneto-hydrodynamics equations for particles of a dusty particles and ions,and also equilibrium approach for electrons will be utilized. As a result of the carried out calculations the spatial distributions of parameters of plasma in different instants are obtained. It is shown,that in a series of modes of the dusty particles are collected in layers which separated by areas where dusty particles practically miss. At increasing of concentration of neutral particles this effect disappears owing to action of a frictional force between dusty particles and neutral component of plasma. It is shown,that depending on concentration of plasma the dusty particles can be dilated or be compressed under action of an ion wind force

Cold atmospheric plasma treatment inhibits growth in colorectal cancer cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Christin; Arndt, Stephanie; Zimmermann, Julia L; Li, Yangfang; Karrer, Sigrid; Bosserhoff, Anja-Katrin

2018-06-01

Plasma oncology is a relatively new field of research. Recent developments have indicated that cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) technology is an interesting new therapeutic approach to cancer treatment. In this study, p53 wildtype (LoVo) and human p53 mutated (HT29 and SW480) colorectal cancer cells were treated with the miniFlatPlaSter - a device particularly developed for the treatment of tumor cells - that uses the Surface Micro Discharge (SMD) technology for plasma production in air. The present study analyzed the effects of plasma on colorectal cancer cells in vitro and on normal colon tissue ex vivo. Plasma treatment had strong effects on colon cancer cells, such as inhibition of cell proliferation, induction of cell death, and modulation of p21 expression. In contrast, CAP treatment of murine colon tissue ex vivo for up to 2 min did not show any toxic effect on normal colon cells compared to H2O2 positive control. In summary, these results suggest that the miniFlatPlaSter plasma device is able to kill colorectal cancer cells independent of their p53 mutation status. Thus, this device presents a promising new approach in colon cancer therapy.

Wave-packet continuum-discretization approach to ion-atom collisions including rearrangement: Application to differential ionization in proton-hydrogen scattering

Science.gov (United States)

Abdurakhmanov, I. B.; Bailey, J. J.; Kadyrov, A. S.; Bray, I.

2018-03-01

In this work, we develop a wave-packet continuum-discretization approach to ion-atom collisions that includes rearrangement processes. The total scattering wave function is expanded using a two-center basis built from wave-packet pseudostates. The exact three-body Schrödinger equation is converted into coupled-channel differential equations for time-dependent expansion coefficients. In the asymptotic region these time-dependent coefficients represent transition amplitudes for all processes including elastic scattering, excitation, ionization, and electron capture. The wave-packet continuum-discretization approach is ideal for differential ionization studies as it allows one to generate pseudostates with arbitrary energies and distribution. The approach is used to calculate the double differential cross section for ionization in proton collisions with atomic hydrogen. Overall good agreement with experiment is obtained for all considered cases.

THz Backward-wave oscillators for plasma diagnostic in nuclear fusion

OpenAIRE

Paoloni, Claudio; Yue, Lingna; Tang, Xiaopin; Zhang, Fuzhi; Popovic, Branko; Himes, Logan; Barchfeld, Robert; Gamzina, Diana; Mineo, Mauro; Letizia, Rosa; Luhmann Jr., Neville C.

2015-01-01

Summary form only given. The understanding of plasma turbulence in nuclear fusion is related to the availability of powerful THz sources and the possibility to map wider plasma regions. A novel approach to realize compact THz sources to be implemented in the plasma diagnostic at NSTX experiment (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA) is reported.Two novel 0.346 THz Backward-Wave Oscillators (BWOs) have been designed and are presently in the fabrication phase. One BWO is based on the Double...

Plasma properties of quasi-one-dimensional ring

CERN Document Server

Shmelev, G M

2001-01-01

The plasma properties of the quasi-one-dimensional ring in the threshold cases of low and high frequencies, corresponding to the plasma oscillations and dielectric relaxation are studied within the frames of the classical approach. The plasma oscillations spectrum and the electron dielectric relaxation frequency in the quasi-one-dimensional ring are calculated. The plasmons spectrum equidistance is identified. It is shown , that in contrast to the three-dimensional case there takes place the dielectric relaxation dispersion, wherefrom there follows the possibility of studying the carriers distribution in the quasi-one-dimensional rings through the method of the dielectric relaxation spectroscopy

Equation of state of partially-ionized dense plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogers, F.J.

1989-01-01

This paper describes methods for calculating the equation of state of partially-ionized dense plasmas. The term dense plasma is used rather than strongly coupled plasma, since it is possible that at plasma conditions such that only a few levels can be observed spectroscopically the plasma coupling parameters are not large. Due mainly to their importance in theoretical astrophysics, the properties of partially ionized plasmas have been of interest for a long while. More recently, this interest has intensified due to the development of methods for producing partially ionized plasmas in the laboratory. This has opened up large programs of experimental investigation and of practical application. In this paper we consider detailed statistical mechanical methods that explicitly treat the distribution over ionic species and their energy level structure. These detailed approaches are generally characterized as being in the ''chemical picture'' when a free energy expression is minimized or in the ''physical picture'' when the starting point is the grand canonical ensemble. 52 refs., 2 tabs

Plasma Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalinin in the General Population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindberg, Søren; Jensen, Jan S; Mogelvang, Rasmus

2014-01-01

, human studies of plasma NGAL are still limited. APPROACH AND RESULTS: We prospectively followed 5599 randomly selected men and women from the community in the fourth Copenhagen Heart Study. Plasma NGAL was measured at study entry. Participants were followed for 10 years. During follow-up, 20% died (n...

Computationally efficient description of relativistic electron beam transport in dense plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Polomarov, Oleg; Sefkov, Adam; Kaganovich, Igor; Shvets, Gennady