Energy confinement of tokamak plasma with consideration of bootstrap current effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Ying; Gao Qingdi

1992-01-01

Based on the η i -mode induced anomalous transport model of Lee et al., the energy confinement of tokamak plasmas with auxiliary heating is investigated with consideration of bootstrap current effect. The results indicate that energy confinement time increases with plasma current and tokamak major radius, and decreases with heating power, toroidal field and minor radius. This is in reasonable agreement with the Kaye-Goldston empirical scaling law. Bootstrap current always leads to an improvement of energy confinement and the contraction of inversion radius. When γ, the ratio between bootstrap current and total plasma current, is small, the part of energy confinement time contributed from bootstrap current will be about γ/2

Synthesis of Polyimides in Molecular-Scale Confinement for Low-Density Hybrid Nanocomposites.

Science.gov (United States)

Isaacson, Scott G; Fostvedt, Jade I; Koerner, Hilmar; Baur, Jeffery W; Lionti, Krystelle; Volksen, Willi; Dubois, Geraud; Dauskardt, Reinhold H

2017-11-08

In this work, we exploit a confinement-induced molecular synthesis and a resulting bridging mechanism to create confined polyimide thermoset nanocomposites that couple molecular confinement-enhanced toughening with an unprecedented combination of high-temperature properties at low density. We describe a synthesis strategy that involves the infiltration of individual polymer chains through a nanoscale porous network while simultaneous imidization reactions increase the molecular backbone stiffness. In the extreme limit where the confinement length scale is much smaller than the polymer's molecular size, confinement-induced molecular mechanisms give rise to exceptional mechanical properties. We find that polyimide oligomers can undergo cross-linking reactions even in such molecular-scale confinement, increasing the molecular weight of the organic phase and toughening the nanocomposite through a confinement-induced energy dissipation mechanism. This work demonstrates that the confinement-induced molecular bridging mechanism can be extended to thermoset polymers with multifunctional properties, such as excellent thermo-oxidative stability and high service temperatures (>350 °C).

The impact of confinement scaling on ITER [International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor] parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reid, R.L.; Galambos, J.D.; Peng, Y.K.M.

1988-09-01

Energy confinement scaling is a major concern in the design of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The existing database for tokamaks can be fitted with a number of different confinement scaling expressions that have similar degrees of approximation. These scaling laws predict confinement times for ITER that vary by over an order of magnitude. The uncertainties in the form and magnitude of these scaling laws must be substantially reduced before the plasma performance of ITER can be predicted with adequate reliability. The TETRA systems code is used to calculate the dependence of major ITER parameters on the scaling laws currently in use. Design constraints of interest in the present phase of ITER consideration are used, and the minimum-cost devices arising from these constraints are reviewed. 9 refs., 13 figs., 4 tabs

Energy confinement comparison of ohmically heated stellarators to tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, T.K.; Lee, Y.C.

1979-12-01

An empirical scaling prescribes that the energy confinement time in ohmically heated stellarators and tokamaks is proportional to the internal energy of the plasma and the minor radius, and inversely proportional to the current density. A thermal-conduction energy transport model, based on a heuristic assumption that the effective momentum transfer in the radial direction is proportional to the classical parallel momentum transfer which results in ohmic heating, is used to explain this scaling

Global energy confinement in JT-60 neutral beam heated L-mode discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naito, O.; Hosogane, N.; Tsuji, S.; Ushigusa, K.; Yoshida, H.

1990-01-01

The global energy confinement characteristics of neutral beam heated JT-60 discharges are presented. There is a difference in the dependence of the energy confinement time on the plasma current between limiter and divertor discharges. For limiter discharges, the energy confinement increases with plasma current up to 3.2 MA, whereas for divertor discharges this improvement saturates when the safety factor drops below 3, independent of the location of the X-point. The JT-60 L-mode results indicate that the deterioration in energy confinement for q < 3, which is also found in H-mode regimes of other devices, may be a universal characteristic of divertor discharges. Regarding the scaling with plasma size, it is shown that the global/incremental confinement time increases with plasma minor radius. For sufficiently large plasmas, however, the global/incremental confinement time is no longer a function of minor radius. (author). 13 refs, 14 figs

Expression for the thermal H-mode energy confinement time under ELM-free conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryter, F.; Gruber, O.; Kardaun, O.J.W.F.; Menzler, H.P.; Wagner, F.; Schissel, D.P.; DeBoo, J.C.; Kaye, S.M.

1992-07-01

The design of future tokamaks, which are supposed to reach ignition with the H-mode, requires a reliable scaling expression for the H-mode energy confinement time. In the present work, an H-mode scaling expression for the thermal plasma energy confinement time has been developed by combining data from four existing divertor tokamaks, ASDEX, DIII-D, JET and PBX-M. The plasma conditions, which were as similar as possible to ensure a coherent set of data, were ELM-free deuterium discharges heated by deuterium neutral beam injection. By combining four tokamaks, the parametric dependence of the thermal energy confinement on the main plasma parameters, including the three main geometrical variables, was determined. (orig./WL)

Parametric scaling studies of energy-confinement time for neutral-beam-heated Heliotron-E plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sano, F.; Takeiri, Y.; Hanatani, K.

1989-02-01

Kinetic analysis of the global energy confinement time for neutral-beam-heated Heliotron-E plasmas has been performed with the 1-D, time-independent transport analysis code, PROCTR-Mod. Beam-power scans were performed by firing various number of hydrogen neutral beams, while density scans were performed by puffing gas and/or pellet fueling under the metallic or carbonized wall conditions. The wall carbonization facilitated the density increase due to the enhanced particle recycling on the walls, and also enabled long-pulse, quasi-stationary, currentless ECH + NBI operation with reduced heavy-impurity contamination. The data analysis shows that the favorable density dependence partially offsets the unfavorable power dependence, and that the anomalous electron transport loss becomes dominant in the over-all energy balance as the beam power and plasma density are increased. An alternative scaling law is also presented which is to fit τ E G [ms] by an 'offset-linear' law. The latter scaling is found to provide a better fit to the presented data sets in spite of its simple form. The parametric scaling of the local electron thermal diffusivity, χ e , is also discussed on the basis of the kinetic analysis. (J.P.N.)

Electron energy confinement in ELMO Bumpy Torus (EBT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiroe, S.; Haste, G.R.; Dandl, R.A.

1979-06-01

Using a calibrated, solid-state, soft x-ray detector, the electron temperature and density have been measured over a wide range of operating conditions of ELMO Bumpy Torus (EBT). The empirical relations of the temperature or the density to the microwave power and the ambient pressure have been determined. The toroidally stored energy has been observed to increase as the stored energy of the hot electron annulus increases. The energy confinement time has been obtained for various plasma parameters and has been found to agree with the neoclassical theory. The advantages of EBT collisionless scaling for fusion plasma confinement have been noted, i.e., n/sub e/tau/sub E/ increases as T/sub e/ 1 5 in the collisionless regime

Pattern recognition in probability spaces for visualization and identification of plasma confinement regimes and confinement time scaling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verdoolaege, G; Karagounis, G; Oost, G Van; Tendler, M

2012-01-01

Pattern recognition is becoming an increasingly important tool for making inferences from the massive amounts of data produced in fusion experiments. The purpose is to contribute to physics studies and plasma control. In this work, we address the visualization of plasma confinement data, the (real-time) identification of confinement regimes and the establishment of a scaling law for the energy confinement time. We take an intrinsically probabilistic approach, modeling data from the International Global H-mode Confinement Database with Gaussian distributions. We show that pattern recognition operations working in the associated probability space are considerably more powerful than their counterparts in a Euclidean data space. This opens up new possibilities for analyzing confinement data and for fusion data processing in general. We hence advocate the essential role played by measurement uncertainty for data interpretation in fusion experiments. (paper)

Scaling of energy confinement with minor radius, current and density in Doublet III Ohmically heated plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ejima, S.; Petrie, T.W.; Riviere, A.C.

1982-01-01

The dependence of plasma energy confinement on minor radius, density and plasma current is described for Ohmically heated near-circular plasmas in Doublet III. A wide range of parameters is used for the study of scaling laws; the plasma minor radius defined by the flux surface in contact with limiter is varied by a factor of 2 (a = 44, 32, and 23 cm), the line average plasma density, nsub(e)-bar, is varied by a factor of 20 from 0.5 to 10 x 10 13 cm -3 (nsub(e)-bar R 0 /Bsub(T) = 0.3 to 6 x 10 14 cm -2 .kG -1 ) and the plasma current, I, is varied by a factor of 6 from 120 to 718 kA. The range of the limiter safety factor, qsub(L), is from 2 to 12. - For plasmas with a = 23 and 32 cm, the scaling law at low nsub(e)-bar for the gross electron energy confinement time can be written as (s, cm) tausub(Ee)sup(G) approx.= 3.6 x 10 -19 nsub(e)-bar a 2 qsub(c)sup(3/4), where qsub(c) = 2πa 2 Bsub(T)/μ 0 IR 0 . For the 44-cm plasmas, tausub(Ee)sup(G) is about 1.8 times less than predicted by this scaling, possibly owing to the change in limiter configuration and small plasma-wall separation and/or the aspect ratio change. At high nsub(e)-bar, tausub(Ee)sup(G) saturates and in many cases decreases with nsub(e)-bar but increases with I in a classical-like manner. The dependence of tausub(Ee)sup(G) on a is considerably weakened. The confinement behaviour can be explained by taking an ion thermal conductivity 2 to 7 times that given by Hinton-Hazeltine's neoclassical theory with a lumped-Zsub(eff) impurity model. Within this range the enhancement factor increases with a or a/R 0 . The electron thermal conductivity evaluated at half-temperature radius where most of the thermal insulation occurs sharply increases with average current density within that radius, but does not depend on a within the uncertainties of the measurements. (author)

Preliminary study of energy confinement data with a statistical analysis system in HL-2A tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Yuan; Cui Zhengying; Ji Xiaoquan; Dong Chunfeng; Yang Qingwei; O J W F Kardaun

2010-01-01

Taking advantage of the HL-2A experimental data,an energy confinement database facing ITERL DB2.0 version has been originally established. As for this database,a world widely used statistical analysis system (SAS) has been adopted for the first time to analyze and evaluate the confinement data from HL-2A and the research on scaling laws of energy confinement time corresponding to plasma density is developed, some preliminary results having been achieved. Finally, through comparing with both ITER scaling law and previous ASDEX database, the investigation about L-mode confinement quality on HL-2A and influence of temperature on Spitzer resistivity will be discussed. (authors)

Advanced energy systems: 2XIIB: heating and containing magnetically confined plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coensgen, F.H.

1975-01-01

Recent experiments on the 2XIIB mirror machine have produced encouraging results: a buildup of hot ion densities to 4 x 10 13 cm -3 , ion temperatures of 13 keV (the highest ever observed in a major fusion experiment), and a confinement time exceeding 5 ms. Two major factors in these achievements were the injection of twelve 20-keV neutral beams to increase plasma temperature and the introduction of warm streaming plasma to suppress microinstabilities. With them, near-classical confinement of a hot plasma was demonstrated. We are now doubling the injected neutral beam energy to see if plasma stability and energy scaling of plasma confinement persist at higher ion temperatures

Effect of energetic ion loss on ICRF heating efficiency and energy confinement time in heliotrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murakami, S.; Nakajima, N.; Okamoto, M.; Nuehrenberg, J.

1999-06-01

ICRF heating efficiency and the global energy confinement time during ICRF heating are investigated including the effect of energetic ion loss in heliotrons. The approximate formula of ICRF heating efficiency is derived using the results based on Monte Carlo simulations. The global energy confinement time including energetic ion effect can be expressed in terms of ICRF heating power, plasma density, and magnetic field strength in heliotrons. Our results in the CHS plasma show the systematic decrement of the global energy confinement time due to the energetic ion loss from the assumed energy confinement scaling law, which is consistent with the experimental observations. Also we apply our model to the ICRF minority heating in the LHD plasma in two cases of typical magnetic configurations. The clear increment of the global energy confinement time due to the stored energy of energetic tail ions is obtained in the 'orbit improved' configuration, while the decrement is observed in the 'standard' configuration. (author)

Effect of energetic ion loss on ICRF heating efficiency and energy confinement time in heliotrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murakami, S.; Nakajima, N.; Okamoto, M.; Nuehrenberg, J.

1999-01-01

The ICRF heating efficiency and the global energy confinement time during ICRF heating are investigated, including the effect of energetic ion loss in heliotrons. The approximate formula of ICRF heating efficiency is derived using results based on Monte Carlo simulations (Murakami, S., et al., Fusion Eng. Des. 26 (1995) 209). The global energy confinement time including the energetic ion effect can be expressed in heliotrons in terms of ICRF heating power, plasma density and magnetic field strength. Results in plasmas at CHS show a systematic decrease of the global energy confinement time due to energetic ion loss from the assumed energy confinement scaling law, which is consistent with the experimental observations. The model is also applied to ICRF minority heating in LHD plasmas in two cases of typical magnetic configurations. A clear increase of the global energy confinement time due to the stored energy of energetic tail ions is obtained in the 'orbit improved' configuration, while a decrease is observed in the 'standard' configuration. (author)

Energy confinement in the tokamak devices pulsator and ASDEX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klueber, O.; Murmann, H.

1982-04-01

The energy confinement of ohmically heated hydrogen plasmas obtained in the ASDEX and Pulsator tokamaks is investigated. In both devices, the confinement time does not follow a simple scaling law of the type tausub(E) approx. equal to nsub(e)a 2 . In the case of Pulsator, a regime is identified in which the transport is governed by electron heat conduction. The experimental data are compared with an analytic solution of the energy balance equation from which a heat diffusivity chisub(e) approx. equal to Zsub(eff)sup(1/3)/nsub(e)(r)Tsub(e)sup(1/2)(r)q(r) is inferred. chisub(i) is supposed to be neoclassical (plateau regime). Heat conduction following these laws is shown to lead to a consistent description of the full data set. (orig.)

Scaling laws for trace impurity confinement: a variational approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thyagaraja, A.; Haas, F.A.

1990-01-01

A variational approach is outlined for the deduction of impurity confinement scaling laws. Given the forms of the diffusive and convective components to the impurity particle flux, we present a variational principle for the impurity confinement time in terms of the diffusion time scale and the convection parameter, which is a non-dimensional measure of the size of the convective flux relative to the diffusive flux. These results are very general and apply irrespective of whether the transport fluxes are of theoretical or empirical origin. The impurity confinement time scales exponentially with the convection parameter in cases of practical interest. (orig.)

Experimental scaling of fluctuations and confinement with Lundquist number in the RFP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoneking, M.R.; Chapman, J.T.; Prager, S.C.; Sarff, J.S.

1997-09-01

The scaling of the magnetic and velocity fluctuations with Lundquist number (S) is examined experimentally over a range of values from 7 x 10 4 to 10 6 in a reversed field pinch (RFP) plasma. Magnetic fluctuations do not scale uniquely with the Lundquist number. At high (relative) density, fluctuations scale as b∝S -0.18 , and fluctuations are almost independent of S at low relative density, b∝S -0.07 ; however both exponents fall in the range of theoretical and numerical predictions. At high relative density, the scaling of the energy confinement time follows expectations for transport in a stochastic magnetic field. A confinement scaling law (nτ E ∝β 4/5 T -7/10 A -3/5 I φ 2 ) is derived assuming the persistent dominance of stochastic magnetic diffusion in the RFP and on the measured scaling of magnetic fluctuations. The peak velocity fluctuations during a sawtooth cycle scale marginally stronger than magnetic fluctuations but weaker than a simple Ohm's law prediction. The sawtooth period is determined by a resistive-Alfvenic hybrid time (T saw ∝√(τ R τ Alf )) rather than a purely resistive time

Comprehensive energy transport scalings derived from DIII-D similarity experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petty, C.C.; Luce, T.C.; Baity, F.W.

1998-12-01

The dependences of heat transport on the dimensionless plasma physics parameters has been measured for both L-mode and H-mode plasmas on the DIII-D tokamak. Heat transport in L-mode plasmas has a gyroradius scaling that is gyro-Bohm-like for electrons and worse than Bohm-like for ions, with no measurable beta or collisionality dependence; this corresponds to having an energy confinement time that scales like τ E ∝ n 0.5 P -0.5 . H-mode plasmas have gyro-Bohm-like scaling of heat transport for both electrons and ions, weak beta scaling, and moderate collisionality scaling. In addition, H-mode plasmas have a strong safety factor scaling (χ ∼ q 2 ) at all radii. Combining these four dimensionless parameter scalings together gives an energy confinement time scaling for H-mode plasmas like τ E ∝ B -1 ρ -3.15 β 0.03 v -0.42 q 95 -1.43 ∝ I 0.84 B 0.39 n 0.18 P -0.41 L 2.0 , which is similar to empirical scalings derived from global confinement databases

Comprehensive energy transport scalings derived from DIII-D similarity experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petty, C.C.; Luce, T.C.; Baity, F.W.

1999-01-01

The dependences of heat transport on the dimensionless plasma physics parameters has been measured for both L-mode and H-mode plasmas on the DIII-D tokamak. Heat transport in L-mode plasmas has a gyroradius scaling that is gyro-Bohm-like for electrons and worse than Bohm-like for ions, with no measurable beta or collisionality dependence; this corresponds to having an energy confinement time that scales like τ E ∝ n 0.5 P -0.5 . H-mode plasmas have gyro-Bohm-like scaling of heat transport for both electrons and ions, weak beta scaling, and moderate collisionality scaling. In addition, H-mode plasmas have a strong safety factor scaling (χ ∼ q 2 ) at all radii. Combining these four dimensionless parameter scalings together gives an energy confinement time scaling for H-mode plasmas like τ E ∝ B -1 ρ -3.15 β 0.03 ν -0.42 q 95 -1.43 ∝ I 0.84 B 0.39 n 0.18 P -0.41 L 2.0 , which is similar to empirical scalings derived from global confinement databases. (author)

Comprehensive energy transport scalings derived from DIII-D similarity experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petty, C.C.; Luce, T.C.; Baker, D.R.

2001-01-01

The dependences of heat transport on the dimensionless plasma physics parameters has been measured for both L-mode and H-mode plasmas on the DIII-D tokamak. Heat transport in L-mode plasmas has a gyroradius scaling that is gyro-Bohm-like for electrons and worse than Bohm-like for ions, with no measurable beta or collisionality dependence; this corresponds to having an energy confinement time that scales like τ E ∝n 0.5 P -0.5 . H-mode plasmas have gyro-Bohm-like scaling of heat transport for both electrons and ions, weak beta scaling, and moderate collisionality scaling. In addition, H-mode plasmas have a strong safety factor scaling (χ∼q 2 ) at all radii. Combining these four dimensionless parameter scalings together gives an energy confinement time scaling for H-mode plasmas like τ E ∝ B -1 ρ -3.15 β 0.03 ν -0.42 q 95 -1.43 ∝ I 0.84 B 0.39 n 0.18 P -0.41 L 2.0 , which is similar to empirical scalings derived from global confinement databases. (author)

Offset linear scaling for H-mode confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miura, Yukitoshi; Tamai, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Norio; Mori, Masahiro; Matsuda, Toshiaki; Maeda, Hikosuke; Takizuka, Tomonori; Itoh, Sanae; Itoh, Kimitaka.

1992-01-01

An offset linear scaling for the H-mode confinement time is examined based on single parameter scans on the JFT-2M experiment. Regression study is done for various devices with open divertor configuration such as JET, DIII-D, JFT-2M. The scaling law of the thermal energy is given in the MKSA unit as W th =0.0046R 1.9 I P 1.1 B T 0.91 √A+2.9x10 -8 I P 1.0 R 0.87 P√AP, where R is the major radius, I P is the plasma current, B T is the toroidal magnetic field, A is the average mass number of plasma and neutral beam particles, and P is the heating power. This fitting has a similar root mean square error (RMSE) compared to the power law scaling. The result is also compared with the H-mode in other configurations. The W th of closed divertor H-mode on ASDEX shows a little better values than that of open divertor H-mode. (author)

High-Energy Electron Confinement in a Magnetic Cusp Configuration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaeyoung Park

2015-06-01

Full Text Available We report experimental results validating the concept that plasma confinement is enhanced in a magnetic cusp configuration when β (plasma pressure/magnetic field pressure is of order unity. This enhancement is required for a fusion power reactor based on cusp confinement to be feasible. The magnetic cusp configuration possesses a critical advantage: the plasma is stable to large scale perturbations. However, early work indicated that plasma loss rates in a reactor based on a cusp configuration were too large for net power production. Grad and others theorized that at high β a sharp boundary would form between the plasma and the magnetic field, leading to substantially smaller loss rates. While not able to confirm the details of Grad’s work, the current experiment does validate, for the first time, the conjecture that confinement is substantially improved at high β. This represents critical progress toward an understanding of the plasma dynamics in a high-β cusp system. We hope that these results will stimulate a renewed interest in the cusp configuration as a fusion confinement candidate. In addition, the enhanced high-energy electron confinement resolves a key impediment to progress of the Polywell fusion concept, which combines a high-β cusp configuration with electrostatic fusion for a compact, power-producing nuclear fusion reactor.

Thermal stability of a thermonuclear plasma for different confinement scaling laws

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johner, J.

1985-10-01

The thermal stability of the ignition curve is investigated using a simple OD model for a temperature dependent energy confinement time (tausub(E) is proportional to 1/Tsup(γ)). The stability limit in the (ntausub(E),T) plane is also calculated for a plasma with external heating. The degradation of confinement time with increasing temperature is found to be favourable for divergence temperature and minimum temperature for stable ignition. It also decreases the external power per unit volume necessary to reach divergence. On the contrary, it is extremely unfavourable for the required μsub(E) for divergence and ignition. Detailed results are given for the special case of the Kaye-Goldston scaling (γ=1.38)

A quantitative analysis of the effect of ELMs on H-mode thermal energy confinement in DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schissel, D.P.; Osborne, T.H.; Carlstrom, T.N.; Zohm, H.

1992-06-01

The desire to reach ignition in future tokamaks the energy confinement time critical parameter. The most promising enhanced (over L-mode) confinement regime is the H-mode, discovered on ASDEX with neutral beam heating, and then confirmed with various auxiliary heating sources on numerous machines. The knowledge of how H-mode τ E depends on different parameters is of chemical importance to the performance predictions for next generation devices. Inter-machine H-mode total and thermal energy confinement (τ th ) scalings, which are being utilized to predict ITER thermal energy confinement, have been created for discharges where the Edge Localized Mode (ELM) instability has not been present. Confinement scaling research hm concentrated on this ELM-free H-mode phase mostly owing to the difficulty of characterizing ELM behavior. To date, long pulse H-mode operation has only been achieved by utilizing ELMs to flush out unpurities and prevent radiative collapse of the discharge. Unfortunately, accompanying the ELMS is a decrease of the plasma stored energy due to the expulsion of particles near the edge of the discharge resulting in a reduction of the steep edge electron density gradient. In order to predict ITER's H-mode τ th in the presence of ELMS, an estimated 25% confinement degradation factor has been applied to the ELM-free predictions. Our work, summarized in this paper, indicates that this 25% reduction factor is too large and instead a value of approximately 15% would be more appropriate

Studies of thermal energy confinement scaling in PDX plasmas: D0 → H+ limiter discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaye, S.M.; Goldston, R.J.; Bell, M.

1984-06-01

Experiments were performed on the PDX tokamak to study plasma heating and β scaling with higher power, near-perpendicular neutral beam injection. The data taken during these experiments were analyzed using a time-dependent data interpretation code (TRANSP) to study the transport and thermal confinement scaling over a wide range of plasma parameters. This study focuses on results from experiments with D 0 injection into H + plasmas using graphite rail limiters, a = 40 to 44 cm, R = 143 cm, I/sub p/ = 200 to 480 kA, B/sub T/ = 0.7 to 2.2 T, and typically anti n/sub e/ = 2.5 to 4.2 x 10 13 cm -3 . The results of this study indicate that for both ohmic and neutral beam heated discharges the energy flow out of the plasma is dominated by anomalous electron losses, attributed to electron thermal conduction. The ion conduction losses are well described to electron thermal conduction. The ion conduction losses are well described by neoclassical theory; however, the total ion loss influences the power balance significantly only at high toroidal fields and high plasma currents

Ignition energy scaling of inertial confinement fusion targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johner, J.

1998-01-01

Scaling of the ignition energy threshold Ε ig with the implosion velocity v im and isentrope parameter α of imploding spherical deuterium-tritium shells is investigated by performing one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of the implosion and hot spot formation dynamics. We find that the a and b exponents in the power-law approximation Ε ig ∝ α a v im -b depend crucially on the subset of initial configurations chosen to establish the scaling law. When we generate the initial states in the same way as in the Livermore study [W.K. Levedahl and J. D. Lindl, Nucl. Fusion 37 (1997) 165 ], we recover the same scaling, Ε ig ∝ α 1.7 v im -5.5 . If, however, the initial states are generated by rescaling the parent configuration according to the hydrodynamic similarity laws, we obtain a different scaling, Ε ig ∝ α 3 v im -9 , which is very close to the αv im -10 dependence predicted by the simple isobaric model for assembled fuel states. The latter is more favourable that the Livermore scaling when rescaling the fusion capsules to higher implosion velocities, but requires the peak drive pressure to be increased as P ∝ v im 5 . (authors)

The effect of ELMs on energy confinement in JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, W.; Tubbing, B.J.D.; Ward, D.J.

1998-01-01

The effect of ELMs on energy confinement in JET has been analysed. ELMs are characterized using D α emission which is decomposed into two components, a baseline level with superimposed pulses due to the ELMs. The analysis of the experimental data shows that the D α baseline, which reflects the neutral pressure at the plasma edge, is an important parameter in determining the energy confinement deterioration. The origin of the D α baseline is either from the neutralization of plasma particles which are expelled by the ELM pulses, or from external gas puffing. An ELM severity parameter, taking into account both the D α baseline and the ELM pulses, is defined. The energy confinement time normalized to the energy confinement time of ELM free phase, τ B /τ H , decreases linearly as the ELM severity increases. The results are independent of divertor configurations. (author)

Comparison of particle confinement in the high confinement mode plasmas with the edge localized mode of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute Tokamak-60 Upgrade and the DIII-D tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takenaga, H.; Mahdavi, M.A.; Baker, D.R.

2001-01-01

Particle confinement was compared for the high confinement mode plasmas with the edge localized mode in the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute Tokamak-60 Upgrade (JT-60U) [S. Ishida, JT-60 Team, Nucl. Fusion 39, 1211 (1999)] and the DIII-D tokamak [J. L. Luxon et al., Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research 1986 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1987), Vol. 1, p. 159] considering separate confinement times for particles supplied by neutral beam injection (NBI) (center fueling) and by recycling and gas-puffing (edge fueling). Similar dependence on the NBI power was obtained in JT-60U and DIII-D. The particle confinement time for center fueling in DIII-D was smaller by a factor of 4 in the low density discharges and by a factor of 1.8 in the high density discharges than JT-60U scaling, respectively, suggesting the stronger dependence on the density in DIII-D. The particle confinement time for edge fueling in DIII-D was comparable with JT-60U scaling in the low density discharges. However, it decreased to a much smaller value in the high density discharges

Electron correlation energy in confined two-electron systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilson, C.L. [Chemistry Program, Centre College, 600 West Walnut Street, Danville, KY 40422 (United States); Montgomery, H.E., E-mail: ed.montgomery@centre.ed [Chemistry Program, Centre College, 600 West Walnut Street, Danville, KY 40422 (United States); Sen, K.D. [School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500 046 (India); Thompson, D.C. [Chemistry Systems and High Performance Computing, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharamaceuticals Inc., 900 Ridgebury Road, Ridgefield, CT 06877 (United States)

2010-09-27

Radial, angular and total correlation energies are calculated for four two-electron systems with atomic numbers Z=0-3 confined within an impenetrable sphere of radius R. We report accurate results for the non-relativistic, restricted Hartree-Fock and radial limit energies over a range of confinement radii from 0.05-10a{sub 0}. At small R, the correlation energies approach limiting values that are independent of Z while at intermediate R, systems with Z{>=}1 exhibit a characteristic maximum in the correlation energy resulting from an increase in the angular correlation energy which is offset by a decrease in the radial correlation energy.

Energy confinement in a high-current reversed field pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An, Z.G.; Lee, G.S.; Diamond, P.H.

1985-07-01

The ion temperature gradient driven (eta/sub i/) mode is proposed as a candidate for the cause of anomalous transport in high current reversed field pinches. A 'four-field' fluid model is derived to describe the coupled nonlinear evolution of resistive interchange and eta/sub i/ modes. A renormalized theory is discussed, and the saturation level of the fluctuations is analytically estimated. Transport scalings are obtained, and their implications discussed. In particular, these results indicate that pellet injection is a potentially viable mechanism for improving energy confinement in a high temperature RFP

Confinement and the Pomeron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, A.R.

1989-01-01

The importance of confinement for obtaining a unitary high-energy limit for QCD is discussed. ''Minijets'' are argued to build up non-unitary behavior endash when k T > Λ is imposed. For minijets to mix with low k T Pomeron Field Theory describing confinement, and give consistent asymptotic behavior, new ''quarks'' must enter the theory above the minijet transverse momentum scale. The Critical Pomeron is the resulting high-energy limit. 22 refs

Energy confinement in Ohmic H-mode in TUMAN-3M

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrejko, M.V.; Askinazi, L.G.; Golant, V.E.; Kornev, V.A.; Lebedev, S.V.; Levin, L.S.; Tukachinsky, A.S.

1997-01-01

The spontaneous transition from Ohmically heated limiter discharges into the regime with improved confinement termed as ''Ohmic H-mode'' has been investigated in ''TUMAN-3''. The typical signatures of H-mode in tokamaks with powerful auxiliary heating have been observed: sharp drop of D α radiation with simultaneous increase in the electron density and stored energy, suppression of the density fluctuations and establishing the steep gradient near the periphery. In 1994 new vacuum vessel had been installed in TUMAN-3 tokamak. The vessel has the same sizes as old one (R 0 =0.55 m, a 1 =0.24 m). New vessel was designed to reduce mechanical stresses in the walls during B T ramp phase of a shot. Therefore modified device - TUMAN-3M is able to produce higher B T and I p , up to 2 T and 0.2 MA respectively. During first experimental run device was operated in Ohmic Regime. In these experiments the possibility to achieve Ohmic H-mode was studied. The study of the parametric dependencies of the energy confinement time in both OH and Ohmic H-mode was performed. In Ohmic H-mode strong dependencies of τ E on plasma current and on input power and weak dependence on density were found. Energy confinement time in TUMAN-3/TUMAN-3M Ohmic H-mode has revealed good agreement with JET/DIII-D/ASDEX scaling for ELM-free H-mode, resulting in very long τ E at the high plasma current discharges. (author)

Energy confinement and transport of H-mode plasmas in tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urano, Hajime

2005-02-01

A characteristic feature of the high-confinement (H-mode) regime is the formation of a transport barrier near the plasma edge, where steepening of the density and temperature gradients is observed. The H-mode is expected to be a standard operation mode in a next-step fusion experimental reactor, called ITER-the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. However, energy confinement in the H-mode has been observed to degrade with increasing density. This is a critical constraint for the operation domain in the ITER. Investigation of the main cause of confinement degradation is an urgent issue in the ITER Physics Research and Development Activity. A key element for solving this problem is investigation of the energy confinement and transport properties of H-mode plasmas. However, the influence of the plasma boundary characterized by the transport barrier in H-modes on the energy transport of the plasma core has not been examined sufficiently in tokamak research. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the energy confinement properties of H-modes in a variety of density, plasma shape, seed impurity concentration, and conductive heat flux in the plasma core using the experimental results obtained in the JT-60U tokamak of Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. Comparison of the H-mode confinement properties with those of other tokamaks using an international multi-machine database for extrapolation to the next step device was also one of the main subjects in this study. Density dependence of the energy confinement properties has been examined systematically by separating the thermal stored energy into the H-mode pedestal component determined by MHD stability called the Edge Localized Modes (ELMs) and the core component governed by gyro-Bohm-like transport. It has been found that the pedestal pressure imposed by the destabilization of ELM activities led to a reduction in the pedestal temperature with increasing density. The core temperature for each

Energy confinement in JT-60 lower hybrid current driven plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ushigusa, K.; Imai, T.; Naito, O.; Ikeda, Y.; Tsuji, S.; Uehara, K.

1990-01-01

The energy confinement in high power lower hybrid current driven (LHCD) plasmas has been studied in the JT-60 tokamak. At a plasma current of 1 MA, the diamagnetically estimated energy confinement time in LHCD plasmas has almost the same value as the confinement time in ohmically heated plasmas at n-bar e ∼ 1.0x10 19 m -3 . The confinement time of high power LHCD plasmas (P LH E varies as to P LH α n e β I p 0 with α + β ∼ -0.3. (author). Letter-to-the-editor. 12 refs, 5 figs

Energy Confinement of both Ohmic and LHW Plasma on EAST

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Yao; Gao Xiang

2011-01-01

Study on the characters of energy confinement in both Ohmic and lower hybrid wave (LHW) discharges on EAST is conducted and the linear Ohmic confinement (LOC), saturated ohmic confinement (SOC) and improved Ohmic confinement (IOC) regimes are investigated in this paper. It is observed that an improved confinement mode characterized by both a drop of D α line intensity and an increase in line average density can be triggered by a gas puffing pulse. (magnetically confined plasma)

Confinement scaling and ignition in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perkins, F.W.; Sun, Y.C.

1985-10-01

A drift wave turbulence model is used to compute the scaling and magnitude of central electron temperature and confinement time of tokamak plasmas. The results are in accord with experiment. Application to ignition experiments shows that high density (1 to 2) . 10 15 cm -3 , high field, B/sub T/ > 10 T, but low temperature T approx. 6 keV constitute the optimum path to ignition

Combined confinement system applied to tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohkawa, Tihiro

1986-01-01

From particle orbit point of view, a tokamak is a combined confinement configuration where a closed toroidal volume is surrounded by an open confinement system like a magnetic mirror. By eliminating a cold halo plasma, the energy loss from the plasma becomes convective. The H-mode in diverted tokamaks is an example. Because of the favorable scaling of the energy confinement time with temperature, the performance of the tokamak may be significantly improved by taking advantage of this effect. (author)

Confinement Can Violate Momentum Sum Rule in QCD at High Energy Colliders

OpenAIRE

Nayak, Gouranga C

2018-01-01

Momentum sum rule in QCD is widely used at high energy colliders. Although the exact form of the confinement potential energy is not known but the confinement potential energy at large distance $r$ can not rise slower than ${\\rm ln}(r)$. In this paper we find that if the confinement potential energy at large distance $r$ rises linearly with $r$ (or faster) then the momentum sum rule in QCD is violated at the high energy colliders.

Remarks on saturation of energy confinement in high density regime on LHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Hiroshi; Morita, Shigeru; Murakami, Sadayoshi

2003-01-01

A study on energy confinement times in currentless helical plasmas has indicated a preferable density dependence like τ E ∝ n-bar e 0.5-0.6 . However, saturation of energy confinement time has been often observed during the density ramping-up phase by gas puffing in NBI heated plasmas in LHD. The power balance analysis indicates that the thermal diffusivity is improved by the increase in local density while the global energy confinement time loses the dependence on the density. The flat or hollow density profile, which is distinguished in the density-ramping phase, promotes a broad heat power deposition. This change explains the apparent contradiction between the density dependence of the thermal diffusivity and the global energy confinement time. This result suggests that central heating can maintain a favorable density dependence of the energy confinement time in the high density regime. (author)

Energy confinement time and tokamak ignition - a theoretical viewpoint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sigmar, D.J.; Hsu, C.T.

1989-01-01

A rigorous approach developed earlier to obtain the global energy confinement time from theory based local thermal transport coefficients is applied to investigate the approach to thermonuclear fusion in the tokamak. Theory leads naturally to a generalized 'offset' form for the global energy confinement time. The limitations of the theoretical paradigm presented here are discussed and specific ignition contour results for a large 5 Tesla and 12 Tesla ignition experiment are given. (orig.) [de

Electron Energy Confinement for HHFW Heating and Current Drive Phasing on NSTX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosea, J.C.; Bernabei, S.; Biewer, T.; LeBlanc, B.; Phillips, C.K.; Wilson, J.R.; Stutman, D.; Ryan, P.; Swain, D.W.

2005-01-01

Thomson scattering laser pulses are synchronized relative to modulated HHFW power to permit evaluation of the electron energy confinement time during and following HHFW pulses for both heating and current drive antenna phasing. Profile changes resulting from instabilities require that the total electron stored energy, evaluated by integrating the midplane electron pressure P(sub)e(R) over the magnetic surfaces prescribed by EFIT analysis, be used to derive the electron energy confinement time. Core confinement is reduced during a sawtooth instability but, although the electron energy is distributed outward by the sawtooth, the bulk electron energy confinement time is essentially unaffected. The radial deposition of energy into the electrons is noticeably more peaked for current drive phasing (longer wavelength excitation) relative to that for heating phasing (shorter wavelength excitation) as is expected theoretically. However, the power delivered to the core plasma is reduced consider ably for the current drive phasing, indicating that surface/peripheral damping processes play a more important role for this case

The role of confined collagen geometry in decreasing nucleation energy barriers to intrafibrillar mineralization.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Doyoon; Lee, Byeongdu; Thomopoulos, Stavros; Jun, Young-Shin

2018-03-06

Mineralization of collagen is critical for the mechanical functions of bones and teeth. Calcium phosphate nucleation in collagenous structures follows distinctly different patterns in highly confined gap regions (nanoscale confinement) than in less confined extrafibrillar spaces (microscale confinement). Although the mechanism(s) driving these differences are still largely unknown, differences in the free energy for nucleation may explain these two mineralization behaviors. Here, we report on experimentally obtained nucleation energy barriers to intra- and extrafibrillar mineralization, using in situ X-ray scattering observations and classical nucleation theory. Polyaspartic acid, an extrafibrillar nucleation inhibitor, increases interfacial energies between nuclei and mineralization fluids. In contrast, the confined gap spaces inside collagen fibrils lower the energy barrier by reducing the reactive surface area of nuclei, decreasing the surface energy penalty. The confined gap geometry, therefore, guides the two-dimensional morphology and structure of bioapatite and changes the nucleation pathway by reducing the total energy barrier.

Progress with energy confinement time in the CTX spheromak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jarboe, T.R.; Fernandez, J.C.; Wysocki, F.J.; Barnes, C.W.; Henins, I.; Knox, S.O.; Marklin, G.J.

1990-01-01

The 0.67 m radius mesh flux conserver (MFC) in CTX was replaced by a solid flux conserver (SFC), resulting in greatly reduced field errors. Decreased spheromak open flux led to vastly improved decaying discharged, including increased global energy confinement times, τ E (from 20 to 180 μs), and corresponding magnetic energy decay times, τ B 2 (from 0.7 to 2 ms). Improved confinement allowed the observation of the pressure-driven instability (predicted by Mercier) which ejects plasma from the spheromak interior to the wall

Confinement characteristics of high-energy ions produced by ICRF heating in the large helical device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumazawa, R; Saito, K; Torii, Y; Mutoh, T; Seki, T; Watari, T; Osakabe, M; Murakami, S; Sasao, M; Watanabe, T; Yamamoto, T; Notake, T; Takeuchi, N; Saida, T; Shimpo, F; Nomura, G; Yokota, M; Kato, A; Zao, Y; Okada, H; Isobe, M; Ozaki, T; Narihara, K; Nagayama, Y; Inagaki, S; Morita, S; Krasilnikov, A V; Idei, H; Kubo, S; Ohkubo, K; Sato, M; Shimozuma, T; Yoshimura, Y; Ikeda, K; Nagaoka, K; Oka, Y; Takeiri, Y; Tsumori, K; Ashikawa, N; Emoto, M; Funaba, H; Goto, M; Ida, K; Kobuchi, T; Liang, Y; Masuzaki, S; Minami, T; Miyazawa, J; Morisaki, T; Muto, S; Nakamura, Y; Nakanishi, H; Nishimura, K; Noda, N; Ohdachi, S; Peterson, B J; Sagara, A; Sakakibara, S; Sakamoto, R; Sato, K; Shoji, M; Suzuki, H; Tanaka, K; Toi, K; Tokuzawa, T; Watanabe, K Y; Yamada, I; Yamamoto, S; Yoshinuma, M; Yokoyama, M; Watanabe, K-Y; Kaneko, O; Kawahata, K; Komori, A; Ohyabu, N; Yamada, H; Yamazaki, K; Sudo, S; Matsuoka, K; Hamada, Y; Motojima, O; Fujiwara, M

2003-01-01

The behaviour of high-energy ions accelerated by an ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) electric field in the large helical device (LHD) is discussed. A better confinement performance of high-energy ions in the inward-shifted magnetic axis configuration was experimentally verified by measuring their energy spectrum and comparing it with the effective temperature determined by an electron slowing down process. In the standard magnetic axis configuration a saturation of the measured tail temperature was observed as the effective temperature was increased. The ratio between these two quantities is a measure of the quality of transfer efficiency from high-energy ions to a bulk plasma; when this efficiency was compared with Monte Carlo simulations the results agreed fairly well. The ratio of the stored energy of the high-energy ions to that of the bulk plasma was measured using an ICRF heating power modulation method; it was deduced from phase differences between total and bulk plasma stored energies and the modulated ICRF heating power. The measured high energy fraction agreed with that calculated using the injected ICRF heating power, the transfer efficiency determined in the experiment and the confinement scaling of the LHD plasma

X-ray amplifier energy deposition scaling with channeled propagation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyer, K.; Luk, T.S.; McPherson, A.

1991-01-01

The spatial control of the energy deposited for excitation of an x-ray amplifier plays an important role in the fundamental scaling relationship between the required energy, the gain and the wavelength. New results concerning the ability to establish confined modes of propagation of sort pulse radiation of sufficiently high intensity in plasmas lead to a sharply reduced need for the total energy deposited, since the concentration of deposited power can be very efficiently organized

Global and local confinement scaling laws of NBI-heated gas-puffing plasmas on LHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamazaki, K.; Miyazawa, J.; Sakakibara, S.; Yamada, H.; Narihara, K.; Tanaka, K.; Osakabe, M.

2003-01-01

The relation between global confinement scaling laws and local transport characteristics is evaluated on the Large Helical Device (LHD). Previous 'new LHD' global scaling laws are revised using the precise plasma edge definition and the recent LHD data of 4th, 5th and 6th experimental campaigns. Strong Gyro-Bohm-like feature of global confinement is reconfirmed. The magnetic field dependence and geometrical scale dependence are stronger than the conventional scaling laws. Using same database of LHD data, the radial profiles of transport coefficients are evaluated, and it is reconfirmed that the local transport in the core is Gyro-Bohm-like, and that near the boundary is strong Gyro-Bohm-like. The global confinement property is consistent with effective transport coefficient near the edge. (author)

An alcator-like confinement time scaling law derived from buckingham's PI theorem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roth, J.R.

1983-01-01

The unsatisfactory state of understanding of particle transport and confinement in tokamaks is well known. The best available theory, neoclassical transport, predicts a confinement time which scales as the square of the magnetic field, and inversely as the number density. Until recently, the best available phenomenological scaling law was the Alcator scaling law. This scaling law has recently been supplanted by the neoAlcator scaling law. Both of these expressions are unsatisfactory, because they not only are unsupported by any physical theory, but also their numerical constants are dimensional, suggesting that additional physical parameters need to be accounted for. A more firmly based scaling law can be derived from Buckingham's pi theorem. We adopt the particle confinement time as the dependent variable (derived dimension), and as independent variables (fundamental dimensions) we use the plasma volume, the average ion charge density, the ion current on the limiter, and the magnetic induction. From Buckingham's pi theorem, we obtain an equation which correctly predicts the absence of magnetic induction dependence, and the direct dependence on the ion density. The dependence on the product of the major radius and the plasma radius is intermediate between the original and neoAlcator scaling laws, and may be consistent with the data if the ion kinetic temperature and limiter area were accounted for

Analysis of a global energy confinement database for JET ohmic plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bracco, G.; Thomsen, K.

1997-01-01

A database containing global energy confinement data for JET ohmic plasmas in the campaigns from 1984 to 1992 has been established. An analysis is presented of this database and the results are compared with data from other tokamaks, such as the Axially Symmetric Divertor Experiment (ASDEX), Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU) and Tore Supra. The trends of JET ohmic confinement appear to be similar to those observed on other tokamaks: a linear dependence of the global energy confinement time on density is observed up to a density value where a saturation is attained; this density value defines the border between the linear and the saturated ohmic confinement regimes; this border is shifted towards higher density values if the q value of the discharge is decreased; the global confinement time in the saturated ohmic regime increases less than linearly with the value of the magnetic field. (author). 20 refs, 13 figs, 4 tabs

Issues in tokamak/stellarator transport and confinement enhancement mechanisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perkins, F.W.

1990-08-01

At present, the mechanism for anomalous energy transport in low-β toroidal plasmas -- tokamaks and stellarators -- remains unclear, although transport by turbulent E x B velocities associated with nonlinear, fine-scale microinstabilities is a leading candidate. This article discusses basic theoretical concepts of various transport and confinement enhancement mechanisms as well as experimental ramifications which would enable one to distinguish among them and hence identify a dominant transport mechanism. While many of the predictions of fine-scale turbulence are born out by experiment, notable contradictions exist. Projections of ignition margin rest both on the scaling properties of the confinement mechanism and on the criteria for entering enhanced confinement regimes. At present, the greatest uncertainties lie with the basis for scaling confinement enhancement criteria. A series of questions, to be answered by new experimental/theoretical work, is posed to resolve these outstanding contradictions (or refute the fine-scale turbulence model) and to establish confinement enhancement criteria. 73 refs., 4 figs., 5 tabs

Assessment of global stellarator confinement: Status of the international stellarator confinement scaling data base

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dinklage, A.; Beidler, C.D.; Dose, V.; Geiger, J.; Kus, A.; Preuss, R.; Ascasibar, E.; Tribaldos, V.; Harris, J.H.; Murakami, S.; Sano, F.; Okamura, S.; Suzuki, Y.; Watanabe, K.Y.; Yamada, H.; Yokoyama, M.; Stroth, U.; Talmadge, J.

2005-01-01

Different stellarator/heliotron devices along with their respective flexibility cover a large magnetic configuration space. Since the ultimate goal of stellarator research aims at an alternative fusion reactor concept, the exploration of the most promising configurations requires a comparative assessment of the plasma performance and how different aspects of a 3D configuration influence it. Therefore, the International Stellarator Confinement Database (ISCDB) has been re- initiated in 2004 and the ISS95 database has been extended to roughly 3000 discharges from eight different devices. Further data-sets are continuously added. A revision of a data set restricted to comparable scenarios lead to the ISS04 scaling law which confirmed ISS95 but also revealed clearly the necessity to incorporate configuration descriptive parameters. In other words, an extension beyond the set of regression parameters used for ISS95/ISS04 appears to be necessary and candidates, such as the elongation are investigated. Since grouping of data is a key-issue for deriving ISS04, basic assumptions are revised, e.g. the dependence on the heating scheme. Moreover, an assessment of statistical approaches is investigated with respect to their impact on the scaling. A crucial issue is the weighting of data groups which is discussed in terms of error-in-variable techniques and Bayesian model comparison. The latter is employed for testing scaling ansatzes depending on scaling invariance principles hence allowing the assessment of applicability of theory-based scaling laws on stellarator confinement. 1. ISCDB resources are jointly hosted by NIFS and IPP, see http://iscdb.nifs.ac.jp and http://www.ipp.mpg.de/ISS. (author)

Geodesic least squares regression for scaling studies in magnetic confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verdoolaege, Geert

2015-01-01

In regression analyses for deriving scaling laws that occur in various scientific disciplines, usually standard regression methods have been applied, of which ordinary least squares (OLS) is the most popular. However, concerns have been raised with respect to several assumptions underlying OLS in its application to scaling laws. We here discuss a new regression method that is robust in the presence of significant uncertainty on both the data and the regression model. The method, which we call geodesic least squares regression (GLS), is based on minimization of the Rao geodesic distance on a probabilistic manifold. We demonstrate the superiority of the method using synthetic data and we present an application to the scaling law for the power threshold for the transition to the high confinement regime in magnetic confinement fusion devices

Magnetic confinement fusion energy research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grad, H.

1977-03-01

Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion offers probably the only relatively clean energy solution with completely inexhaustible fuel and unlimited power capacity. The scientific and technological problem consists in magnetically confining a hot, dense plasma (pressure several to hundreds of atmospheres, temperature 10 8 degrees or more) for an appreciable fraction of a second. The scientific and mathematical problem is to describe the behavior, such as confinement, stability, flow, compression, heating, energy transfer and diffusion of this medium in the presence of electromagnetic fields just as we now can for air or steam. Some of the extant theory consists of applications, routine or ingenious, of known mathematical structures in the theory of differential equations and in traditional analysis. Other applications of known mathematical structures offer surprises and new insights: the coordination between sub-supersonic and elliptic-hyperbolic is fractured; supersonic propagation goes upstream; etc. Other completely nonstandard mathematical structures with significant theory are being rapidly uncovered (and somewhat less rapidly understood) such as non-elliptic variational equations and new types of weak solutions. It is these new mathematical structures which one should expect to supply the foundation for the next generation's pure mathematics, if history is a guide. Despite the substantial effort over a period of some twenty years, there are still basic and important scintific and mathematical discoveries to be made, lying just beneath the surface

On the scaling of magnetic plasma confinement under classical conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehnert, B.

1979-04-01

Present magnetic confinement schemes based on tokamaks and similar devices are characterized by relatively large losses and low beta values. As a consequence, thermonuclear conditions can only be reached in such devices at large linear dimensions or by means of very strong magnetic fields, in combination with large heating powers. This does not rule out the possibility of realizing the same conditions on a smaller scale, i.e. by finding alternative schemes which provide classical and stable confinement of a pure plasma in a closed magnetic bottle. (author)

Dynamics and reactivity of confined water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musat, R.

2008-01-01

In the context of new sustainable energy sources quest, the nuclear energy remains a key solution. However, with the development of nuclear technology, problems relating to nuclear waste disposal arise; thus, the radiolysis of water in confined media is extremely important with respect to matters related to long time storage of nuclear waste. Studies in model porous media would allow the projection of a confined water radiolysis simulator. A first step in this direction was made by studying the radiolysis of water confined in Vycor and CPG glasses; this study continues the trend set and investigates the effects of confinement in metal materials upon the water radiolysis allowing the understanding of metal - water radiation induced corrosion. A further/complete understanding of the radiolytic process under confinement requires knowledge of the effect of confinement upon the dynamics of confined molecules and on the evolution of the species produced upon ionizing radiation. In this respect, we have used the OH vibrator as a probe of the hydrogen bond network properties and thus investigated the dynamics of confined water using IR time resolved spectroscopy. The evolution of the hydrated electron under confinement was studied on a nano and picosecond time scale using UV pump - visible probe technique and single shot spectroscopy. (author) [fr

Opportunities for shear energy scaling in bulk acoustic wave resonators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jose, Sumy; Hueting, Raymond Josephus Engelbart

2014-01-01

An important energy loss contribution in bulk acoustic wave resonators is formed by so-called shear waves, which are transversal waves that propagate vertically through the devices with a horizontal motion. In this work, we report for the first time scaling of the shear-confined spots, i.e., spots

Cluster Analysis of the International Stellarator Confinement Database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kus, A.; Dinklage, A.; Preuss, R.; Ascasibar, E.; Harris, J. H.; Okamura, S.; Yamada, H.; Sano, F.; Stroth, U.; Talmadge, J.

2008-01-01

Heterogeneous structure of collected data is one of the problems that occur during derivation of scalings for energy confinement time, and whose analysis tourns out to be wide and complicated matter. The International Stellarator Confinement Database [1], shortly ISCDB, comprises in its latest version 21 a total of 3647 observations from 8 experimental devices, 2067 therefrom beeing so far completed for upcoming analyses. For confinement scaling studies 1933 observation were chosen as the standard dataset. Here we describe a statistical method of cluster analysis for identification of possible cohesive substructures in ISDCB and present some preliminary results

Free energy barriers to evaporation of water in hydrophobic confinement.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Sumit; Debenedetti, Pablo G

2012-11-08

We use umbrella sampling Monte Carlo and forward and reverse forward flux sampling (FFS) simulation techniques to compute the free energy barriers to evaporation of water confined between two hydrophobic surfaces separated by nanoscopic gaps, as a function of the gap width, at 1 bar and 298 K. The evaporation mechanism for small (1 × 1 nm(2)) surfaces is found to be fundamentally different from that for large (3 × 3 nm(2)) surfaces. In the latter case, the evaporation proceeds via the formation of a gap-spanning tubular cavity. The 1 × 1 nm(2) surfaces, in contrast, are too small to accommodate a stable vapor cavity. Accordingly, the associated free energy barriers correspond to the formation of a critical-sized cavity for sufficiently large confining surfaces, and to complete emptying of the gap region for small confining surfaces. The free energy barriers to evaporation were found to be of O(20kT) for 14 Å gaps, and to increase by approximately ~5kT with every 1 Å increase in the gap width. The entropy contribution to the free energy of evaporation was found to be independent of the gap width.

Topological superfluids confined in a regular nano-scale slab geometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saunders, John; Bennett, Robert; Levitin, Lev; Casey, Andrew; Cowan, Brian [Department of Physics, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX (United Kingdom); Parpia, Jeevak [Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Drung, Dietmar; Schurig, Thomas [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Abbestrasse 2-12, D-19587, Berlin (Germany)

2012-07-01

Superfluid 3He confined in a regular nano-fabricated slab geometry provides a model system for the investigation of surface and thin film effects in a p-wave superfluid. We have fabricated and cooled such samples to well below 1 mK for the first time, and investigated their NMR response, exploiting a SQUID NMR spectrometer of exquisite sensitivity. We have used NMR on a 650 nm thick superfluid slab to identify the profound effect of confinement on the relative stability of the A and B phases and to make quantitative measurements of the suppression and surface induced distortion of the order parameter. In these systems the effective confinement length scale (slab thickness/superfluid coherence length) is the new tuning parameter. Increasing confinement should stabilize new p-wave superfluid states of matter, such as the quasi-2D gapped A phase or the planar phase. Nanofluidic samples of superfluid 3He promise a route to explore topological superfluids and their surface, edge and defect-bound excitations under well controlled conditions.

Investigation of energy confinement during ICRF heating on EAST

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Y. Q.; Zhang, X. J.; Zhao, Y. P.; Qin, C. M.; Cheng, Y.; Mao, Y. Z.; Yang, H.; Yuan, S.; Wang, L.; Ju, S. Q.; Chen, G.; Zhang, J. H.; Wang, J. H.; Chen, Z.; Wan, B. N.; Gong, X. Z.; Qian, J. P.; Zhang, T.; Li, J. G.; Song, Y. T.; Lin, Y.; Taylor, G.; Hosea, J. C.; Perkins, R. J.; Wukitch, S.; Noterdaeme, J. M.; Kumazawa, R.; Seki, T.; Saito, K.; Kasahara, H.

2017-09-01

A summary is given on recent experiments in L-mode with ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) of hydrogen minority in deuterium plasmas on EAST. Experiments show a degradation of confinement with increasing power. Furthermore, the energy confinement time increases with plasma current and magnetic field, whereas it is insensitive to line averaged density. Minority heating has been found to be efficient, and parameters were optimized to maximize its efficiency. ICRH in lower hybrid waves heated plasma was also investigated.

Energy- and particle-confinement properties of an end-plugged, linear, theta pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Commisso, R.J.; Bartsch, R.R.; Ekdahl, C.A.; McKenna, K.F.; Siemon, R.E.

1979-01-01

Experiments show that axial confinement of plasma in a straight theta-pinch solenoid is improved by placing solid lithium deuteride plugs at the ends. The energy confinement is increased nearly threefold in agreement with theoretical estimates which assume classical electron thermal conduction and no convective losses. The confinement of deuterium ions is explained by classical Coulomb collisions in the ablated lithium deuteride plasma

Monopole current dynamics and color confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichie, H.; Suganuma, H.; Tanaka, A.

1998-01-01

Color confinement can be understood by the dual Higgs theory, where monopole condensation leads to the exclusion of the electric flux from the QCD vacuum. We study the role of the monopole for color confinement by investigating the monopole current system. When the self-energy of the monopole current is small enough, long and complicated monopole world-lines appear, which is a signal of monopole condensation. In the dense monopole system, the Wilson loop obeys the area-law, and the string tension and the monopole density have similar behavior as the function of the self-energy, which seems that monopole condensation leads to color confinement. On the long-distance physics, the monopole current system almost reproduces essential features of confinement properties in lattice QCD. In the short-distance physics, however, the monopole-current theory would become nonlocal and complicated due to the monopole size effect. This monopole size would provide a critical scale of QCD in terms of the dual Higgs mechanism. (orig.)

Energy confinement in the torsatron URAGAN-3M during the rf-heating mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pashnev, V.K.; Burchenko, P.Ya.; Lozin, A.V. and others

2008-01-01

Energy confinement time of plasma in torsatron U-3M was measured both during quasi-stationary study of RF-discharge and after RF-power cut-off. Power absorbed by plasma in the confinement region was estimated. A mechanism which explain the plasma density behavior in the confinement region is proposed

Dynamics of proteins aggregation. II. Dynamic scaling in confined media

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Size; Shing, Katherine S.; Sahimi, Muhammad

2018-03-01

In this paper, the second in a series devoted to molecular modeling of protein aggregation, a mesoscale model of proteins together with extensive discontinuous molecular dynamics simulation is used to study the phenomenon in a confined medium. The medium, as a model of a crowded cellular environment, is represented by a spherical cavity, as well as cylindrical tubes with two aspect ratios. The aggregation process leads to the formation of β sheets and eventually fibrils, whose deposition on biological tissues is believed to be a major factor contributing to many neuro-degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diseases. Several important properties of the aggregation process, including dynamic evolution of the total number of the aggregates, the mean aggregate size, and the number of peptides that contribute to the formation of the β sheets, have been computed. We show, similar to the unconfined media studied in Paper I [S. Zheng et al., J. Chem. Phys. 145, 134306 (2016)], that the computed properties follow dynamic scaling, characterized by power laws. The existence of such dynamic scaling in unconfined media was recently confirmed by experiments. The exponents that characterize the power-law dependence on time of the properties of the aggregation process in spherical cavities are shown to agree with those in unbounded fluids at the same protein density, while the exponents for aggregation in the cylindrical tubes exhibit sensitivity to the geometry of the system. The effects of the number of amino acids in the protein, as well as the size of the confined media, have also been studied. Similarities and differences between aggregation in confined and unconfined media are described, including the possibility of no fibril formation, if confinement is severe.

Confined quantum systems: spectral properties of two-electron quantum dots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sako, T; Diercksen, G H F

2003-01-01

The spectrum, electron-density distribution and ground-state correlation energy of two electrons confined by an anisotropic harmonic oscillator potential have been studied for different confinement strengths ω by using the quantum chemical configuration interaction (CI) method employing a large Cartesian anisotropic Gaussian basis set and a full CI wavefunction. Energy level diagrams and electron-density distributions are displayed for selected electronic states and confinement parameters. The total energy and spacing between energy levels increase in all cases with increasing ω. The energy level structure cannot be matched by scaling with respect to ω. The correlation energy of the ground state is comparable in magnitude to that of the helium atom. It increases for increasing ω. The percentage of the correlation energy with respect to the total energy of the ground state is considerably larger than that of the helium atom

Long-Pulse Operation and High-Energy Particle Confinement Study in ICRF Heating of LHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mutoh, Takashi; Kumazawa, Ryuhei; Seki, Tetsuo

2004-01-01

Long-pulse operation and high-energy particle confinement properties were studied using ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) heating for the Large Helical Device. For the minority-ion mode, ions with energies up to 500 keV were observed by concentrating the ICRF heating power near the plasma axis. The confinement of high-energy particles was studied using the power-modulation technique. This confirmed that the confinement of high-energy particles was better with the inward-shifted configuration than with the normal configuration. This behavior was the same for bulk plasma confinement. Long-pulse operation for more than 2 min was achieved during the experimental program in 2002. This was mainly due to better confinement of the helically trapped particles and accumulation of fewer impurities in the region of the plasma core, in conjunction with substantial hardware improvements. Currently, the plasma operation time is limited by an unexpected density rise due to outgassing from the chamber materials. The temperature of the local carbon plates of the divertor exceeded 400 deg, C, and a charge-coupled device camera observed the hot spots. The hot spot pattern was well explained by a calculation of the accelerated-particle orbits, and those accelerated particles came from outside the plasma near the ICRF antenna

Origins and Scaling of Hot-Electron Preheat in Ignition-Scale Direct-Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenberg, M. J.; Solodov, A. A.; Myatt, J. F.; Seka, W.; Michel, P.; Hohenberger, M.; Short, R. W.; Epstein, R.; Regan, S. P.; Campbell, E. M.; Chapman, T.; Goyon, C.; Ralph, J. E.; Barrios, M. A.; Moody, J. D.; Bates, J. W.

2018-01-01

Planar laser-plasma interaction (LPI) experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) have allowed access for the first time to regimes of electron density scale length (˜500 to 700 μ m ), electron temperature (˜3 to 5 keV), and laser intensity (6 to 16 ×1014 W /cm2 ) that are relevant to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion ignition. Unlike in shorter-scale-length plasmas on OMEGA, scattered-light data on the NIF show that the near-quarter-critical LPI physics is dominated by stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) rather than by two-plasmon decay (TPD). This difference in regime is explained based on absolute SRS and TPD threshold considerations. SRS sidescatter tangential to density contours and other SRS mechanisms are observed. The fraction of laser energy converted to hot electrons is ˜0.7 % to 2.9%, consistent with observed levels of SRS. The intensity threshold for hot-electron production is assessed, and the use of a Si ablator slightly increases this threshold from ˜4×10 14 to ˜6 ×1014 W /cm2 . These results have significant implications for mitigation of LPI hot-electron preheat in direct-drive ignition designs.

Improved confinement in L-mode JET plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, T.T.C.; Balet, B.; Bhatnagar, V.; Bures, M.; Campbell, D.J.; Christiansen, J.P.; Cordey, J.G.; Core, W.F.; Corti, S.; Costley, A.E.; Cottrell, G.A.; Edwards, A.; Ehrenberg, J.; Jacquinot, J.; Lallia, P.; Lomas, P.J.; Lowry, C.; Malacarne, M.; Muir, D.G.; Nave, M.F.; Nielsen, P.; Sack, C.; Sadler, G.; Start, D.F.H.; Taroni, A.; Thomas, P.R.; Thomsen, K.

1989-01-01

The JET confinement data show considerable variations of stored plasma energy W (thermal + fast ions) at fixed input power P, plasma current I, toroidal field B and plasma configuration C. The data on confinement properties, e.g. the confinement time τ E or its incremental value τ E (inc), derived from variations of P at fixed I, B, C thus exhibit scatter which makes the scaling of τ E with P, I, B, C difficult to establish. The effects from sawteeth, from variations in the power deposition profiles and from plasma edge physics on confinement do not depend on P, I, B, C in any simple way which would permit a deduced scaling law to be identified with a single (or more) physics loss mechanism(s). In this paper we examine the response of confinement to variations in plasma configuration at fixed I and B (3 MA and 3 T). Results from global and local transport analysis are discussed in sections 2 and 3; section 4 describes the role of fast ions produced by ICRF and NBI heating. High confinement in the L-mode regime at increased plasma currents up to 6 MA is also studied, in particular the effects from sawteeth on stored energy W. Such effects increase with current and presently only predictive transport studies (section 5) can estimate what may be achieved at high current without sawteeth effects. The predictive studies also assess the benefits which may arise from an increase of the neutral beam energy at high plasma currents (section 6). The conclusions are based on extensive study of data from JET pulses with up to 14 MW of ICRH, 21 MW of NBI and 6 MW of ohmic power. None of the pulses included in the study show the sudden reduction of D α emission characteristic of the L to H mode transition of confinement. 7 refs., 4 figs

Qualitative quark confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, T.L.

1976-01-01

The infrared limit in asymptotically free non-abelian gauge theories using recently developed non-perturbative methods which allow derivation of zero momentum theorems for Green's functions and vertices is described. These low-energy theorems are compared to the infrared behavior predicted from the renormalization group equation when the existence of an infrared fixed point is assumed. A set of objects is exhibited whose low energy theorems violate the scaling behavior predicted by the renormalization group. This shows that the assumed fixed point cannot exist and that in the Landau gauge the effective charge becomes infinite in the infrared. Qualitatively this implies that as an attempt is made to separate elementary quanta the interaction between the quanta becomes arbitrarily strong. This indicates at least that the theories studied are capable of color confinement. Results are true only for theories with large numbers of quarks. This opens the possibility that large numbers of quarks are actually necessary for confinement

SAFETY FACTOR SCALING OF ENERGY TRANSPORT IN L-MODE PLASMAS ON THE DIII-D TOKAMAK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

PETTY, C.C.; KINSEY, J.E.; LUCE, T.C.

2003-01-01

OAK-B135 The scaling of energy transport with safety factor (q) at fixed magnetic shear has been measured on the DIII-D tokamak [Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 (2002)] for low confinement (L) mode discharges. At constant density, temperature, and toroidal magnetic field strength, such that the toroidal dimensionless parameters other than q are held fixed, the one-fluid thermal diffusivity is found to scale like χ ∝ q 0.84±0.15 , with the ion channel having a stronger q dependence than the electron channel in the outer half of the plasma. The measured q scaling is in good agreement with the predicted scaling by the GLF23 transport model for the ion temperature gradient and trapped electron modes, but it is significantly weaker than the inferred scaling from empirically-derived confinement scaling relations

Comprehensive understandings of energy confinement in LHD plasmas through extensive application of the integrated transport analysis suite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokoyama, M.; Seki, R.; Suzuki, C.; Ida, K.; Osakabe, M.; Satake, S.; Yamada, H.; Murakami, S.

2014-10-01

The integrated transport analysis suite, TASK3D-a, has enhanced energy transport analyses in LHD. It has clearly elucidated (1) the systematic dependence of ion and electron energy confinement on wide variation of plasma parameters, and (2) statistically-derived fitting expressions for the ion and electron heat diffusivities (χ i and χ e ), separately, taking also those radial-profile information into account. In particular, the latter approach can outstrip the conventional scaling laws for the global confinement time (τ E ) in terms of its considerations on profiles (temperature, density, heating depositions etc.). This has been made possible with the analysis database accumulated by the extensive application of the integrated transport analysis suite to experiment data. In this proceeding, TASK3D-a analysis-database for high-ion-temperature (high-T i ) plasmas in LHD (Large Helical Device) are exemplified. This approach should be applicable to any other combinations of integrated transport analysis suites and fusion experiments. (author)

Observation of scaling laws of ion confining potential versus thermal barrier depth and of axial particle confinement time in the tandem mirror GAMMA 10

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, T.; Inutake, M.; Ishii, K.

1988-01-01

In the thermal barrier tandem mirror GAMMA 10, the scaling law governing the enhancement of the ion confining potential, φ c , resulting from thermal barrier formation, is obtained experimentally, and is consistently interpreted in terms of the weak and strong ECH theories set up by Cohen and co-workers. The scaling law on the axial particle confinement time, τ pparallel , related to this φ c formation, is also demonstrated in detail; it is in good agreement with the Pastukhov theory as modified by Cohen and co-workers. This scaling is verified at any radial position in the core plasma region and at any time through the various stages of a discharge; this indicates a scaling with drastic improvement of τ pparallel , due to the potential formation in the tandem mirror plasma. (author). 41 refs, 12 figs

Fusion energy in an inertial electrostatic confinement device using a magnetically shielded grid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hedditch, John, E-mail: john.hedditch@sydney.edu.au; Bowden-Reid, Richard, E-mail: rbow3948@physics.usyd.edu.au; Khachan, Joe, E-mail: joe.khachan@sydney.edu.au [School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Whales 2006 (Australia)

2015-10-15

Theory for a gridded inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion system is presented, which shows a net energy gain is possible if the grid is magnetically shielded from ion impact. A simplified grid geometry is studied, consisting of two negatively biased coaxial current-carrying rings, oriented such that their opposing magnetic fields produce a spindle cusp. Our analysis indicates that better than break-even performance is possible even in a deuterium-deuterium system at bench-top scales. The proposed device has the unusual property that it can avoid both the cusp losses of traditional magnetic fusion systems and the grid losses of traditional IEC configurations.

Confinement studies of ohmically heated plasmas in TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Efthimion, P.C.; Bretz, N.L.; Bell, M.G.

1985-03-01

Systematic scans of density in large deuterium plasmas (a = 0.83 m) at several values of plasma current and toroidal magnetic field strength indicate that the total energy confinement time, tau/sub E/, is proportional to the line-average density anti n/sub e/ and the limiter q. Confinement times of approx. 0.3 s have been observed for anti n/sub e/ = 2.8 x 10 19 m -3 . Plasma size scaling experiments with plasmas of minor radii a = 0.83, 0.69, 0.55, and 0.41 m at constant limiter q reveal a confinement dependence on minor radius. The major-radius dependence of tau/sub E/, based on a comparison between TFTR and PLT results, is consistent with R 2 scaling. From the power balance, the thermal diffusivity chi/sub e/ is found to be significantly less than the INTOR value. In the a = 0.41 m plasmas, saturation of confinement is due to neoclassical ion conduction (chi/sub i/ neoclassical >> chi/sub e/)

Non-dissipative energy capture of confined liquid in nanopores

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Baoxing; Chen, Xi [Columbia Nanomechanics Research Center, Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States); Lu, Weiyi; Zhao, Cang [Department of Structural Engineering, University of California–San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0085 (United States); Qiao, Yu, E-mail: yqiao@ucsd.edu [Department of Structural Engineering, University of California–San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0085 (United States); Program of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California–San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States)

2014-05-19

In the past, energy absorption of protection/damping materials is mainly based on energy dissipation, which causes a fundamental conflict between the requirements of safety/comfort and efficiency. In the current study, a nanofluidic “energy capture” system is reported, which is based on nanoporous materials and nonwetting liquid. Both molecular dynamics simulations and experiments show that as the liquid overcomes the capillary effect and infiltrates into the nanopores, the mechanical energy of a stress wave could be temporarily stored by the confined liquid phase and isolated from the wave energy transmission path. Such a system can work under a relatively low pressure for mitigating high-pressure stress waves, not necessarily involved in any energy dissipation processes.

Non-dissipative energy capture of confined liquid in nanopores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Baoxing; Chen, Xi; Lu, Weiyi; Zhao, Cang; Qiao, Yu

2014-01-01

In the past, energy absorption of protection/damping materials is mainly based on energy dissipation, which causes a fundamental conflict between the requirements of safety/comfort and efficiency. In the current study, a nanofluidic “energy capture” system is reported, which is based on nanoporous materials and nonwetting liquid. Both molecular dynamics simulations and experiments show that as the liquid overcomes the capillary effect and infiltrates into the nanopores, the mechanical energy of a stress wave could be temporarily stored by the confined liquid phase and isolated from the wave energy transmission path. Such a system can work under a relatively low pressure for mitigating high-pressure stress waves, not necessarily involved in any energy dissipation processes.

Magnetic confinement in plasmas in nuclear devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tull, C.G.

1979-01-01

The main emphasis of the magnetic fusion energy research program today lies in the development of two types of confinement schemes: magnetic mirrors and tokamaks. Experimental programs for both of these confinement schemes have shown steady progress toward achieving fusion power breakeven. The scaling of the current machines to a reactor operating regime and newly developed methods for plasma heating will very likely produce power breakeven within the next decade. Predictions are that the efficiency in a fusion power plant should exceed 32%

Experimental tests of confinement scale invariance on JET, DIIID, ASDEX Upgrade and CMOD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christiansen, J.P.; Cordey, J.G.; Budny, R.

2001-01-01

An international collaboration between JET, DIIID, AUG and CMOD has resulted in four sets of Tokamak discharges which are approximately identical as regards a set of dimensionless plasma variables. The data demonstrates some measure of scale invariance of local and global confinement but a more accurate matching of scaled density, power etc. is required to make firmer conclusions. (author)

Dimensional crossover in fluids under nanometer-scale confinement.

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Amit; Chakrabarti, J

2012-05-01

Several earlier studies have shown signatures of crossover in various static and dynamics properties of a confined fluid when the confining dimension decreases to about a nanometer. The density fluctuations govern the majority of such properties of a fluid. Here, we illustrate the crossover in density fluctuation in a confined fluid, to provide a generic understanding of confinement-induced crossover of fluid properties, using computer simulations. The crossover can be understood as a manifestation of changes in the long-wavelength behavior of fluctuation in density due to geometrical constraints. We further show that the confining potential significantly affects the crossover behavior.

Control of 2D Flexible Structures by Confinement of Vibrations and Regulation of Their Energy Flow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fakhreddine Landolsi

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate the control of 2D flexible structures by vibration confinement and the regulation of their energy flow along prespecified spatial paths. A discretized-model-based feedback strategy, aiming at confining and suppressing simultaneously the vibration, is proposed. It is assumed that the structure consists of parts that are sensitive to vibrations. The control design introduces a new pseudo-modal matrix derived from the computed eigenvectors of the discretized model. Simulations are presented to show the efficacy of the proposed control law. A parametric study is carried out to examine the effects of the different control parameters on the simultaneous confinement and suppression of vibrations. In addition, we conducted a set of simulations to investigate the flow control of vibrational energy during the confinement-suppression process. We found that the energy flow can be regulated via a set of control parameters for different confinement configurations.

Origins and Scaling of Hot-Electron Preheat in Ignition-Scale Direct-Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion Experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenberg, M J; Solodov, A A; Myatt, J F; Seka, W; Michel, P; Hohenberger, M; Short, R W; Epstein, R; Regan, S P; Campbell, E M; Chapman, T; Goyon, C; Ralph, J E; Barrios, M A; Moody, J D; Bates, J W

2018-02-02

Planar laser-plasma interaction (LPI) experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) have allowed access for the first time to regimes of electron density scale length (∼500 to 700  μm), electron temperature (∼3 to 5 keV), and laser intensity (6 to 16×10^{14}  W/cm^{2}) that are relevant to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion ignition. Unlike in shorter-scale-length plasmas on OMEGA, scattered-light data on the NIF show that the near-quarter-critical LPI physics is dominated by stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) rather than by two-plasmon decay (TPD). This difference in regime is explained based on absolute SRS and TPD threshold considerations. SRS sidescatter tangential to density contours and other SRS mechanisms are observed. The fraction of laser energy converted to hot electrons is ∼0.7% to 2.9%, consistent with observed levels of SRS. The intensity threshold for hot-electron production is assessed, and the use of a Si ablator slightly increases this threshold from ∼4×10^{14} to ∼6×10^{14}  W/cm^{2}. These results have significant implications for mitigation of LPI hot-electron preheat in direct-drive ignition designs.

Effect of current profile evolution on plasma-limiter interaction and the energy confinement time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hawryluk, R.J.; Bol, K.; Bretz, N.

1979-04-01

Experiments conducted on the PLT tokamak have shown that both plasma-limiter interaction and the gross energy confinement time are functions of the gas influx during the discharge. By suitably controlling the gas influx, it is possible to contract the current channel, decrease impurity radiation from the core of the discharge, and increase the gross energy confinement time, whether the aperture limiters were of tungsten, stainless steel or carbon

Discrete nature of thermodynamics in confined ideal Fermi gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aydin, Alhun; Sisman, Altug

2014-01-01

Intrinsic discrete nature in thermodynamic properties of Fermi gases appears under strongly confined and degenerate conditions. For a rectangular confinement domain, thermodynamic properties of an ideal Fermi gas are expressed in their exact summation forms. For 1D, 2D and 3D nano domains, variations of both number of particles and internal energy per particle with chemical potential are examined. It is shown that their relation with chemical potential exhibits a discrete nature which allows them to take only some definite values. Furthermore, quasi-irregular oscillatory-like sharp peaks are observed in heat capacity. New nano devices can be developed based on these behaviors. - Highlights: • “Discrete behaviors” appear in thermodynamic properties of ideal Fermi gases at nano scale. • Variations of particle number and internal energy with chemical potential have stepwise behavior. • There are oscillations and peaks in the variation of heat capacity with domain size and particle number. • Fermi line and Fermi surface at nano scale are not continuous but “discrete”. • Heat capacity oscillations can be used for excess thermal energy storage at nano scale

Rotating strings in confining AdS/CFT backgrounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armoni, Adi; Barbon, Jose L.F.; Petkou, Anastasios C.

2002-01-01

We study semiclassical rotating strings in AdS/CFT backgrounds that exhibit both confinement and finite-size effects. The energy versus spin dispersion relation for short strings is the expected Regge trajectory behaviour, with the same string tension as is measured by the Wilson loop. Long strings probe the interplay between confinement and finite-size effects. In particular, the dispersion relation for long strings shows a characteristic dependence on the string tension and the finite-size scale. (author)

High-confinement NBI discharges in the W7-AS stellarator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stroth, U.; Baldzuhn, J.; Geiger, J.; Geist, T.; Giannone, L.; Hartfuss, H.-J.; Hirsch, M.; Jaenicke, R.; Kick, M.; Koponen, J.P.; Kuehner, G.; Penningsfeld, F.-P.; Wagner, F.

1998-01-01

In W7-AS, the longest energy confinement times were achieved in neutral beam injection heated (NBI-heated) discharges under low wall-recycling conditions. Low recycling is needed to control the density at line-averaged values of n-bar e approx. 10 20 m -3 . Under these conditions, confinement was improved by a factor of two above the common scaling estimate. The reduction of radial transport is concentrated into a layer at about two-thirds of the plasma radius. In this region steep pressure gradients and a strong gradient in the radial electric field develop. Specific for the discharges is the slow transition to improved confinement, lasting up to three energy confinement times. Since the measured electric field is consistent with the neoclassical ambipolar field, this high-confinement mode could be an example where sheared plasma flow as created by the neoclassical radial electric field leads to a suppression of anomalous transport. (author)

High-confinement NBI discharges in the W7-AS stellarator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stroth, U; Baldzuhn, J; Geiger, J; Geist, T; Giannone, L.; Hartfuss, H -J; Hirsch, M; Jaenicke, R; Kick, M; Koponen, J P; Kuehner, G; Penningsfeld, F -P; Wagner, F [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, EURATOM Association, D-85748 Garching (Germany)

1998-08-01

In W7-AS, the longest energy confinement times were achieved in neutral beam injection heated (NBI-heated) discharges under low wall-recycling conditions. Low recycling is needed to control the density at line-averaged values of n-bar{sub e} approx. 10{sup 20}m{sup -3}. Under these conditions, confinement was improved by a factor of two above the common scaling estimate. The reduction of radial transport is concentrated into a layer at about two-thirds of the plasma radius. In this region steep pressure gradients and a strong gradient in the radial electric field develop. Specific for the discharges is the slow transition to improved confinement, lasting up to three energy confinement times. Since the measured electric field is consistent with the neoclassical ambipolar field, this high-confinement mode could be an example where sheared plasma flow as created by the neoclassical radial electric field leads to a suppression of anomalous transport. (author)

Discovery of stationary operation of quiescent H-mode plasmas with net-zero neutral beam injection torque and high energy confinement on DIII-D

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burrell, K. H.; Chen, X.; Garofalo, A. M.; Groebner, R. J.; Muscatello, C. M.; Osborne, T. H.; Petty, C. C.; Snyder, P. B. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-5608 (United States); Barada, K.; Rhodes, T. L.; Zeng, L. [University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024 (United States); Solomon, W. M. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States); Yan, Z. [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States)

2016-05-15

Recent experiments in DIII-D [J. L. Luxon et al., in Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research 1996 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1987), Vol. I, p. 159] have led to the discovery of a means of modifying edge turbulence to achieve stationary, high confinement operation without Edge Localized Mode (ELM) instabilities and with no net external torque input. Eliminating the ELM-induced heat bursts and controlling plasma stability at low rotation represent two of the great challenges for fusion energy. By exploiting edge turbulence in a novel manner, we achieved excellent tokamak performance, well above the H{sub 98y2} international tokamak energy confinement scaling (H{sub 98y2} = 1.25), thus meeting an additional confinement challenge that is usually difficult at low torque. The new regime is triggered in double null plasmas by ramping the injected torque to zero and then maintaining it there. This lowers E × B rotation shear in the plasma edge, allowing low-k, broadband, electromagnetic turbulence to increase. In the H-mode edge, a narrow transport barrier usually grows until MHD instability (a peeling ballooning mode) leads to the ELM heat burst. However, the increased turbulence reduces the pressure gradient, allowing the development of a broader and thus higher transport barrier. A 60% increase in pedestal pressure and 40% increase in energy confinement result. An increase in the E × B shearing rate inside of the edge pedestal is a key factor in the confinement increase. Strong double-null plasma shaping raises the threshold for the ELM instability, allowing the plasma to reach a transport-limited state near but below the explosive ELM stability boundary. The resulting plasmas have burning-plasma-relevant β{sub N} = 1.6–1.8 and run without the need for extra torque from 3D magnetic fields. To date, stationary conditions have been produced for 2 s or 12 energy confinement times, limited only by external hardware constraints

Symbolic regression via genetic programming for data driven derivation of confinement scaling laws without any assumption on their mathematical form

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murari, A; Peluso, E; Gelfusa, M; Lupelli, I; Lungaroni, M; Gaudio, P

2015-01-01

Many measurements are required to control thermonuclear plasmas and to fully exploit them scientifically. In the last years JET has shown the potential to generate about 50 GB of data per shot. These amounts of data require more sophisticated data analysis methodologies to perform correct inference and various techniques have been recently developed in this respect. The present paper covers a new methodology to extract mathematical models directly from the data without any a priori assumption about their expression. The approach, based on symbolic regression via genetic programming, is exemplified using the data of the International Tokamak Physics Activity database for the energy confinement time. The best obtained scaling laws are not in power law form and suggest a revisiting of the extrapolation to ITER. Indeed the best non-power law scalings predict confinement times in ITER approximately between 2 and 3 s. On the other hand, more comprehensive and better databases are required to fully profit from the power of these new methods and to discriminate between the hundreds of thousands of models that they can generate. (paper)

Accurate calculation of conformational free energy differences in explicit water: the confinement-solvation free energy approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Esque, Jeremy; Cecchini, Marco

2015-04-23

The calculation of the free energy of conformation is key to understanding the function of biomolecules and has attracted significant interest in recent years. Here, we present an improvement of the confinement method that was designed for use in the context of explicit solvent MD simulations. The development involves an additional step in which the solvation free energy of the harmonically restrained conformers is accurately determined by multistage free energy perturbation simulations. As a test-case application, the newly introduced confinement/solvation free energy (CSF) approach was used to compute differences in free energy between conformers of the alanine dipeptide in explicit water. The results are in excellent agreement with reference calculations based on both converged molecular dynamics and umbrella sampling. To illustrate the general applicability of the method, conformational equilibria of met-enkephalin (5 aa) and deca-alanine (10 aa) in solution were also analyzed. In both cases, smoothly converged free-energy results were obtained in agreement with equilibrium sampling or literature calculations. These results demonstrate that the CSF method may provide conformational free-energy differences of biomolecules with small statistical errors (below 0.5 kcal/mol) and at a moderate computational cost even with a full representation of the solvent.

Confinement properties of high energy density plasmas in the Wisconsin levitated octupole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Twichell, J.C.

1984-08-01

The confinement of particles and energy is critically dependent on the plasma-wall interaction. Results of a study detailing this interaction are presented. High power ICRF heated and gun afterglow plasmas were studied to detail the mechanisms determining particle and energy confinement. An extensive zero-D simulation code is used to assist in interpreting the experimental data. Physically reasonable models for plasma surface interactions, time dependent coronal treatment of impurities and multiple region treatment of neutrals are used in modeling the plasma. Extensive diagnostic data are used to verify the model. Non-heated plasmas decay from 28 to 3 eV allowing clear identification of wall impact energy thresholds for desorption and particle reflection. The charge state distribution of impurities verifies the reflux to plasma diffusion rate ratio. Close agreement between the simulation and experimental data is found

Superior pseudocapacitive behavior of confined lignin nanocrystals for renewable energy-storage materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sung-Kon; Kim, Yun Ki; Lee, Hyunjoo; Lee, Sang Bok; Park, Ho Seok

2014-04-01

Strong demand for high-performance energy-storage devices has currently motivated the development of emerging capacitive materials that can resolve their critical challenge (i.e., low energy density) and that are renewable and inexpensive energy-storage materials from both environmental and economic viewpoints. Herein, the pseudocapacitive behavior of lignin nanocrystals confined on reduced graphene oxides (RGOs) used for renewable energy-storage materials is demonstrated. The excellent capacitive characteristics of the renewable hybrid electrodes were achieved by synergizing the fast and reversible redox charge transfer of surface-confined quinone and the interplay with electron-conducting RGOs. Accordingly, pseudocapacitors with remarkable rate and cyclic performances (~96 % retention after 3000 cycles) showed a maximum capacitance of 432 F g(-1), which was close to the theoretical capacitance of 482 F g(-1) and sixfold higher than that of RGO (93 F g(-1)). The chemical strategy delineated herein paves the way to develop advanced renewable electrodes for energy-storage applications and understand the redox chemistry of electroactive biomaterials. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Scale Effect of Premixed Methane-Air Combustion in Confined Space Using LES Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang Wang

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Gas explosion is the most hazardous incident occurring in underground airways. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD techniques are sophisticated in simulating explosions in confined spaces; specifically, when testing large-scale gaseous explosions, such as methane explosions in underground mines. The dimensions of a confined space where explosions could occur vary significantly. Thus, the scale effect on explosion parameters is worth investigating. In this paper, the impact of scaling on explosion overpressures is investigated by employing two scaling factors: The Gas-fill Length Scaling Factor (FLSF and the Hydraulic Diameter Scaling Factor (HDSF. The combinations of eight FLSFs and five HDSFs will cover a wide range of space dimensions where flammable gas could accumulate. Experiments were also conducted to evaluate the selected numerical models. The Large Eddy Simulation turbulence model was selected because it shows accuracy compared to the widely used Reynolds’ averaged models for the scenarios investigated in the experiments. Three major conclusions can be drawn: (1 The overpressure increases with both FLSF and HDSF within the deflagration regime; (2 In an explosion duct with a length to diameter ratio greater than 54, detonation is more likely to be triggered for a stoichiometric methane/air mixture; (3 Overpressure increases as an increment hydraulic diameter of a geometry within deflagration regime. A relative error of 7% is found when predicting blast peak overpressure for the base case compared to the experiment; a good agreement for the wave arrival time is also achieved.

Spatial profile measurements of ion-confining potentials using novel position-sensitive ion-energy spectrometer arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, M.; Cho, T.; Hirata, M.; Ito, H.; Kohagura, J.; Yatsu, K.; Miyoshi, S.

2003-01-01

The first experimental demonstration of simultaneous measurements of temporally and spatially resolved ion-confining potentials phi c and end-loss-ion fluxes I ELA has been carried out during a single plasma discharge alone by the use of newly designed ion-energy-spectrometer arrays installed in both end regions of the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror. This position-sensitive ion-detector structure is proposed to obtain precise ion-energy spectra without any perturbations from simultaneously incident energetic electrons into the arrays. The relation between phi c and I ELA is physically interpreted in terms of Pastukhov's potential confinement theory. In particular, the importance of axisymmetric phi c formation is found for the plasma confinement

A hybrid classical-quantum approach for ultra-scaled confined nanostructures : modeling and simulation*

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pietra Paola

2012-04-01

Full Text Available We propose a hybrid classical-quantum model to study the motion of electrons in ultra-scaled confined nanostructures. The transport of charged particles, considered as one dimensional, is described by a quantum effective mass model in the active zone coupled directly to a drift-diffusion problem in the rest of the device. We explain how this hybrid model takes into account the peculiarities due to the strong confinement and we present numerical simulations for a simplified carbon nanotube. Nous proposons un modèle hybride classique-quantique pour décrire le mouvement des électrons dans des nanostructures très fortement confinées. Le transport des particules, consideré unidimensionel, est décrit par un modèle quantique avec masse effective dans la zone active couplé à un problème de dérive-diffusion dans le reste du domaine. Nous expliquons comment ce modèle hybride prend en compte les spécificités de ce très fort confinement et nous présentons des résultats numériques pour un nanotube de carbone simplifié.

Energy Evolution Mechanism and Confining Pressure Effect of Granite under Triaxial Loading-Unloading Cycles

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hao; Miao, Sheng-jun

2018-05-01

Rock mass undergoes some deformational failure under the action of external loads, a process known to be associated with energy dissipation and release. A triaxial loading-unloading cycle test was conducted on granite in order to investigate the energy evolution pattern of rock mass under the action of external loads. The study results demonstrated: (1) The stress peaks increased by 50% and 22% respectively and the pre-peak weakening became more apparent in the ascending process of the confining pressure from 10MPa to 30MPa; the area enclosed by the hysteresis loop corresponding to 30MPa diminished by nearly 60% than that corresponding to 10MPa, indicating a higher confining pressure prohibits rock mass from plastic deformation and shifts strain toward elastic deformation. (2) In the vicinity of the strength limit, the slope of dissipation energy increased to 1.6 from the original 0.7 and the dissipation energy grew at an accelerating rate, demonstrating stronger propagation and convergence of internal cracks. (3) At a pressure of 70% of the stress peak, the elastic energy of the granite accounted for 88% of its peak value, suggesting the rock mechanical energy from the outside mostly changes into the elastic energy inside the rock, with little energy loss.(4) Prior to test specimen failure, the axial bearing capacity dropped with a decreasing confining pressure in an essentially linear way, and the existence of confirming pressure played a role in stabilizing the axial bearing capacity.

High-Energy Cosmic Ray Self-Confinement Close to Extra-Galactic Sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Blasi, Pasquale; Amato, Elena; D'Angelo, Marta

2015-09-18

The ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays observed on the Earth are most likely accelerated in extra-Galactic sources. For the typical luminosities invoked for such sources, the electric current associated to the flux of cosmic rays that leave them is large. The associated plasma instabilities create magnetic fluctuations that can efficiently scatter particles. We argue that this phenomenon forces cosmic rays to be self-confined in the source proximity for energies Esources for energies Esource luminosity in units of 10^{44} erg/s.

Nonlinear quenches of power-law confining traps in quantum critical systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collura, Mario; Karevski, Dragi

2011-01-01

We describe the coherent quantum evolution of a quantum many-body system with a time-dependent power-law confining potential. The amplitude of the inhomogeneous potential is driven in time along a nonlinear ramp which crosses a critical point. Using Kibble-Zurek-like scaling arguments we derive general scaling laws for the density of excitations and energy excess generated during the nonlinear sweep of the confining potential. It is shown that, with respect to the sweeping rate, the densities follow algebraic laws with exponents that depend on the space-time properties of the potential and on the scaling dimensions of the densities. We support our scaling predictions with both analytical and numerical results on the Ising quantum chain with an inhomogeneous transverse field varying in time.

High energy behaviour of the scattering amplitude in the presence of confined channels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gehlen, G.; Rittenberg, V.

1977-09-01

The two-channel potential scattering problem in three space-dimensions is considered in the case when one channel is permanently confined. Two examples of confining potentials are considered: the harmonic oscillator and the infinite well. The two cases give radically different results: for the infinite well there is no high energy limit; in the case of the harmonic oscillator the amplitude has properties similar to that of dual absorptive models. (orig.) [de

Status of 2XIIB plasma confinement experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coensgen, F.J.; Clauser, J.F.; Correll, D.L.

1976-01-01

This report describes the status of 2XIIB neutral beam injection experiments with stabilizing plasma. The stream suppresses ion-cyclotron fluctuations and permits density to 5 x 10 13 cm -3 . The ion energy is 13 keV, and electron temperature reaches 140 eV. Plasma confinement increases with ion energy and n tau reaches 7 x 10 10 cm -3 .s at 13 keV. The n tau energy scaling is consistent with electron drag and ion-ion scattering losses. Buildup on a streaming plasma in a steady-state magnetic field is described

Confinement studies of neutral beam heated discharges in TFTR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murakami, M.; Arunasalam, V.; Bell, J.D.; Stauffer, F.; Bell, M.G.; Bitte, M.; Blanchard, W.R.; Boody, F.; Britz, N.

1985-11-01

The TFTR tokamak has reached its original machine design specifications (I/sub p/ = 2.5 MA and B/sub T/ = 5.2T). Recently, the D/sup 0/ neutral beam heating power has been increased to 6.3 MW. By operating at low plasma current (I/sub p/ approx. = 0.8 MA) and low density anti n/sub e/ approx. = 1 x 10/sup 19/m/sup -3/), high ion temperatures (9 +- keV) and rotation speeds (7 x 10/sup 5/ m/s) have been achieved during injection. At the opposite extreme, pellet injection into high current plasmas has been used to increase the line-average density to 8 x 10/sup 19/m/sup -3/ and the central density to 1.6 x 10/sup 20/m/sup -3// This wide range of operating conditions has enabled us to conduct scaling studies of the global energy confinement time in both ohmically and beam heated discharges as well as more detailed transport studies of the profile dependence. In ohmic discharges, the energy confinement time is observed to scale linearly with density only up to anti n/sub e/ approx. 4.5 x 10/sup 19/m/sup -3/ and then to increase more gradually, achieving a maximum value of approx. 0.45 s. In beam heated discharges, the energy confinement time is observed to decrease with beam power and to increase with plasma current. With P/sub b/ = 5.6 MW, anti n/sub e/ = 4.7 x 10/sup 19/m/sup -3/, I/sub p/ = 2.2 MA and B/sub T = 4.7T, the gross energy confinement time is 0.22 s and T/sub i/(0) = 4.8 keV. Despite shallow penetration of D/sup 0/ beams (at the beam energy less than or equal to 80 keV with low species yield), tau/sub E/(a) values are as large as those for H/sup 0/ injection, but central confinement times are substantially greater. This is a consequence of the insensitivity of the temperature and safety factor profile shapes to the heating profile. The radial variation of tau/sub E/ is even more pronounced with D/sup 0/ injection into high density pellet-injected plasmas. 25 refs.

H-mode pedestal characteristics, ELMs, and energy confinement in ITER shape discharges on DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osborne, T.H.; Groebner, R.J.; Lao, L.L.; Leonard, A.W.; Miller, R.L.; Thomas, D.M.; Waltz, R.E.; Maingi, R.; Porter, G.D.

1997-12-01

The H-mode confinement enhancement factor, H, is found to be strongly correlated with the height of the edge pressure pedestal in ITER shape discharges. In discharges with Type I ELMs the pedestal pressure is set by the maximum pressure gradient before the ELM and the width of the H-mode transport barrier. The pressure gradient before Type I ELMs is found to scale as would be expected for a stability limit set by ideal ballooning modes, but with values significantly in excess of that predicted by stability code calculations. The width of the H-mode transport barrier is found to scale equally well with pedestal P(POL)(2/3) or B(POL)(1/2). The improved H value in high B(POL) discharges may be due to a larger edge pressure gradient and wider H-mode transport barrier consistent with their higher edge ballooning mode limit. Deuterium puffing is found to reduce H consistent with the smaller pedestal pressure which results from the reduced barrier width and critical pressure gradient. Type I ELM energy loss is found to be proportional to the change in the pedestal energy

Confinement and related transport in Extrap geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tendler, M.

1983-01-01

The properties of the plasma dynamic equilibrium are investigated for the Extrap magnetic confinement geometry. The temperatures achieved so far in the high-#betta# pinches are much lower than the predicted values. Here, it is shown that the particle containment in Extrap may be improved as compared to the other pinches due to the electrostatic confinement. An analytic solution for the profiles of the plasma parameters are found under the assumption that the energy is lost primarily in the radial direction by heat conduction and convection. An estimate of the radial particle confinement time is given, showing favourable scaling with plasma density and temperature. The conventional assumption of a uniform current density is shown to be unjustified in the case of an inhomogeneous electron temperature. An analytical expression is found for the pinch radius at different mechanisms of the heat transport. (orig.)

Simulation for scale-up of a confined jet mixer for continuous hydrothermal flow synthesis of nanomaterials

OpenAIRE

Ma, CY; Liu, JJ; Zhang, Y; Wang, XZ

2015-01-01

Reactor performance of confined jet mixers for continuous hydrothermal flow synthesis of nanomaterials is investigated for the purpose of scale-up from laboratory scale to pilot-plant scale. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models were applied to simulate hydrothermal fluid flow, mixing and heat transfer behaviours in the reactors at different volumetric scale-up ratios (up to 26 times). The distributions of flow and heat transfer variables were obtained using ANSYS Fluent with the tracer c...

Investigation of impurity confinement in lower hybrid wave heated plasma on EAST tokamak

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Z.; Wu, Z. W.; Zhang, L.; Gao, W.; Ye, Y.; Chen, K. Y.; Yuan, Y.; Zhang, W.; Yang, X. D.; Chen, Y. J.; Zhang, P. F.; Huang, J.; Wu, C. R.; Morita, S.; Oishi, T.; Zhang, J. Z.; Duan, Y. M.; Zang, Q.; Ding, S. Y.; Liu, H. Q.; Chen, J. L.; Hu, L. Q.; Xu, G. S.; Guo, H. Y.; the EAST Team

2018-01-01

The transient perturbation method with metallic impurities such as iron (Fe, Z  =  26) and copper (Cu, Z  =  29) induced in plasma-material interaction (PMI) procedure is used to investigate the impurity confinement characters in lower hybrid wave (LHW) heated EAST sawtooth-free plasma. The dependence of metallic impurities confinement time on plasma parameters (e.g. plasma current, toroidal magnetic field, electron density and heating power) are investigated in ohmic and LHW heated plasma. It is shown that LHW heating plays an important role in the reduction of the impurity confinement time in L-mode discharges on EAST. The impurity confinement time scaling is given as 42IP0.32Bt0.2\\overline{n}e0.43Ptotal-0.4~ on EAST, which is close to the observed scaling on Tore Supra and JET. Furthermore, the LHW heated high-enhanced-recycling (HER) H-mode discharges with ~25 kHz edge coherent modes (ECM), which have lower impurity confinement time and higher energy confinement time, provide promising candidates for high performance and steady state operation on EAST.

Approximate scaling properties of RNA free energy landscapes

Science.gov (United States)

Baskaran, S.; Stadler, P. F.; Schuster, P.

1996-01-01

RNA free energy landscapes are analysed by means of "time-series" that are obtained from random walks restricted to excursion sets. The power spectra, the scaling of the jump size distribution, and the scaling of the curve length measured with different yard stick lengths are used to describe the structure of these "time series". Although they are stationary by construction, we find that their local behavior is consistent with both AR(1) and self-affine processes. Random walks confined to excursion sets (i.e., with the restriction that the fitness value exceeds a certain threshold at each step) exhibit essentially the same statistics as free random walks. We find that an AR(1) time series is in general approximately self-affine on timescales up to approximately the correlation length. We present an empirical relation between the correlation parameter rho of the AR(1) model and the exponents characterizing self-affinity.

Confinement and dynamical regulation in two-dimensional convective turbulence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bian, N.H.; Garcia, O.E.

2003-01-01

In this work the nature of confinement improvement implied by the self-consistent generation of mean flows in two-dimensional convective turbulence is studied. The confinement variations are linked to two distinct regulation mechanisms which are also shown to be at the origin of low......-frequency bursting in the fluctuation level and the convective heat flux integral, both resulting in a state of large-scale intermittency. The first one involves the control of convective transport by sheared mean flows. This regulation relies on the conservative transfer of kinetic energy from tilted fluctuations...

Ground state energy of an hydrogen atom confined in carbon nano-structures: a diffusion quantum Monte Carlo study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molayem, M.; Tayebi-Rad, Gh.; Esmaeli, L.; Namiranian, A.; Fouladvand, M. E.; Neek-Amal, M.

2006-01-01

Using the diffusion quantum monte Carlo method, the ground state energy of an Hydrogen atom confined in a carbon nano tube and a C60 molecule is calculated. For Hydrogen atom confined in small diameter tubes, the ground state energy shows significant deviation from a free Hydrogen atom, while with increasing the diameter this deviation tends to zero.

Opportunities for shear energy scaling in bulk acoustic wave resonators.

Science.gov (United States)

Jose, Sumy; Hueting, Raymond J E

2014-10-01

An important energy loss contribution in bulk acoustic wave resonators is formed by so-called shear waves, which are transversal waves that propagate vertically through the devices with a horizontal motion. In this work, we report for the first time scaling of the shear-confined spots, i.e., spots containing a high concentration of shear wave displacement, controlled by the frame region width at the edge of the resonator. We also demonstrate a novel methodology to arrive at an optimum frame region width for spurious mode suppression and shear wave confinement. This methodology makes use of dispersion curves obtained from finite-element method (FEM) eigenfrequency simulations for arriving at an optimum frame region width. The frame region optimization is demonstrated for solidly mounted resonators employing several shear wave optimized reflector stacks. Finally, the FEM simulation results are compared with measurements for resonators with Ta2O5/ SiO2 stacks showing suppression of the spurious modes.

Free Electron Laser as Energy Driver for Inertial Confinement Fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saldin, E.L.; Shnejdmiller, E.A.; Ul'yanov, Yu.N.; Sarantsev, V.P.; Yurkov, M.V.

1994-01-01

A FEL based energy driver for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) is proposed. The key element of the scheme is free electron laser system. Novel technical solutions reveal a possibility to construct the FEL system operating at radiation wavelength λ = 0.5 μm and providing flash energy E = 1 MJ and brightness 4 x 10 22 W cm -2 sr -1 within steering pulse duration 0.1-2 ns. Total energy efficiency of the proposed ICF energy driver is about of 11% and repetition rate is 40 Hz. Dimensions of such an ICF driver are comparable with those of heavy-ion ICF driver, while the problem of technical realization seems to be more realistic. It is shown that the FEL based ICF energy driver may be constructed at the present level of accelerator technique R and D. 27 refs., 10 figs., 3 tabs

Large scale Brownian dynamics of confined suspensions of rigid particles

Science.gov (United States)

Sprinkle, Brennan; Balboa Usabiaga, Florencio; Patankar, Neelesh A.; Donev, Aleksandar

2017-12-01

We introduce methods for large-scale Brownian Dynamics (BD) simulation of many rigid particles of arbitrary shape suspended in a fluctuating fluid. Our method adds Brownian motion to the rigid multiblob method [F. Balboa Usabiaga et al., Commun. Appl. Math. Comput. Sci. 11(2), 217-296 (2016)] at a cost comparable to the cost of deterministic simulations. We demonstrate that we can efficiently generate deterministic and random displacements for many particles using preconditioned Krylov iterative methods, if kernel methods to efficiently compute the action of the Rotne-Prager-Yamakawa (RPY) mobility matrix and its "square" root are available for the given boundary conditions. These kernel operations can be computed with near linear scaling for periodic domains using the positively split Ewald method. Here we study particles partially confined by gravity above a no-slip bottom wall using a graphical processing unit implementation of the mobility matrix-vector product, combined with a preconditioned Lanczos iteration for generating Brownian displacements. We address a major challenge in large-scale BD simulations, capturing the stochastic drift term that arises because of the configuration-dependent mobility. Unlike the widely used Fixman midpoint scheme, our methods utilize random finite differences and do not require the solution of resistance problems or the computation of the action of the inverse square root of the RPY mobility matrix. We construct two temporal schemes which are viable for large-scale simulations, an Euler-Maruyama traction scheme and a trapezoidal slip scheme, which minimize the number of mobility problems to be solved per time step while capturing the required stochastic drift terms. We validate and compare these schemes numerically by modeling suspensions of boomerang-shaped particles sedimented near a bottom wall. Using the trapezoidal scheme, we investigate the steady-state active motion in dense suspensions of confined microrollers, whose

THE CONFINED X-CLASS FLARES OF SOLAR ACTIVE REGION 2192

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thalmann, J. K.; Su, Y.; Temmer, M.; Veronig, A. M., E-mail: julia.thalmann@uni-graz.at [Institute of Physics/IGAM, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 5/II, 8010 Graz (Austria)

2015-03-10

The unusually large active region (AR) NOAA 2192, observed in 2014 October, was outstanding in its productivity of major two-ribbon flares without coronal mass ejections. On a large scale, a predominantly north–south oriented magnetic system of arcade fields served as a strong top and lateral confinement for a series of large two-ribbon flares originating from the core of the AR. The large initial separation of the flare ribbons, together with an almost absent growth in ribbon separation, suggests a confined reconnection site high up in the corona. Based on a detailed analysis of the confined X1.6 flare on October 22, we show how exceptional the flaring of this AR was. We provide evidence for repeated energy release, indicating that the same magnetic field structures were repeatedly involved in magnetic reconnection. We find that a large number of electrons was accelerated to non-thermal energies, revealing a steep power-law spectrum, but that only a small fraction was accelerated to high energies. The total non-thermal energy in electrons derived (on the order of 10{sup 25} J) is considerably higher than that in eruptive flares of class X1, and corresponds to about 10% of the excess magnetic energy present in the active-region corona.

Observation of an improved energy-confinement regime in neutral-beam--heated divertor discharges in the DIII-D tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burrell, K.H.; Ejima, S.; Schissel, D.P.

1987-01-01

Tokamak discharges using the expanded boundary divertor in the DIII-D device exhibit H-mode confinement. With neutral-beam power up to 6 MW, energy confinement remains comparable to the Ohmic value at a plasma current of 1 MA. Confinement is also independent of plasma density and toroidal field. Confinement increases with plasma current, but the exact functional dependence is, as yet, uncertain. These results show that the H mode can be achieved in a reactor-compatible open divertor configuration

Comments on the article A generalized scaling law for the ignition energy of inertial confinement fusion capsules by M.C. Herrmann, M. Tabak, J.D. Lindl, Nucl. Fusion 41 (2001) 99

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atzeni, S.; Meyer-ter-Vehn, J.

2001-01-01

A recent article (details in the title) reported a generalized scaling law for the ignition energy of inertial confinement fusion targets in terms of the in-flight fuel adiabat, the peak implosion velocity, and the peak drive pressure. Previous scaling laws had not taken into account the scaling with the peak drive pressure. The key point of the analysis was the realization that the adiabat of the stagnated fuel is not simply given by the in-flight adiabat, as previously assumed implicitly, but instead depends on implosion history, and involves the drive pressure. In these comments it is pointed out that, while the simulations in said recent article account for complicated transport and equations of state, a simpler physical model based on ideal gas dynamics without heat conduction or any other transport physics advanced previously by one of the authors of these comments (for instance, Meyer-ter-Vehn, J. and Schalk, C., Z. Nat. forsch. 37A, 955 (1982)) yields quite similar scaling. This observation leads to a form of the scaling laws in terms of only the drive pressure and the Mach number, indicating the central importance of these variables, rather than the complicated transport and equations of state, for the determination of the ignition temperature

Turbulence and energy confinement in TORE SUPRA ohmic discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garbet, X.; Payan, J.; Laviron, C.; Devynck, P.; Saha, S.K.; Capes, H.; Chen, X.P.; Coulon, J.P.; Gil, C.; Harris, G.; Hutter, T.; Pecquet, A.L.

1992-06-01

Results on confinement and turbulence from a set of ohmic discharges in Tore Supra are discussed. The attention is focused on the saturation of the energy confinement time and it is emphasized that this saturation could be explained by a saturation of the electron heat diffusivity. Ion behaviour is indeed governed by dilution and equipartition effects. Although the ion heat transport is never neoclassical, there is no enhanced degradation at the saturation. This behaviour is confirmed by turbulence measurements given by CO 2 laser coherent scattering. The density fluctuations level follows the electron heat diffusivity variations with the average density. Waves propagating in the ion diamagnetic direction are always present in turbulence frequency spectra. Thus, the saturation cannot be explained by the onset of an ion turbulence. The existence of an ion turbulence at the edge at all densities cannot be excluded. However, this ion feature in scattering spectra could be explained by a Doppler shift associated to an inversion point of the radial electric field at the edge

Pattern replication by confined dewetting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Harkema, S.; Schäffer, E.; Morariu, M.D.; Steiner, U

2003-01-01

The dewetting of a polymer film in a confined geometry was employed in a pattern-replication process. The instability of dewetting films is pinned by a structured confining surface, thereby replicating its topographic pattern. Depending on the surface energy of the confining surface, two different

Ignition and burn in inertially confined magnetized fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirkpatrick, R.C.; Lindemuth, I.R.

1991-01-01

At the third International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems, we presented computational results which suggested that ''breakeven'' experiments in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) may be possible with existing driver technology. We recently used the ICF simulation code LASNEX to calculate the performance of an idealized magnetized fuel target. The parameter space in which magnetized fuel operates is remote from that of both ''conventional'' ICF and magnetic confinement fusion devices. In particular, the plasma has a very high β and is wall confined, not magnetically confined. The role of the field is to reduce the electron thermal conductivity and to partially trap the DT alphas. The plasma is contained in a pusher which is imploded to compress and adiabatically heat the plasma from an initial condition of preheat and pre-magnetization to the conditions necessary for fusion ignition. The initial density must be quite low by ICF standards in order to insure that the electron thermal conductivity is suppressed and to minimize the generation of radiation from the plasma. Because the energy loss terms are effectively suppressed, the implosion may proceed at a relatively slow rate of about 1 to 3 cm/μs. Also, the need for low density fuel dictates a much larger target, so that magnetized fuel can use drivers with much lower power and power density. Therefore, magnetized fuel allows the use of efficient drivers that are not suitable for laser or particle beam fusion due to insufficient focus or too long pulse length. The ignition and burn of magnetized fuel involves very different dominant physical processes than does ''conventional'' ICF. The fusion time scale becomes comparable to the hydrodynamic time scale, but other processes that limit the burn in unmagnetized fuel are of no consequence. The idealized low gain magnetized fuel target presented here is large and requires a very low implosion velocity. 11 refs

A Study of Confined Helium Atom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Wenfang

2007-01-01

The helium atom confined by a spherical parabolic potential well is studied employing the adiabatic hyperspherical approach method. Total energies of the ground and three low-excited states are obtained as a function of the confined potential radii. We find that the energies of a spherical parabolic potential well are in good agreement with those of an impenetrable spherical box for the larger confined potential radius. We find also that the confinement may cause accidental degeneracies between levels with different low-excited states and the inversion of the energy values. The results for the three-dimensional spherical potential well and the two-dimensional disc-like potential well are compared with each other. We find that the energy difference between states in a two-dimensional parabolic potential is also obviously larger than the corresponding levels for a spherical parabolic potential.

Hot-spot mix in ignition-scale inertial confinement fusion targets.

Science.gov (United States)

Regan, S P; Epstein, R; Hammel, B A; Suter, L J; Scott, H A; Barrios, M A; Bradley, D K; Callahan, D A; Cerjan, C; Collins, G W; Dixit, S N; Döppner, T; Edwards, M J; Farley, D R; Fournier, K B; Glenn, S; Glenzer, S H; Golovkin, I E; Haan, S W; Hamza, A; Hicks, D G; Izumi, N; Jones, O S; Kilkenny, J D; Kline, J L; Kyrala, G A; Landen, O L; Ma, T; MacFarlane, J J; MacKinnon, A J; Mancini, R C; McCrory, R L; Meezan, N B; Meyerhofer, D D; Nikroo, A; Park, H-S; Ralph, J; Remington, B A; Sangster, T C; Smalyuk, V A; Springer, P T; Town, R P J

2013-07-26

Mixing of plastic ablator material, doped with Cu and Ge dopants, deep into the hot spot of ignition-scale inertial confinement fusion implosions by hydrodynamic instabilities is diagnosed with x-ray spectroscopy on the National Ignition Facility. The amount of hot-spot mix mass is determined from the absolute brightness of the emergent Cu and Ge K-shell emission. The Cu and Ge dopants placed at different radial locations in the plastic ablator show the ablation-front hydrodynamic instability is primarily responsible for hot-spot mix. Low neutron yields and hot-spot mix mass between 34(-13,+50)  ng and 4000(-2970,+17 160)  ng are observed.

Confinement/deconfinement transition from symmetry breaking in gauge/gravity duality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Čubrović, Mihailo [Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Cologne,Zülpicher Strasse 77, D-50937, Cologne (Germany)

2016-10-19

We study the confinement/deconfinement transition in a strongly coupled system triggered by an independent symmetry-breaking quantum phase transition in gauge/gravity duality. The gravity dual is an Einstein-scalar-dilaton system with AdS near-boundary behavior and soft wall interior at zero scalar condensate. We study the cases of neutral and charged condensate separately. In the former case the condensation breaks the discrete ℤ{sub 2} symmetry while a charged condensate breaks the continuous U(1) symmetry. After the condensation of the order parameter, the non-zero vacuum expectation value of the scalar couples to the dilaton, changing the soft wall geometry into a non-confining and anisotropically scale-invariant infrared metric. In other words, the formation of long-range order is immediately followed by the deconfinement transition and the two critical points coincide. The confined phase has a scale — the confinement scale (energy gap) which vanishes in the deconfined case. Therefore, the breaking of the symmetry of the scalar (ℤ{sub 2} or U(1)) in turn restores the scaling symmetry in the system and neither phase has a higher overall symmetry than the other. When the scalar is charged the phase transition is continuous which goes against the Ginzburg-Landau theory where such transitions generically only occur discontinuously. This phenomenon has some commonalities with the scenario of deconfined criticality. The mechanism we have found has applications mainly in effective field theories such as quantum magnetic systems. We briefly discuss these applications and the relation to real-world systems.

Energy transfers in large-scale and small-scale dynamos

Science.gov (United States)

Samtaney, Ravi; Kumar, Rohit; Verma, Mahendra

2015-11-01

We present the energy transfers, mainly energy fluxes and shell-to-shell energy transfers in small-scale dynamo (SSD) and large-scale dynamo (LSD) using numerical simulations of MHD turbulence for Pm = 20 (SSD) and for Pm = 0.2 on 10243 grid. For SSD, we demonstrate that the magnetic energy growth is caused by nonlocal energy transfers from the large-scale or forcing-scale velocity field to small-scale magnetic field. The peak of these energy transfers move towards lower wavenumbers as dynamo evolves, which is the reason for the growth of the magnetic fields at the large scales. The energy transfers U2U (velocity to velocity) and B2B (magnetic to magnetic) are forward and local. For LSD, we show that the magnetic energy growth takes place via energy transfers from large-scale velocity field to large-scale magnetic field. We observe forward U2U and B2B energy flux, similar to SSD.

Dimensionally constrained energy confinement analysis of W7-AS data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dose, V.; Preuss, R.; Linden, W. von der

1998-01-01

A recently assembled W7-AS stellarator database has been subject to dimensionally constrained confinement analysis. The analysis employs Bayesian inference. Dimensional information is taken from the Connor-Taylor (CT) similarity transformation theory, which provides six possible physical scenarios with associated dimensional conditions. Bayesian theory allows the calculations of the probability for each model and it is found that the present W7-AS data are most probably described by the collisionless high-β case. Probabilities for all models and the associated exponents of a power law scaling function are presented. (author)

Evaporation rate of water in hydrophobic confinement.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Sumit; Debenedetti, Pablo G

2012-03-20

The drying of hydrophobic cavities is believed to play an important role in biophysical phenomena such as the folding of globular proteins, the opening and closing of ligand-gated ion channels, and ligand binding to hydrophobic pockets. We use forward flux sampling, a molecular simulation technique, to compute the rate of capillary evaporation of water confined between two hydrophobic surfaces separated by nanoscopic gaps, as a function of gap, surface size, and temperature. Over the range of conditions investigated (gaps between 9 and 14 Å and surface areas between 1 and 9 nm(2)), the free energy barrier to evaporation scales linearly with the gap between hydrophobic surfaces, suggesting that line tension makes the predominant contribution to the free energy barrier. The exponential dependence of the evaporation rate on the gap between confining surfaces causes a 10 order-of-magnitude decrease in the rate when the gap increases from 9 to 14 Å. The computed free energy barriers are of the order of 50 kT and are predominantly enthalpic. Evaporation rates per unit area are found to be two orders of magnitude faster in confinement by the larger (9 nm(2)) than by the smaller (1 nm(2)) surfaces considered here, at otherwise identical conditions. We show that this rate enhancement is a consequence of the dependence of hydrophobic hydration on the size of solvated objects. For sufficiently large surfaces, the critical nucleus for the evaporation process is a gap-spanning vapor tube.

Finite-size scaling functions for directed polymers confined between attracting walls

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Owczarek, A L [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052 (Australia); Prellberg, T [School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS (United Kingdom); Rechnitzer, A [Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 (Canada)

2008-01-25

The exact solution of directed self-avoiding walks confined to a slit of finite width and interacting with the walls of the slit via an attractive potential has been recently calculated. The walks can be considered to model the polymer-induced steric stabilization and sensitized flocculation of colloidal dispersions. The large-width asymptotics led to a phase diagram different to that of a polymer attached to, and attracted to, a single wall. The question that arises is: Can one interpolate between the single wall and two wall cases? In this paper, we calculate the exact scaling functions for the partition function by considering the two variable asymptotics of the partition function for simultaneous large length and large width. Consequently, we find the scaling functions for the force induced by the polymer on the walls. We find that these scaling functions are given by elliptic {theta} functions. In some parts of the phase diagram there is more a complex crossover between the single wall and two wall cases and we elucidate how this happens.

Optimization of the confinement energy of quantum-wire states in T-shaped GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langbein, Wolfgang Werner; Gislason, Hannes; Hvam, Jørn Märcher

1996-01-01

We report on an optimization of the wire confinement energies of the confined electronic states at the T-shaped intersection of GaAs and AlxGa1-xAs quantum wells. These structures can be produced by the cleaved edge overgrowth technique. We present an analytical model for the confinement to give ...

Computation of Hemagglutinin Free Energy Difference by the Confinement Method

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Hemagglutinin (HA) mediates membrane fusion, a crucial step during influenza virus cell entry. How many HAs are needed for this process is still subject to debate. To aid in this discussion, the confinement free energy method was used to calculate the conformational free energy difference between the extended intermediate and postfusion state of HA. Special care was taken to comply with the general guidelines for free energy calculations, thereby obtaining convergence and demonstrating reliability of the results. The energy that one HA trimer contributes to fusion was found to be 34.2 ± 3.4kBT, similar to the known contributions from other fusion proteins. Although computationally expensive, the technique used is a promising tool for the further energetic characterization of fusion protein mechanisms. Knowledge of the energetic contributions per protein, and of conserved residues that are crucial for fusion, aids in the development of fusion inhibitors for antiviral drugs. PMID:29151344

Polymer in a pore: Effect of confinement on the free energy barrier

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Sanjiv; Kumar, Sanjay

2018-06-01

We investigate the transfer of a polymer chain from cis- side to trans- side through two types of pores: cone-shaped channel and flat-channel. Using the exact enumeration technique, we obtain the free energy landscapes of a polymer chain for such systems. We have also calculated the free-energy barrier of a polymer chain attached to the edge of the pore. The model system allows us to calculate the force required to pull polymer from the pore and stall-force to confine polymer within the pore.

The role of edge physics and confinement issues in the fusion reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lackner, K.; Schneider, R.

1993-01-01

The compatibility of the power exhaust to the walls and target plates with an adequate survival time of these structures and a sufficiently low impurity concentration in the bulk plasma, on the one hand, and the scaling of the energy confinement time with the tokamak parameters, on the other, are presently seen as two of the most critical issues determining the viability and minimum size of a fusion reactor. Statistical analysis of the world-wide data base of divertor tokamaks and experimental progress in superposing different forms of confinement improvements instil confidence that tokamak devices with the dimensions of ITER can meet the energy confinement requirements for ignition when operating in the H-regime. The critical problem consists, however, in simultaneously satisfying both the impurity and energy confinement related requirements. Regimes of improved confinement also tend to show a reduced rate of outward flow of impurities, thus increasing (for a given production rate at the walls or - in the case of helium - in the interior) their expected concentration. The confinement improvement in the H-regime also extends beyond the separatrix, leading to a thinner scrape-off layer with enhanced power concentration at the target plate and an enhanced penetration of impurities into the bulk plasma. These issues have therefore become the focal point of divertor and H-regime studies. Experiments on ASDEX, DIII-D and JET have successfully demonstrated that the impurity concentration in the H-regime can be effectively limited by the spontaneous cyclic destruction of the transport barrier at the edge (through the so-called ELMs) with only partial sacrifice of the energy confinement improvement. Expectations of handling the power load issues hinge on the capability of the divertor solution to decouple plasma properties in the edge of the bulk plasma from those near the target plates and the possibility of converting the energy flux arriving in the divertor into

Evaporation characteristics of thin film liquid argon in nano-scale confinement: A molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Hasan, Mohammad Nasim; Shavik, Sheikh Mohammad; Rabbi, Kazi Fazle; Haque, Mominul

2016-07-01

Molecular dynamics simulation has been carried out to explore the evaporation characteristics of thin liquid argon film in nano-scale confinement. The present study has been conducted to realize the nano-scale physics of simultaneous evaporation and condensation inside a confined space for a three phase system with particular emphasis on the effect of surface wetting conditions. The simulation domain consisted of two parallel platinum plates; one at the top and another at the bottom. The fluid comprised of liquid argon film at the bottom plate and vapor argon in between liquid argon and upper plate of the domain. Considering hydrophilic and hydrophobic nature of top and bottom surfaces, two different cases have been investigated: (i) Case A: Both top and bottom surfaces are hydrophilic, (ii) Case B: both top and bottom surfaces are hydrophobic. For all cases, equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) was performed to reach equilibrium state at 90 K. Then the lower wall was set to four different temperatures such as 110 K, 120 K, 130 K and 140 K to perform non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD). The variation of temperature and density as well as the variation of system pressure with respect to time were closely monitored for each case. The heat fluxes normal to top and bottom walls were estimated and discussed to illuminate the effectiveness of heat transfer in both hydrophilic and hydrophobic confinement at various boundary temperatures of the bottom plate.

Quantum-size effects in the energy loss of charged particles interacting with a confined two-dimensional electron gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borisov, A. G.; Juaristi, J. I.; Muino, R. Diez; Sanchez-Portal, D.; Echenique, P. M.

2006-01-01

Time-dependent density-functional theory is used to calculate quantum-size effects in the energy loss of antiprotons interacting with a confined two-dimensional electron gas. The antiprotons follow a trajectory normal to jellium circular clusters of variable size, crossing every cluster at its geometrical center. Analysis of the characteristic time scales that define the process is made. For high-enough velocities, the interaction time between the projectile and the target electrons is shorter than the time needed for the density excitation to travel along the cluster. The finite-size object then behaves as an infinite system, and no quantum-size effects appear in the energy loss. For small velocities, the discretization of levels in the cluster plays a role and the energy loss does depend on the system size. A comparison to results obtained using linear theory of screening is made, and the relative contributions of electron-hole pair and plasmon excitations to the total energy loss are analyzed. This comparison also allows us to show the importance of a nonlinear treatment of the screening in the interaction process

Dynamic Confinement of ITER Plasma by O-Mode Driver at Electron Cyclotron Frequency Range

Science.gov (United States)

Stefan, V. Alexander

2009-05-01

A low B-field side launched electron cyclotron O-Mode driver leads to the dynamic rf confinement, in addition to rf turbulent heating, of ITER plasma. The scaling law for the local energy confinement time τE is evaluated (τE ˜ 3neTe/2Q, where (3/2) neTe is the local plasma thermal energy density and Q is the local rf turbulent heating rate). The dynamics of unstable dissipative trapped particle modes (DTPM) strongly coupled to Trivelpiece-Gould (T-G) modes is studied for gyrotron frequency 170GHz; power˜24 MW CW; and on-axis B-field ˜ 10T. In the case of dynamic stabilization of DTPM turbulence and for the heavily damped T-G modes, the energy confinement time scales as τE˜(I0)-2, whereby I0(W/m^2) is the O-Mode driver irradiance. R. Prater et. al., Nucl. Fusion 48, No 3 (March 2008). E. P. Velikhov, History of the Russian Tokamak and the Tokamak Thermonuclear Fusion Research Worldwide That Led to ITER (Documentary movie; Stefan Studios Int'l, La Jolla, CA, 2008; E. P. Velikhov, V. Stefan.) M N Rosenbluth, Phys. Scr. T2A 104-109 1982 B. B. Kadomtsev and O. P. Pogutse, Nucl. Fusion 11, 67 (1971).

Inequalities for magnetic-flux free energies and confinement in lattice gauge theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoneya, T.

1982-01-01

Rigorous inequalities among magnetic-flux free energies of tori with varying diameters are derived in lattice gauge theories. From the inequalities, it follows that if the magnetic-flux free energy vanishes in the limit of large uniform dilatation of a torus, the free energy must always decrease exponentially with the area of the cross section of the torus. The latter property is known to be sufficient for permanent confinement of static quarks. As a consequence of this property, a lower bound V(R) >= const x R for the static quark-antiquark potential is obtained in three-dimensional U(n) lattice gauge theory for sufficiently large R. (orig.)

Evolution of particle clouds around ablating pellets in magnetically confined hot plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lengyel, L.L.

1991-08-01

Cryogenic hydrogen isotope pellets are being currently used for introducing fuel particles into the palsma interior in magnetic confinement fusion experiments. The spatial and time evolution of the initially low-temperature high-density particle clouds forming around such pellets are considered here, with particular attention being given to such physical processes as heating of the cloud by the energy fluxes carried by incident plasma particles, gasdynamic expansion with j vectorxB vector - produced deceleration in the transverse direction, finite-rate ionization and recombination processes, and magnetic field convection and diffusion. While the dynamic processes associated with the ionization and radial confinement processes are characterized by the relatively short Alfven time scale (μs range), the subsequent phase of axial expansion is associated with a notably larger hadrodynamic time scale defined by the heat input and gasdynamic expansion rates (ms range). Data stemming from experimental measurements in toroidal confinement machines are compared with results of model calculations. Some similarities with space plasmas are briefly discussed. (orig.)

Holographic (de)confinement transitions in cosmological backgrounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erdmenger, Johanna; Ghoroku, Kazuo; Meyer, Rene

2011-01-01

For type IIB supergravity with a running axio-dilaton, we construct bulk solutions which admit a cosmological background metric of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker type. These solutions include both a dark radiation term in the bulk as well as a four-dimensional (boundary) cosmological constant, while gravity at the boundary remains nondynamical. We holographically calculate the stress-energy tensor, showing that it consists of two contributions: The first one, generated by the dark radiation term, leads to the thermal fluid of N=4 SYM theory, while the second, the conformal anomaly, originates from the boundary cosmological constant. Conservation of the boundary stress-tensor implies that the boundary cosmological constant is time-independent, such that there is no exchange between the two stress-tensor contributions. We then study (de)confinement by evaluating the Wilson loop in these backgrounds. While the dark radiation term favors deconfinement, a negative cosmological constant drives the system into a confined phase. When both contributions are present, we find an oscillating universe with negative cosmological constant which undergoes periodic (de)confinement transitions as the scale of three-space expands and recontracts.

Generation and confinement of hot ions and electrons in a reversed-field pinch plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, B E; Almagri, A F; Anderson, J K; Caspary, K J; Clayton, D J; Den Hartog, D J; Ennis, D A; Fiksel, G; Gangadhara, S; Kumar, S; Magee, R M; O'Connell, R; Parke, E; Prager, S C; Reusch, J A; Sarff, J S; Stephens, H D; Brower, D L; Ding, W X; Craig, D

2010-01-01

By manipulating magnetic reconnection in Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) discharges, we have generated and confined for the first time a reversed-field pinch (RFP) plasma with an ion temperature >1 keV and an electron temperature of 2 keV. This is achieved at a toroidal plasma current of about 0.5 MA, approaching MST's present maximum. The manipulation begins with intensification of discrete magnetic reconnection events, causing the ion temperature to increase to several kiloelectronvolts. The reconnection is then quickly suppressed with inductive current profile control, leading to capture of a portion of the added ion heat with improved ion energy confinement. Electron energy confinement is simultaneously improved, leading to a rapid ohmically driven increase in the electron temperature. A steep electron temperature gradient emerges in the outer region of the plasma, with a local thermal diffusivity of about 2 m 2 s -1 . The global energy confinement time reaches 12 ms, the largest value yet achieved in the RFP and which is roughly comparable to the H-mode scaling prediction for a tokamak with the same plasma current, density, heating power, size and shape.

The micro-environmental impact of volatile organic compound emissions from large-scale assemblies of people in a confined space

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dutta, Tanushree [Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-Ro, Seoul 04763 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Ki-Hyun, E-mail: kkim61@hanyang.ac.kr [Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-Ro, Seoul 04763 (Korea, Republic of); Uchimiya, Minori [USDA-ARS Southern Regional Research Center, 1100 Robert E. Lee Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70124 (United States); Kumar, Pawan [Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 11016 (India); Das, Subhasish; Bhattacharya, Satya Sundar [Soil & Agro-Bioengineering Lab, Department of Environmental Science, Tezpur University, Napaam 784028 (India); Szulejko, Jan [Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-Ro, Seoul 04763 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-11-15

Large-scale assemblies of people in a confined space can exert significant impacts on the local air chemistry due to human emissions of volatile organics. Variations of air-quality in such small scale can be studied by quantifying fingerprint volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as acetone, toluene, and isoprene produced during concerts, movie screenings, and sport events (like the Olympics and the World Cup). This review summarizes the extent of VOC accumulation resulting from a large population in a confined area or in a small open area during sporting and other recreational activities. Apart from VOCs emitted directly from human bodies (e.g., perspiration and exhaled breath), those released indirectly from other related sources (e.g., smoking, waste disposal, discharge of food-waste, and use of personal-care products) are also discussed. Although direct and indirect emissions of VOCs from human may constitute <1% of the global atmospheric VOCs budget, unique spatiotemporal variations in VOCs species within a confined space can have unforeseen impacts on the local atmosphere to lead to acute human exposure to harmful pollutants.

The micro-environmental impact of volatile organic compound emissions from large-scale assemblies of people in a confined space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutta, Tanushree; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Uchimiya, Minori; Kumar, Pawan; Das, Subhasish; Bhattacharya, Satya Sundar; Szulejko, Jan

2016-01-01

Large-scale assemblies of people in a confined space can exert significant impacts on the local air chemistry due to human emissions of volatile organics. Variations of air-quality in such small scale can be studied by quantifying fingerprint volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as acetone, toluene, and isoprene produced during concerts, movie screenings, and sport events (like the Olympics and the World Cup). This review summarizes the extent of VOC accumulation resulting from a large population in a confined area or in a small open area during sporting and other recreational activities. Apart from VOCs emitted directly from human bodies (e.g., perspiration and exhaled breath), those released indirectly from other related sources (e.g., smoking, waste disposal, discharge of food-waste, and use of personal-care products) are also discussed. Although direct and indirect emissions of VOCs from human may constitute <1% of the global atmospheric VOCs budget, unique spatiotemporal variations in VOCs species within a confined space can have unforeseen impacts on the local atmosphere to lead to acute human exposure to harmful pollutants.

Conference summary: Experiments in confinement and plasma-wall interaction and innovative confinement concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ninomiya, H.

2005-01-01

This paper summarizes the results presented at the 20th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference 2004 in the sessions of confinement, plasma-wall interaction and innovative confinement concept. The highlights of the presentations are as follows. Long pulse operation with high beta and high bootstrap fraction much longer than the current diffusion time has been achieved. The discharge scenario optimization and its extrapolation towards ITER have progressed remarkably. Significant progress has been made in understanding of global confinement and transport physics. (author)

An energy confinement study of the MST [Madison Symmetric Torus] reversed field pinch using a Thomson scattering diagnostic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Den Hartog, D.J.

1989-11-01

Thomson scattering measurements of the central electron temperature and density during the plasma current peak have been performed on the MST Reversed Field Pinch (RFP). This Thomson scattering diagnostic was calibrated for absolute electron density measurements. These measurements of T e and n e , when combined with profile assumptions, were used to calculate estimates of energy confinement time (τ E ) and poloidal beta (β θ ). A standard discharge with I p ∼ 400 kA, F ∼ -0.1, and θ ∼ 1.6 typically exhibited T e ∼ 275 eV, n e ∼ 2.0 x 10 13 cm -3 , τ E ≤ 1 ms, and β θ ≤ 8%. The results of a limited plasma current scaling study did not indicate a strong scaling of T e or τ E with I p . The Thomson scattering diagnostic was used in conjunction with a bolometer, VUV radiation monitor, and edge magnetic coils to study the loss of energy from the plasma. Results indicate that thermal transport from stochastic magnetic fields, particle loss, and radiation are important energy loss processes. The experiments done for this study included an F-scan, a paddle limiter insertion series, and an argon doping series. The plasma maintained a constant βτ during these perturbation experiments, suggesting that increases in one energy loss channel are compensated by drops in other channels and increases in input power to the plasma

Simulation of Spheromak Evolution and Energy Confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, B; Hooper, E; Cohen, R; Hill, D; McLean, H; Wood, R; Woodruff, S; Sovinec, C; Cone, G

2004-01-01

Simulation results are presented that illustrate the formation and decay of a spheromak plasma driven by a coaxial electrostatic plasma gun, and that model the energy confinement of the plasma. The physics of magnetic reconnection during spheromak formation is also illuminated. The simulations are performed with the three-dimensional, time-dependent, resistive magnetohydrodynamic NIMROD code. The simulation results are compared to data from the SSPX spheromak experiment at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The simulation results are tracking the experiment with increasing fidelity (e.g., improved agreement with measurements of the magnetic field, fluctuation amplitudes, and electron temperature) as the simulation has been improved in its representations of the geometry of the experiment (plasma gun and flux conserver), the magnetic bias coils, and the detailed time dependence of the current source driving the plasma gun, and uses realistic parameters. The simulations are providing a better understanding of the dominant physics in SSPX, including when the flux surfaces close and the mechanisms limiting the efficiency of electrostatic drive

Gate-defined Quantum Confinement in Suspended Bilayer Graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Monica

2013-03-01

Quantum confined devices in carbon-based materials offer unique possibilities for applications ranging from quantum computation to sensing. In particular, nanostructured carbon is a promising candidate for spin-based quantum computation due to the ability to suppress hyperfine coupling to nuclear spins, a dominant source of spin decoherence. Yet graphene lacks an intrinsic bandgap, which poses a serious challenge for the creation of such devices. We present a novel approach to quantum confinement utilizing tunnel barriers defined by local electric fields that break sublattice symmetry in suspended bilayer graphene. This technique electrostatically confines charges via band structure control, thereby eliminating the edge and substrate disorder that hinders on-chip etched nanostructures to date. We report clean single electron tunneling through gate-defined quantum dots in two regimes: at zero magnetic field using the energy gap induced by a perpendicular electric field and at finite magnetic fields using Landau level confinement. The observed Coulomb blockade periodicity agrees with electrostatic simulations based on local top-gate geometry, a direct demonstration of local control over the band structure of graphene. This technology integrates quantum confinement with pristine device quality and access to vibrational modes, enabling wide applications from electromechanical sensors to quantum bits. More broadly, the ability to externally tailor the graphene bandgap over nanometer scales opens a new unexplored avenue for creating quantum devices.

Time evolution of the energy confinement time, internal inductance and effective edge safety factor on IR-T1 tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salar Elahi, A; Ghoranneviss, M

2010-01-01

An attempt is made to investigate the time evolution of the energy confinement time, internal inductance and effective edge safety factor on IR-T1 tokamak. For this purpose, four magnetic pickup coils were designed, constructed and installed on the outer surface of the IR-T1 and then the Shafranov parameter (asymmetry factor) was obtained from them. On the other hand, also a diamagnetic loop was designed and installed on IR-T1 and poloidal beta was determined from it. Therefore, the internal inductance and effective edge safety factor were measured. Also, the time evolution of the energy confinement time was measured using the diamagnetic loop. Experimental results on IR-T1 show that the maximum energy confinement time (which corresponds to minimum collisions, minimum microinstabilities and minimum transport) is at low values of the effective edge safety factor (2.5 eff (a) i <0.72). The results obtained are in agreement with those obtained with the theoretical approach [1-5].

Quantum confinement effects and source-to-drain tunneling in ultra-scaled double-gate silicon n-MOSFETs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Xiang-Wei; Li Shu-Shen

2012-01-01

By using the linear combination of bulk band (LCBB) method incorporated with the top of the barrier splitting (TBS) model, we present a comprehensive study on the quantum confinement effects and the source-to-drain tunneling in the ultra-scaled double-gate (DG) metal—oxide—semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). A critical body thickness value of 5 nm is found, below which severe valley splittings among different X valleys for the occupied charge density and the current contributions occur in ultra-thin silicon body structures. It is also found that the tunneling current could be nearly 100% with an ultra-scaled channel length. Different from the previous simulation results, it is found that the source-to-drain tunneling could be effectively suppressed in the ultra-thin body thickness (2.0 nm and below) by the quantum confinement and the tunneling could be suppressed down to below 5% when the channel length approaches 16 nm regardless of the body thickness. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Fusion-product energy loss in inertial confinement fusion plasmas with applications to target burns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harris, D.B.; Miley, G.H.

1984-01-01

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) has been proposed as a competitor to magnetic fusion in the drive towards energy production, but ICF target performance still contains many uncertainties. One such area is the energy-loss rate of fusion products. This situation is due in part to the unique plasma parameters encountered in ICF plasmas which are compressed to more than one-thousand times solid density. The work presented here investigates three aspects of this uncertainty

Cryogenic hydrogen fuel for controlled inertial confinement fusion (formation of reactor-scale cryogenic targets)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aleksandrova, I. V.; Koresheva, E. R., E-mail: elena.koresheva@gmail.com; Krokhin, O. N. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Lebedev Physical Institute (Russian Federation); Osipov, I. E. [Power Efficiency Centre, Inter RAO UES (Russian Federation)

2016-12-15

In inertial fusion energy research, considerable attention has recently been focused on low-cost fabrication of a large number of targets by developing a specialized layering module of repeatable operation. The targets must be free-standing, or unmounted. Therefore, the development of a target factory for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is based on methods that can ensure a cost-effective target production with high repeatability. Minimization of the amount of tritium (i.e., minimization of time and space at all production stages) is a necessary condition as well. Additionally, the cryogenic hydrogen fuel inside the targets must have a structure (ultrafine layers—the grain size should be scaled back to the nanometer range) that supports the fuel layer survivability under target injection and transport through the reactor chamber. To meet the above requirements, significant progress has been made at the Lebedev Physical Institute (LPI) in the technology developed on the basis of rapid fuel layering inside moving free-standing targets (FST), also referred to as the FST layering method. Owing to the research carried out at LPI, unique experience has been gained in the development of the FST-layering module for target fabrication with an ultrafine fuel layer, including a reactor- scale target design. This experience can be used for the development of the next-generation FST-layering module for construction of a prototype of a target factory for power laser facilities and inertial fusion power plants.

Characteristics of confining ohm-heated plasma in TRIAM-IM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatae, Takaki; Yamagajyo, Takashi; Kawasaki, Shoji; Jotaki, Eriko; Fujita, Takaaki; Nakamura, Kazuo; Nakamura, Yukio; Ito, Satoshi

1994-01-01

In the initial experiment after the increase of the power of ohm heating power source for the superconducting strong magnetic field tokamak, TRIAM-IM, the measurement of the electron temperature distribution, ion temperature distribution and beam average electron density of ohm-heated plasma was carried out. By analyzing the experimental results, the dependence of the accumulated energy obtained from the temperature distribution and the time of energy confinement of beam average electron density became clear. Especially the time of energy confinement increased in proportion to the increase of beam average electron density when it is 6.5 x 10 12 /m 2 , and it was found that the time of energy confinement conforms to the Neo-Alcator proportional law. Moreover, by solving the heat transport equation for ions, the radial distribution of thermal diffusion coefficient for ions was calculated, and compared with that obtained by the new classic theory. As the result, it was found that the TRIAM-IM has ion confinement characteristics equivalent to those of other medium tokamaks. The experiment of producing ohm-heated plasma, the fitting of electron temperature and ion temperature, the density dependence of temperature, accumulated energy and the time of energy confinement, the time of energy confinement and the Neo-Alcator proportional law, the energy balance of ions and so on are reported. (K.I.)

Microinstability-based model for anomalous thermal confinement in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, W.M.

1986-03-01

This paper deals with the formulation of microinstability-based thermal transport coefficients (chi/sub j/) for the purpose of modelling anomalous energy confinement properties in tokamak plasmas. Attention is primarily focused on ohmically heated discharges and the associated anomalous electron thermal transport. An appropriate expression for chi/sub e/ is developed which is consistent with reasonable global constraints on the current and electron temperature profiles as well as with the key properties of the kinetic instabilities most likely to be present. Comparisons of confinement scaling trends predicted by this model with the empirical ohmic data base indicate quite favorable agreement. The subject of anomalous ion thermal transport and its implications for high density ohmic discharges and for auxiliary-heated plasmas is also addressed

SAFIRE: A systems analysis code for ICF [inertial confinement fusion] reactor economics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCarville, T.J.; Meier, W.R.; Carson, C.F.; Glasgow, B.B.

1987-01-01

The SAFIRE (Systems Analysis for ICF Reactor Economics) code incorporates analytical models for scaling the cost and performance of several inertial confinement fusion reactor concepts for electric power. The code allows us to vary design parameters (e.g., driver energy, chamber pulse rate, net electric power) and evaluate the resulting change in capital cost of power plant and the busbar cost of electricity. The SAFIRE code can be used to identify the most attractive operating space and to identify those design parameters with the greatest leverage for improving the economics of inertial confinement fusion electric power plants

Global confinement characteristics of Jet limiter plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, D.J.; Christiansen, J.P.; Cordey, J.G.; Thomas, P.R.; Thomsen, K.

1989-01-01

Data from a wide variety of plasma pulses on JET (aux. heating, current, field, minority species, plasma shape, etc) are analysed in order to assess the characteristics of global confinement. The scaling of confinement in ohmically and auxiliary heated discharges is examined. The ohmic confinement in the present new JET configuration (Belt Limiter) is essentially the same as previously. Confinement in auxiliary heated discharges shows presently a slight improvement since 1986. Both ohmic and non-ohmic data is used in a set of confinement time regression analyses and certain constraints derived from theory are imposed

SMALL-SCALE MAGNETIC ISLANDS IN THE SOLAR WIND AND THEIR ROLE IN PARTICLE ACCELERATION. II. PARTICLE ENERGIZATION INSIDE MAGNETICALLY CONFINED CAVITIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khabarova, Olga V.; Zank, Gary P.; Li, Gang; Le Roux, Jakobus A.; Webb, Gary M.; Malandraki, Olga E.

2016-01-01

We explore the role of heliospheric magnetic field configurations and conditions that favor the generation and confinement of small-scale magnetic islands associated with atypical energetic particle events (AEPEs) in the solar wind. Some AEPEs do not align with standard particle acceleration mechanisms, such as flare-related or simple diffusive shock acceleration processes related to interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) and corotating interaction regions (CIRs). As we have shown recently, energetic particle flux enhancements may well originate locally and can be explained by particle acceleration in regions filled with small-scale magnetic islands with a typical width of ∼0.01 au or less, which is often observed near the heliospheric current sheet (HCS). The particle energization is a consequence of magnetic reconnection-related processes in islands experiencing either merging or contraction, observed, for example, in HCS ripples. Here we provide more observations that support the idea and the theory of particle energization produced by small-scale-flux-rope dynamics (Zank et al. and Le Roux et al.). If the particles are pre-accelerated to keV energies via classical mechanisms, they may be additionally accelerated up to 1–1.5 MeV inside magnetically confined cavities of various origins. The magnetic cavities, formed by current sheets, may occur at the interface of different streams such as CIRs and ICMEs or ICMEs and coronal hole flows. They may also form during the HCS interaction with interplanetary shocks (ISs) or CIRs/ICMEs. Particle acceleration inside magnetic cavities may explain puzzling AEPEs occurring far beyond ISs, within ICMEs, before approaching CIRs as well as between CIRs.

Empirical scaling for present Ohmically heated tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daughney, C.

1975-01-01

Experimental results from the Adiabatic Toroidal Compressor (ATC) tokamak are used to obtain empirical scaling laws for the average electron temperature and electron energy confinement time as functions of the average electron density, the effective ion charge, and the plasma current. These scaling laws are extended to include dependence upon minor and major plasma radius and toroidal field strength through a comparison of the various tokamaks described in the literature. Electron thermal conductivity is the dominant loss process for the ATC tokamak. The parametric dependences of the observed electron thermal conductivity are not explained by present theoretical considerations. The electron temperature obtained with Ohmic heating is shown to be a function of current density - which will not be increased in the next generation of large tokamaks. However, the temperature dependence of the electron energy confinement time suggests that significant improvement in confinement time will be obtained with supplementary electron heating. (author)

Multi-scale experimental and numerical study of the structure and the dynamics of water confined in clay minerals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guillaud, Emmanuel Bertrand

2017-01-01

Clay are complex minerals with a multi-scale porosity and a remarkable ability to swell under humid atmosphere. These materials have many applications in catalysis, waste management, construction industry... However, the properties of confined water are still not fully understood, due in particular to the complexity of water itself. The aim of this work is, using mainly molecular simulations and vibrational spectroscopy, to understand the structure and the dynamics of water confined in clay minerals. To evaluate the accuracy of numerical models to describe water confined in clay minerals, and to understand the origin of its structural and dynamical properties, a large part of the work was devoted to the building blocks of clays: pure bulk water, water at the surface of a solid, and salt water. To this extent, the viscoelastic properties of water from the deeply supercooled regime to the boiling temperature were investigated using classical molecular dynamics. The evolution of the friction properties of water on a prototypical solid surface was also analyzed, and the accuracy of ab initio approaches and empirical salt models was studied. In a second part, those results were confronted to the properties of water confined in clay minerals at low and room temperature, studied both experimentally and numerically. Experimental work consisted mostly in extensive far- and -mid infrared absorption spectrometry measurements, whereas numerical work mainly consisted in empirical molecular dynamics simulations. Especially, the existence of confinement- or temperature-induced phase transitions of confined water was investigated. (author)

Confinement and exhaust in the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Counsell, G F; Ahn, J-W; Akers, R; Arends, E; Buttery, R; Field, A R; Gryaznevich, M; Helander, P; Kirk, A; Meyer, H; Valovic, M; Wilson, H R; Yang, Y

2002-01-01

The Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST) is now accessing regimes with high normalized confinement relative to international scalings, H H (IPB98(y, 2))>1 at high normalized density, n-bar e >60% of the Greenwald density. Data from MAST H-modes suggest that the aspect ratio dependency of international confinement and L-H threshold scalings may need to be modified to improve predictions for ITER. Access to H-mode on MAST is strongly affected by both the divertor magnetic geometry and fuelling location, with the formation of an edge transport barrier being facilitated by operation near the symmetric, connected double-null configuration and with poloidally localized inboard gas puffing. The ELMs on MAST appear to be Type III in nature, even in the highest performance plasmas and with the maximum available auxiliary heating power. ELM energy losses are less than 4% of stored energy in all regimes so far explored. These Type III ELMs are associated with a reduction in the pedestal density but no significant change in the pedestal temperature or temperature profile, indicating that energy is convected from the pedestal region into the scrape-off layer. Analysis of the energy observed to arrive at the divertor targets indicates that ELM losses are predominantly on the low field side. ELM effluxes are observed up to 20 cm from the plasma edge at the outboard mid-plane and are associated with the radial motion of a feature at an average velocity of 1.2 km s -1

Rheology of confined granular flows: scale invariance, glass transition, and friction weakening.

Science.gov (United States)

Richard, P; Valance, A; Métayer, J-F; Sanchez, P; Crassous, J; Louge, M; Delannay, R

2008-12-12

We study fully developed, steady granular flows confined between parallel flat frictional sidewalls using numerical simulations and experiments. Above a critical rate, sidewall friction stabilizes the underlying heap at an inclination larger than the angle of repose. The shear rate is constant and independent of inclination over much of the flowing layer. In the direction normal to the free surface, the solid volume fraction increases on a scale equal to half the flowing layer depth. Beneath a critical depth at which internal friction is invariant, grains exhibit creeping and intermittent cage motion similar to that in glasses, causing gradual weakening of friction at the walls.

Dual Higgs theory for color confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichie, H.; Suganuma, H.

1999-01-01

We study theoretical bases of the dual Higgs theory for confinement physics in QCD in terms of monopoles and the gluon configuration in the maximally abelian (MA) gauge. Abelian dominance for the confinement force can be analytically proved by regarding the off-diagonal angle variable as a random variable in the lattice formalism. In the long-distance scale, the contribution of off-diagonal gluons to the Wilson loop cancels each other and exhibits a perimeter law behavior, which leads to exact abelian dominance on the string tension if the finite size effect of the Wilson loop is removed. We investigate the appearance of the monopole in the QCD vacuum, considering the role of off-diagonal gluons. The monopole carries a large fluctuation of the gluon field and provides a large abelian action in abelian projected QCD. Due to the partial cancellation between the abelian part and the off-diagonal part of the QCD action, the monopole can appear in QCD without large cost of the QCD action. The off-diagonal gluon is necessary for existence of the monopole at the short-distance scale. We study monopole condensation, which is the requirement of the dual Higgs theory, by comparing the QCD vacuum with the monopole-current system. We find that 'entropy' of monopole-current dominates than its 'energy', and the monopole seems to be condensed at the infrared scale in the QCD vacuum. Copyright (1999) World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd

Critical quench dynamics in confined systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Collura, Mario; Karevski, Dragi

2010-05-21

We analyze the coherent quantum evolution of a many-particle system after slowly sweeping a power-law confining potential. The amplitude of the confining potential is varied in time along a power-law ramp such that the many-particle system finally reaches or crosses a critical point. Under this protocol we derive general scaling laws for the density of excitations created during the nonadiabatic sweep of the confining potential. It is found that the mean excitation density follows an algebraic law as a function of the sweeping rate with an exponent that depends on the space-time properties of the potential. We confirm our scaling laws by first order adiabatic calculation and exact results on the Ising quantum chain with a varying transverse field.

Confinement and quark structure of light hadrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Efimov, G.V.; Ivanov, M.A.

1988-01-01

We present a quark confinement model (QCM) for the description of the low-energy physics of light hadrons (mesons and baryons). The model is based on two hypotheses. First, the quark confinement is realized as averaging over vacuum gluon fields which are believed to provide the confinement of any colour objects. Second, hadrons are treated as collective colourless excitations of quark-gluon interactions. The description of strong, electromagnetic and weak interactions of mesons and baryons at the low energy is given from a unique point of view

Empirical scaling for present ohmic heated tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daughney, C.

1975-06-01

Empirical scaling laws are given for the average electron temperature and electron energy confinement time as functions of plasma current, average electron density, effective ion charge, toroidal magnetic field, and major and minor plasma radius. The ohmic heating is classical, and the electron energy transport is anomalous. The present scaling indicates that ohmic-heating becomes ineffective with larger experiments. (U.S.)

Laser drivers for inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holzrichter, J.F.

1983-01-01

Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) is the technology that we are developing to access the vast stored energy potential of deuterium fuel located in the world's water supply. This form of fusion is accomplished by compressing and heating small volumes of D-T fuel to very high temperatures (greater than 100M 0 C) and to very high densities (greater than 1000 times the normal liquid density). Under these fuel conditions, a thermonuclear reaction can occur, leading to a net energy release compared to the energy used to heat the fuel initially. To accomplish the condition where fusion reactions begin, effective drivers are required. These are lasers or particle beam accelerators which can provide greater than 10 14 W/cm 2 over millimeter scale targets with an appropriately programmed intensity vs time. At present, we are using research lasers to obtain an understanding of the physics and engineering of fuel compression

Simulation of Spheromak Evolution and Energy Confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, B.; Hooper, E.; Cohen, R.; Hill, D.; McLean, H.; Wood, R.; Woodruff, S.

2004-01-01

Simulation results are presented that illustrate the formation and decay of a spheromak plasma driven by a coaxial electrostatic plasma gun, and that model the energy confinement of the plasma. The physics of magnetic reconnection during spheromak formation is also illuminated. The simulations are performed with the three-dimensional, time-dependent, resistive magnetohydrodynamic NIMROD code. The dimensional, simulation results are compared to data from the SSPX spheromak experiment at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The simulation results are tracking the experiment with increasing fidelity (e.g., improved agreement with measurements of the magnetic field, fluctuation amplitudes, and electron temperature) as the simulation has been improved in its representations of the geometry of the experiment (plasma gun and flux conserver), the magnetic bias coils, and the detailed time dependence of the current source driving the plasma gun, and uses realistic parameters. The simulations are providing a better understanding of the dominant physics in SSPX, including when the flux surfaces close and the mechanisms limiting the efficiency of electrostatic drive

Behaviour of concrete under high confinement: study in triaxial compression and in triaxial extension at the mesoscopic scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dupray, F.

2008-12-01

This Ph.D. thesis aims at characterising and modeling the mechanical behaviour of concrete under high confinement at the mesoscopic scale. This scale corresponds to that of the large aggregates and the cementitious matrix. The more general scope of this study is the understanding of concrete behaviour under dynamic loading. A dynamic impact can generate mean pressures around 1 GPa. But the characterisation of a material response, in an homogeneous state of stress, can only be achieved through quasi-static tests. The experimentations led in 3S-R Laboratory have underlined the importance of the aggregates in the triaxial response of concrete. Modeling concrete at the mesoscopic level, as a composite of an aggregates phase and a mortar phase, permits a representation of the aggregates effect. An experimental study of the behaviour of mortar phase is performed. Usual tests and hydrostatic and triaxial high confinement tests are realised. The parameters of a constitutive model that couples plasticity with a damage law are identified from these tests. This model is able to reproduce the nonlinear compaction of mortar, the damage behaviour under uniaxial tension or compression, and plasticity under high confinement. The biphasic model uses the finite element method with a cubic and regular mesh. A Monte-Carlo method is used to place quasi-spherical aggregates that respect the given particle size of a reference concrete. Each element is identified by belonging either to the mortar or to the aggregate phase. Numerical simulations are compared with the experimental tests on this concrete. The parameters for these simulations are only identified on the mortar. The simulations reproduce the different phases observed in hydrostatic compression. The evolution of axial moduli under growing confinement is shown, as is the good reproduction of the limit-states experimentally observed under high confinement. The fracture aspect of numerical simulations is comparable with that of

Confinement and power balance in the S-1 spheromak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levinton, F.M.; Meyerhofer, D.D.; Mayo, R.M.; Janos, A.C.; Ono, Y.; Ueda, Y.; Yamada, M.

1989-07-01

The confinement and scaling features of the S-1 spheromak have been investigated using magnetic, spectroscopic, and Thomson scattering data in conjunction with numerical modeling. Results from the multipoint Thomson scattering diagnostic shows that the central beta remains constant (/beta//sub to/ /approximately/ 5%) as the plasma current density increases from 0.68--2.1 MA/m/sup 2/. The density is observed to increase slowly over this range, while the central electron temperature increases much more rapidly. Analysis of the global plasma parameters shows a decrease in the volume average beta and energy confinement as the total current is increased. The power balance has been modeled numerically with a 0-D non-equilibrium time-dependent coronal model and is consistent with the experimental observations. 20 refs., 12 figs., 2 tabs.

Confinement and power balance in the S-1 spheromak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levinton, F.M.; Meyerhofer, D.D.; Mayo, R.M.; Janos, A.C.; Ono, Y.; Ueda, Y.; Yamada, M.; Rochester Univ., NY; Los Alamos National Lab., NM; Princeton Univ., NJ

1989-07-01

The confinement and scaling features of the S-1 spheromak have been investigated using magnetic, spectroscopic, and Thomson scattering data in conjunction with numerical modeling. Results from the multipoint Thomson scattering diagnostic shows that the central beta remains constant (β to ∼ 5%) as the plasma current density increases from 0.68--2.1 MA/m 2 . The density is observed to increase slowly over this range, while the central electron temperature increases much more rapidly. Analysis of the global plasma parameters shows a decrease in the volume average beta and energy confinement as the total current is increased. The power balance has been modeled numerically with a 0-D non-equilibrium time-dependent coronal model and is consistent with the experimental observations. 20 refs., 12 figs., 2 tabs

Energy transfers and magnetic energy growth in small-scale dynamo

KAUST Repository

Kumar, Rohit Raj

2013-12-01

In this letter we investigate the dynamics of magnetic energy growth in small-scale dynamo by studying energy transfers, mainly energy fluxes and shell-to-shell energy transfers. We perform dynamo simulations for the magnetic Prandtl number Pm = 20 on 10243 grid using the pseudospectral method. We demonstrate that the magnetic energy growth is caused by nonlocal energy transfers from the large-scale or forcing-scale velocity field to small-scale magnetic field. The peak of these energy transfers moves towards lower wave numbers as dynamo evolves, which is the reason why the integral scale of the magnetic field increases with time. The energy transfers U2U (velocity to velocity) and B2B (magnetic to magnetic) are forward and local. Copyright © EPLA, 2013.

Quantum confinement effect and exciton binding energy of layered perovskite nanoplatelets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiang Wang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available We report the preparation of monolayer (n = 1, few-layer (n = 2–5 and 3D (n = ∞ organic lead bromide perovskite nanoplatelets (NPLs by tuning the molar ratio of methylammonium bromide (MABr and hexadecammonium bromide (HABr. The absorption spectrum of the monolayer (HA2PbBr4 perovskite NPLs shows about 138 nm blue shift from that of 3D MAPbBr3 perovskites, which is attributed to strong quantum confinement effect. We further investigate the two-photon photoluminescence (PL of the NPLs and measure the exciton binding energy of monolayer perovskite NPLs using linear absorption and two-photon PL excitation spectroscopy. The exciton binding energy of monolayer perovskite NPLs is about 218 meV, which is far larger than tens of meV in 3D lead halide perovskites.

Mechanical collapse of confined fluid membrane vesicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Rim, Jee E; Purohit, Prashant K; Klug, William S

2014-11-01

Compact cylindrical and spherical invaginations are common structural motifs found in cellular and developmental biology. To understand the basic physical mechanisms that produce and maintain such structures, we present here a simple model of vesicles in confinement, in which mechanical equilibrium configurations are computed by energy minimization, balancing the effects of curvature elasticity, contact of the membrane with itself and the confining geometry, and adhesion. For cylindrical confinement, the shape equations are solved both analytically and numerically by finite element analysis. For spherical confinement, axisymmetric configurations are obtained numerically. We find that the geometry of invaginations is controlled by a dimensionless ratio of the adhesion strength to the bending energy of an equal area spherical vesicle. Larger adhesion produces more concentrated curvatures, which are mainly localized to the "neck" region where the invagination breaks away from its confining container. Under spherical confinement, axisymmetric invaginations are approximately spherical. For extreme confinement, multiple invaginations may form, bifurcating along multiple equilibrium branches. The results of the model are useful for understanding the physical mechanisms controlling the structure of lipid membranes of cells and their organelles, and developing tissue membranes.

Cavitation in microscale confinement: new concept of mild brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Akhatov, Iskander; Wang, Cheng; Ziejewski, Mariusz

2007-11-01

The present effort is to understand the possible damages in brain caused by the cavitation bubbles generated when the impacting shock waves passing through human head. In order to build an adequate mathematical model of this phenomenon, one should be able to model inception and dynamics of cavitation in biological liquid confined in macroscale or microscale space between solids, elastic surfaces, or membranes -- biological tissues, in general. A more in-depth understanding of the outcomes from the dynamic response of brain tissue, including the location, size, and geometry of the damage site, will be of assistance to physicians in the properly interpreting the neurodiagnostic results. In the present study it is stated that in micro scale confinement bubble collapse can not cause any damage. This is due to the fact that collapse is damped by viscous dissipation in micro channels. Otherwise, the bubble inception itself may cause damage. It is shown that cavitation inception in micro scale may happen for much higher tensions than in infinite liquid. At such a strong tension substantial amount of elastic energy is stored in liquid. This energy being released during cavitation inception generates `recoil pressure' that may be high enough to damage biological tissue.

Enhancement of confinement in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furth, H.P.

1986-05-01

A plausible interpretation of the experimental evidence is that energy confinement in tokamaks is governed by two separate considerations: (1) the need for resistive MHD kink-stability, which limits the permissible range of current profiles - and therefore normally also the range of temperature profiles; and (2) the presence of strongly anomalous microscopic energy transport near the plasma edge, which calibrates the amplitude of the global temperature profile, thus determining the energy confinement time tau/sub E/. Correspondingly, there are two main paths towards the enhancement of tokamak confinement: (1) Configurational optimization, to increase the MHD-stable energy content of the plasma core, can evidently be pursued by varying the cross-sectional shape of the plasma and/or finding stable radial profiles with central q-values substantially below unity - but crossing from ''first'' to ''second'' stability within the peak-pressure region would have the greatest ultimate potential. (2) Suppression of edge turbulence, so as to improve the heat insulation in the outer plasma shell, can be pursued by various local stabilizing techniques, such as use of a poloidal divertor. The present confinement model and initial TFTR pellet-injection results suggest that the introduction of a super-high-density region within the plasma core should be particularly valuable for enhancing ntau/subE/. In D-T operation, a centrally peaked plasma pressure profile could possibly lend itself to alpha-particle-driven entry into the second-stability regime

Confinement and the Glass Transition Temperature in Supported Polymer Films: Molecular Weight, Repeat Unit Modification, and Cooperativity Length Scale Investigations

Science.gov (United States)

Mundra, Manish K.

2005-03-01

It is well known that the glass transition temperatures, Tgs, of supported polystyrene (PS) films decrease dramatically with decreasing film thickness below 60-80 nm. However, a detailed understanding of the cause of this effect is lacking. We have investigated the impact of several parameters, including polymer molecular weight (MW), repeat unit structure, and the length scale of cooperatively rearranging regions in bulk. There is no significant effect of PS MW on the Tg-confinement effect over a range of 5,000 to 3,000,000 g/mol. In contrast, the strength of the Tg reduction and the onset of the confinement effect increase dramatically upon changing the polymer from PS to poly(4-tert-butylstyrene) (PTBS), with PTBS exhibiting a Tg reduction relative to bulk at a thickness of 300-400 nm. PTBS also shows a Tg reduction relative to bulk of 47 K in a 21-nm-thick film, more than twice that observed in a PS film of identical thickness. Characterization of the length scale of cooperatively rearranging regions has been done by differential scanning calorimetry but reveals at best a limited correlation with the confinement effect.

Estimating returns to scale and scale efficiency for energy consuming appliances

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blum, Helcio [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Efficiency Standards Group; Okwelum, Edson O. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Efficiency Standards Group

2018-01-18

Energy consuming appliances accounted for over 40% of the energy use and $17 billion in sales in the U.S. in 2014. Whether such amounts of money and energy were optimally combined to produce household energy services is not straightforwardly determined. The efficient allocation of capital and energy to provide an energy service has been previously approached, and solved with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) under constant returns to scale. That approach, however, lacks the scale dimension of the problem and may restrict the economic efficient models of an appliance available in the market when constant returns to scale does not hold. We expand on that approach to estimate returns to scale for energy using appliances. We further calculate DEA scale efficiency scores for the technically efficient models that comprise the economic efficient frontier of the energy service delivered, under different assumptions of returns to scale. We then apply this approach to evaluate dishwashers available in the market in the U.S. Our results show that (a) for the case of dishwashers scale matters, and (b) the dishwashing energy service is delivered under non-decreasing returns to scale. The results further demonstrate that this method contributes to increase consumers’ choice of appliances.

Energy confinement and MHD activity in shaped TCV plasmas with localised electron cyclotron heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pochelon, A.; Alberti, S.; Angioni, C.

2001-01-01

Confinement in TCV (Tokamak a Configuration Variable) EC heated discharges is studied as a function of plasma shape, i.e. as a function of elongation 1.1<κ<2.15 and triangularity -0.65≤δ≤0.5. The electron energy confinement time is found to increase with elongation, in part due to the increase of plasma current with elongation. The beneficial effect of negative triangularities is most effective at low power and tends to reduce at the higher powers used. The large variety of sawtooth types observed in TCV for different power deposition locations from on axis to the q=1 region can be simulated with a model including a local power deposition, a growing m/n=1 island (convection and reconnection), plasma rotation and finite heat diffusivity across flux surfaces. (author)

Dependence of the confinement time of an electron plasma on the magnetic field in a quadrupole Penning trap

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dyavappa, B.M.; Datar, Durgesh; Prakash; Ananthamurthy, Sharath [Bangalore University, Department of Physics, Bangalore (India)

2017-12-15

A quadrupole Penning trap is used to confine electrons in weak magnetic fields. Perturbations due to space charge and imperfections in the trap geometry, as well as collisions with the background gas molecules, lead to loss of the electrons from the trap. We present in this work the results on measurements of the electron confinement time and its dependence on the magnetic field in a quadrupolar Penning trap. We describe a method to measure the confinement time of an electron cloud under weak magnetic fields (0.01 T - 0.1 T). This time is found to scale as τ ∝ B{sup 1.41} in variance with the theoretically expected confinement time that scales as τ ∝ B{sup 2} for trapped electrons that are lost through collisions with the neutrals present in the trap. A measurement of the expansion rate of the electron plasma in the trap through controlled variation of the trap voltage, yields expansion times that depend on the energy of escaping electrons. This is found to vary in our case in the scaling range B{sup 0.32} to B{sup 0.43}. Distorting the geometry of the trap, results in a marked change in the confinement time's dependence on the magnetic field. The results indicate that the confinement time of the electron cloud in the trap is limited by both, effects of collisions and perturbations that result in the plasma loss through expansion in the trap. (orig.)

Note: A well-confined pulsed low-energy ion beam: Test experiments of Ar+

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jie; Wu, Chun-Xiao; Tian, Shan Xi

2018-06-01

Here we report a pulsed low-energy ion beam source for ion-molecule reaction study, in which the ions produced by the pulsed electron impact are confined well in the spatial size of each bunch. In contrast to the ion focusing method to reduce the transverse section of the beam, the longitudinal section in the translational direction is compressed by introducing a second pulse in the ion time-of-flight system. The test experiments for the low-energy argon ions are performed. The present beam source is ready for applications in the ion-molecule reaction dynamics experiments, in particular, in combination with the ion velocity map imaging technique.

Isotope effect on confinement in DT plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukuyama, A.; Itoh, K.; Itoh, S.; Yagi, M.; Azumi, M.

1994-03-01

Isotope effect on the energy confinement time is discussed for the DT plasma. The transport theory which is based on the ballooning mode turbulence is applied. When the DT plasma is produced under the condition of β p >1, the energy confinement time of DT plasma (50% mixture) is expected to be about 1.2 times better than the D plasma with the same operation condition. (author)

The Physics Basis of ITER Confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, F.

2009-01-01

ITER will be the first fusion reactor and the 50 year old dream of fusion scientists will become reality. The quality of magnetic confinement will decide about the success of ITER, directly in the form of the confinement time and indirectly because it decides about the plasma parameters and the fluxes, which cross the separatrix and have to be handled externally by technical means. This lecture portrays some of the basic principles which govern plasma confinement, uses dimensionless scaling to set the limits for the predictions for ITER, an approach which also shows the limitations of the predictions, and describes briefly the major characteristics and physics behind the H-mode--the preferred confinement regime of ITER.

Multi-scale porous materials: from adsorption and poro-mechanics properties to energy and environmental applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellenq, Roland J.M.

2012-01-01

Document available in extended abstract form only. 'Multi-scale Porous Materials under the Nano-scope'. Setting up the stage, one can list important engineering problems such as hydrogen storage for transportation applications, electric energy storage in batteries, CO 2 sequestration in used coal mines, earthquake mechanisms, durability of nuclear fuels, stability of soils and sediment and cements and concrete cohesive properties in the context of sustainability. With the exception of health, these are basically the challenging engineering problems of the coming century that address energy, environment and natural hazards. Behind all those problems are complex multi-scale porous materials that have a confined fluid in their pore void: water in the case of clays and cement, an electrolyte in the case of batteries and super-capacitors, weakly interacting molecular fluids in the case of hydrogen storage devices, gas-shale and nuclear fuel bars. So what do we mean by 'under the nano-scope'? The nano-scope does not exist as a single experimental technique able of assessing the 3D texture of complex multi-scale material. Obviously techniques such as TEM are part of the answer but are not the 'nano-scope' in itself. In our idea, the 'nano-scope' is more than a technique producing images. It is rather a concept that links a suite of modeling techniques coupled with experiments (electron and X-rays microscopies, tomography, nano-indentation, nano-scratching...). Fig 1 gives an outline of this strategy for cement. It allows accessing material texture, their chemistry, their mechanical behavior, their adsorption/condensation behavior at all scales starting from the nano-scale upwards. The toolbox of the simulation aspect of the 'nano-scope' is akin to a statistical physics description of material texture and properties including the thermodynamics and dynamics of the fluids confined to their pore voids as a means to linking atomic scale properties to macroscopic properties

Confinement and βsub(p)-studies in neutral injection heated ASDEX plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, F.; Becker, G.; Behringer, K.; Campbell, D.; Eberhagen, A.; Engelhardt, W.; Fussmann, G.; Gehre, O.; Gernhardt, J.; Gierke, G. von; Haas, G.; Huang, M.; Karger, F.; Keilhacker, M.; Klueber, O.; Kornherr, M.; Lackner, K.; Lisitano, G.; Lister, G.G.; Mayer, H.M.; Meisel, D.; Mueller, E.R.; Murmann, H.; Niedermeyer, H.; Poschenrieder, W.; Rapp, H.; Roehr, H; Schneider, F.; Siller, G.; Speth, E.; Staebler, A.; Steuer, K.H.; Succi, S.; Venus, G.; Vollmer, O.

1983-03-01

Neutral injection experiments into limiter and divertor discharges in ASDEX are described with hydrogen and deuterium as working gas. Two operational regimes have been observed in neutral injection heated divertor discharges. One regime is characterized by deteriorated energy and particle confinement. The global energy confinement times are comparable to those of neutral injection heated limited discharges. Tthe other regime has particle and energy confinement times comparable to those of ohmic discharges with tausub(E) = 40 - 60 msec at beam powers up to 3.1 MW. This regime is further characterized by high βsub(p)-values comparable to the aspect ratio A (βsub(p) proportional 0.65 A), by good electron heating (etasub(e) proportional 2.5 x 10 13 eV cm -3 kW -1 ) and ion heating (etasub(i) proportional 4.2 x 10 13 eV cm -3 kW -1 ). In both regimes, tausub(E) increases with plasma current but there is hardly any variation with density. The differences in confinement and scaling to ohmic discharges seem to be caused by modifications of the electron loss channel. The high βsub(p)-regime develops at an injection power >=1.8 MW, anti nsub(e) >= 3 x 10 13 cm -3 and q >= 2.45, and is so far only observed in divertor discharges. There are indications that this may be due to the broad profiles with high edge temperatures which can develop in divertor discharges. An indication of broad current density profiles is given by the lack of sawtooth activity in these discharges. (orig.)

Scaling law of runaway electrons in the HL-1M tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Yongzhen

2005-01-01

Runaway confinement time in ohmic and additionally heated tokamak plasmas presents an anomalous behavior in comparison with theoretical predictions based on neoclassical models. A one-dimensional numerical including generation and loss effects for runaway electrons is used to deduce the dependence of runaway energy ε τ on runaway confinement time. The simulation results are presented in the form of a scaling law for ε τ on plasma parameters. The scaling of ε τ and therefore the runaway confinement time and runaway electron diffusivity has been studied in the HL-1M tokamak, by measuring hard X-ray spectra under different experimental conditions. (authors)

Turbulent jet in confined counterflow

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The mean flowfield of a turbulent jet issuing into a confined, uniform counterflow was investigated computationally. Based on dimensional analysis, the jet penetration length was shown to scale with jet-to-counterflow momentum flux ratio. This scaling and the computational results reproduce the well-known correct limit of ...

High temperature L- and H-mode confinement in JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balet, B.; Boyd, D.A.; Campbell, D.J.

1990-01-01

The energy confinement properties of low density, high ion temperature L- and H-mode plasmas are investigated. For L-mode plasmas it is shown that, although the global confinement is independent of density, the energy confinement in the central region is significantly better at low densities than at higher densities. The improved confinement appears to be associated with the steepness of the density gradient. For the H-mode phase, although the confinement at the edge is dramatically improved, which is once again associated with the steep density gradient in the edge region, the central confinement properties are essentially the same as for the standard L-mode. The results are compared in a qualitative manner with the predictions of the ion temperature gradient instability theory and appear to be in disagreement with some aspects of this theory. (author). 13 refs, 15 figs

Laser - driven high - energy ions and their application to inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borghesi, M.

2007-01-01

The acceleration of high-energy ion beams (up to several tens of MeV per nucleon) following the interaction of short and intense laser pulses with solid targets has been one of the most important results of recent laser-plasma research [1]. The acceleration is driven by relativistic electrons, which acquire energy directly from the laser pulse and set up extremely large (∼TV/m) space charge fields at the target interfaces. The properties of laser-driven ion beams (high brightness and laminarity, high-energy cut-off, ultrashort burst duration) distinguish them from lower energy ions accelerated in earlier experiments at moderate laser intensities, and compare favourably with those of 'conventional' accelerator beams. In view of these properties, laser-driven ion beams can be employed in a number of innovative applications in the scientific, technological and medical areas. We will discuss in particular aspects of interest to their application in an Inertial Confinement Fusion context. Laser-driven protons are indeed being considered as a possible trigger for Fast Ignition of a precompressed fuel.[2] Recent results relating to the optimization of beam energy and focusing will be presented. These include the use of laser-driven impulsive fields for proton beam collimation and focusing [3], and the investigation of acceleration in presence of finite-scale plasma gradient. Proposed target developments enabling proton production at high repetition rate will also be discussed. Another important area of application of proton beams is diagnostic use in a particle probing arrangement for detection of density non-homogeneities [4] and electric/magnetic fields [5]. We will discuss the use of laser-driven proton beams for the diagnosis of magnetic and electric fields in planar and hohlraum targets and for the detection of fields associated to relativistic electron propagation through dense matter, an issue of high relevance for electron driven Fast Ignition. [1] M

Development of compact tritium confinement system using gas separation membrane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, Takumi; Okuno, Kenji

1994-01-01

In order to develop more compact and cost-effective tritium confinement system for fusion reactor, a new system using gas separation membranes has been studied at the Tritium Process Laboratory in the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. The preliminary result showed that the gas separation membrane system could reduce processing volume of tritium contaminated gas to more than one order of magnitude compared with the conventional system, and that most of tritiated water vapor (humidity) could be directly recovered by water condenser before passing through dryer such as molecular sieves. More detail investigations of gas separation characteristics of membrane were started to design ITER Atmospheric Detritiation System (ADS). Furthermore, a scaled polyimide membrane module (hollow-filament type) loop was just installed to investigate the actual tritium confinement performance under various ITER-ADS conditions. (author)

Multiple-beam laser–plasma interactions in inertial confinement fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Myatt, J. F., E-mail: jmya@lle.rochester.edu; Zhang, J.; Maximov, A. V. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623-1299 (United States); Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627 (United States); Short, R. W.; Seka, W.; Edgell, D. H.; Michel, D. T.; Igumenshchev, I. V. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623-1299 (United States); Froula, D. H. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623-1299 (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0171 (United States); Hinkel, D. E.; Michel, P.; Moody, J. D. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551-0808 (United States)

2014-05-15

The experimental evidence for multiple-beam laser-plasma instabilities of relevance to laser driven inertial confinement fusion at the ignition scale is reviewed, in both the indirect and direct-drive approaches. The instabilities described are cross-beam energy transfer (in both indirectly driven targets on the NIF and in direct-drive targets), multiple-beam stimulated Raman scattering (for indirect-drive), and multiple-beam two-plasmon decay instability (in direct drive). Advances in theoretical understanding and in the numerical modeling of these multiple beam instabilities are presented.

INERT Atmosphere confinement operability test procedure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

RISENMAY, H.R.

1999-01-01

This Operability Test Procedure (OTP) provides instructions for testing operability of the Inert Atmosphere Confinement (IAC). The Inert Atmosphere Confinement was designed and built for opening cans of metal items that might have hydrided surfaces. Unreviewed Safety Question (USQ) PFP-97-005 addresses the discovery of suspected plutonium hydride forming on plutonium metal currently stored in the Plutonium Finishing Plant vaults. Plutonium hydride reacts quickly with air, liberating energy. The Inert Atmosphere Confinement was designed to prevent this sudden liberation of energy by opening the material in an inert argon atmosphere instead of the normal glovebox atmosphere. The IAC is located in glovebox HC-21A, room 230B of the 234-5Z Building at the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) in the 200-West Area of the Hanford Site

Transport analysis of ohmic, L-mode and improved confinement discharges in FTU

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Esposito, B [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Marinucci, M [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Romanelli, M [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Bracco, G [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Castaldo, C [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Cocilovo, V [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Giovannozzi, E [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Leigheb, M [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Monari, G [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Nowak, S [IFP CNR, Via R. Cozzi, 53, 20125 Milano (Italy); Sozzi, C [IFP CNR, Via R. Cozzi, 53, 20125 Milano (Italy); Tudisco, O [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Cesario, R [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Frigione, D [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Gormezano, C [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Granucci, G [IFP CNR, Via R. Cozzi, 53, 20125 Milano (Italy); Panaccione, L [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Pericoli-Ridolfini, V [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy); Pieroni, L [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, C.R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy)

2004-11-01

A thorough investigation of confinement in Frascati Tokamak Upgrade has been carried out on a new database of ohmic, L-mode and advanced scenario discharges (multiple pellet-fuelled, radiation improved and internal transport barriers (ITBs)) obtained with the available auxiliary heating systems, namely electron cyclotron resonant heating, lower hybrid and ion Bernstein wave. A general agreement of the measured {tau}{sub E} with ITER97 L-mode scaling is found in ohmic and L-mode discharges. An improvement of the energy confinement time ({tau}{sub E}) of up to about 60% over the ITER97 L-mode scaling has been obtained in ITB discharges, together with a reduction in local electron transport in the region of high pressure gradient, and up to about 30% in pellet-fuelled discharges (where {tau}{sub E} as large as {approx}120 ms have been reached). The linear density dependence of {tau}{sub E} in ohmic discharges has been found to extend above the saturation density threshold in pellet-fuelled plasmas.

Inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuckolls, J.H.; Wood, L.L.

1988-01-01

Edward Teller has been a strong proponent of harnessing nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes. There are two approaches: Plowshare, which utilizes macro- explosions, and inertial confinement fusion, which utilizes microexplosions. The development of practical fusion power plants is a principal goal of the inertial program. It is remarkable that Teller's original thermonuclear problem, how to make super high yield nuclear explosions, and the opposite problem, how to make ultra low yield nuclear explosions, may both be solved by Teller's radiation implosion scheme. This paper reports on the essential physics of these two thermonuclear domains, which are separated by nine orders of magnitude in yield, provided by Teller's similarity theorem and its exceptions. Higher density makes possible thermonuclear burn of smaller masses of fuel. The leverage is high: the scale of the explosion diminishes with the square of the increase in density. The extraordinary compressibility of matter, first noticed by Teller during the Los Alamos atomic bomb program, provides an almost incredible opportunity to harness fusion. The energy density of thermonuclear fuels isentropically compressed to super high-- -densities---even to ten thousand times solid density---is small compared to the energy density at thermonuclear ignition temperatures. In small masses of fuel imploded to these super high matter densities, the energy required to achieve ignition may be greatly reduced by exploiting thermonuclear propagation from a relatively small hot spot

Changes in core electron temperature fluctuations across the ohmic energy confinement transition in Alcator C-Mod plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sung, C.; White, A.E.; Howard, N.T.; Oi, C.Y.; Rice, J.E.; Gao, C.; Ennever, P.; Porkolab, M.; Parra, F.; Ernst, D.; Walk, J.; Hughes, J.W.; Irby, J.; Kasten, C.; Hubbard, A.E.; Greenwald, M.J.; Mikkelsen, D.

2013-01-01

The first measurements of long wavelength (k y ρ s < 0.3) electron temperature fluctuations in Alcator C-Mod made with a new correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic support a long-standing hypothesis regarding the confinement transition from linear ohmic confinement (LOC) to saturated ohmic confinement (SOC). Electron temperature fluctuations decrease significantly (∼40%) crossing from LOC to SOC, consistent with a change from trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence domination to ion temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence as the density is increased. Linear stability analysis performed with the GYRO code (Candy and Waltz 2003 J. Comput. Phys. 186 545) shows that TEMs are dominant for long wavelength turbulence in the LOC regime and ITG modes are dominant in the SOC regime at the radial location (ρ ∼ 0.8) where the changes in electron temperature fluctuations are measured. In contrast, deeper in the core (ρ < 0.8), linear stability analysis indicates that ITG modes remain dominant across the LOC/SOC transition. This radial variation suggests that the robust global changes in confinement of energy and momentum occurring across the LOC/SOC transition are correlated to local changes in the dominant turbulent mode near the edge. (paper)

Dynamics of an optically confined nanoparticle diffusing normal to a surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Schein, Perry; O'Dell, Dakota; Erickson, David

2016-06-01

Here we measure the hindered diffusion of an optically confined nanoparticle in the direction normal to a surface, and we use this to determine the particle-surface interaction profile in terms of the absolute height. These studies are performed using the evanescent field of an optically excited single-mode silicon nitride waveguide, where the particle is confined in a height-dependent potential energy well generated from the balance of optical gradient and surface forces. Using a high-speed cmos camera, we demonstrate the ability to capture the short time-scale diffusion dominated motion for 800-nm-diam polystyrene particles, with measurement times of only a few seconds per particle. Using established theory, we show how this information can be used to estimate the equilibrium separation of the particle from the surface. As this measurement can be made simultaneously with equilibrium statistical mechanical measurements of the particle-surface interaction energy landscape, we demonstrate the ability to determine these in terms of the absolute rather than relative separation height. This enables the comparison of potential energy landscapes of particle-surface interactions measured under different experimental conditions, enhancing the utility of this technique.

Confinement in W7-AS and the role of radial electric field and magnetic shear

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brakel, R.; Anton, M.; Baldzuhn, J.; Burhenn, R.; Erckmann, V.; Fiedler, S.; Geiger, J.; Hartfuss, H.J.; Heinrich, O.; Hirsch, M.; Jaenicke, R.; Kick, M.; Kuehner, G.; Maassberg, H.; Stroth, U.; Wagner, F.; Weller, A.

1997-01-01

Improved neoclassical electron confinement in the centre of low-density ECRH plasmas has been observed in the presence of a strong positive radial electric field, which resembles the electron root solution of the neoclassical ambipolarity condition but is obviously driven by the loss of ECRH-generated suprathermal electrons. At higher densities and with NBI heating, a high confinement regime substantially above the ISS95-scaling and different from the H-mode is established with a strongly sheared negative radial electric field at the boundary. The application of plasma-current induced magnetic shear reveals that confinement in W7-AS is essentially determined by perturbations at high-order rational surfaces. For optimum confinement, these resonances have either to be avoided in the boundary region or magnetic shear must be sufficiently large. Independent of its sign, magnetic shear can reduce electron energy transport which is enhanced in the presence of such resonances to the neoclassical level. (author)

Reducing and measuring fluctuations in the MST RFP: Enhancement of energy confinement and measurement of the MHD dynamo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Den Hartog, D.J.; Almagri, A.F.

1996-09-01

A three- to five-fold enhancement of the energy confinement time in a reversed-field pinch (RFP) has been achieved in the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) by reducing the amplitude of tearing mode fluctuations responsible for anomalous transport in the core of the RFP. By applying a transient poloidal inductive electric field to flatten the current density profile, the fluctuation amplitude b/B decreases from 1.5% to 0.8%, the electron temperature T e0 increases from 250 eV to 370 eV, the ohmic input power decreases from 4.5 MW to approximately 1.5 MW, the poloidal beta β 0 increases from 6% to 9%, and the energy confinement time τ E increases from 1 ms to ∼5 ms in I φ = 340 kA plasmas with density n = 1 x 10 19 m -3 . Current profile control methods are being developed for the RFP in a program to eliminate transport associated with these current-gradient-driven fluctuations. In addition to controlling the amplitude of the tearing modes, we are vigorously pursuing an understanding of the physics of these fluctuations. In particular, plasma flow, both equilibrium and fluctuating, plays a critical role in a diversity of physical phenomena in MST. The key results: 1) Edge probe measurements show that the MHD dynamo is active in low collisionality plasmas, while at high collisionality a new mechanism, the 'electron diamagnetic dynamo,' is observed. 2) Core spectroscopic measurements show that the toroidal velocity fluctuations of the plasma are coherent with the large-scale magnetic tearing modes; the scalar product of these two fluctuating quantities is similar to that expected for the MHD dynamo electromotive force. 3) Toroidal plasma flow in MST exhibits large radial shear and can be actively controlled, including unlocking locked discharges, by modifying E r with a robust biased probe. 24 refs

Confinement of solar thermal energy by Nesa film; Nesa maku ni yoru taiyo netsu energy no fujikome

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shimizu, A; Yano, K; Kasuga, M; Daigo, Y [Yamanashi University, Yamanashi (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1997-11-25

This paper reports a Nesa (SnO2) film as selective transmissive film for effective confinement of solar thermal energy. Solar light spectrum ranges from 0.3 to 2.0{mu}m, while thermal radiation from bodies at 100-200degC is infrared ray more than 2{mu}m. Consequently, a solar water heater using the film which can pass rays below 2.0{mu}m while reflect rays over 2.0{mu}m for windows is very efficient. The Nesa film reflects rays with wavelengths more than plasma wavelengths (controllable from 1 to several {mu}m) by plasma action of free electrons. The Nesa films with different carrier densities were fabricated by spraying deposition method at dopant rates (Sb/Sn) from 0 to 2mol%. The solar water heaters were prepared using normal glass and specific glass coated with the Nesa film as selective transmissive film. The heater using the glass coated with the Nesa film of 2{mu}m plasma wavelength for windows could efficiently confine solar heat. The Nesa film of 700nm plasma wavelength which can pass visible light while reflect infrared ray was effective to reduce cooling/heating losses. 3 refs., 6 figs.

Minimum scaling laws in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Y.Z.; Mahajan, S.M.

1986-10-01

Scaling laws governing anomalous electron transport in tokamaks with ohmic and/or auxiliary heating are derived using renormalized Vlasov-Ampere equations for low frequency electromagnetic microturbulence. It is also shown that for pure auxiliary heating (or when auxiliary heating power far exceeds the ohmic power), the energy confinement time scales as tau/sub E/ ∼ P/sub inj//sup -1/3/, where P/sub inj/ is the injected power

High Confinement and High Density with Stationary Plasma Energy and Strong Edge Radiation Cooling in Textor-94

Science.gov (United States)

Messiaen, A. M.

1996-11-01

A new discharge regime has been observed on the pumped limiter tokamak TEXTOR-94 in the presence of strong radiation cooling and for different scenarii of additional hearing. The radiated power fraction (up to 90%) is feedback controlled by the amount of Ne seeded in the edge. This regime meets many of the necessary conditions for a future fusion reactor. Energy confinement increases with increasing densities (reminiscent of the Z-mode obtained at ISX-B) and as good as ELM-free H-mode confinement (enhancement factor verus ITERH93-P up to 1.2) is obtained at high densities (up to 1.2 times the Greenwald limit) with peaked density profiles showing a peaking factor of about 2 and central density values around 10^14cm-3. In experiments where the energy content of the discharges is kept constant with an energy feedback loop acting on the amount of ICRH power, stable and stationary discharges are obtained for intervals of more than 5s, i.e. 100 times the energy confinement time or about equal to the skin resistive time, even with the cylindrical q_α as low as 2.8 β-values up to the β-limits of TEXTOR-94 are achieved (i.e. β n ≈ 2 of and β p ≈ 1.5) and the figure of merit for ignition margin f_Hqa in these discharges can be as high as 0.7. No detrimental effects of the seeded impurity on the reactivity of the plasma are observed. He removal in these discharges has also been investigated. [1] Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas-Laboratorium voor Plasmafysica, Association "EURATOM-Belgian State", Ecole Royale Militaire-Koninklijke Militaire School, Brussels, Belgium [2] Institut für Plasmaphysik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, GmbH, Association "EURATOM-KFA", Jülich, Germany [3] Fusion Energy Research Program, Mechanical Engineering Division, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, USA [4] FOM Institüt voor Plasmafysica Rijnhuizen, Associatie "FOM-EURATOM", Nieuwegein, The Netherlands [*] Researcher at NFSR, Belgium itemize

Plasma performance and scaling laws in the RFX-mod reversed-field pinch experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Innocente, P.; Alfier, A.; Canton, A.; Pasqualotto, R.

2009-01-01

The large range of plasma currents (I p = 0.2-1.6 MA) and feedback-controlled magnetic boundary conditions of the RFX-mod experiment make it well suited to performing scaling studies. The assessment of such scaling, in particular those on temperature and energy confinement, is crucial both for improving the operating reversed-field pinch (RFP) devices and for validating the RFP configuration as a candidate for the future fusion reactors. For such a purpose scaling laws for magnetic fluctuations, temperature and energy confinement have been evaluated in stationary operation. RFX-mod scaling laws have been compared with those obtained from other RFP devices and numerical simulations. The role of the magnetic boundary has been analysed, comparing discharges performed with different active control schemes of the edge radial magnetic field.

Micro X-ray CT imaging of pore-scale changes in unconsolidated sediment under confining pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Schindler, M.; Prasad, M.

2017-12-01

Micro X-ray computed tomography was used to image confining-pressure induced changes in a dry, unconsolidated quartz sand pack while simultaneously recording ultrasonic P-wave velocities. The experiments were performed under in-situ pressure of up to 4000 psi. The majority of digital rock physics studies rely on micro CT images obtained under ambient pressure and temperature conditions although effective rock properties strongly depend on in situ conditions. Goal of this work is to be able to obtain micro CT images of rock samples while pore and confining pressure is applied. Simultaneously we recorded ultrasonic P-wave velocities. The combination of imaging and velocity measurements provides insight in pore-scale changes in the rock and their influence on elastic properties. We visually observed a reduction in porosity by more than a third of the initial value as well as extensive grain damage, changes in pore and grain size distribution and an increase in contact number and contact radius with increasing confining pressure. An increase in measured ultrasonic P-wave velocities with increasing pressure was observed. We used porosity, contact number and contact radius obtained from micro CT images to model P-wave velocity with the contact-radius model by Bachrach et al. (1998). Our observations showed that the frame of unconsolidated sediments is significantly altered starting at pressures of only 1000 psi. This finding indicates that common assumptions in rock physics models (the solid frame remains unchanged) are violated for unconsolidated sediments. The effects on the solid frame should be taken into account when modeling the pressure dependence of elastic rock properties.

The high energy galaxy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cesarsky, C.J.

1986-08-01

The galaxy is host to a wide variety of high energy events. I review here recent results on large scale galactic phenomena: cosmic-ray origin and confinement, the connexion to ultra high energy gamma-ray emission from X-ray binaries, gamma ray and synchrotron emission in interstellar space, galactic soft and hard X-ray emission

On confinement and duality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strassler, M J [University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

2002-05-15

Confinement in four-dimensional gauge theories is considered from several points of view. General features are discussed, and the mechanism of confinement is investigated. Dualities between field theories, and duality between field theory and string theory, are both put to use. In these lectures I have given an overview of some of the key ideas underlying confinement as a property of field theory, and now, of string theory as well. This is a tiny fraction of what field theory (and now string theory) is capable of, and we are still uncovering new features on a monthly basis. In fact, most field theories do not have confinement, for reasons entirely different from those of QCD. Many become nontrivial conformal field theories at low energy. Others become composite, weakly-coupled gauge theories. Dualities of many stripes are found everywhere. Ordinary dimensional analysis in string theory is totally wrong in the regime where it looks like weakly-coupled field theory, and ordinary dimensional analysis in field theory is totally wrong in the regime where it looks like weakly-coupled supergravity.

Quantifying differences between computational results and measurements in the case of a large-scale well-confined fire scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Audouin, L.; Chandra, L.; Consalvi, J.-L.; Gay, L.; Gorza, E.; Hohm, V.; Hostikka, S.; Ito, T.; Klein-Hessling, W.; Lallemand, C.; Magnusson, T.; Noterman, N.; Park, J.S.; Peco, J.; Rigollet, L.; Suard, S.; Van-Hees, P.

2011-01-01

Research Highlights: → We performed a numerical benchmark in the framework of an OECD experimental program of a pool fire in a well-confined compartment. → The benchmark involves 17 participants using 8 fire models, 3 CFD and 5 zone models. → We investigated the capabilities of validation metrics for a real large-scale fire. → Six quantities were compared during the whole fire duration. → It is important to consider more than one metric for the validation process. - Abstract: The objective of this work was to quantify comparisons between several computational results and measurements performed during a pool fire scenario in a well-confined compartment. This collaborative work was initiated under the framework of the OECD fire research program and involves the most frequently used fire models in the fire community, including field and zone models. The experimental scenario was conducted at the French Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN) and deals with a full-scale liquid pool fire in a confined and mechanically ventilated compartment representative for nuclear plants. The practical use of different metric operators and their ability to report the capabilities of fire models are presented. The quantitative comparisons between measurements and numerical results obtained from 'open' calculations concern six important quantities from a safety viewpoint: gas temperature, oxygen concentration, wall temperature, total heat flux, compartment pressure and ventilation flow rate during the whole fire duration. The results indicate that it is important to use more than one metric for the validation process in order to get information on the uncertainties associated with different aspects of fire safety.

Multiple-mirror plasma confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lichtenberg, A.J.; Lieberman, M.A.; Logan, B.G.

1975-01-01

A large enhancement of the confinement time can be achieved in a straight system of multiple mirrors over an equal length uniform magnetic field. The scaling is diffusive rather than that of flow, thereby scaling the square of the system length rather than linear with system length. Probably the most economic mode of operation for a reactor occurs when lambda/M is approximately l/sub c/, where lambda is the mean free path, M the mirror ratio, and l/sub c/ the length between mirrors; but where the scale length of the mirror field l/sub m/ is much less than lambda. The axial confinement time has been calculated theoretically and numerically for all important parameter regimes, and confirmed experimentally. A typical reactor calculation gives Q/sub E/ = 2 for a 400 meter system with 3000 MW(e) output. The main concern of a multiple-mirror system is stability. Linked quadrupoles can achieve average minimum-B stabilization of flute modes, and experiments have demonstrated this stabilization. Localized instabilities at finite β and enhanced diffusion resulting from the distorted flux surfaces and possibly from turbulent higher order modes still remain to be investigated

Optimized confinement discharges in the stellarator W7-AS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldzuhn, J.; Giannone, L.; Kick, M.; McCormick, K. J.

2000-01-01

In addition to the well known H-mode, other types of discharges with enhanced core energy confinement can be observed in the stellarator W7-AS. In this contribution, the properties of some particular examples of those optimized confinement (OC) discharges are presented. These are characterized, besides improved core energy confinement, by strong negative radial electric fields and high ion temperatures in the gradient region, steep density profile gradients and a high penetration depth of neutrals, and small edge electron densities. The role of these plasma parameters for the OC discharges is investigated quantitatively by a numerical model. (author)

Dynamical contribution to the heat conductivity in stochastic energy exchanges of locally confined gases

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspard, Pierre; Gilbert, Thomas

2017-04-01

We present a systematic computation of the heat conductivity of the Markov jump process modeling the energy exchanges in an array of locally confined hard spheres at the conduction threshold. Based on a variational formula (Sasada 2016 (arXiv:1611.08866)), explicit upper bounds on the conductivity are derived, which exhibit a rapid power-law convergence towards an asymptotic value. We thereby conclude that the ratio of the heat conductivity to the energy exchange frequency deviates from its static contribution by a small negative correction, its dynamic contribution, evaluated to be -0.000 373 in dimensionless units. This prediction is corroborated by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations which were substantially improved compared to earlier results.

Confined-but-Connected Quantum Solids via Controlled Ligand Displacement

KAUST Repository

Baumgardner, William J.; Whitham, Kevin; Hanrath, Tobias

2013-01-01

Confined-but-connected quantum dot solids (QDS) combine the advantages of tunable, quantum-confined energy levels with efficient charge transport through enhanced electronic interdot coupling. We report the fabrication of QDS by treating self

Economical scale of nuclear energy application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

The nuclear energy industry is supported by two wheels of radiation and energy applications. When comparing both, they have some different sides, such as numbers of employees and researchers, numbers and scales of works, effect on society, affecting effects and regions of industrial actions, problems on safety, viewpoint on nuclear proliferation protection and safety guarantee, energy security, relationship to environmental problem, efforts on wastes disposal, and so on. Here described on economical scale of radiation application in fields of industry, agriculture, and medicine and medical treatment, and on economical scale of energy application in nuclear power generation and its instruments and apparatus. (G.K.)

Confinement-induced resonances in anharmonic waveguides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peng Shiguo [Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Centre for Atom Optics and Ultrafast Spectroscopy, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne 3122 (Australia); Hu Hui; Liu Xiaji; Drummond, Peter D. [Centre for Atom Optics and Ultrafast Spectroscopy, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne 3122 (Australia)

2011-10-15

We develop the theory of anharmonic confinement-induced resonances (ACIRs). These are caused by anharmonic excitation of the transverse motion of the center of mass (c.m.) of two bound atoms in a waveguide. As the transverse confinement becomes anisotropic, we find that the c.m. resonant solutions split for a quasi-one-dimensional (1D) system, in agreement with recent experiments. This is not found in harmonic confinement theories. A new resonance appears for repulsive couplings (a{sub 3D}>0) for a quasi-two-dimensional (2D) system, which is also not seen with harmonic confinement. After inclusion of anharmonic energy corrections within perturbation theory, we find that these ACIRs agree extremely well with anomalous 1D and 2D confinement-induced resonance positions observed in recent experiments. Multiple even- and odd-order transverse ACIRs are identified in experimental data, including up to N=4 transverse c.m. quantum numbers.

Confinement and gas fueling in LHD limiter discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishimura, K.; Kawahata, K.; Narihara, K.; Morisaki, T.; Masuzaki, S.; Sakakibara, S.; Tanaka, K.

2003-01-01

Plasma discharges in the Large Helical Device are normally open helical divertor discharges. To compare limiter discharges with open divertor discharges and to examine the role of the peripheral region, a radial movable limiter, whose head was made of carbon with high heat conductivity, was inserted into the plasma from the high field side (near the helical coil). The electron temperature was bounded well by the limiter. A high temperature gradient at the edge region was observed in both open divertor and limiter discharges. Formation of such a high temperature gradient led to good energy confinement even in the limiter discharges and an enhancement factor of 1.1±0.3 for International Stellarator Scaling 95 (ISS95) scaling was observed at every limiter position (0.75 ax =3.75 m prevents gas fueling by puffing

Scaling law systematics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfirsch, D.; Duechs, D.F.

1985-01-01

A number of statistical implications of empirical scaling laws in form of power products obtained by linear regression are analysed. The sensitivity of the error against a change of exponents is described by a sensitivity factor and the uncertainty of predictions by a ''range of predictions factor''. Inner relations in the statistical material is discussed, as well as the consequences of discarding variables.A recipe is given for the computations to be done. The whole is exemplified by considering scaling laws for the electron energy confinement time of ohmically heated tokamak plasmas. (author)

Confinement and Tritium Stripping Systems for APT Tritium Processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hsu, R.H. [Westinghouse Savannah River Company, AIKEN, SC (United States); Heung, L.K.

1997-10-20

This report identifies functions and requirements for the tritium process confinement and clean-up system (PCCS) and provides supporting technical information for the selection and design of tritium confinement, clean-up (stripping) and recovery technologies for new tritium processing facilities in the Accelerator for the Production of Tritium (APT). The results of a survey of tritium confinement and clean-up systems for large-scale tritium handling facilities and recommendations for the APT are also presented.

Confinement and Tritium Stripping Systems for APT Tritium Processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, R.H.; Heung, L.K.

1997-01-01

This report identifies functions and requirements for the tritium process confinement and clean-up system (PCCS) and provides supporting technical information for the selection and design of tritium confinement, clean-up (stripping) and recovery technologies for new tritium processing facilities in the Accelerator for the Production of Tritium (APT). The results of a survey of tritium confinement and clean-up systems for large-scale tritium handling facilities and recommendations for the APT are also presented

Scale and the acceptability of nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilbanks, T.J.

1984-01-01

A rather speculative exploration is presented of scale as it may affect the acceptability of nuclear energy. In our utilization of this energy option, how does large vs. small relate to attitudes toward it, and what can we learn from this about technology choices in the United States more generally. In order to address such a question, several stepping-stones are needed. First, scale is defined for the purposes of the paper. Second, recent experience with nuclear energy is reviewed: trends in the scale of use, the current status of nuclear energy as an option, and the social context for its acceptance problems. Third, conventional notions about the importance of scale in electricity generation are summarized. With these preliminaries out of the way, the paper then discusses apparent relationships between scale and the acceptance of nuclear energy and suggests some policy implications of these preliminary findings. Finally, some comments are offered about general relationships between scale and technology choice

Molecular dynamics study of interfacial confinement effects of aqueous NaCl brines in nanoporous carbon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wander, M. C. F.; Shuford, K. L.

2010-12-09

In this paper, studies of aqueous electrolyte solutions in contact with a family of porous carbon geometries using classical molecular dynamics simulations are presented. These simulations provide an atomic scale depiction of ion transport dynamics in different environments to elucidate power of aqueous electrolyte supercapacitors. The electrolyte contains alkali metal and halide ions, which allow for the examination of size trends within specific geometries as well as trends in concentration. The electrode pores are modeled as planar graphite sheets and carbon nanotubes with interstices ranging from one to four nanometers. Ordered layers form parallel to the carbon surface, which facilitates focused ion motion under slightly confining conditions. As a result, the ion’s diffusivities are enhanced in the direction of the slit or pore. Further confining the system leads to decreased ion diffusivities. The ions are fully hydrated in all but the smallest slits and pores with those sizes showing increased ion pairing. There is strong evidence of charge separation perpendicular to the surface at all size scales, concentrations, and ion types, providing a useful baseline for examining differential capacitance behavior and future studies on energy storage. These systems show promise as high-power electrical energy storage devices.

The use of scaling laws for the design of high beta tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mauel, M.E.

1987-01-01

Several different empirical scaling laws for the tokamak energy confinement time are used to estimate the auxiliary heating power required for a laboratory experiment capable of testing tokamak confinement at high beta and techniques to access the second stability regime. Since operating experience in the second stability regime does not yet exist, these laws predict a wide range of possible power requirements, especially at large aspect ratios. However, by examining a model DT fusion power reactor with reasonable restrictions on the fusion island weight, neutron loading, and maximum magnetic field of the external coils, only a limited range of operating conditions are found for both first and second regime tokamaks, and only a subset of the scaling laws predict ignition. These particular scaling laws are then used to set confinement goals which if demonstrated by the laboratory experiment would indicate favourable scaling to a reactor. (author)

Financing Energy Services for Small-scale Energy-users - project FINESSE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Annan, R.; Saunders, R.J.; Hassing, P.

1994-01-01

This paper presents the FINESSE (Financing Energy Services for Small-scale Energy users) launched in 1989 by World Bank 's Energy Sector Assistance Program (ESMAP) in association with the US Department of Energy and the Netherlands Ministry for Development Cooperation, whose purpose is to address financial, institutional and policy issues related to enhancing energy services for residential and commercial energy consumers in the Developing World. It describes the related technology benefits of renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as a technology overview and outlines the strategies for financing alternatives in the Developing World. It concludes with a description of successful experiences in small-scale energy services, especially in Asia. (TEC). 8 figs

Confinement improvement with magnetic levitation of a superconducting dipole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garnier, D.T.; Mauel, M.E.; Boxer, A.C.; Ellsworth, J.L.; Kesner, J.

2009-01-01

We report the first production of high beta plasma confined in a fully levitated laboratory dipole using neutral gas fuelling and electron cyclotron resonance heating. As compared with previous studies in which the internal coil was supported, levitation results in improved confinement that allows higher-density, higher-beta discharges to be maintained at significantly reduced gas fuelling. Contrary to previous supported dipole plasma results which had the stored energy consisting in a hot electron population, a significant plasma stored energy is shown to reside in the bulk plasma. By eliminating supports used in previous studies, cross-field transport becomes the main loss channel for both the hot and the background species. This leads to a significant improvement in bulk plasma confinement and a dramatic peaking of the density profile. Improved particle confinement assures stability of the hot electron component at reduced neutral pressure.

Simulations of mixing in Inertial Confinement Fusion with front tracking and sub-grid scale models

Science.gov (United States)

Rana, Verinder; Lim, Hyunkyung; Melvin, Jeremy; Cheng, Baolian; Glimm, James; Sharp, David

2015-11-01

We present two related results. The first discusses the Richtmyer-Meshkov (RMI) and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities (RTI) and their evolution in Inertial Confinement Fusion simulations. We show the evolution of the RMI to the late time RTI under transport effects and tracking. The role of the sub-grid scales helps capture the interaction of turbulence with diffusive processes. The second assesses the effects of concentration on the physics model and examines the mixing properties in the low Reynolds number hot spot. We discuss the effect of concentration on the Schmidt number. The simulation results are produced using the University of Chicago code FLASH and Stony Brook University's front tracking algorithm.

Can confinement-induced variations in the viscous dissipation be measured?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Beer, Sissi; den Otter, Wouter K.; van den Ende, Henricus T.M.; Briels, Willem J.; Mugele, Friedrich

2012-01-01

Liquids confined to molecular scales become anisotropic and often show pronounced self-organization such as layering. Although this effect is well accepted, it is still debated if confinement induces measurable changes of viscous friction. We use molecular dynamics to address this issue by

Scaling of the Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) for near-term thrusters and future fusion propulsion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miley, G.; Bromley, B.; Jurczyk, B.; Stubbers, R.; DeMora, J.; Chacon, L.; Gu, Y.

1998-01-01

Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) is a unique approach to fusion and plasma energy systems that was conceptualized in the 1960s (Hirsch 1967) and has been the focus of recent development in the 1990s (Miley et al. 1995a). In the interests of space power and propulsion systems, conceptual rocket design studies (Bussard and Jameson 1994, Miley et al. 1995b) using the IEC have predicted excellent performance for a variety of space missions, since the power unit avoids the use of magnets and heavy drives resulting in a very high, specific impulse compared to other fusion systems. In their recent survey of prior conceptual design studies of fusion rockets, Williams and Borowski (1997) found that the Bussard IEC conceptual study (the ''QED'' engine) offered a thrust-to-weight ratio of 10 milli-g's, a factor of five higher than conventional magnetic confinement concepts and even slightly above anti-proton micro fission/fusion designs. Thus there is considerable motivation to study IEC concepts for eventual space applications. However, the physics feasibility of the IEC still requires experimental demonstration, and an expanded data base is needed to insure that a power unit can in fact be built

Communication: Relationship between local structure and the stability of water in hydrophobic confinement

Science.gov (United States)

Altabet, Y. Elia; Debenedetti, Pablo G.

2017-12-01

Liquid water confined between nanoscale hydrophobic objects can become metastable with respect to its vapor at nanoscale separations. While the separations are only several molecular diameters, macroscopic theories are often invoked to interpret the thermodynamics and kinetics of water under confinement. We perform detailed rate and free energy calculations via molecular simulations in order to assess the dependence of the rate of evaporation, free energy barriers, and free energy differences between confined liquid and vapor upon object separation and compare them to the relevant macroscopic theories. At small enough separations, the rate of evaporation appears to deviate significantly from the predictions of classical nucleation theory, and we attribute such deviations to changes in the structure of the confined liquid film. However, the free energy difference between the confined liquid and vapor phases agrees quantitatively with macroscopic theory, and the free energy barrier to condensation displays qualitative agreement. Overall, the present work suggests that theories attempting to capture the kinetic behavior of nanoscale systems should incorporate structural details rather than treating it as a continuum.

Dimensionless scalings of confinement, heat transport and pedestal stability in JET-ILW and comparison with JET-C

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Frassinetti, L.; Saarelma, S.; Lomas, P.; Nunes, I.; Rimini, F.; Beurskens, M.N.A.; Bílková, Petra; Boom, J.E.; De La Luna, E.; Delabie, E.; Drewelow, P.; Flanagan, J.; Garzotti, L.; Giroud, C.; Hawks, N.; Joffrin, E.; Kempenaars, M.; Kim, H.-T.; Kruezi, U.; Loarte, A.; Lomanowski, B.; Lupelli, I.; Meneses, L.; Maggi, C.F.; Menmuir, S.; Peterka, Matěj; Rachlew, E.; Romanelli, M.; Stefanikova, E.

2017-01-01

Roč. 59, č. 1 (2017), č. článku 014014. ISSN 0741-3335. [EPS 2016: Conference on Plasma Physics/43./. Leuven, 04.07.2016-08.07.2016] EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 633053 - EUROfusion Institutional support: RVO:61389021 Keywords : JET-ILW * dimensionless scaling * pedestal * confinement * pedestal stability * heat transport Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics OBOR OECD: Fluids and plasma physics (including surface physics) Impact factor: 2.392, year: 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0741-3335/59/1/014014

Pellet injection and toroidal confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-12-01

The proceedings of a technical committee meeting on pellet injection and toroidal confinement, held in Gut Ising, Federal Republic of Germany, 24-26 October, 1988, are given in this report. Most of the major fusion experiments are using pellet injectors; these were reported at this meeting. Studies of confinement, which is favorably affected, impurity transport, radiative energy losses, and affects on the ion temperature gradient instability were given. Studies of pellet ablation and effects on plasma profiles were presented. Finally, several papers described present and proposed injection guns. Refs, figs and tabs

Inertial confinement fusion and related topics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Starodub, A. N.

2007-01-01

The current state of different approaches (laser fusion, light and heavy ions, electron beam) to the realization of inertial confinement fusion is considered. From comparative analysis a conclusion is made that from the viewpoint of physics, technology, safety, and economics the most realistic way to future energetics is an electric power plant based on a hybrid fission-fusion reactor which consists of an external source of neutrons (based on laser fusion) and a subcritical two-cascade nuclear blanket, which yields the energy under the action of 14 MeV neutrons. The main topics on inertial confinement fusion such as the energy driver, the interaction between plasmas and driver beam, the target design are discussed. New concept of creation of a laser driver for IFE based on generation and amplification of radiation with controllable coherence is reported. The performed studies demonstrate that the laser based on generation and amplification of radiation with controllable coherence (CCR laser) has a number of advantages as compared to conventional schemes of lasers. The carried out experiments have shown a possibility of suppression of small-scale self-focusing, formation of laser radiation pulses with required characteristics, simplification of an optical scheme of the laser, good matching of laser-target system and achievement of homogeneous irradiation and high output laser energy density without using traditional correcting systems (phase plates, adaptive optics, space filters etc.). The results of the latest experiments to reach ultimate energy characteristics of the developed laser system are also reported. Recent results from the experiments aimed at studying of the physical processes in targets under illumination by the laser with controllable coherence of radiation are presented and discussed, especially such important laser-matter interaction phenomena as absorption and scattering of the laser radiation, the laser radiation harmonic generation, X

Higher representations: Confinement and large N

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sannino, Francesco

2005-01-01

We investigate the confining phase transition as a function of temperature for theories with dynamical fermions in the two index symmetric and antisymmetric representation of the gauge group. By studying the properties of the center of the gauge group we predict for an even number of colors a confining phase transition, if second order, to be in the universality class of Ising in three dimensions. This is due to the fact that the center group symmetry does not break completely for an even number of colors. For an odd number of colors the center group symmetry breaks completely. This pattern remains unaltered at a large number of colors. The confining/deconfining phase transition in these theories at large and finite N is not mapped in the one of super Yang-Mills theory. We extend the Polyakov loop effective theory to describe the confining phase transition of the theories studied here for a generic number of colors. Our results are not modified when adding matter in the same higher dimensional representations of the gauge group. We comment on the interplay between confinement and chiral symmetry in these theories and suggest that they are ideal laboratories to shed light on this issue also for ordinary QCD. We compare the free energy as a function of temperature for different theories. We find that the conjectured thermal inequality between the infrared and ultraviolet degrees of freedom computed using the free energy does not lead to new constraints on asymptotically free theories with fermions in higher dimensional representations of the gauge group. Since the center of the gauge group is an important quantity for the confinement properties at zero temperature our results are relevant here as well

International workshop of the Confinement Database and Modelling Expert Group in collaboration with the Edge and Pedestal Physics Expert Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordey, J.; Kardaun, O.

2001-01-01

A Workshop of the Confinement Database and Modelling Expert Group (EG) was held on 2-6 April at the Plasma Physics Research Center of Lausanne (CRPP), Switzerland. Presentations were held on the present status of the plasma pedestal (temperature and energy) scalings from an empirical and theoretical perspective. An integrated approach to modelling tokamaks incorporating core transport, edge pedestal and SOL, together with a model for ELMs was presented by JCT. New experimental data on on global H-mode confinement were discussed and presentations on L-H threshold power were made

Effects of an electric field on the confined hydrogen atom in a parabolic potential well

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Wenfang

2009-01-01

Using the perturbation method, the confined hydrogen atom by a parabolic potential well is investigated. The binding energy of the confined hydrogen atom in a parabolic potential well is calculated as a function of the confined potential radius and as a function of the intensity of an applied electric field. It is shown that the binding energy of the confined hydrogen atom is highly dependent on the confined potential radius and the intensity of an applied electric field.

Stabilization of burn conditions in an ITER FEAT like Tokamak with uncertainties in the helium ash confinement time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vitela, J.E.

2004-01-01

In this work we demonstrate using a two-temperature volume averaged 0-D model that robust stabilization, with regard the helium ash confinement time, of the burn conditions of a tokamak reactor with the ITER FEAT design parameters can be achieved using Radial Basis Neural Networks (RBNN). Alpha particle thermalization time delay is taken into account in this model. The control actions implemented by means of a RBNN, include the modulation of the D-T (deuterium and tritium) refueling rate, a neutral He-4 injection beam and auxiliary heating powers to ions and electrons; all of them constrained to lie within allowable range values. Here we assume that the tokamak follows the IPB98(y,2) scaling for the energy confinement time, while helium ash confinement time is assumed to be independently estimated on-line. The D-T and helium ash particle confinement times are assumed to keep a constant relationship at all times. An on-line noisy estimation of the helium ash confinement time due to measurements is simulated by corrupting it with pseudo Gaussian noise. (author)

TeV. The dream energy scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murayama, Hitoshi

2006-01-01

In this talk, I'd like to explain why the TeV, 1,000,000,000,00 electron volt, is a particularly interesting energy scale in physics. I being recapitulating what particle physics is all about, citing two big questions: what the Universe is made of, and Einstein's dream of unification. TeV energy appears to be relevant to both questions, suggesting rich and complex physics at this energy. I outline how two facilities, LHC and ILC, will work together with reveal what is going on at this exciting energy scale. (author)

Apparatus for magnetic and electrostatic confinement of plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Rostoker, Norman; Binderbauer, Michl

2013-06-11

An apparatus and method for containing plasma and forming a Field Reversed Configuration (FRC) magnetic topology are described in which plasma ions are contained magnetically in stable, non-adiabatic orbits in the FRC. Further, the electrons are contained electrostatically in a deep energy well, created by tuning an externally applied magnetic field. The simultaneous electrostatic confinement of electrons and magnetic confinement of ions avoids anomalous transport and facilitates classical containment of both electrons and ions. In this configuration, ions and electrons may have adequate density and temperature so that upon collisions ions are fused together by nuclear force, thus releasing fusion energy. Moreover, the fusion fuel plasmas that can be used with the present confinement system and method are not limited to neutronic fuels only, but also advantageously include advanced fuels.

Studies of energetic ion confinement during fishbone events in PDX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strachan, J.D.; Grek, B.; Heidbrink, W.; Johnson, D.; Kaye, S.; Kugel, H.; LeBlanc, B.; McGuire, K.

1984-11-01

The 2.5-MeV neutron emission from the beam-target d(d,n,) 3 He fusion reaction has been examined for all PDX deuterium plasmas which were heated by deuterium neutral beams. The magnitude of the emission was found to scale classically and increase with T/sub e//sup 3/2/ as expected when electron drag is the primary energy degradation mechanism. The time evolution of the neutron emission through fishbone events was measured and used to determine the confinement properties of the energetic beam ions. Many of the experimental results are predicted by the Mode Particle Pumping theory

Designing the Nuclear Energy Attitude Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Calhoun, Lawrence; And Others

1988-01-01

Presents a refined method for designing a valid and reliable Likert-type scale to test attitudes toward the generation of electricity from nuclear energy. Discusses various tests of validity that were used on the nuclear energy scale. Reports results of administration and concludes that the test is both reliable and valid. (CW)

Thermal instabilities in magnetically confined plasmas: Solar coronal loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Habbal, S.R.; Rosner, R.

1979-01-01

The thermal stability of confined solar coronal structures (''loops'') is investigated, following both normal mode and a new, global instability analysis. We demonstrate that: (a) normal mode analysis shows modes with size scales comparable to that of loops to be unstable, but to be strongly affected by the loop boundary conditions; (b) a global analysis, based upon variation of the total loop energy losses and gains, yields loop stability conditions for global modes dependent upon the coronal loop heating process, with magnetically coupled heating processes giving marginal stability. The connection between the present analysis and the minimum flux corona of Hearn is also discussed

Measurement of suprathermal electron confinement by cyclotron transmission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirkwood, R.; Hutchinson, I.H.; Luckhardt, S.C.; Porkolab, M.; Squire, J.P.

1990-01-01

The confinement time of suprathermal electrons is determined experimentally from the distribution function determined via wave transmission measurements. Measurements of the lowest moment of the distribution perpendicular to the B field as a function of the parallel electron momentum as well as the global input power allow the suprathermal electron confinement time (τ se ) to be calculated during lower-hybrid and inductive current drive. Finite particle confinement is found to be the dominant energy loss term for the suprathermals and improves with plasma current and density

Electronic confining effects in Sierpiński triangle fractals

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hao; Zhang, Xue; Jiang, Zhuoling; Wang, Yongfeng; Hou, Shimin

2018-03-01

Electron confinement in fractal Sierpiński triangles (STs) on Ag(111) is investigated using scanning tunneling spectroscopy and theoretically simulated by employing an improved two-dimensional (2D) multiple scattering theory in which the energy-dependent phase shifts are explicitly calculated from the electrostatic potentials of the molecular building block of STs. Well-defined bound surface states are observed in three kinds of triangular cavities with their sides changing at a scale factor of 2. The decrease in length of the cavities results in an upshift of the resonances that deviates from an expected inverse quadratic dependence on the cavity length due to the less efficient confinement of smaller triangular cavities. Differential conductance maps at some specific biases present a series of alternative bright and dark rounded triangles preserving the symmetry of the boundary. Our improved 2D multiple scattering model reproduces the characteristics of the standing wave patterns and all features in the differential conductance spectra measured in experiments, illustrating that the elastic loss boundary scattering dominates the resonance broadening in these ST quantum corrals. Moreover, the self-similar structure of STs, that a larger central cavity is surrounded by three smaller ones with a half side length, gives rise to interactions of surface states confined in neighboring cavities, which are helpful for the suppression of the linewidth in differential conductance spectra.

First Observation of Cross-Beam Energy Transfer Mitigation for Direct-Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion Implosions Using Wavelength Detuning at the National Ignition Facility.

Science.gov (United States)

Marozas, J A; Hohenberger, M; Rosenberg, M J; Turnbull, D; Collins, T J B; Radha, P B; McKenty, P W; Zuegel, J D; Marshall, F J; Regan, S P; Sangster, T C; Seka, W; Campbell, E M; Goncharov, V N; Bowers, M W; Di Nicola, J-M G; Erbert, G; MacGowan, B J; Pelz, L J; Yang, S T

2018-02-23

Cross-beam energy transfer (CBET) results from two-beam energy exchange via seeded stimulated Brillouin scattering, which detrimentally reduces ablation pressure and implosion velocity in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion. Mitigating CBET is demonstrated for the first time in inertial-confinement implosions at the National Ignition Facility by detuning the laser-source wavelengths (±2.3  Å UV) of the interacting beams. We show that, in polar direct-drive, wavelength detuning increases the equatorial region velocity experimentally by 16% and alters the in-flight shell morphology. These experimental observations are consistent with design predictions of radiation-hydrodynamic simulations that indicate a 10% increase in the average ablation pressure.

Dependence of L-mode confinement on the electron cyclotron power deposition profile in the TCV tokamak

Science.gov (United States)

Kirneva, N. A.; Razumova, K. A.; Pochelon, A.; Behn, R.; Coda, S.; Curchod, L.; Duval, B. P.; Goodman, T. P.; Labit, B.; Karpushov, A. N.; Rancic, M.; Sauter, O.; Silva, M.; TCV Team

2012-01-01

Scenarios with different electron cyclotron heating power profile distributions and widths were compared for the first time in experiments on the Tokamak à Configuration Variable (TCV). The heating profile was changed from shot to shot over a wide range from localized on-axis, with normalized minor radius half-width at half maximum σ1/2 ~ 0.1, up to a widely distributed heating power profile with σ1/2 ~ 0.4 and finally to a profile peaked far off-axis. The global confinement, MHD activity, density, temperature and electron pressure profile evolution were compared. In particular, the energy confinement properties of discharges with localized on-axis heating and distributed on-axis heating were very similar, with degradation close to that predicted by the ITER L-mode scaling; in the case of off-axis heating, on the other hand, the confinement degradation was even stronger.

Direct conversion of fusion energy into the electric one in the 'Dragon' magnetic confinement system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glagolev, V.M.; Timofeev, A.V.

1993-01-01

It is shown that recuperator in which the thermal energy of particles is transformed into electric oue under drift in crossed fields is naturally coupled with dragontype magnetic confinement system, so the recuperation process can be initiated in the dragon magnetic field. A number of questions occuring under analysis of recuperator-dragon system is considered, including the dynamics of particle transfer to the recuperator, the share of particles entering the recuperator, the effect of rotational transform and the recuperation efficiency

Dynamics of water confined in clay minerals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Caer, S.; Pommeret, S.; Renault, J.Ph.; Lima, M.; Righini, R.; Gosset, D.; Simeone, D.; Bergaya, F.

2012-01-01

Ultrafast infrared spectroscopy of the O-D stretching mode of dilute HOD in H 2 O probes the local environment and the hydrogen bond network of confined water. The dynamics of water molecules confined in the interlayer space of montmorillonites (Mt) and in interaction with two types of cations (Li + and Ca 2+ ) but also with the negatively charged siloxane surface are studied. The results evidence that the OD vibrational dynamics is significantly slowed down in confined media: it goes from 1.7 ps in neat water to 2.6 Ps in the case of Li + cations with two water pseudo-layers (2.2-2.3 ps in the case of Ca 2+ cations) and to 4.7 ps in the case of Li + cations with one water pseudo-layer. No significant difference between the two cations is noticed. In this 2D confined geometry (the interlayer space being about 0.6 nm for two water pseudo-layers), the relaxation time constants obtained are comparable to the ones measured in analogous concentrated salt solutions. Nevertheless, and in strong opposition to the observations performed in the liquid phase, anisotropy experiments evidence the absence of rotational motions on a 5 ps time scale, proving that the hydrogen bond network in the interlayer space of the clay mineral is locked at this time scale. (authors)

Inertial confinement: concept and early history

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linhart, J.G.

1986-01-01

The concept of inertial confinement is linked to the general theme of energy compression and staging. It is shown how it arose from the ideas and experiments on dynamic pinches towards the end of the fifties and how the important key concept of a linear was further developed during the sixties. THe various attempts at driving linears to speeds in excess of 1 cm/μs are reviewed in chronological order, mentioning the important impetus given to this field by the consideration of laser as a driver. It is concluded that the field of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is becoming ever richer in possibilities, and the understanding of the physics of high-energy density has reached now a satisfactory level

Structure and spectra of a confined HeH molecule

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lo, J M H; Klobukowski, M; Bielinska-Wacz, D; Schreiner, E W S; Diercksen, G H F

2006-01-01

The influence of spatial confinement on the structure and spectra of the Rydberg HeH molecule is analysed at the level of the variational full configuration interaction approach. The confining potential is assumed to have cylindrical symmetry, with the symmetry axis of the potential overlapping with the molecular bond. In the direction perpendicular to the axis quadratic dependence of the potential on the electron coordinates is assumed. The influence of the confining potential on the form of the potential energy curves (in particular on the bond lengths), on the electronic spectra and on the ionization due to the confinement is studied in detail

A probabilistic model for the identification of confinement regimes and edge localized mode behavior, with implications to scaling laws

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verdoolaege, Geert; Van Oost, Guido

2012-01-01

Pattern recognition is becoming an important tool in fusion data analysis. However, fusion diagnostic measurements are often affected by considerable statistical uncertainties, rendering the extraction of useful patterns a significant challenge. Therefore, we assume a probabilistic model for the data and perform pattern recognition in the space of probability distributions. We show the considerable advantage of our method for identifying confinement regimes and edge localized mode behavior, and we discuss the potential for scaling laws.

Energy production by means of inertially confined plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoernqvist, N.; Witalis, E.

1984-01-01

An account is given, about the general but rather intricate physical principles which are fundamental for the ignition, propagation and burning of some listed energy-producing nuclear fusion reactions. Further, the theory is extended to describe the necessary but high performance combination studied or proposed to be achieved by the radiation sources (drivers) in order to bring about, in particular, the increase density of the nuclear fuel by means of a radiation-driven ablative compression. The analysis is extended by conditions and limitations also for technical and economic reasons. This leads to the identification followed by discussions of five critical parameters, each of which is a necessary condition to obtain inertial fusion. In the sequel, components and assemblies for inertial fusion are described, i.e. drivers (lasers, light ions, x-radiation, heavy ions), the structure and properties of fuel pellets and reactor proposals. Special regard is given to known or anticipated limitations of technical, physical or economic nature. A brief description is given about progress and present situation for magnetic confinement fusion. This provides a background of an attempt for a comparison with inertial fusion. It is then claimed that none of these two main-line techiques of fusion research can at present be regarded or expected to be more likely to succeed in providing economic fusion energy production. In the summary recommendations are given about theoretical studies in combination with close observations of the general and international progress of research. An experimental effort, however, is considered as too much of an expensive venture, in particular with regard to present uncertainties in judging techniques involving accelerator-generated heavy ions and x-ray generation methods for driving the implosion processes of inertial fusion. (Author)

Quantum-confined nanowires as vehicles for enhanced electrical transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohammad, S Noor

2012-01-01

Electrical transport in semiconductor nanowires taking quantum confinement and dielectric confinement into account has been studied. A distinctly new route has been employed for the study. The fundamental science underlying the model is based on a relationship between the quantum confinement and the structural disorder of the nanowire surface. The role of surface energy and thermodynamic imbalance in nanowire structural disorder has been described. A model for the diameter dependence of energy bandgap of nanowires has been developed. Ionized impurity scattering, dislocation scattering and acoustic phonon scattering have been taken into account to study carrier mobility. A series of calculations on silicon nanowires show that carrier mobility in nanowires can be greatly enhanced by quantum confinement and dielectric confinement. The electron mobility can, for example, be a factor of 2–10 higher at room temperature than the mobility in a free-standing silicon nanowire. The calculated results agree well with almost all experimental and theoretical results available in the literature. They successfully explain experimental observations not understood before. The model is general and applicable to nanowires from all possible semiconductors. It is perhaps the first physical model highlighting the impact of both quantum confinement and dielectric confinement on carrier transport. It underscores the basic causes of thin, lowly doped nanowires in the temperature range 200 K ≤ T ≤ 500 K yielding very high carrier mobility. It suggests that the scattering by dislocations (stacking faults) can be very detrimental for carrier mobility. (paper)

Energy transfers and magnetic energy growth in small-scale dynamo

KAUST Repository

Kumar, Rohit Raj; Verma, Mahendra K.; Samtaney, Ravi

2013-01-01

In this letter we investigate the dynamics of magnetic energy growth in small-scale dynamo by studying energy transfers, mainly energy fluxes and shell-to-shell energy transfers. We perform dynamo simulations for the magnetic Prandtl number Pm = 20

Battery energy storage systems: Assessment for small-scale renewable energy integration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nair, Nirmal-Kumar C.; Garimella, Niraj [Power Systems Group, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Auckland, 38 Princes Street, Science Centre, Auckland 1142 (New Zealand)

2010-11-15

Concerns arising due to the variability and intermittency of renewable energy sources while integrating with the power grid can be mitigated to an extent by incorporating a storage element within the renewable energy harnessing system. Thus, battery energy storage systems (BESS) are likely to have a significant impact in the small-scale integration of renewable energy sources into commercial building and residential dwelling. These storage technologies not only enable improvements in consumption levels from renewable energy sources but also provide a range of technical and monetary benefits. This paper provides a modelling framework to be able to quantify the associated benefits of renewable resource integration followed by an overview of various small-scale energy storage technologies. A simple, practical and comprehensive assessment of battery energy storage technologies for small-scale renewable applications based on their technical merit and economic feasibility is presented. Software such as Simulink and HOMER provides the platforms for technical and economic assessments of the battery technologies respectively. (author)

Self-consistent model of confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swift, A.R.

1988-01-01

A model of the large-spatial-distance, zero--three-momentum, limit of QCD is developed from the hypothesis that there is an infrared singularity. Single quarks and gluons do not propagate because they have infinite energy after renormalization. The Hamiltonian formulation of the path integral is used to quantize QCD with physical, nonpropagating fields. Perturbation theory in the infrared limit is simplified by the absence of self-energy insertions and by the suppression of large classes of diagrams due to vanishing propagators. Remaining terms in the perturbation series are resummed to produce a set of nonlinear, renormalizable integral equations which fix both the confining interaction and the physical propagators. Solutions demonstrate the self-consistency of the concepts of an infrared singularity and nonpropagating fields. The Wilson loop is calculated to provide a general proof of confinement. Bethe-Salpeter equations for quark-antiquark pairs and for two gluons have finite-energy solutions in the color-singlet channel. The choice of gauge is addressed in detail. Large classes of corrections to the model are discussed and shown to support self-consistency

Holographic collisions in confining theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardoso, Vitor; Emparan, Roberto; Mateos, David; Pani, Paolo; Rocha, Jorge V.

2014-01-01

We study the gravitational dual of a high-energy collision in a confining gauge theory. We consider a linearized approach in which two point particles traveling in an AdS-soliton background suddenly collide to form an object at rest (presumably a black hole for large enough center-of-mass energies). The resulting radiation exhibits the features expected in a theory with a mass gap: late-time power law tails of the form t −3/2 , the failure of Huygens’ principle and distortion of the wave pattern as it propagates. The energy spectrum is exponentially suppressed for frequencies smaller than the gauge theory mass gap. Consequently, we observe no memory effect in the gravitational waveforms. At larger frequencies the spectrum has an upward-stairway structure, which corresponds to the excitation of the tower of massive states in the confining gauge theory. We discuss the importance of phenomenological cutoffs to regularize the divergent spectrum, and the aspects of the full non-linear collision that are expected to be captured by our approach

Studying Lorentz-violating electromagnetic waves in confined media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viana, Davidson R.; Gomes, Andre H.; Fonseca, Jakson M.; Moura-Melo, Winder A.

2009-01-01

Full text. Planck energy scale is still far beyond current possibilities. A question of interest is whether the Lorentz symmetry remains valid at these extremely high energies, whose answer certainly would be useful whenever building grand unified theories, in which general relativity is consistently accommodated. Here, we study a reminiscent of this possible symmetry violation, incorporated in the body of the so-called Standard Model Extension (SME). More precisely, we deal with the pure (Abelian) gauge sector, so that we have a modified classical electromagnetism in (3+1) dimensions, whose Lagrangian include a term proportional to a (constant) background tensor that breaks the Lorentz symmetry, but respecting CPT. Our attention is devoted to the wave-like solutions constrained to propagate inside confined media, like waveguides and resonant cavities. Our preliminary findings indicate that Lorentz-breaking implies in modifications of the standard results which are proportional to the (very small) violating parameters, but could be largely enhanced by diminishing the size of the confined media. Under study is the case of a toroidal cavity where the electromagnetic field should respect the additional requirement of being single-valued in the (toroidal) angular variable. Perhaps, such an extra feature combined with the usual boundary conditions could lead us to large effects of this violation, somewhat similar to those predicted for CPT- and Lorentz-odd electromagnetic waves constrained to propagate along a hollow conductor waveguide. (author)

Sustainment of high confinement in JT-60U reversed shear plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujita, T.; Kamada, Y.; Ide, S.; Takeji, S.; Sakamoto, Y.; Isayama, A.; Suzuki, T.; Oikawa, T.; Fukuda, T.

2001-01-01

confinement is achieved owing to strong internal transport barriers (ITBs), are reported. In a high current plasma with an L-mode edge, deuterium-tritium-equivalent fusion power gain, Q DT eq =0.5 was sustained for 0.8 s (∼ energy confinement time) by adjusting plasma beta precisely using feedback control of stored energy. In a high triangularity plasma with an ELMy H-mode edge, the shrinkage of reversed shear region was suppressed and quasi steady sustainment of high confinement was achieved by raising the poloidal beta and enhancing the bootstrap current peaked at the ITB layer. High bootstrap current fraction (∼80%) was obtained in a high q regime (q 95 ∼9), which leaded to full non-inductive current drive condition. The normalized beta (β N ) of ∼ 2 and H-factor of H 89 ∼3.5 (HH 98y2 ∼2.2) were sustained for 2.7 s (∼ 6 times energy confinement time). (author)

Percolating cluster of center vortices and confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gliozzi, Ferdinando; Panero, Marco; Provero, Paolo

2003-01-01

We study the role of percolating clusters of center vortices in configurations of an Ising gauge theory in 3D. It is known that low energy features of gauge theories can be described in terms of an 'effective string picture', and that confinement properties are associated with topologically non-trivial configurations. We focus our attention upon percolating clusters of center vortices, and present numerical evidence for the fact that these objects play a preminent role in confinement phenomenon, since their removal sweeps off confinement altogether. Moreover, numerical simulations show that the string fluctuations, and in particular the Mischer term, are completely encoded in the percolating cluster

Achieving competitive excellence in nuclear energy: The threat of proliferation; the challenge of inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuckolls, J.H.

1994-06-01

Nuclear energy will have an expanding role in meeting the twenty-first-century challenges of population and economic growth, energy demand, and global warming. These great challenges are non-linearly coupled and incompletely understood. In the complex global system, achieving competitive excellence for nuclear energy is a multi-dimensional challenge. The growth of nuclear energy will be driven by its margin of economic advantage, as well as by threats to energy security and by growing evidence of global warming. At the same time, the deployment of nuclear energy will be inhibited by concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation, nuclear waste and nuclear reactor safety. These drivers and inhibitors are coupled: for example, in the foreseeable future, proliferation in the Middle East may undermine energy security and increase demand for nuclear energy. The Department of Energy's nuclear weapons laboratories are addressing many of these challenges, including nuclear weapons builddown and nonproliferation, nuclear waste storage and burnup, reactor safety and fuel enrichment, global warming, and the long-range development of fusion energy. Today I will focus on two major program areas at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL): the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the development of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) energy

Scaling of the Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) for near-term thrusters and future fusion propulsion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miley, G.; Bromley, B.; Jurczyk, B.; Stubbers, R.; DeMora, J.; Chacon, L.; Gu, Y.

1998-01-01

Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) is a unique approach to fusion and plasma energy systems that was conceptualized in the 1960s (Hirsch 1967) and has been the focus of recent development in the 1990s (Miley et al. 1995a). In the interests of space power and propulsion systems, conceptual rocket design studies (Bussard and Jameson 1994, Miley et al. 1995b) using the IEC have predicted excellent performance for a variety of space missions, since the power unit avoids the use of magnets and heavy drives resulting in a very high, specific impulse compared to other fusion systems. In their recent survey of prior conceptual design studies of fusion rockets, Williams and Borowski (1997) found that the Bussard IEC conceptual study (the open-quotes QEDclose quotes engine) offered a thrust-to-weight ratio of 10 milli-g close-quote s, a factor of five higher than conventional magnetic confinement concepts and even slightly above anti-proton micro fission/fusion designs. Thus there is considerable motivation to study IEC concepts for eventual space applications. However, the physics feasibility of the IEC still requires experimental demonstration, and an expanded data base is needed to insure that a power unit can in fact be built. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

Energy harvesting: small scale energy production from ambient sources

Science.gov (United States)

Yeatman, Eric M.

2009-03-01

Energy harvesting - the collection of otherwise unexploited energy in the local environment - is attracting increasing attention for the powering of electronic devices. While the power levels that can be reached are typically modest (microwatts to milliwatts), the key motivation is to avoid the need for battery replacement or recharging in portable or inaccessible devices. Wireless sensor networks are a particularly important application: the availability of essentially maintenance free sensor nodes, as enabled by energy harvesting, will greatly increase the feasibility of large scale networks, in the paradigm often known as pervasive sensing. Such pervasive sensing networks, used to monitor buildings, structures, outdoor environments or the human body, offer significant benefits for large scale energy efficiency, health and safety, and many other areas. Sources of energy for harvesting include light, temperature differences, and ambient motion, and a wide range of miniature energy harvesters based on these sources have been proposed or demonstrated. This paper reviews the principles and practice in miniature energy harvesters, and discusses trends, suitable applications, and possible future developments.

Neoclassical tearing modes on ASDEX Upgrade: Improved scaling laws, high confinement at high βN and new stabilization experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guenter, S.; Gude, A.; Igochine, V.; Maraschek, M.; Sips, A.C.C.; Zohm, H.; Gantenbein, G.; Sauter, O.

2003-01-01

In this paper recent results on the physics of neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) achieved on ASDEX Upgrade are reported. A scaling law for NTM decay has been found, showing that the minimum local bootstrap current density required for mode growth is proportional to the ion gyro radius. As this scaling law does not depend on the seed island size, and thus on the background MHD activity, it is more reliable than previously derived scaling laws for the NTM onset. Furthermore, the recently reported Frequently Interrupted Regime (FIR) is discussed. In this new regime (m,n) NTMs are characterized by frequent amplitude drops caused by interaction with (m+1,n+1) background MHD activity. Due to the resulting reduced time averaged island size this leads to lower confinement degradation compared to that caused by the usual NTMs. As shown here, the transition into this regime can actively be triggered by lowering the magnetic shear at the q=(m+1)/=(n+1) rational surface. Further investigations regard mechanisms to increase the β N value for NTM onset such as plasma shaping, seed island size and density profile control. Using these studies, a scenario with high β N (β N = 3:5) at high density (n/n GW = 0.83) and confinement (H 98(y,2) = 1.2) has been developed. Moreover, this scenario is characterized by type II ELM activity and thus by moderate heat load to the target plates. Finally, new NTM stabilization experiments are reported, demonstrating an increase in β N after NTM stabilization. (author)

Gaussian-3 theory using scaled energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtiss, Larry A.; Raghavachari, Krishnan; Redfern, Paul C.; Pople, John A.

2000-01-01

A modification of Guassian-3 (G3) theory using multiplicative scale factors, instead of the additive higher level correction, is presented. In this method, referred to as G3S, the correlation energy is scaled by five parameters and the Hartree-Fock energy by one parameter. The six parameters are fitted to the G2/97 test set of 299 energies and the resulting mean absolute deviation from experiment is 0.99 kcal/mol compared to 1.01 kcal/mol for G3 theory. The G3S method has the advantage compared to G3 theory in that it can be used for studying potential energy surfaces where the products and reactants have a different number of paired electrons. In addition, versions of the computationally less intensive G3(MP3) and G3(MP2) methods that use scaled energies are also presented. These methods, referred to as G3S(MP3) and G3S(MP2), have mean absolute deviations of 1.16 and 1.35 kcal/mol, respectively. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

Confinement in dually transformed U(1) lattice gauge theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zach, M.

1997-10-01

The aim of this work is a detailed investigation of the confinement mechanism in U(1) lattice gauge theory. In the first chapters we give a review on the definition of compact Abelian gauge theory on space-time lattices, the numerical calculation of physical observables for exploring confinement, and the interpretation of the results in terms of the dual superconductor picture, which is introduced at two levels of description. We work out that the electric field strength and the magnetic currents around a charge pair can be described very well by a classical effective model of Maxwell and London equations, if fluctuations of the occurring fluxoid string are considered. In order to obtain a deeper understanding of confinement in U(1), we extend the duality transformation of the path integral to the correlation functions which are used to calculate expectation values of fields and currents. This not only helps to interpret U(1) lattice gauge theory as a limit of the dual Higgs model, but also opens the possibility for efficient calculations of expectation values in the presence of static charges by simulating the dual model. Using this technique we are able to consider large flux tube lengths, low temperatures, and multiply charged systems without loss of numerical precision. The dual simulation is applied to flux tubes between static charges, to periodically closed flux tubes (torelons), and to doubly charged systems. We find that the behavior of flux tubes for large charge distances cannot be explained by the picture of a classical dual type-II superconductor; the observed roughening of the flux tube agrees very well with the prediction from the effective string description. We also analyze the different contributions to the total energy of the electromagnetic field. For torelons we calculate both the free energy and the total field energy, split the free energy into a string tension and a string fluctuation part, and apply lattice sum rules modified for finite

The confinement effect in spherical inhomogeneous quantum dots and stability of excitons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Benhaddou

2017-06-01

Full Text Available We investigate in this work the quantum confinement effect of exciton in spherical inhomogeneous quantum dots IQDs. The spherical core is enveloped by two shells. The inner shell is a semiconductor characterized by a small band-gap. The core and the outer shell are the same semiconductor characterized by a large band-gap. So there is a significant gap-offset creating a deep potential well where the excitons are localized and strongly confined. We have adopted the Ritz variational method to calculate numerically the excitonic ground state energy and its binding energy in the strong, moderate and low confinement regimes. The results show that the Ritz variational method is in good agreement with the perturbation method in strong confinement. There is a double confinement effect and dual control. The calculation checks the effective Rydberg R* at the asymptotic limit of bulk semiconductor when the thickness takes very large values. The excitonic binding energy increases, Thus giving the excitons a high stability even at ambient temperature. These nanosystems are promising in several applications: lighting, detection, biological labeling and quantum computing.

Two flavor QCD and Confinement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

D'Elia, M.; Di Giacomo, A.; Pica, Claudio

2005-01-01

We argue that the order of the chiral transition for N_f=2 is a sensitive probe of the QCD vacuum, in particular of the mechanism of color confinement. A strategy is developed to investigate the order of the transition by use of finite size scaling analysis. An in-depth numerical investigation is...

Confinement projections for the Burning Plasma Experiment (BPX)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldston, R.J.; Bateman, G.; Kaye, S.M.; Perkins, F.W.; Pomphrey, N.; Stotler, D.P.; Zarnstorff, M.C.; Porkolab, M.; Reidel, K.S.; Stambaugh, R.D.; Waltz, R.E.

1991-01-01

The mission of the Burning Plasma Experiment (BPX, formerly CIT) is to study the physics of self-heated fusion plasmas (Q = 5 to ignition), and to demonstrate the production of substantial amounts of fusion power (P fus = 100 to 500 MW). Confinement projections for BPX have been made on the basis of (1) dimensional extrapolation (2) theory-based modeling calibrated to experiment, and (3) statistical scaling from the available empirical data base. The results of all three approaches, discussed in this paper, roughly coincide. We presently view the third approach, statistical scaling, as the most reliable means for projecting the confinement performance of BPX, and especially for assessing the uncertainty in the projection. 11 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

Scale Dependence of Dark Energy Antigravity

Science.gov (United States)

Perivolaropoulos, L.

2002-09-01

We investigate the effects of negative pressure induced by dark energy (cosmological constant or quintessence) on the dynamics at various astrophysical scales. Negative pressure induces a repulsive term (antigravity) in Newton's law which dominates on large scales. Assuming a value of the cosmological constant consistent with the recent SnIa data we determine the critical scale $r_c$ beyond which antigravity dominates the dynamics ($r_c \\sim 1Mpc $) and discuss some of the dynamical effects implied. We show that dynamically induced mass estimates on the scale of the Local Group and beyond are significantly modified due to negative pressure. We also briefly discuss possible dynamical tests (eg effects on local Hubble flow) that can be applied on relatively small scales (a few $Mpc$) to determine the density and equation of state of dark energy.

Power absorption and confinement studies of ICRF-heated plasma in JIPP T-IIU tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ida, K.; Ogawa, Y.; Toi, K.

1988-08-01

The energy confinement characteristics of ICRF-heated tokamak plasmas are studied at high input power density ∼ 2 MWm -3 volume averaged, on the JIPP T-IIU device(R = 0.91 m/a = 0.23 m). High electron and ion temperatures (T e ∼ 2.5 keV, T i ∼ 2.0 keV, at each maximum) have been achieved by the operation at a plasma current I P of 280 kA, plasma line-averaged electron density n-bar e of 7 x 10 13 cm -3 and input power of 2 MW, with a suppression of total radiation loss (30 to 40 % of the total input power) by a carbon coating on the vacuum vessel. The fraction of ICRF power absorbed by the plasma, α, is determined experimentally from the decay of the stored plasma energy just after the ICRF pulse is terminated. The value of α increases slightly with increasing electron density and decreases from 90 to 70 % as the ICRF power is increased from 1 MWm -3 to 2 MWm -3 volume averaged. The global energy confinement time τ E , defined by W P /(P OH + αP rf ), decreases by a factor of 2 ∼ 3 from that in ohmic plasmas as the heating power increases up to 2 MW. It is found that the energy confinement time has a strong line-averaged electron density dependence as τ E ∝n-bar e 0.6 , which is obtained by the use of the measured absorbed power, while the Kaye-Goldston scaling predicts τ E ∝n-bar e 0.26 . (author)

Structure and dynamics of a silica melt in neutral confinement

Science.gov (United States)

Geske, Julian; Drossel, Barbara; Vogel, Michael

2017-04-01

We analyze the effects of spatial confinement on viscous silica using molecular dynamics simulations. For this purpose, we prepare a silica melt in a cylindrical pore, which is produced by pinning appropriate fractions of silicon and oxygen atoms in a bulk system after an equilibration period. In this way, the structure of the confined silica melt remains unaffected, while the confinement has a strong impact on the dynamics. We find that the structural relaxation of viscous silica is slowed down according to a double exponential law when approaching the pore wall. Moreover, we observe that static density correlations exist in the vicinity of the pore wall. Based on these effects, we determine dynamical and structural length scales of the silica melt. Both length scales show a similar increase upon cooling, with values on the order of the next-neighbor distances in the studied temperature range. Interestingly, we find no evidence that the growth of the length scales is affected by a fragile-to-strong transition of the silica melt. This observation casts serious doubts on the relevance of these length scales for the structural relaxation, at least for the studied glass former.

Energy confinement in the T-10 tokamak and canonic profile models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dnestrovskii, Yu.N.; Pereverzev, G.V.

1988-01-01

A classification of experimental results on electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) is that T-10 tokamak is presented. Analysis of the experiments is consistent with two energy balance models. The first is based on the idea of profile consistency of the plasma current and pressure. The on-axis and off-axis ECRH as well as the heat wave propagation in T-10 can be reasonably represented in this way. In addition, this model allows the L to H mode transition to be described as the bifurcation of the solutions of a set of non-linear equations. The second model is based on the idea of a thermal pinch produced by a toroidal electric field. The electron temperature profiles under ohmic heating as well as under ECRH can be described by this model. Furthermore, this approach explains the cause of the confinement degradation under non-ohmic plasma heating (L-mode). (Author)

Improved energy confinement with neon injection in the DIII-D tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staebler, G.M.; Jackson, G.L.; West, W.P. Groebner, R.J.; Schaffer, M.J.; Allen, S.L.; Whyte, D.G.

1997-06-01

In this paper the authors will report the first direct measurements of the fully stripped neon 10 + density profile in a plasma with enhanced energy confinement due to neon injection. This is made with a calibrated charge exchange recombination (CER) system. It is found that the neon 10 + density is peaked like the electron density with a slightly higher concentration towards the edge. The good news is that the neon 10 + fraction is less than 1% (normalized to the electron density). The radial electric field can also be computed from the CER measurements on DIII-D. The shear in the E x B velocity is found to exceed the maximum growth rate of the ion temperature gradient (ITG) mode over part of the profile, a condition for the suppression of turbulent transport. This agrees with the reduced power balance thermal diffusivities near the magnetic axis

The history and hopes of inertial confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linhart, J.G.

1987-01-01

The development of the concept of inertial confinement is followed through its several incarnations starting from hammer and anvil, tamping of chemical explosives to Veksler's idea of collective and impact acceleration. The application of inertial confinement to the controlled nuclear fusion appears as a natural extension of these previous applications. The early association with the research on macroparticle-acceleration is also mentioned. Follows a brief description of the development of ideas on liner-acceleration, including those linked with a rocket-propulsion, or as it is known today-ablation. The recent trends in liner-acceleration, energy-compression and energy-staging are mentioned, as well as the hopes and fears connected with reactor projects

Scaling Behavior of Dilute Polymer Solutions Confined between Parallel Plates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vliet, J.H. van; Luyten, M.C.; Brinke, G. ten

1992-01-01

The average size and shape of a polymer coil confined in a slit between two parallel plates depends on the distance L between the plates. On the basis of numerical results, four different regimes can be distingubhed. For large values of L the coil is essentially unconfined. For intermediate values

Runaway electrons and magnetic island confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boozer, Allen H.

2016-01-01

The breakup of magnetic surfaces is a central feature of ITER planning for the avoidance of damage due to runaway electrons. Rapid thermal quenches, which lead to large accelerating voltages, are thought to be due to magnetic surface breakup. Impurity injection to avoid and to mitigate both halo and runaway electron currents utilizes massive gas injection or shattered pellets. The actual deposition is away from the plasma center, and the breakup of magnetic surfaces is thought to spread the effects of the impurities across the plasma cross section. The breakup of magnetic surfaces would prevent runaway electrons from reaching relativistic energies were it not for the persistence of non-intercepting flux tubes. These are tubes of magnetic field lines that do not intercept the walls. In simulations and in magnetic field models, non-intercepting flux tubes are found to persist near the magnetic axis and in the cores of magnetic islands even when a large scale magnetic surface breakup occurs. As long as a few magnetic surfaces reform before all of the non-intercepting flux tubes dissipate, energetic electrons confined and accelerated in these flux tubes can serve as the seed electrons for a transfer of the overall plasma current from thermal to relativistic carriers. The acceleration of electrons is particularly strong because of the sudden changes in the poloidal flux that naturally occur in a rapid magnetic relaxation. The physics of magnetic islands as non-intercepting flux tubes is studied. Expressions are derived for (1) the size of islands required to confine energetic runaway electrons, (2) the accelerating electric field in an island, (3) the increase or reduction in the size of an island by the runaway electron current, (4) the approximate magnitude of the runaway current in an island, and (5) the time scale for the evolution of an island.

Runaway electrons and magnetic island confinement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boozer, Allen H., E-mail: ahb17@columbia.edu [Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)

2016-08-15

The breakup of magnetic surfaces is a central feature of ITER planning for the avoidance of damage due to runaway electrons. Rapid thermal quenches, which lead to large accelerating voltages, are thought to be due to magnetic surface breakup. Impurity injection to avoid and to mitigate both halo and runaway electron currents utilizes massive gas injection or shattered pellets. The actual deposition is away from the plasma center, and the breakup of magnetic surfaces is thought to spread the effects of the impurities across the plasma cross section. The breakup of magnetic surfaces would prevent runaway electrons from reaching relativistic energies were it not for the persistence of non-intercepting flux tubes. These are tubes of magnetic field lines that do not intercept the walls. In simulations and in magnetic field models, non-intercepting flux tubes are found to persist near the magnetic axis and in the cores of magnetic islands even when a large scale magnetic surface breakup occurs. As long as a few magnetic surfaces reform before all of the non-intercepting flux tubes dissipate, energetic electrons confined and accelerated in these flux tubes can serve as the seed electrons for a transfer of the overall plasma current from thermal to relativistic carriers. The acceleration of electrons is particularly strong because of the sudden changes in the poloidal flux that naturally occur in a rapid magnetic relaxation. The physics of magnetic islands as non-intercepting flux tubes is studied. Expressions are derived for (1) the size of islands required to confine energetic runaway electrons, (2) the accelerating electric field in an island, (3) the increase or reduction in the size of an island by the runaway electron current, (4) the approximate magnitude of the runaway current in an island, and (5) the time scale for the evolution of an island.

Response of temperature and density profiles to heat deposition profile and its impact on global scaling in LHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, H.

2002-01-01

Significant density dependence of the energy confinement time as described in the ISS95 scaling has been demonstrated in the extended parameter regimes in LHD. However, recent experiments have indicated that this density dependence is lost at a certain density under specific conditions. This paper discusses the cause of this saturation and related characteristics of anomalous transport. The saturation of the energy confinement time is observed in the density ramp-up phase of NBI heated plasmas. In contrast to the global energy confinement time, the local heat conduction coefficient still indicates the temperature dependence which is a companion to the density dependence of the energy confinement time. The apparent contradiction between the global confinement and the local transport can be attributed to the change of the heat deposition profile. Through this study, the response of temperature and density profiles to the heat deposition profile is highlighted, which is contrasted to the concept of stiffness or profile consistency observed in tokamaks. The major anomalous transport models based on ITG/TEM and interchange/ballooning modes are assessed. (author)

Improving hot-spot pressure for ignition in high-adiabat Inertial Confinement Fusion implosion

OpenAIRE

Kang, Dongguo; Zhu, Shaoping; Pei, Wenbing; Zou, Shiyang; Zheng, Wudi; Gu, Jianfa; Dai, Zhensheng

2017-01-01

A novel capsule target design to improve the hot-spot pressure in the high-adiabat implosion for inertial confinement fusion is proposed, where a layer of comparatively high-density material is used as a pusher between the fuel and the ablator. This design is based on our theoretical finding of the stagnation scaling laws, which indicates that the hot spot pressure can be improved by increasing the kinetic energy density $\\rho_d V_{imp}^2/2$ ($\\rho_d$ is the shell density when the maximum she...

Structural and mechanical properties of glassy water in nanoscale confinement.

Science.gov (United States)

Lombardo, Thomas G; Giovambattista, Nicolás; Debenedetti, Pablo G

2009-01-01

We investigate the structure and mechanical properties of glassy water confined between silica-based surfaces with continuously tunable hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity by computing and analyzing minimum energy, mechanically stable configurations (inherent structures). The structured silica substrate imposes long-range order on the first layer of water molecules under hydrophobic confinement at high density (p > or = 1.0 g cm(-3)). This proximal layer is also structured in hydrophilic confinement at very low density (p approximately 0.4 g cm(-3)). The ordering of water next to the hydrophobic surface greatly enhances the mechanical strength of thin films (0.8 nm). This leads to a substantial stress anisotropy; the transverse strength of the film exceeds the normal strength by 500 MPa. The large transverse strength results in a minimum in the equation of state of the energy landscape that does not correspond to a mechanical instability, but represents disruption of the ordered layer of water next to the wall. In addition, we find that the mode of mechanical failure is dependent on the type of confinement. Under large lateral strain, water confined by hydrophilic surfaces preferentially forms voids in the middle of the film and fails cohesively. In contrast, water under hydrophobic confinement tends to form voids near the walls and fails by loss of adhesion.

Electrostatically confined quantum rings in bilayer graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Zarenia, M; Pereira, J M; Peeters, F M; Farias, G A

2009-12-01

We propose a new system where electron and hole states are electrostatically confined into a quantum ring in bilayer graphene. These structures can be created by tuning the gap of the graphene bilayer using nanostructured gates or by position-dependent doping. The energy levels have a magnetic field (B(0)) dependence that is strikingly distinct from that of usual semiconductor quantum rings. In particular, the eigenvalues are not invariant under a B(0) --> -B(0) transformation and, for a fixed total angular momentum index m, their field dependence is not parabolic, but displays two minima separated by a saddle point. The spectra also display several anticrossings, which arise due to the overlap of gate-confined and magnetically confined states.

Holographic repulsion and confinement in gauge theory

Science.gov (United States)

Husain, Viqar; Kothawala, Dawood

2013-02-01

We show that for asymptotically anti-de Sitter (AdS) backgrounds with negative energy, such as the AdS soliton and regulated negative-mass AdS-Schwarzshild metrics, the Wilson loop expectation value in the AdS/CFT conjecture exhibits a Coulomb to confinement transition. We also show that the quark-antiquark (q \\bar{q}) potential can be interpreted as affine time along null geodesics on the minimal string worldsheet and that its intrinsic curvature provides a signature of transition to confinement phase. Our results suggest a generic (holographic) relationship between confinement in gauge theory and repulsive gravity, which in turn is connected with singularity avoidance in quantum gravity. Communicated by P R L V Moniz

Scaling violations at ultra-high energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tung, W.K.

1979-01-01

The paper discusses some of the features of high energy lepton-hadron scattering, including the observed (Bjorken) scaling behavior. The cross-sections where all hadron final states are summed over, are examined and the general formulas for the differential cross-section are examined. The subjects of scaling, breaking and phenomenological consequences are studied, and a list of what ultra-high energy neutrino physics can teach QCD is given

CCSD(T) calculations of stabilities and properties of confined systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holka, F.; Urban, M. [Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava, Institute of Materials Science, Bottova 25, SK-917 24 Trnava (Slovakia); Melicherčík, M.; Neogrády, P. [Department of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina, SK-842 15 Bratislava (Slovakia); Paldus, J. [Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Ontario (Canada)

2015-01-22

We analyze energies, electron affinities and polarizabilities of small anions exposed to an external confinement. The second electron in free O{sup 2−} and S{sup 2−} anions is unbound. We investigate the stabilizing effect of the spherical harmonic-oscillator confining potential ω. on these anions employing the Hartree-Fock stability analysis as introduced by Čížek and Paldus. With increasing strength of the external harmonic-oscillator confinement potential ω the broken symmetry (BS) solutions are systematically eliminated. For ω larger than 0.1 all BS solutions for O{sup 2−} disappear. For ω larger than 0.13 the CCSD(T) energy of O{sup 2−} becomes more negative than the energy of the singly charged O{sup −} anion. We relate the harmonic-oscillator confining potential to a crystalline environment in which the O{sup 2−} and S{sup 2−} anions are stable. We also present a model allowing calculations of the in-crystal polarizabilities of anions. The model is based on CCSD(T) calculations of static polarizabilities of selected anions exposed to the spherical harmonic-oscillator confining potential ω This artificial confinement potential ω is then related to the ionic radii of the cation in representative crystal lattices. We investigate the polarizability of O{sup 2−} and S{sup 2−} anions in MgO, MgS, CaO, CaS, SrO, SrS, BaO and BaS crystals. We compare our results with alternative models for in-crystal polarizabilities. External confinement also stabilizes the uracil anion U{sup −}, as is shown by calculations with a stepwise micro-hydration of U{sup −}. Upon hydration is the CCSD(T) adiabatic electron affinity (AEA) of uracil enhanced by about 250 up to 570 meV in comparison with AEA of the isolated molecule, depending on the geometry of the hydrated uracil anion complex. We tried to find an analogy of the stabilization effect of the external confinement on the otherwise unstable anions. In uracil and its anion is the external

Near-surface energy transfers from internal tide beams to smaller vertical scale motions

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, S.; Staquet, C.; Carter, G. S.; Luther, D. S.

2016-02-01

Mechanical energy capable of causing diapycnal mixing in the ocean is transferred to the internal wave field when barotropic tides pass over underwater topography and generate internal tides. The resulting internal tide energy is confined in vertically limited structures, or beams. As internal tide beams (ITBs) propagate through regions of non-uniform stratification in the upper ocean, wave energy can be scattered through multiple reflections and refractions, be vertically trapped, or transferred to non-tidal frequencies through different nonlinear processes. Various observations have shown that ITBs are no longer detectable in horizontal kinetic energy beyond the first surface reflection. Importantly, this implies that some of the internal tide energy no longer propagates in to the abyssal ocean and consequently will not be available to maintain the density stratification. Using the NHM, a nonlinear and nonhydrostatic model based on the MITgcm, simulations of an ITB propagating up to the sea surface are examined in order to quantify the transformation of ITB energy to other motions. We compare and contrast the transformations enabled by idealized, smoothly-varying stratification with transformations enabled by realistic stratification containing a broad-band vertical wavenumber spectrum of variations. Preliminary two-dimensional results show that scattering due to small-scale structure in realistic stratification profiles from Hawaii can lead to energy being vertically trapped near the surface. Idealized simulations of "locally" generated internal solitary waves are analyzed in terms of energy flux transfers from the ITB to solitary waves, higher harmonics, and mean flow. The amount of internal tide energy which propagates back down after near-surface reflection of the ITB in different environments is quantified.

A high-energy x-ray microscope for inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshall, F.J.; Bennett, G.R.

1999-01-01

We have developed a microscope capable of imaging x-ray emission from inertial confinement fusion targets in the range of 7 - 9 keV. Imaging is accomplished with a Kirkpatrick-Baez type, four-image microscope coated with a WB 4 C multilayer having a 2d period of 140 Angstrom. This microscope design (a standard used on the University of Rochester close-quote s OMEGA laser system) is capable of 5 μm resolution over a region large enough to image an imploded target (∼400 μm). This design is capable of being extended to ∼40 keV if state-of-the-art, short-spacing, multilayer coatings are used (∼25 Angstrom), and has been configured to obtain 3 μm resolution with the appropriate choice of mirror size. As such, this type of microscope could serve as a platform for multiframe, hard x-ray imaging on the National Ignition Facility. Characterization of the microscope and laboratory measurements of the energy response made with a cw x-ray source will be shown. copyright 1999 American Institute of Physics

Characteristics of the TPE reversed-field pinch plasmas in conventional and improved confinement regimes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakakita, H.; Asai, T.; Fiksel, G.; Yagi, Y.; Frassinetti, L.; Hayase, K.; Hirano, Y.; Kiyama, S.; Koguchi, H.; Shimada, T.; Innocente, P.; Spizzo, G.; Terranova, D.; Sato, Y.; Yoshikawa, M.

2005-01-01

We present the characteristics and experimental scaling laws of reversed-field pinch (RFP) plasmas, which are obtained from the recently established toroidal pinch experiment (TPE) database. The database contains information for approximately 1500 discharges consistently selected from four TPE RFP devices, and covers two decades of RFP experiments under conventional operating conditions at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. We present the physics of the pulsed poloidal current drive (PPCD) discharges in the TPE-RX RFP device, and a comparison of the improved energy confinement time in PPCD, τ E P PCD , with τ E s caling as the reference scaling law (τ E s caling ∼ a 1.63 (I P 0.78 (I P /N) 0.33 Θ 2.97 ) in the TPE database, is attempted. The result shows that τ E P PCD agrees well with τ E s caling because of the strong pinch parameter dependence on the TPE scaling law. A potential improved confinement mode in the quasi-single-helicity (QSH) state is also investigated in TPE-RX, with respect to the operation conditions under which the QSH spontaneously appears in the core region, where a typical island structure is observed by means of soft Xray tomography. (author)

Fluctuations and confinement in ATF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isler, R.C.; Harris, J.H.; Murakami, M.

1993-01-01

In the period immediately prior to the suspension of ATF operation in November, 1991, a great deal of emphasis was palced on investigations of the fundamental mechanisms controlling confinement in this device. At that time, measurements of the density fluctuations throughout the plasma volume indicated the existence of theoretically predicted dissipative trapped electron and resistive interchange instabilities. These identifications were supported by results of dynamic configuration scans of the magnetic fields during which the extent of the magnetic well, shear, and fraction of confined trapped particles were changed continuously. Interpretation of the data from these experiments has been an ongoing exercise. Most recently, analysis of discharges employing strong gas puffing to change density gradients and fluctuation levels have strengthened the view that dissipative trapped electron modes may be present but do not play a significant direct role in energy transport. The present paper summarizes the current understanding concerning the identification of instabilities and their relationship to confinement in ATF

Nanofluidic crystal: a facile, high-efficiency and high-power-density scaling up scheme for energy harvesting based on nanofluidic reverse electrodialysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouyang Wei; Wang Wei; Zhang Haixia; Wu Wengang; Li Zhihong

2013-01-01

The great advances in nanotechnology call for advances in miniaturized power sources for micro/nano-scale systems. Nanofluidic channels have received great attention as promising high-power-density substitutes for ion exchange membranes for use in energy harvesting from ambient ionic concentration gradient, namely reverse electrodialysis. This paper proposes the nanofluidic crystal (NFC), of packed nanoparticles in micro-meter-sized confined space, as a facile, high-efficiency and high-power-density scaling-up scheme for energy harvesting by nanofluidic reverse electrodialysis (NRED). Obtained from the self-assembly of nanoparticles in a micropore, the NFC forms an ion-selective network with enormous nanochannels due to electrical double-layer overlap in the nanoparticle interstices. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, a maximum efficiency of 42.3 ± 1.84%, a maximum power density of 2.82 ± 0.22 W m −2 , and a maximum output power of 1.17 ± 0.09 nW/unit (nearly three orders of magnitude of amplification compared to other NREDs) were achieved in our prototype cell, which was prepared within 30 min. The current NFC-based prototype cell can be parallelized and cascaded to achieve the desired output power and open circuit voltage. This NFC-based scaling-up scheme for energy harvesting based on NRED is promising for the building of self-powered micro/nano-scale systems. (paper)

Perspectives on confinement in helical systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itoh, Kimitaka; Itoh, Sanae

1989-01-01

A review on recent experimental results and theoretical models on anomalous transport and density limit in toroidal helical devices is presented. Importance of transport problems is discussed. Experiments on Heliotron-E, Wendelstein-VIIA and new devices, i.e., ATF, Wendelstein-VIIAS and CHS, are reviewed and an overview on confinement property is given. From recent experimental results one sees that there are anomalous transport, which increases with temperature, and density limit, and that they limit the energy confinement time as well as the attainable beta value. The confinement characteristics of the scrape off layer plasma and loss cone loss are discussed, and perspectives on the high temperature plasma are given. These anomalous transport and density limit will be difficult obstacles in realizing a reactor grade plasma in helical systems. It is an urgent task to draw a realistic picture of the confinement based on the present data base. The relevant knowledge now would be critically essential for the successful development of the research in 1990's. (author) 102 refs

Density profile effects on confinement and MHD stability of currentless NBI plasmas in Heliotron E

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudo, Shigeru; Zushi, Hideki; Kondo, Katsumi

1993-01-01

Density profile effects on confinement and MHD stability of currentless NBI plasmas in Heliotron E are studied. The peaked density profile produced by pellet injection increases the stored energy by 20-30% compared to the gas puffed plasmas which obey the empirical stellarator/heliotron scaling in a moderate density range. In contrast to confinement, the peaked pressure profile tends to destabilize the plasma. By limiter insertion, MHD instability occurs (seems to locate near ι/2π=1) even in case of low β (β 0 ≤1%, where β 0 is the central β value) plasmas. On the other hand, the mode of m/n=3/2 at ι/2π=2/3, seems to be a key parameter to the major MHD instability in case of high β (β 0 ≥2%) plasmas. (author)

Improved GAMMA 10 tandem mirror confinement in high density plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yatsu, K.; Cho, T.; Higaki, H.; Hirata, M.; Hojo, H.; Ichimura, M.; Ishii, K.; Ishimoto, Y.; Itakura, A.; Katanuma, I.; Kohagura, J.; Minami, R.; Nakashima, Y.; Numakura, T.; Saito, T.; Saosaki, S.; Takemura, Y.; Tatematsu, Y.; Yoshida, M.; Yoshikawa, M.

2003-01-01

GAMMA 10 experiments have advanced in high density experiments after the last IAEA fusion energy conference in 2000 where we reported the production of the high density plasma through use of ion cyclotron range of frequency heating at a high harmonic frequency and neutral beam injection in the anchor cells. However, the diamagnetic signal of the plasma decreased when electron cyclotron resonance heating was applied for the potential formation. Recently a high density plasma has been obtained without degradation of the diamagnetic signal and with much improved reproducibility than before. The high density plasma was attained through adjustment of the spacing of the conducting plates installed in the anchor transition regions. The potential confinement of the plasma has been extensively studied. Dependences of the ion confinement time, ion-energy confinement time and plasma confining potential on plasma density were obtained for the first time in the high density region up to a density of 4x10 18 m -3 . (author)

Photoluminescence dynamics of weakly confined excitons in GaAs thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanno, Atsushi; Katouf, Redouane; Kojima, Osamu; Ishi-Hayase, Junko; Sasaki, Masahide; Tsuchiya, Masahiro; Isu, Toshiro

2008-01-01

We investigate the dynamics of weakly confined excitons in GaAs thin films measured by time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) technique. When excitation energy was above the resonant energy of the exciton, a long PL rise time of about 200 ps was observed. It is considered that an exciton formation process from excited continuum energy states to discrete energy states of the exciton in the thin film causes the slow PL rise. The observed PL decay time constant was about 14 ns due to high quality fabricated samples. The observed population dynamics can be surely ascribed to the specific features of weakly confined excitons

Calculation of triton confinement and burn-up in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, D.; Battistoni, P.

1987-01-01

An analytical investigation is made of the confinement and subsequent burn-up of fusion produced tritons in a deuterium Tokamak plasma. Explicit approximations are obtained for the triton confinement factor, clearly displaying the scaling with physical parameters. The importance of pitch angle scattering losses during the triton slowing down is also estimated. A comparison with experiments and numerical calculations on the FT Tokamak slows good qualitative agreement. (authors)

Runaway electrons dynamics and confinement in Tore-Supra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatelier, M.; Geraud, A.; Joyer, P.; Martin, G.; Rax, J.M.

1989-01-01

The lack of energy of runaway electrons, confined in Tore Supra tokamak, is studied. Ohmic discharges, obtained with helium gas, exhibit a small amount of runaway electrons on both hard X-ray monitors and neutron sensors. The observations show an important lack of energy for runaway electrons confined in Tore Supra. It is assumed to be dued to a small pitch-angle scattering (a few degrees), and many candidates for this are compared: the strongest known one collisions seems not to be enough by an order of magnitude. Density and magnetic scans on Tore Supra are needed to discriminate between enhanced collisional scattering processes and purely magnetic phenomena

Laser thermonuclear fusion with force confinement of hot plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korobkin, V.V.; Romanovsky, M.Y.

1994-01-01

The possibility of the utilization of laser radiation for plasma heating up to thermonuclear temperatures with its simultaneous confinement by ponderomotive force is investigated. The plasma is located inside a powerful laser beam with a tubelike section or inside a cavity of duct section, formed by several intersecting beams focused by cylindrical lenses. The impact of various physical processes upon plasma confinement is studied and the criteria of plasma confinement and maintaining of plasma temperature are derived. Plasma and laser beam stability is considered. Estimates of laser radiation energy necessary for thermonuclear fusion are presented

Large Eddy Simulation of the spray formation in confinements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lampa, A.; Fritsching, U.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Process stability of confined spray processes is affected by the geometric design of the spray confinement. • LES simulations of confined spray flow have been performed successfully. • Clustering processes of droplets is predicted in simulations and validated with experiments. • Criteria for specific coherent gas flow patterns and droplet clustering behaviour are found. -- Abstract: The particle and powder properties produced within spray drying processes are influenced by various unsteady transport phenomena in the dispersed multiphase spray flow in a confined spray chamber. In this context differently scaled spray structures in a confined spray environment have been analyzed in experiments and numerical simulations. The experimental investigations have been carried out with Particle-Image-Velocimetry to determine the velocity of the gas and the discrete phase. Large-Eddy-Simulations have been set up to predict the transient behaviour of the spray process and have given more insight into the sensitivity of the spray flow structures in dependency from the spray chamber design

Inertial Confinement Fusion at Los Alamos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cartwright, D.C.

1989-09-01

This report discusses the following topics on inertial confinement fusion: distribution of electron-beam energy in KrF laser media; electron collision processes in KrF laser media; Krf laser kinetics; and properties of the KrF laser medium

Biomass for energy - small scale technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salvesen, F.; Joergensen, P.F. [KanEnergi, Rud (Norway)

1997-12-31

The bioenergy markets and potential in EU region, the different types of biofuels, the energy technology, and the relevant applications of these for small-scale energy production are reviewed in this presentation

Biomass for energy - small scale technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salvesen, F; Joergensen, P F [KanEnergi, Rud (Norway)

1998-12-31

The bioenergy markets and potential in EU region, the different types of biofuels, the energy technology, and the relevant applications of these for small-scale energy production are reviewed in this presentation

Multi-scale description of the laser-plasma interaction: application to the physics of shock ignition in inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colaitis, Arnaud

2015-01-01

This manuscript presents a novel formulation of the Laser-Plasma Interaction (LPI) at hydrodynamical scales, that couples the plasma dynamics with linear and nonlinear LPI processes. The standard Ray Tracing model, based on Geometrical Optics, is not well suited for that purpose because it does not readily describe the laser intensity distribution in plasma. We propose an alternative model formulated for a Lagrangian hydrodynamic code. It is based on the ray-based Paraxial Complex Geometrical Optics (PCGO) that describes Gaussian optical beamlets. A method for modeling non-Gaussian laser beams smoothed by Phase Plates is presented, that allows to create intensity variations that reproduce the beam envelope, contrast and high-intensity statistics predicted by paraxial laser propagation codes. We propose in line reduced models for the non-linear laser-plasma interaction, in the case of the Cross-Beam Energy Transfer (CBET) and the generation of Hot Electrons (HE). The in line CBET model is validated against a time-dependent conventional paraxial electromagnetic wave propagation code, in a well-defined plasma configuration with density and velocity profiles corresponding to an inhomogeneous plasma. Good agreement is found past a transient period on the picosecond time scale, notably for the spatial distribution of density perturbations and laser intensities in the interaction region. Application of the model to a direct-drive Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) configuration shows that CBET significantly degrades the irradiation symmetry by amplifying low frequency modes and reducing the laser-capsule coupling efficiency, ultimately leading to large modulations of the shell areal density and lower convergence ratios. The LPI/HE model predicts the HE fluxes, temperatures, angular dispersion and direction from the laser intensity of PCGO beamlets from simplified expressions based on theoretical models and scaling laws obtained in kinetic simulations. The HE beams

Static and Dynamic Properties of DNA Confined in Nanochannels

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Damini

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques have considerably reduced the cost of high-throughput DNA sequencing. However, it is challenging to detect large-scale genomic variations by NGS due to short read lengths. Genome mapping can easily detect large-scale structural variations because it operates on extremely large intact molecules of DNA with adequate resolution. One of the promising methods of genome mapping is based on confining large DNA molecules inside a nanochannel whose cross-sectional dimensions are approximately 50 nm. Even though this genome mapping technology has been commercialized, the current understanding of the polymer physics of DNA in nanochannel confinement is based on theories and lacks much needed experimental support. The results of this dissertation are aimed at providing a detailed experimental understanding of equilibrium properties of nanochannel-confined DNA molecules. The results are divided into three parts. In first part, we evaluate the role of channel shape on thermodynamic properties of channel confined DNA molecules using a combination of fluorescence microscopy and simulations. Specifically, we show that high aspect ratio of rectangular channels significantly alters the chain statistics as compared to an equivalent square channel with same cross-sectional area. In the second part, we present experimental evidence that weak excluded volume effects arise in DNA nanochannel confinement, which form the physical basis for the extended de Gennes regime. We also show how confinement spectroscopy and simulations can be combined to reduce molecular weight dispersity effects arising from shearing, photo-cleavage, and nonuniform staining of DNA. Finally, the third part of the thesis concerns the dynamic properties of nanochannel confined DNA. We directly measure the center-of-mass diffusivity of single DNA molecules in confinement and show that that it is necessary to modify the classical results of de Gennes to account for local chain

A new tribological experimental setup to study confined and sheared monolayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, L; Favier, D; Charitat, T; Gauthier, C; Rubin, A

2016-03-01

We have developed an original experimental setup, coupling tribology, and velocimetry experiments together with a direct visualization of the contact. The significant interest of the setup is to measure simultaneously the apparent friction coefficient and the velocity of confined layers down to molecular scale. The major challenge of this experimental coupling is to catch information on a nanometer-thick sheared zone confined between a rigid spherical indenter of millimetric radius sliding on a flat surface at constant speed. In order to demonstrate the accuracy of this setup to investigate nanometer-scale sliding layers, we studied a model lipid monolayer deposited on glass slides. It shows that our experimental setup will, therefore, help to highlight the hydrodynamic of such sheared confined layers in lubrication, biolubrication, or friction on solid polymer.

Power requirements for superior H-mode confinement on Alcator C-Mod: experiments in support of ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hughes, J.W.; Reinke, M.L.; Terry, J.L.; Brunner, D.; Greenwald, M.; Hubbard, A.E.; LaBombard, B.; Lipschultz, B.; Ma, Y.; Wolfe, S.; Wukitch, S.J.; Loarte, A.

2011-01-01

Power requirements for maintaining sufficiently high confinement (i.e. normalized energy confinement time H 98 ≥ 1) in H-mode and its relation to H-mode threshold power scaling, P th , are of critical importance to ITER. In order to better characterize these power requirements, recent experiments on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak have investigated H-mode properties, including the edge pedestal and global confinement, over a range of input powers near and above P th . In addition, we have examined the compatibility of impurity seeding with high performance operation, and the influence of plasma radiation and its spatial distribution on performance. Experiments were performed at 5.4 T at ITER relevant densities, utilizing bulk metal plasma facing surfaces and an ion cyclotron range of frequency waves for auxiliary heating. Input power was scanned both in stationary enhanced D α (EDA) H-modes with no large edge localized modes (ELMs) and in ELMy H-modes in order to relate the resulting pedestal and confinement to the amount of power flowing into the scrape-off layer, P net , and also to the divertor targets. In both EDA and ELMy H-mode, energy confinement is generally good, with H 98 near unity. As P net is reduced to levels approaching that in L-mode, pedestal temperature diminishes significantly and normalized confinement time drops. By seeding with low-Z impurities, such as Ne and N 2 , high total radiated power fractions are possible, along with substantial reductions in divertor heat flux (>4x), all while maintaining H 98 ∼ 1. When the power radiated from the confined versus unconfined plasma is examined, pedestal and confinement properties are clearly seen to be an increasing function of P net , helping to unify the results with those from unseeded H-modes. This provides increased confidence that the power flow across the separatrix is the correct physics basis for ITER extrapolation. The experiments show that P net /P th of one or greater is likely to lead to H

Recent results on confinement in JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, D.J.

1992-01-01

The JET device is the world's largest tokamak and has been utilized in plasma heating experiments at total powers of up to 35MW using both neutral beam injection (NBI) and ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH). At the highest performance, JET plasmas have achieved conditions equivalent to energy ''breakeven''. A principal aim of the JET experiment is the investigation of plasma heating and confinement in plasma regimes relevant to thermonuclear ignition. The central issues in confinement physics involved in these advances are briefly reviewed and the most recent investigations of transport in high performance plasmas are summarized. (Author)

Local transport in Joint European Tokamak edge-localized, high-confinement mode plasmas with H, D, DT, and T isotopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budny, R. V.; Ernst, D. R.; Hahm, T. S.; McCune, D. C.; Christiansen, J. P.; Cordey, J. G.; Gowers, C. G.; Guenther, K.; Hawkes, N.; Jarvis, O. N.

2000-01-01

The edge-localized, high-confinement mode regime is of interest for future Tokamak reactors since high performance has been sustained for long durations. Experiments in the Joint European Tokamak [M. Keilhacker , Nuclear Fusion 39, 209 (1999)] have studied this regime using scans with the toroidal field and plasma current varied together in H, D, DT, and T isotopes. The local energy transport in more than fifty of these plasmas is analyzed, and empirical scaling relations are derived for energy transport coefficients during quasi-steady state conditions using dimensionless parameters. Neither the Bohm nor gyro-Bohm expressions give the shapes of the profiles. The scalings with β and ν * are in qualitative agreement with Ion Temperature Gradient theory

Kinetic turbulence simulations at extreme scale on leadership-class systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Bei [Princeton Univ., Princeton, NJ (United States); Ethier, Stephane [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Tang, William [Princeton Univ., Princeton, NJ (United States); Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Williams, Timothy [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Ibrahim, Khaled Z. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Madduri, Kamesh [The Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Williams, Samuel [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Oliker, Leonid [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2013-01-01

Reliable predictive simulation capability addressing confinement properties in magnetically confined fusion plasmas is critically-important for ITER, a 20 billion dollar international burning plasma device under construction in France. The complex study of kinetic turbulence, which can severely limit the energy confinement and impact the economic viability of fusion systems, requires simulations at extreme scale for such an unprecedented device size. Our newly optimized, global, ab initio particle-in-cell code solving the nonlinear equations underlying gyrokinetic theory achieves excellent performance with respect to "time to solution" at the full capacity of the IBM Blue Gene/Q on 786,432 cores of Mira at ALCF and recently of the 1,572,864 cores of Sequoia at LLNL. Recent multithreading and domain decomposition optimizations in the new GTC-P code represent critically important software advances for modern, low memory per core systems by enabling routine simulations at unprecedented size (130 million grid points ITER-scale) and resolution (65 billion particles).

Evaluation of the confinement option for LMRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Himes, D.A.; Stepnewski, D.D.; Franz, G.R.

1985-12-01

The coolant in liquid metal cooled reactors operates at low pressures and therefore contains relatively little stored energy compared to LWR systems. This presents the possibility of using a more conventional building for containment coupled with a confinement system which vents the internal volume of the building through a filter/scrubber. The confinement system would be designed to keep the internal pressure in the containment near atmospheric thereby minimizing unfiltered leakage. The principal benefits of such an arrangement would be lower capital cost and less stringent leaktightness requirements permitting simpler and less disruptive testing. In conclusion, the confinement system assumed here would reduce consequences to the public of an LMR HCDA to acceptable levels. However control room doses are unacceptable due to the noble gas concentration inside the control room. A confinement system is therefore a viable design option for LMR's provided means are included for keeping noble gases out of the control room. Such means are readily available including, for example, selectable remote air intakes, an exhaust stack, or a noble gas filter. Probably the most satisfactory alternative would be a large cryogenic filter on the confinement system exhaust

Neutron imaging development for megajoule scale inertial confinement fusion experiments{sup 1}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grim, G P; Bradley, P A; Day, R D; Clark, D D; Fatherley, V E; Finch, J P; Garcia, F P; Jaramillo, S A; Montoya, A J; Morgan, G L; Oertel, J A; Ortiz, T A; Payton, J R; Pazuchanics, P; Schmidt, D W; Valdez, A C; Wilde, C H; Wilke, M D; Wilson, D C [Los Alamos National Laboratory, PO Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States)], E-mail: gpgrim@lanl.gov

2008-05-15

Neutron imaging of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) targets is useful for understanding the implosion conditions of deuterium and tritium filled targets at Mega-Joule/Tera-Watt scale laser facilities. The primary task for imaging ICF targets at the National Ignition Facility, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA, is to determine the asymmetry of the imploded target. The image data, along with other nuclear information, are to be used to provide insight into target drive conditions. The diagnostic goal at the National Ignition Facility is to provide neutron images with 10 {mu}m resolution and peak signal-to-background values greater than 20 for neutron yields of {approx} 10{sup 15}. To achieve this requires signal multiplexing apertures with good resolution. In this paper we present results from imaging system development efforts aimed at achieving these requirements using neutron pinholes. The data were collected using directly driven ICF targets at the Omega Laser, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY., and include images collected from a 3 x 3 array of 15.5 {mu}m pinholes. Combined images have peak signal-to-background values greater than 30 at neutron yields of {approx} 10{sup 13}.

Confined-but-Connected Quantum Solids via Controlled Ligand Displacement

KAUST Repository

Baumgardner, William J.

2013-07-10

Confined-but-connected quantum dot solids (QDS) combine the advantages of tunable, quantum-confined energy levels with efficient charge transport through enhanced electronic interdot coupling. We report the fabrication of QDS by treating self-assembled films of colloidal PbSe quantum dots with polar nonsolvents. Treatment with dimethylformamide balances the rates of self-assembly and ligand displacement to yield confined-but-connected QDS structures with cubic ordering and quasi-epitaxial interdot connections through facets of neighboring dots. The QDS structure was analyzed by a combination of transmission electron microscopy and wide-angle and small-angle X-ray scattering. Excitonic absorption signatures in optical spectroscopy confirm that quantum confinement is preserved. Transport measurements show significantly enhanced conductivity in treated films. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Exploring the potential high energy locations and intensities in confined work spaces of waveguide dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez, Ricardo; Lewis, Winston G

2014-01-01

review visits the likelihood for potential energy build-up due to RF propagation in confined spaces that are of waveguide design but with larger dimensions. Such confined spaces include silos, tanks, pipes, manholes, air-condition ducts, tunnels, wells, engine rooms and operator rooms on board vessels. In these confined spaces waves reflect off of the walls and combine constructively or destructively with incident waves producing reinforcement or cancellation respectively. Where there is reinforcement, the intensity of the wave for a particular distance in accordance with the standard, may exceed the exposure limit for this distance from the source thereby exposing the worker to larger intensities than the accepted limit and presenting a potential health and safety threat

Exploring the potential high energy locations and intensities in confined work spaces of waveguide dimensions

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Ricardo; Lewis, Winston G.

2014-07-01

review visits the likelihood for potential energy build-up due to RF propagation in confined spaces that are of waveguide design but with larger dimensions. Such confined spaces include silos, tanks, pipes, manholes, air-condition ducts, tunnels, wells, engine rooms and operator rooms on board vessels. In these confined spaces waves reflect off of the walls and combine constructively or destructively with incident waves producing reinforcement or cancellation respectively. Where there is reinforcement, the intensity of the wave for a particular distance in accordance with the standard, may exceed the exposure limit for this distance from the source thereby exposing the worker to larger intensities than the accepted limit and presenting a potential health and safety threat.

Commercial applications of inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Booth, L.A.; Frank, T.G.

1977-05-01

This report describes the fundamentals of inertial-confinement fusion, some laser-fusion reactor (LFR) concepts, and attendant means of utilizing the thermonuclear energy for commercial electric power generation. In addition, other commercial energy-related applications, such as the production of fissionable fuels, of synthetic hydrocarbon-based fuels, and of process heat for a variety of uses, as well as the environmental and safety aspects of fusion energy, are discussed. Finally, the requirements for commercialization of laser fusion technologies are described

Study of quantum confinement effects in ZnO nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Movlarooy, Tayebeh

2018-03-01

Motivation to fact that zinc oxide nanowires and nanotubes with successful synthesis and the mechanism of formation, stability and electronic properties have been investigated; in this study the structural, electronic properties and quantum confinement effects of zinc oxide nanotubes and nanowires with different diameters are discussed. The calculations within density functional theory and the pseudo potential approximation are done. The electronic structure and energy gap for Armchair and zigzag ZnO nanotubes with a diameter of about 4 to 55 Angstrom and ZnO nanowires with a diameter range of 4 to 23 Å is calculated. The results revealed that due to the quantum confinement effects, by reducing the diameter of nanowires and nanotubes, the energy gap increases. Zinc oxide semiconductor nanostructures since having direct band gap with size-dependent and quantum confinement effect are recommended as an appropriate candidate for making nanoscale optoelectronic devices.

L to H-mode Power Threshold and Confinement Characteristics of H-modes in KSTAR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, H. S.; Na, Y.S., E-mail: ftwalker.hyuns@gmail.com [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, J. W. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge (United States); Jeon, Y. M.; Yoon, S. W.; Lee, K. D.; Ko, W. H.; Bae, Y. S.; Kim, W. C.; Kwak, J. G. [National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-09-15

Full text: Since KSTAR has obtained the H-mode in 2010 campaign, H-mode plasmas were routinely obtained with combined heating of NBI with maximum power of 1.5 MW and ECRH with maximum power of {approx} 0.3 MW and {approx} 0.6 MW for 110 GHz and 170 GHz, respectively. The L- to H-mode power threshold and confinement properties of KSTAR H-modes are investigated in this work. Firstly, the L- to H-mode power threshold and the power loss to the seperatrix are calculated by power balance analysis for about collected 400 shots. As a result, a trend of roll-over is observed in the power threshold of KSTAR H-mode compared with the multi-machine power threshold scaling in the low density regime. Dependence of the power threshold on other parameters are also investigated such as the X-point position and shaping parameters like as triangularity and elongation. In addition, the reason of reduction of power threshold in 2011 campaign compared with that in 2010 is addressed. Secondly, the confinement enhancement factors are calculated to evaluate the performance of KSTAR H-modes. The calculated H{sub 89-p} and H{sub 98} (y, 2) represent that the confinement is enhanced in most KSTAR H-mode discharges. Interestingly, even in L-mode phases, confinement is observed to be enhanced against the multi-machine scalings. H{sub exp} factor is newly introduced to evaluate the amount of confinement improvement in the H-mode phase compared with the L-mode phase in a single discharge. H{sub exp} exhibits that the global energy confinement time of the H-mode phase is improved about 1.3 - 2.0 times compared with that of the L-mode phase. Finally, interpretive and predictive numerical simulations are carried out using the ASTRA code for typical KSTAR H-mode discharges. The Weiland model and the GLF23 model are employed for calculating the anomalous contributions of both electron and ion heat transport in predictive simulations. For the H-mode phase, the Weiland model reproduces the experiment

Confinement studies during neutral beam injection in PLT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldston, R.; Davis, S.; Eubank, H.

1980-12-01

Neutral beam injection experiments on PLT have provided definitive information on ion energy confinement in highly collisionless plasmas. We find that ion thermal conduction is consistent, within a factor of approx. 3, with neoclassical theory, and that anomalous thermal convection of ion energy is a factor of 2-3 less than would be calculated from the INTOR D/sub e/ with a convection loss term of the form 5/2nkTv/sub r/. From our experiments with a shunted TF coil we have found that a single shallow ripple well of 2.5% has a neglible effect on ion energy confinement, even at the lowest collisionality obtainable on PLT. Scrutiny of the analytic theories of ripple induced transport motivated by these experiments, suggests that more theoretical (and perhaps numerical) work is needed in this area

Confinement properties of JET plasmas with different temperature and density profiles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watkins, M.L.; Balet, B.; Bhatnagar, V.P.

1989-01-01

The confinement properties of plasmas with substantially different temperature and density profiles have been analysed. The effects of fast particles and energy pedestals on the overall confinement of plasma energy in limiter (L-mode) and X-point (L- and H-modes) discharges heated by NBI or ICRF or both are determined. The importance of the bootstrap current when such energy pedestals are formed is noted. Using sets of consistent experimental data, including ion temperature profile measurements, the local transport properties are compared in the L- and H-phases of a single null X-point medium density NBI heated discharge, the ''enhanced'' confinement phase of a limiter high density pellet-fuelled and ICRF heated discharge, the hot-ion phase of a double null X-point low density NBI heated discharge and the hot-ion and H-phases of a double null X-point low density high temperature NBI heated discharge. (author)

Magnetic confinement of laser produced LiH plasma in LITE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ard, W.B.; Stufflebeam, J.H.; Tomlinson, R.G.

1976-01-01

In the LITE experiment, a hot, dense plasma produced by laser heating of an approximately 100 μ dia LiH particle is used to fill a minimum-B baseball coil mirror magnetic containment field. The confined laser produced plasma subsequently serves as the target for an energetic neutral hydrogen beam in experiments to investigate the target plasma buildup approach for creating and sustaining an equilibrium, steady state mirror fusion plasma. In the experiments, the LiH particle is positioned in vacuum at the laser beam focus by a feedback particle suspension system and heated by two sided irradiation with the focused dual beam, 50 j, 7 nsec output of a Q-switched Nd-glass laser. The energy density of the laser produced plasma is initially much greater than that of the surrounding magnetic field and the plasma expands, converting its internal energy into expansion kinetic energy and displacement of the magnetic field. As the energy density falls below that of the magnetic field, the expansion is stopped and the plasma becomes trapped, making the transition to a low beta, mirror confined plasma. This report is concerned with the properties and behavior of the plasma in the confinement stage

Effects of confinement in meso-porous silica and carbon nano-structures; Etude des effets de confinement dans la silice mesoporeuse et dans certaines nanostructures carbonees

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leon, V

2006-07-15

Physico-chemical properties of materials can be strongly modified by confinement because of the quantum effects that appear at such small length scales and also because of the effects of the confinement itself. The aim of this thesis is to show that both the nature of the confining material and the size of the pores and cavities have a strong impact on the confined material. We first show the effect of the pore size of the host meso-porous silica on the temperature of the solid-solid phase transition of silver selenide, a semiconducting material with enhanced magnetoresistive properties under non-stoichiometric conditions. Narrowing the pores from 20 nm to 2 nm raises the phase transition temperature from 139 C to 146 C. This result can be explained by considering the interaction between the confining and confined materials as a driving force. The effects of confinement are also studied in the case of hydrogen and deuterium inside cavities of organized carbon nano-structures. The effects that appear in the adsorption/desorption cycles are much stronger with carbon nano-horns as the host material than with C60 pea-pods and single-walled carbon nano-tubes. (author)

Scaling laws for spherical pinch experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, D.P.; Palleschi, V.; Vaselli, M.

1991-01-01

In spherical pinch (SP) experiments, the plasma heated at the center of a cell to reach ignition temperature is confined by imploding shock waves for a time long enough to satisfy the Lawson criterion for plasma fusion. In earlier theoretical studies, the expansion of the central plasma either is neglected or is assumed to be radially uniform. The energy is considered to be deposited instantaneously at the center of the cell and the nonlinear heat conduction equation is solved to study the temporal evolution of the central plasma. Incorporating the ignition condition for the average temperature of the expanding fireball, and its confinement by imploding convergent shock waves, which may be fired from the periphery of the cell with some time delay, the scaling laws for satisfying the Lawson criterion are investigated in detail. The relevant calculations indicate that the cumulative effects of the convergent shock waves in the vicinity of the center of the cell play an important role in these scaling laws. (author)

Dynamics of harmonically-confined systems: Some rigorous results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Zhigang, E-mail: zwu@physics.queensu.ca; Zaremba, Eugene, E-mail: zaremba@sparky.phy.queensu.ca

2014-03-15

In this paper we consider the dynamics of harmonically-confined atomic gases. We present various general results which are independent of particle statistics, interatomic interactions and dimensionality. Of particular interest is the response of the system to external perturbations which can be either static or dynamic in nature. We prove an extended Harmonic Potential Theorem which is useful in determining the damping of the centre of mass motion when the system is prepared initially in a highly nonequilibrium state. We also study the response of the gas to a dynamic external potential whose position is made to oscillate sinusoidally in a given direction. We show in this case that either the energy absorption rate or the centre of mass dynamics can serve as a probe of the optical conductivity of the system. -- Highlights: •We derive various rigorous results on the dynamics of harmonically-confined atomic gases. •We derive an extension of the Harmonic Potential Theorem. •We demonstrate the link between the energy absorption rate in a harmonically-confined system and the optical conductivity.

On the energy confinement in the TM-G tokamak with high plasma density

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stefanovskij, A.M.

1986-01-01

Energy confinement time τ E , when plasma density changing, has been measured at the TM-G-tokamak device with a graphite discharge chamber. The measurements have been carried out in three different discharge modes with a similar stability margin on the limiter (q L )=3) and with different values of the discharge current of a longitudinal field (I p =20, 40 and 60 kA, V T =0.8; 1.6 and 2.4 T). On the basis of experimental data analysis the conclusion is made that saturation of τ E (n e ) dependence at high plasma density occurs due to current channel compression and violation of a ''self-consistent'' profile of current density. Drift wave excitation at densities similar to the limiting Murakami density can also play an important role

Energy reduction through voltage scaling and lightweight checking

Science.gov (United States)

Kadric, Edin

As the semiconductor roadmap reaches smaller feature sizes and the end of Dennard Scaling, design goals change, and managing the power envelope often dominates delay minimization. Voltage scaling remains a powerful tool to reduce energy. We find that it results in about 60% geomean energy reduction on top of other common low-energy optimizations with 22nm CMOS technology. However, when voltage is reduced, it becomes easier for noise and particle strikes to upset a node, potentially causing Silent Data Corruption (SDC). The 60% energy reduction, therefore, comes with a significant drop in reliability. Duplication with checking and triple-modular redundancy are traditional approaches used to combat transient errors, but spending 2--3x the energy for redundant computation can diminish or reverse the benefits of voltage scaling. As an alternative, we explore the opportunity to use checking operations that are cheaper than the base computation they are guarding. We devise a classification system for applications and their lightweight checking characteristics. In particular, we identify and evaluate the effectiveness of lightweight checks in a broad set of common tasks in scientific computing and signal processing. We find that the lightweight checks cost only a fraction of the base computation (0-25%) and allow us to recover the reliability losses from voltage scaling. Overall, we show about 50% net energy reduction without compromising reliability compared to operation at the nominal voltage. We use FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) in our work, although the same ideas can be applied to different systems. On top of voltage scaling, we explore other common low-energy techniques for FPGAs: transmission gates, gate boosting, power gating, low-leakage (high-Vth) processes, and dual-V dd architectures. We do not scale voltage for memories, so lower voltages help us reduce logic and interconnect energy, but not memory energy. At lower voltages, memories become dominant

Configuration control for the confinement improvement in Heliotron J

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mizuuchi, T.; Sano, F.; Kondo, K.; Nagasaki, K.; Okada, H.; Kobayashi, S.; Torii, Y.; Yamamoto, S.; Hanatani, K.; Nakamura, Y.; Kaneko, M.; Arimoto, H.; Motojima, G.; Fujikawa, S.; Kitagawa, H.; Nakamura, H.; Tsuji, T.; Uno, M.; Yabutani, H.; Watanabe, S.; Matsuoka, S.; Nosaku, M.; Watanabe, N.; Ijiri, Y.; Senju, T.; Yaguchi, K.; Sakamoto, K.; Toshi, K.; Shibano, M.; Murakami, S.; Suzuki, Y.; Yokoyama, M.

2005-07-01

In the helical-axis heliotron configuration, bumpiness of the Fourier components in Boozer coordinates is introduced as a third knob to control the neo-classical transport. Effects of the bumpiness control on the plasma performance (non-inductive currents, fast ions behavior and global energy confinement) have been investigated in Heliotron J by selecting three configurations with different bumpiness (B04/B00 = 0.01, 0.06 and 0.15 at ? 2/3), almost the same edge rotational transform and plasma volume. The dependence of non-inductive toroidal currents is qualitatively consistent with the neoclassical prediction for the bootstrap current. The high bumpiness configuration seems to be preferable for the confinement of fast ions. However, the longer global energy confinement time is observed not in the highest bumpiness configuration (B04/B00 = 0.15) but in the configuration with the minimum effective ripple modulation amplitude, where B04/B00 is 0.06. (Author)

Controlling Confinement with Induced Toroidal Current in the Flexible Heliac TJ-II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Romero, J A; Lopez-Bruna, D; Lopez-Fraguas, A; Ascasibar, E; TJ-II Team

2002-07-01

A method to control plasma particle an energy confinement in the TJ-II Heliac devices is reported A small toroidal current is induced in the plasma with the aid of a 0.2 Wb air core transformer. Plasma particle and energy confinement improve (degrade) with negative (positive) plasma current. For typical TJ-II discharges plasma density and temperature broaden considerably when plasma current is sufficiently negative, accounting for a 40% increase in stored energy. The experimental results agree qualitatively with the paradigm of instability growth rate modifications with magnetic shear. (Author) 18 refs.

Controlling Confinement with Induced Toroidal Current in the Flexible Heliac TJ-II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romero, J. A.; Lopez-Bruna, D.; Lopez-Fraguas, A.; Ascasibar, E.; TJ-II Team

2002-01-01

A method to control plasma particle an energy confinement in the TJ-II Heliac devices is reported A small toroidal current is induced in the plasma with the aid of a 0.2 Wb air core transformer. Plasma particle and energy confinement improve (degrade) with negative (positive) plasma current. For typical TJ-II discharges plasma density and temperature broaden considerably when plasma current is sufficiently negative, accounting for a 40% increase in stored energy. The experimental results agree qualitatively with the paradigm of instability growth rate modifications with magnetic shear. (Author) 18 refs

Inflation in random landscapes with two energy scales

Science.gov (United States)

Blanco-Pillado, Jose J.; Vilenkin, Alexander; Yamada, Masaki

2018-02-01

We investigate inflation in a multi-dimensional landscape with a hierarchy of energy scales, motivated by the string theory, where the energy scale of Kahler moduli is usually assumed to be much lower than that of complex structure moduli and dilaton field. We argue that in such a landscape, the dynamics of slow-roll inflation is governed by the low-energy potential, while the initial condition for inflation are determined by tunneling through high-energy barriers. We then use the scale factor cutoff measure to calculate the probability distribution for the number of inflationary e-folds and the amplitude of density fluctuations Q, assuming that the low-energy landscape is described by a random Gaussian potential with a correlation length much smaller than M pl. We find that the distribution for Q has a unique shape and a preferred domain, which depends on the parameters of the low-energy landscape. We discuss some observational implications of this distribution and the constraints it imposes on the landscape parameters.

Jet Energy Scale Uncertainties in ATLAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barillari, Teresa

2012-01-01

The first proton-proton collisions at a centre of mass energy of √s = 7TeV have been used by the ATLAS experiment to achieve an accuracy of the jet energy measurement between 2% and 4% for jets transverse momenta between 20 GeV and 2TeV and in the absolute pseudorapidity range up to 4.5. The jet energy scale uncertainty is derived from measurements in situ of the calorimeter single response to hadrons together with systematic variations in the Monte Carlo simulation. The transverse momentum balance between a central and a forward jet in events with two high transverse momenta jets is used to set the jet energy uncertainty in the forward region. The obtained uncertainty is confirmed by in-situ measurements. Jets in the TeV energy range have been tested using a system of well calibrated jets at low transverse momenta against high transverse momenta jets. A further reduction of the jet energy scale uncertainty between 1% and 2% for jets transverse momenta above 30 GeV has been achieved using data from the 2011 run based on an integrated luminosity of 5 fb −1 .

Regenesys utility scale energy storage. Project summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

This report summarises the work to date, the current situation and the future direction of a project carried out by Regenesys Technology Ltd. (RGN) to investigate the benefits of electrochemical energy storage for power generators using renewable energy sources focussing on wind energy. The background to the study is traced covering the progress of the Regenesys energy storage technology, and the milestones achieved and lessons learnt. Details are given of the planned renewable-store-market interface to allow renewable generators optimise revenue under the New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA) and help in the connection of the renewable energy to the electric grid system. The four integrated work programmes of the project are described and involve a system study examining market penetration of renewable generators, a technical study into connection of renewable generators and energy storage, a small scale demonstration, and a pilot scale energy storage plant at Little Barton in Cambridgeshire. Problems leading to the closure of the project are discussed

Regenesys utility scale energy storage. Project summary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-07-01

This report summarises the work to date, the current situation and the future direction of a project carried out by Regenesys Technology Ltd. (RGN) to investigate the benefits of electrochemical energy storage for power generators using renewable energy sources focussing on wind energy. The background to the study is traced covering the progress of the Regenesys energy storage technology, and the milestones achieved and lessons learnt. Details are given of the planned renewable-store-market interface to allow renewable generators optimise revenue under the New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA) and help in the connection of the renewable energy to the electric grid system. The four integrated work programmes of the project are described and involve a system study examining market penetration of renewable generators, a technical study into connection of renewable generators and energy storage, a small scale demonstration, and a pilot scale energy storage plant at Little Barton in Cambridgeshire. Problems leading to the closure of the project are discussed.

Duality of two-point functions for confined non-relativistic quark-antiquark systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fishbane, P.M.; Gasiorowicz, S.G.; Kaus, P.

1985-01-01

An analog to the scattering matrix describes the spectrum and high-energy behavior of confined systems. We show that for non-relativistic systems this S-matrix is identical to a two-point function which transparently describes the bound states for all angular momenta. Confined systems can thus be described in a dual fashion. This result makes it possible to study the modification of linear trajectories (originating in a long-range confining potential) due to short range forces which are unknown except for the way in which they modify the asymptotic behavior of the two point function. A type of effective range expansion is one way to calculate the energy shifts. 9 refs

A compliant mechanism for inspecting extremely confined spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Mascareñas, David; Moreu, Fernando; Cantu, Precious; Shields, Daniel; Wadden, Jack; El Hadedy, Mohamed; Farrar, Charles

2017-11-01

We present a novel, compliant mechanism that provides the capability to navigate extremely confined spaces for the purpose of infrastructure inspection. Extremely confined spaces are commonly encountered during infrastructure inspection. Examples of such spaces can include pipes, conduits, and ventilation ducts. Often these infrastructure features go uninspected simply because there is no viable way to access their interior. In addition, it is not uncommon for extremely confined spaces to possess a maze-like architecture that must be selectively navigated in order to properly perform an inspection. Efforts by the imaging sensor community have resulted in the development of imaging sensors on the millimeter length scale. Due to their compact size, they are able to inspect many extremely confined spaces of interest, however, the means to deliver these sensors to the proper location to obtain the desired images are lacking. To address this problem, we draw inspiration from the field of endoscopic surgery. Specifically we consider the work that has already been done to create long flexible needles that are capable of being steered through the human body. These devices are typically referred to as ‘steerable needles.’ Steerable needle technology is not directly applicable to the problem of navigating maze-like arrangements of extremely confined spaces, but it does provide guidance on how this problem should be approached. Specifically, the super-elastic nitinol tubing material that allows steerable needles to operate is also appropriate for the problem of navigating maze-like arrangements of extremely confined spaces. Furthermore, the portion of the mechanism that enters the extremely confined space is completely mechanical in nature. The mechanical nature of the device is an advantage when the extremely confined space features environmental hazards such as radiation that could degrade an electromechanically operated mechanism. Here, we present a compliant mechanism

Molecular modeling in confined polymer and biomembrane systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jayeeta Ghosh

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The computational study of soft materials under confinement for bio- and nanotechnology still poses significantchallenges but has come a long way in the last decade. It is possible to realistically model and understand the fundamentalmechanisms which are at play if soft materials are confined to nanometer dimensions. Here, we present several recentexamples of such studies. Thin polymer films are abundantly used as friction modifiers or steric stabilizers. We show howsystematic modeling can shed light on the interplay between entropic and energetic interactions. Thin glassy films arecritical for the success of nanolithography. For that we have to understand the effect of confinement on the glass transitionbehavior in order to guarantee the stability and integrity of the lithographic masks. Simulations aim to understand the fundamental differences in the densities of states of glass formers in bulk and under confinement. With the advent of bionanotechnology the structure and phase behavior of lipid membranes as models for cellular membranes at the nano scale length is of importance due to implications in understanding the role of the lipids in biochemical membrane processes.

Electron-detachment cross sections of halogen negative-ion projectiles for inertial confinement fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Sant'Anna, M. M.; Zappa, F.; Santos, A. C. F.; de Barros, A. L. F.; Wolff, W.; Coelho, L. F. S.; de Castro Faria, N. V.

2004-07-01

Negative-ion beams have recently been suggested as sources of high-energy heavy atoms to be used as drivers for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Owing to their electron affinities limited to a few eV, anions can be efficiently photo-detached in the vicinity of the fusion chamber, with the resulting high-velocity neutral projectiles following ballistic trajectories towards the hydrogen pellet target. Electron-detachment cross sections are needed as parameters to estimate the beam attenuation in the path from the ion source to the hydrogen pellet. Halogen anions are possible projectile choices. In this paper we present experimental data for total electron-detachment cross sections for F-, Cl-, Br- and I- ions incident on N2, in the 0.94-74 keV u-1 energy range. Our measurements can benchmark theory on anion electron detachment at intermediate to high velocities. Comparison between different projectiles shows very similar collision velocity dependencies. A simple geometrical scaling is presented, providing an estimate for electron-detachment cross sections at the MeV u-1 energy range. The presented scaling indicates that the vacuum requirements due to the use of halogen anions for ICF are less critical than previously suggested.

Electron-detachment cross sections of halogen negative-ion projectiles for inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sant'Anna, M M; Zappa, F; Santos, A C F; Barros, A L F de; Wolff, W; Coelho, L F S; Faria, N V de Castro

2004-01-01

Negative-ion beams have recently been suggested as sources of high-energy heavy atoms to be used as drivers for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Owing to their electron affinities limited to a few eV, anions can be efficiently photo-detached in the vicinity of the fusion chamber, with the resulting high-velocity neutral projectiles following ballistic trajectories towards the hydrogen pellet target. Electron-detachment cross sections are needed as parameters to estimate the beam attenuation in the path from the ion source to the hydrogen pellet. Halogen anions are possible projectile choices. In this paper we present experimental data for total electron-detachment cross sections for F - , Cl - , Br - and I - ions incident on N 2 , in the 0.94-74 keV u -1 energy range. Our measurements can benchmark theory on anion electron detachment at intermediate to high velocities. Comparison between different projectiles shows very similar collision velocity dependencies. A simple geometrical scaling is presented, providing an estimate for electron-detachment cross sections at the MeV u -1 energy range. The presented scaling indicates that the vacuum requirements due to the use of halogen anions for ICF are less critical than previously suggested

Magnetic confinement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Batistoni, Paola; De Marco, Francesco; Pieroni, Leonardo (ed.)

2005-07-01

The Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU) is a compact, high-magnetic-field tokamak capable of operating at density and magnetic field values similar to, or even encompassing, those of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and therefore provides a unique opportunity to explore physics issues that are directly relevant to ITER. During 2004 the experimental activities were focussed on fully exploiting the lower hybrid system (for generating and controlling the plasma current) and the electron cyclotron heating system (joint experiment with the Institute of Plasma Physics of the National Research Council, Milan). With all four gyrotrons in operation, full electron cyclotron power was achieved up to a record level of 1.5 MW. By simultaneously injecting lower hybrid waves, to tailor the plasma current radial profile, and electron cyclotron waves, to heat the plasma centre, good confinement regimes with internal transport barriers were obtained at the highest plasma density values ever achieved for this operation regime (n {approx}1.5X10{sup 20}m{sup -3}). Specific studies were devoted to optimising the coupling of lower hybrid waves to the plasma (by real-time control of the plasma position) and to generating current by electron cyclotron current drive. The new scanning CO{sub 2} interferometer (developed by the Reversed Field Experiment Consortium) for high spatial and time resolution (1 cm/50 {mu}s) density profile measurements was extensively used. The Thomson scattering diagnostic was upgraded and enabled observation of scattered signals associated with the Confinement background plasma dynamics. As for theoretical studies on the dynamics of turbulence in plasmas, the transition from Bohm-like scaling to gyro-Bohm scaling of the local plasma diffusivity was demonstrated on the basis of a generalised four wave model (joint collaboration with Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the University of California at Irvine). The transition from weak to strong

Magnetic confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batistoni, Paola; De Marco, Francesco; Pieroni, Leonardo

2005-01-01

The Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU) is a compact, high-magnetic-field tokamak capable of operating at density and magnetic field values similar to, or even encompassing, those of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and therefore provides a unique opportunity to explore physics issues that are directly relevant to ITER. During 2004 the experimental activities were focussed on fully exploiting the lower hybrid system (for generating and controlling the plasma current) and the electron cyclotron heating system (joint experiment with the Institute of Plasma Physics of the National Research Council, Milan). With all four gyrotrons in operation, full electron cyclotron power was achieved up to a record level of 1.5 MW. By simultaneously injecting lower hybrid waves, to tailor the plasma current radial profile, and electron cyclotron waves, to heat the plasma centre, good confinement regimes with internal transport barriers were obtained at the highest plasma density values ever achieved for this operation regime (n ∼1.5X10 20 m -3 ). Specific studies were devoted to optimising the coupling of lower hybrid waves to the plasma (by real-time control of the plasma position) and to generating current by electron cyclotron current drive. The new scanning CO 2 interferometer (developed by the Reversed Field Experiment Consortium) for high spatial and time resolution (1 cm/50 μs) density profile measurements was extensively used. The Thomson scattering diagnostic was upgraded and enabled observation of scattered signals associated with the Confinement background plasma dynamics. As for theoretical studies on the dynamics of turbulence in plasmas, the transition from Bohm-like scaling to gyro-Bohm scaling of the local plasma diffusivity was demonstrated on the basis of a generalised four wave model (joint collaboration with Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the University of California at Irvine). The transition from weak to strong energetic particle

An analytical solution for modeling thermal energy transfer in a confined aquifer system

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw-Yang, Yang; Hund-der, Yeh

2008-12-01

A mathematical model is developed for simulating the thermal energy transfer in a confined aquifer with different geological properties in the underlying and overlying rocks. The solutions for temperature distributions in the aquifer, underlying rock, and overlying rock are derived by the Laplace transforms and their corresponding time-domain solutions are evaluated by the modified Crump method. Field data adopted from the literature are used as examples to demonstrate the applicability of the solutions in modeling the heat transfer in an aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system. The results show that the aquifer temperature increases with time, injection flow rate, and water temperature. However, the temperature decreases with increasing radial and vertical distances. The heat transfer in the rocks is slow and has an effect on the aquifer temperature only after a long period of injection time. The influence distance depends on the aquifer physical and thermal properties, injection flow rate, and injected water temperature. A larger value of thermal diffusivity or injection flow rate will result in a longer influence distance. The present solution can be used as a tool for designing the heat injection facilities for an ATES system.

Impurity confinement and transport in high confinement regimes without edge localized modes on DIII-D

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grierson, B. A., E-mail: bgriers@pppl.gov; Nazikian, R. M.; Solomon, W. M. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States); Burrell, K. H.; Garofalo, A. M.; Belli, E. A.; Staebler, G. M.; Evans, T. E.; Smith, S. P.; Chrobak, C. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-5608 (United States); Fenstermacher, M. E. [Lawerence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); McKee, G. R. [Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53796 (United States); Orlov, D. M. [Center for Energy Research, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, California 92093-0417 (United States); Chrystal, C. [University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, California 92093-0417 (United States)

2015-05-15

Impurity transport in the DIII-D tokamak [J. L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 (2002)] is investigated in stationary high confinement (H-mode) regimes without edge localized modes (ELMs). In plasmas maintained by resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP), ELM-suppression, and QH-mode, the confinement time of fluorine (Z = 9) is equivalent to that in ELMing discharges with 40 Hz ELMs. For selected discharges with impurity injection, the impurity particle confinement time compared to the energy confinement time is in the range of τ{sub p}/τ{sub e}≈2−3. In QH-mode operation, the impurity confinement time is shown to be smaller for intense, coherent magnetic, and density fluctuations of the edge harmonic oscillation than weaker fluctuations. Transport coefficients are derived from the time evolution of the impurity density profile and compared to neoclassical and turbulent transport models NEO and TGLF. Neoclassical transport of fluorine is found to be small compared to the experimental values. In the ELMing and RMP ELM-suppressed plasma, the impurity transport is affected by the presence of tearing modes. For radii larger than the mode radius, the TGLF diffusion coefficient is smaller than the experimental value by a factor of 2–3, while the convective velocity is within error estimates. Low levels of diffusion are observed for radii smaller than the tearing mode radius. In the QH-mode plasma investigated, the TGLF diffusion coefficient is higher inside of ρ=0.4 and lower outside of 0.4 than the experiment, and the TGLF convective velocity is more negative by a factor of approximately 1.7.

Magnetic and electrostatic confinement of plasma with tuning of electrostatic field

Science.gov (United States)

Rostoker, Norman [Irvine, CA; Binderbauer, Michl [Irvine, CA; Qerushi, Artan [Irvine, CA; Tahsiri, Hooshang [Irvine, CA

2008-10-21

A system and method for containing plasma and forming a Field Reversed Configuration (FRC) magnetic topology are described in which plasma ions are contained magnetically in stable, non-adiabatic orbits in the FRC. Further, the electrons are contained electrostatically in a deep energy well, created by tuning an externally applied magnetic field. The simultaneous electrostatic confinement of electrons and magnetic confinement of ions avoids anomalous transport and facilitates classical containment of both electrons and ions. In this configuration, ions and electrons may have adequate density and temperature so that upon collisions they are fused together by nuclear force, thus releasing fusion energy. Moreover, the fusion fuel plasmas that can be used with the present confinement system and method are not limited to neutronic fuels only, but also advantageously include advanced fuels.

Innovative confinement concepts workshop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirkpatrick, R.C.

1998-01-01

The Innovative Confinement Concepts Workshop occurred in California during the week preceding the Second Symposium on Current Trends in International Fusion Research. An informal report was made to the Second Symposium. A summary of the Workshop concluded that some very promising ideas were presented, that innovative concept development is a central element of the restructured US DOE. Fusion Energy Sciences program, and that the Workshop should promote real scientific progress in fusion

Mirror Confinement Systems: project summaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-07-01

This report contains descriptions of the projects supported by the Mirror Confinement Systems (MCS) Division of the Office of Fusion Energy. The individual project summaries were prepared by the principal investigators, in collaboration with MCS staff office, and include objectives and milestones for each project. In addition to project summaries, statements of Division objectives and budget summaries are also provided

Extended consolidation of scaling laws of potentials covering over the representative tandem-mirror operations in GAMMA 10

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, T.; Higaki, H.; Hirata, M.

2003-01-01

Scaling laws of potential formation and associated effects are constructed in the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror. A novel proposal of extended consolidation and generalization of the two major theories of (i) Cohen's strong electron cyclotron heating (ECH) theory for the formation physics of plasma confining potentials, and (ii) the generalized Pastukhov theory for the effectiveness of the produced potentials on plasma confinement is made through the use of the energy-balance equation. This proposal is then followed by the verification from experimental data in two representative operational modes, characterized in terms of (i) a high-potential mode having kV-order plasma-confining potentials, and (ii) a hot-ion mode yielding fusion neutrons with 10-20 keV bulk-ion temperatures. The importance of the validity of the proposed consolidated physics-based scaling is highlighted by a possibility of extended capability inherent in Pastukhov's prediction of requiring ion-confining potential (φ c ) of 30 kV for a fusion Q value of unity on the basis of an application of Cohen's potential formation method. In addition to the above potential physics scaling, an externally controllable parameter scaling including both plug and barrier ECH powers for potential formation is investigated. The combination of (i) the physics scaling of the above-proposed consolidation over potential formation and effects with (ii) the externally controllable practical ECH power scaling provides a scalable way for the future tandem-mirror researches. Under the assumption of the validity of the extension of the present theoretically well interpreted scaling, the formation of Pastukhov's predicted φ c for confining Q=1 plasmas is scaled to require total plug with barrier ECH powers of 3 MW. (author)

External electric field and hydrostatic pressure effects on the binding energy and self-polarization of an off-center hydrogenic impurity confined in a GaAs/AlGaAs square quantum well wire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rezaei, G.; Mousavi, S.; Sadeghi, E.

2012-01-01

Based on the effective-mass approximation within a variational scheme, binding energy and self-polarization of hydrogenic impurity confined in a finite confining potential square quantum well wire, under the action of external electric field and hydrostatic pressure, are investigated. The binding energy and self-polarization are computed as functions of the well width, impurity position, electric field, and hydrostatic pressure. Our results show that the external electric field and hydrostatic pressure as well as the well width and impurity position have a great influence on the binding energy and self-polarization.

Attainment of high confinement in neutral beam heated divertor discharges in the PDX tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaye, S.M.; Bell, M.; Bol, K.

1983-11-01

The PDX divertor configuration has recently been converted from an open to a closed geometry to inhibit the return of neutral gas from the divertor region to the main chamber. Since then, operation in a regime with high energy confinement in neutral beam heated discharges (ASDEX H-mode) has been routine over a wide range of operating conditions. These H-mode discharges are characterized by a sudden drop in divertor density and H/sub α/ emission and a spontaneous rise in main chamber plasma density during neutral beam injection. The confinement time is found to scale nearly linearly with plasma current, but it can be degraded due to either the presence of edge instabilities or heavy gas puffing. Detailed Thomson scattering temperature profiles show high values of Te near the plasma edge (approx. 450 eV) with sharp radial gradients (approx. 400 eV/cm) near the separatrix. Density profiles are broad and also exhibit steep gradients close to the separatrix

Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy imaging of surface plasmons at the nanometer scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Colliex, Christian; Kociak, Mathieu; Stéphan, Odile

2016-03-01

Since their first realization, electron microscopes have demonstrated their unique ability to map with highest spatial resolution (sub-atomic in most recent instruments) the position of atoms as a consequence of the strong scattering of the incident high energy electrons by the nuclei of the material under investigation. When interacting with the electron clouds either on atomic orbitals or delocalized over the specimen, the associated energy transfer, measured and analyzed as an energy loss (Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy) gives access to analytical properties (atom identification, electron states symmetry and localization). In the moderate energy-loss domain (corresponding to an optical spectral domain from the infrared (IR) to the rather far ultra violet (UV), EELS spectra exhibit characteristic collective excitations of the rather-free electron gas, known as plasmons. Boundary conditions, such as surfaces and/or interfaces between metallic and dielectric media, generate localized surface charge oscillations, surface plasmons (SP), which are associated with confined electric fields. This domain of research has been extraordinarily revived over the past few years as a consequence of the burst of interest for structures and devices guiding, enhancing and controlling light at the sub-wavelength scale. The present review focuses on the study of these surface plasmons with an electron microscopy-based approach which associates spectroscopy and mapping at the level of a single and well-defined nano-object, typically at the nanometer scale i.e. much improved with respect to standard, and even near-field, optical techniques. After calling to mind some early studies, we will briefly mention a few basic aspects of the required instrumentation and associated theoretical tools to interpret the very rich data sets recorded with the latest generation of (Scanning)TEM microscopes. The following paragraphs will review in more detail the results obtained on simple planar and

Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy imaging of surface plasmons at the nanometer scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Colliex, Christian, E-mail: christian.colliex@u-psud.fr; Kociak, Mathieu; Stéphan, Odile

2016-03-15

Since their first realization, electron microscopes have demonstrated their unique ability to map with highest spatial resolution (sub-atomic in most recent instruments) the position of atoms as a consequence of the strong scattering of the incident high energy electrons by the nuclei of the material under investigation. When interacting with the electron clouds either on atomic orbitals or delocalized over the specimen, the associated energy transfer, measured and analyzed as an energy loss (Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy) gives access to analytical properties (atom identification, electron states symmetry and localization). In the moderate energy-loss domain (corresponding to an optical spectral domain from the infrared (IR) to the rather far ultra violet (UV), EELS spectra exhibit characteristic collective excitations of the rather-free electron gas, known as plasmons. Boundary conditions, such as surfaces and/or interfaces between metallic and dielectric media, generate localized surface charge oscillations, surface plasmons (SP), which are associated with confined electric fields. This domain of research has been extraordinarily revived over the past few years as a consequence of the burst of interest for structures and devices guiding, enhancing and controlling light at the sub-wavelength scale. The present review focuses on the study of these surface plasmons with an electron microscopy-based approach which associates spectroscopy and mapping at the level of a single and well-defined nano-object, typically at the nanometer scale i.e. much improved with respect to standard, and even near-field, optical techniques. After calling to mind some early studies, we will briefly mention a few basic aspects of the required instrumentation and associated theoretical tools to interpret the very rich data sets recorded with the latest generation of (Scanning)TEM microscopes. The following paragraphs will review in more detail the results obtained on simple planar and

Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy imaging of surface plasmons at the nanometer scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colliex, Christian; Kociak, Mathieu; Stéphan, Odile

2016-01-01

Since their first realization, electron microscopes have demonstrated their unique ability to map with highest spatial resolution (sub-atomic in most recent instruments) the position of atoms as a consequence of the strong scattering of the incident high energy electrons by the nuclei of the material under investigation. When interacting with the electron clouds either on atomic orbitals or delocalized over the specimen, the associated energy transfer, measured and analyzed as an energy loss (Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy) gives access to analytical properties (atom identification, electron states symmetry and localization). In the moderate energy-loss domain (corresponding to an optical spectral domain from the infrared (IR) to the rather far ultra violet (UV), EELS spectra exhibit characteristic collective excitations of the rather-free electron gas, known as plasmons. Boundary conditions, such as surfaces and/or interfaces between metallic and dielectric media, generate localized surface charge oscillations, surface plasmons (SP), which are associated with confined electric fields. This domain of research has been extraordinarily revived over the past few years as a consequence of the burst of interest for structures and devices guiding, enhancing and controlling light at the sub-wavelength scale. The present review focuses on the study of these surface plasmons with an electron microscopy-based approach which associates spectroscopy and mapping at the level of a single and well-defined nano-object, typically at the nanometer scale i.e. much improved with respect to standard, and even near-field, optical techniques. After calling to mind some early studies, we will briefly mention a few basic aspects of the required instrumentation and associated theoretical tools to interpret the very rich data sets recorded with the latest generation of (Scanning)TEM microscopes. The following paragraphs will review in more detail the results obtained on simple planar and

Safety of confinement of Super Phenix: MARS test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Falgayrettes, M.F.G.; Hamon, P.; Fiche, C.

1984-08-01

The protection of people and property must be assured by every situation around an industrial power plant. That is why the French Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique has defined the size of the confinement of Super Phenix to withstand the worst highly hypothetical accident. This report presents the study of the strength of the confinement carried out on a reactor mock-up. The latter is presented in film. The solution which have been adopted for the problem encountered are emphasized. Finally consequences are examined [fr

Tokamak-like confinement at high beta and low field in the reversed field pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarff, J S; Anderson, J K; Biewer, T M; Brower, D L; Chapman, B E; Chattopadhyay, P K; Craig, D; Deng, B; Hartog, D J Den; Ding, W X; Fiksel, G; Forest, C B; Goetz, J A; O'Connell, R; Prager, S C; Thomas, M A

2003-01-01

For several reasons, improved-confinement achieved in the reversed field pinch (RFP) during the last few years can be characterized as 'tokamak-like'. Historically, RFP plasmas have had relatively poor confinement due to tearing instability which causes magnetic stochasticity and enhanced transport. Tearing reduction is achieved through modification of the inductive current drive, which dramatically improves confinement. The electron temperature increases to >1 keV and the electron heat diffusivity decreases to approx. 5 m 2 s -1 , comparable with the transport level expected in a tokamak plasma of the same size and current. This corresponds to a 10-fold increase in global energy confinement. Runaway electrons are confined, and Fokker-Planck modelling of the electron distribution reveals that the diffusion at high energy is independent of the parallel velocity, uncharacteristic of stochastic transport. Improved-confinement occurs simultaneously with increased beta approx. 15%, while maintaining a magnetic field strength ten times weaker than a comparable tokamak. Measurements of the current, magnetic, and electric field profiles show that a simple Ohm's Law applies to this RFP sustained without dynamo relaxation

Subwavelength light confinement with surface plasmon polaritons

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhagen, E.

2009-01-01

In free space, the diffraction limit sets a lower bound to the size to which light can be confined. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), which are electromagnetic waves bound to the interface between a metal and a dielectric, allow the control of light on subwavelength length scales. This opens up a

Additional renewable energy growth through small-scale community orientated energy policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hain, J.J.; Ault, G.W.; Galloway, S.J.; Cruden, A.; McDonald, J.R.

2005-01-01

This paper summarises the energy policies that the UK Government has enacted in order to achieve its renewable targets by 2010. Current policies are designed primarily to support large-scale renewable projects through Renewable Obligation Certificates, Levy Exemption Certificates and capital grant schemes. Non-profit domestic and non-profit community renewable projects are also eligible for grant support. First-hand experience of privately owned renewable projects indicate that existing renewable policy is insufficient in its support of both small-scale and community-based profit oriented renewable energy (RE) schemes. Primary and secondary survey information suggests that people living in regions where RE will be situated may generally be inclined to support broader uses of renewables in these regions. Small-scale renewables can make a significant cumulative contribution to the RE mix. The results reported in this paper support the contention that the Government could go further towards approaching its targets through rural-focused changes to its energy incentive programmes

Effects of confinement in meso-porous silica and carbon nano-structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leon, V.

2006-07-01

Physico-chemical properties of materials can be strongly modified by confinement because of the quantum effects that appear at such small length scales and also because of the effects of the confinement itself. The aim of this thesis is to show that both the nature of the confining material and the size of the pores and cavities have a strong impact on the confined material. We first show the effect of the pore size of the host meso-porous silica on the temperature of the solid-solid phase transition of silver selenide, a semiconducting material with enhanced magnetoresistive properties under non-stoichiometric conditions. Narrowing the pores from 20 nm to 2 nm raises the phase transition temperature from 139 C to 146 C. This result can be explained by considering the interaction between the confining and confined materials as a driving force. The effects of confinement are also studied in the case of hydrogen and deuterium inside cavities of organized carbon nano-structures. The effects that appear in the adsorption/desorption cycles are much stronger with carbon nano-horns as the host material than with C60 pea-pods and single-walled carbon nano-tubes. (author)

Extremely confined gap surface-plasmon modes excited by electrons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raza, Søren; Stenger, Nicolas; Pors, Anders Lambertus

2014-01-01

High-spatial and energy resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) can be used for detailed characterization of localized and propagating surface-plasmon excitations in metal nanostructures, giving insight into fundamental physical phenomena and various plasmonic effects. Here, applying...... EELS to ultra-sharp convex grooves in gold, we directly probe extremely confined gap surface-plasmon (GSP) modes excited by swift electrons in nanometre-wide gaps. We reveal the resonance behaviour associated with the excitation of the antisymmetric GSP mode for extremely small gap widths, down to ~5...... mode exploited in plasmonic waveguides with extreme light confinement is a very important factor that should be taken into account in the design of nanoplasmonic circuits and devices....

The isotope dependence of confinement in ASDEX. Pt. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, F.; Bessenrodt-Weberpals, M.; Giannone, L.; Kallenbach, A.; McCormick, K.; Soeldner, F.X.; Stroth, U.

1990-01-01

In this paper the authors continue the report on the study of the dependence of plasma parameters on the ion mass A i . Both under ohmic and beam heating conditions a strong sensitivity of the central electron temperature, the electron and total energy content, the energy confinement time, and sawtooth repetition time are observed. The previously observed strong sensitivity of the edge density on A i is a secondary effect. The observation of an A i dependence both in lower hybrid heated discharges but also in the momentum confinement with NI demonstrates that the ion mass affects both electron and ion transport. Transport analysis indicates that the effective heat diffusivity is lower in deuterium for all radii. (orig.)

Correlated kinetic energy density functional of ground states of harmonically confined two-electron atoms for arbitrary interparticle interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amovilli, C; March, N H

2012-01-01

Utilizing the earlier work of Holas et al (2003 Phys. Lett. A 310 451) and the more recent contribution of Akbari et al (2009 Phys. Rev. A 80 032509), we construct an integral equation for the relative motion (RM) contribution t RM (r) to the correlated kinetic energy density for modelling two-electron atoms with harmonic confinement but arbitrary interparticle interaction. It is stressed that t RM = t RM [f(G)], where f(G) is the atomic scattering factor: the Fourier transform of the density ρ(r). As a simple illustrative example of this functional relation for the correlated kinetic energy density, the harmonic Moshinsky case is investigated, the scattering factor then having a Gaussian form. (paper)

Theory of supercoupling, squeezing wave energy, and field confinement in narrow channels and tight bends using ε near-zero metamaterials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silveirinha, Mario G.; Engheta, Nader

2007-01-01

In this work, we investigate the detailed theory of the supercoupling, anomalous tunneling effect, and field confinement originally identified by Silveirinha and Engheta [Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 157403 (2006)], where we demonstrated the possibility of using materials with permittivity ε near zero to drastically improve the transmission of electromagnetic energy through a narrow irregular channel with very subwavelength transverse cross section. Here, we present additional physical insights, describe applications of the tunneling effect in relevant waveguide scenarios (e.g., the 'perfect' or 'super' waveguide coupling), and study the effect of metal losses in the metallic walls and the possibility of using near-zero ε materials to confine energy in a subwavelength cavity with gigantic field enhancement. In addition, we systematically study the propagation of electromagnetic waves through narrow channels filled with anisotropic near-zero ε materials. It is demonstrated that these materials may have interesting potentials, and that for some particular geometries, the reflectivity of the channel is independent of the specific dimensions or parameters of near-zero ε transition. We also describe several realistic metamaterial implementations of the studied problems, based on standard metallic waveguides, microstrip line configurations, and wire media

Geometrical-confinement effects on excitons in quantum disks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, J.; Ulloa, S.E.

1995-01-01

Excitons confined to flat semiconductor quantum dots with elliptical cross sections are considered as we study geometrical effects on exciton binding energy, electron-hole separation, and the resulting linear optical properties. We use numerical matrix diagonalization techniques with appropriately large and optimized basis sets in an effective-mass Hamiltonian approach. The linear optical susceptibilities of GaAs and InAs dots for several different size ratios are discussed and compared to experimental photoluminescence spectra obtained on GaAs/Al x Ga 1-x As and InAs/GaAs quantum dots. For quantum dots of several nm in size, there is a strong blueshift of the luminescence due to geometrical-confinement effects. Also, transition peaks are split and shifted towards higher energy, in comparison with dots with circular cross sections

Anomalous water dynamics at surfaces and interfaces: synergistic effects of confinement and surface interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Biswas, Rajib; Bagchi, Biman

2018-01-01

In nature, water is often found in contact with surfaces that are extended on the scale of molecule size but small on a macroscopic scale. Examples include lipid bilayers and reverse micelles as well as biomolecules like proteins, DNA and zeolites, to name a few. While the presence of surfaces and interfaces interrupts the continuous hydrogen bond network of liquid water, confinement on a mesoscopic scale introduces new features. Even when extended on a molecular scale, natural and biological surfaces often have features (like charge, hydrophobicity) that vary on the scale of the molecular diameter of water. As a result, many new and exotic features, which are not seen in the bulk, appear in the dynamics of water close to the surface. These different behaviors bear the signature of both water-surface interactions and of confinement. In other words, the altered properties are the result of the synergistic effects of surface-water interactions and confinement. Ultrafast spectroscopy, theoretical modeling and computer simulations together form powerful synergistic approaches towards an understanding of the properties of confined water in such systems as nanocavities, reverse micelles (RMs), water inside and outside biomolecules like proteins and DNA, and also between two hydrophobic walls. We shall review the experimental results and place them in the context of theory and simulations. For water confined within RMs, we discuss the possible interference effects propagating from opposite surfaces. Similar interference is found to give rise to an effective attractive force between two hydrophobic surfaces immersed and kept fixed at a separation of d, with the force showing an exponential dependence on this distance. For protein and DNA hydration, we shall examine a multitude of timescales that arise from frustration effects due to the inherent heterogeneity of these surfaces. We pay particular attention to the role of orientational correlations and modification of the

Inertial Confinement Fusion R and D and Nuclear Proliferation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldston, Robert J.

2011-01-01

In a few months, or a few years, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory may achieve fusion gain using 192 powerful lasers to generate x-rays that will compress and heat a small target containing isotopes of hydrogen. This event would mark a major milestone after decades of research on inertial confinement fusion (ICF). It might also mark the beginning of an accelerated global effort to harness fusion energy based on this science and technology. Unlike magnetic confinement fusion (ITER, 2011), in which hot fusion fuel is confined continuously by strong magnetic fields, inertial confinement fusion involves repetitive fusion explosions, taking advantage of some aspects of the science learned from the design and testing of hydrogen bombs. The NIF was built primarily because of the information it would provide on weapons physics, helping the United States to steward its stockpile of nuclear weapons without further underground testing. The U.S. National Academies' National Research Council is now hosting a study to assess the prospects for energy from inertial confinement fusion. While this study has a classified sub-panel on target physics, it has not been charged with examining the potential nuclear proliferation risks associated with ICF R and D. We argue here that this question urgently requires direct and transparent examination, so that means to mitigate risks can be assessed, and the potential residual risks can be balanced against the potential benefits, now being assessed by the NRC. This concern is not new (Holdren, 1978), but its urgency is now higher than ever before.

Numerical modeling of the transition from low to high confinement in magnetically confined plasma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Jens Juul; Nielsen, Anders Henry; Madsen, Jens

2016-01-01

The transition dynamics from low (L) to high (H) mode confinement in magnetically confined plasmas is investigated using a four-field drift fluid model—HESEL (Hot Edge-Sol-Electrostatic). The model includes profile evolution and is solved in a 2D domain at the out-board mid-plane of a tokamak......–I–H transition with an intermediate I-phase displaying limit-cycle oscillations (LCO). The model recovers the power threshold for the L–H transition, the scaling of the threshold with the density and with the loss-rate in the SOL, indicating a decrease in power threshold when switching from single to double null...... including both open and closed field lines. The results reveal different types of L–H-like transitions in response to ramping up the input power by increasing the ion temperature in the edge region. For a fast rising input power we obtain an abrupt transition, and for a slow rising power we obtain a L...

A landscape scale valley confinement algorithm: Delineating unconfined valley bottoms for geomorphic, aquatic, and riparian applications

Science.gov (United States)

David E. Nagel; John M. Buffington; Sharon L. Parkes; Seth Wenger; Jaime R. Goode

2014-01-01

Valley confinement is an important landscape characteristic linked to aquatic habitat, riparian diversity, and geomorphic processes. This report describes a GIS program called the Valley Confinement Algorithm (VCA), which identifies unconfined valleys in montane landscapes. The algorithm uses nationally available digital elevation models (DEMs) at 10-30 m resolution to...

Superconducting magnetic energy storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogers, J.D.

1976-01-01

Fusion power production requires energy storage and transfer on short time scales to create confining magnetic fields and for heating plasmas. The theta-pinch Scyllac Fusion Test Reactor (SFTR) requires 480 MJ of energy to drive the 5-T compression field with a 0.7-ms rise time. Tokamak Experimental Power Reactors (EPR) require 1 to 2 GJ of energy with a 1 to 2-s rise time for plasma ohmic heating. The design, development, and testing of four 300-kJ energy storage coils to satisfy the SFTR needs are described. Potential rotating machinery and homopolar energy systems for both the Reference Theta-Pinch Reactor (RTPR) and tokamak ohmic-heating are presented

Definition of Ignition in Inertial Confinement Fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Christopherson, A. R.; Betti, R.

2017-10-01

Defining ignition in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is an unresolved problem. In ICF, a distinction must be made between the ignition of the hot spot and the propagation of the burn wave in the surrounding dense fuel. Burn propagation requires that the hot spot is robustly ignited and the dense shell exhibits enough areal density. Since most of the energy gain comes from burning the dense shell, in a scale of increasing yields, hot-spot ignition comes before high gains. Identifying this transition from hot-spot ignition to burn-wave propagation is key to defining ignition in general terms applicable to all fusion approaches that use solid DT fuel. Ad hoc definitions such as gain = 1 or doubling the temperature are not generally valid. In this work, we show that it is possible to identify the onset of ignition through a unique value of the yield amplification defined as the ratio of the fusion yield including alpha-particle deposition to the fusion yield without alphas. Since the yield amplification is a function of the fractional alpha energy fα =EαEα 2Ehs 2Ehs (a measurable quantity), it appears possible not only to define ignition but also to measure the onset of ignition by the experimental inference of the fractional alpha energy and yield amplification. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy Office of Fusion Energy Services under Award Number DE-FC02-04ER54789 and National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0001944.

Dynamics of confined reactive water in smectite clay-zeolite composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitman, Michael C; van Duin, Adri C T

2012-02-15

The dynamics of water confined to mesoporous regions in minerals such as swelling clays and zeolites is fundamental to a wide range of resource management issues impacting many processes on a global scale, including radioactive waste containment, desalination, and enhanced oil recovery. Large-scale atomic models of freely diffusing multilayer smectite particles at low hydration confined in a silicalite cage are used to investigate water dynamics in the composite environment with the ReaxFF reactive force field over a temperature range of 300-647 K. The reactive capability of the force field enabled a range of relevant surface chemistry to emerge, including acid/base equilibria in the interlayer calcium hydrates and silanol formation on the edges of the clay and inner surface of the zeolite housing. After annealing, the resulting clay models exhibit both mono- and bilayer hydration structures. Clay surface hydration redistributed markedly and yielded to silicalite water loading. We find that the absolute rates and temperature dependence of water dynamics compare well to neutron scattering data and pulse field gradient measures from relevant samples of Ca-montmorillonite and silicalite, respectively. Within an atomistic, reactive context, our results distinguish water dynamics in the interlayer Ca(OH)(2)·nH(2)O environment from water flowing over the clay surface, and from water diffusing within silicalite. We find that the diffusion of water when complexed to Ca hydrates is considerably slower than freely diffusing water over the clay surface, and the reduced mobility is well described by a difference in the Arrhenius pre-exponential factor rather than a change in activation energy.

Isotopic scaling of transport in deuterium-tritium plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, S.D.; Adler, H.; Bell, M.G.; Bell, R.; Budny, R.V.; Bush, C.E.; Chang, Z.; Duong, H.

1995-01-01

Both global and thermal energy confinement improve in high-temperature supershot plasmas in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) when deuterium beam heating is partially or wholly replaced by tritium beam heating. For the same heating power, the tritium-rich plasmas obtain up to 22% higher total energy, 30% higher thermal ion energy, and 20-25% higher central ion temperature. Kinetic analysis of the temperature and density profiles indicates a favorable isotopic scaling of ion heat transport and electron particle transport, with τ Ei (a/2) ∝ (A) 0.7-0.8 and τ pe (a) ∝ (A) 0.8

Quantum confinement in hydrogen bond of DNA and RNA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dos Santos, C S; Filho, E Drigo; Ricotta, R M

2015-01-01

The hydrogen bond is a fundamental ingredient to stabilize the DNA and RNA macromolecules. The main contribution of this work is to describe quantitatively this interaction as a consequence of the quantum confinement of the hydrogen. The results for the free and confined system are compared with experimental data. The formalism to compute the energy gap of the vibration motion used to identify the spectrum lines is the Variational Method allied to Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics. (papert)

Effect of the laser wavelength: A long story of laser-plasma interaction physics for Inertial Confinement Fusion Teller Medal Lecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Labaune Christine

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Laser-driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF relies on the use of high-energy laser beams to compress and ignite a thermonuclear fuel with the ultimate goal of producing energy. Fusion is the holy grail of energy sources–combining abundant fuel with no greenhouse gas emissions, minimal waste products and a scale that can meet mankind's long-term energy demands. The quality and the efficiency of the coupling of the laser beams with the target are an essential step towards the success of laser fusion. A long-term program on laser-plasma interaction physics has been pursued to understand the propagation and the coupling of laser pulses in plasmas for a wide range of parameters.

Effect of the laser wavelength: A long story of laser-plasma interaction physics for Inertial Confinement Fusion Teller Medal Lecture

Science.gov (United States)

Labaune, Christine

2016-10-01

Laser-driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) relies on the use of high-energy laser beams to compress and ignite a the1monuclear fuel with the ultimate goal of producing energy. Fusion is the holy grail of energy sources-combining abundant fuel with no greenhouse gas emissions, minimal waste products and a scale that can meet mankind's long-term energy demands. The quality and the efficiency of the coupling of the laser beams with the target are an essential step towards the success of laser fusion. A long-te1m program on laser-plasma interaction physics has been pursued to understand the propagation and the coupling of laser pulses in plasmas for a wide range of parameters.

Spatial Confinement of Ultrasonic Force Fields in Microfluidic Channels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manneberg, O; Hagsäter, Melker; Svennebring, J

2009-01-01

-PIV). The confinement of the ultrasonic fields during single-or dual-segment actuation, as well as the cross-talk between two adjacent. fields, is characterized and quantified. Our results show that the field confinement typically scales with the acoustic wavelength, and that the cross-talk is insignificant between...... adjacent. fields. The goal is to define design strategies for implementing several spatially separated ultrasonic manipulation functions in series for use in advanced particle or cell handling and processing applications. One such proof-of-concept application is demonstrated, where. flow...

Investigations on a nano-scale periodical waveguide structure taking surface plasmon polaritons into consideration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Weihao; Zhong Renbin; Zhou Jun; Zhang Yaxin; Hu Min; Liu Shenggang

2012-01-01

Detailed theoretical analysis and computer simulations on the electromagnetic characteristics of a nano-scale periodical waveguide structure, taking surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) into consideration, are carried out in this paper. The results show that SPPs will significantly influence the electromagnetic characteristics of the structure. When the operation frequency is in a certain band—the ‘radial confinement band’, neither radial surface plasmon waves nor guided waves, which both will lead to radial energy loss, can be excited in the structure. And the electromagnetic waves are completely confined within the longitudinal waveguide and propagate along it with little attenuation. The radial energy loss is then significantly reduced. These results are of great significance not only for increasing the efficiency of the radiation sources based on the nano-scale periodical waveguide structure but also for the development of high-efficiency waveguides and wide-band filters in the infrared and visible light regimes. (paper)

Robust analysis of trends in noisy tokamak confinement data using geodesic least squares regression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verdoolaege, G., E-mail: geert.verdoolaege@ugent.be [Department of Applied Physics, Ghent University, B-9000 Ghent (Belgium); Laboratory for Plasma Physics, Royal Military Academy, B-1000 Brussels (Belgium); Shabbir, A. [Department of Applied Physics, Ghent University, B-9000 Ghent (Belgium); Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching (Germany); Hornung, G. [Department of Applied Physics, Ghent University, B-9000 Ghent (Belgium)

2016-11-15

Regression analysis is a very common activity in fusion science for unveiling trends and parametric dependencies, but it can be a difficult matter. We have recently developed the method of geodesic least squares (GLS) regression that is able to handle errors in all variables, is robust against data outliers and uncertainty in the regression model, and can be used with arbitrary distribution models and regression functions. We here report on first results of application of GLS to estimation of the multi-machine scaling law for the energy confinement time in tokamaks, demonstrating improved consistency of the GLS results compared to standard least squares.

Stored energy analysis in scale-down test facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Chengcheng; Qin Benke; Fang Fangfang; Chang Huajian; Ye Zishen

2013-01-01

In the integral test facilities that simulate the accident transient process of the prototype nuclear power plant, the stored energy in the metal components has a direct influence on the simulation range and the test results of the facilities. Based on the heat transfer theory, three methods analyzing the stored energy were developed, and a thorough study on the stored energy problem in the scale-down test facilities was further carried out. The lumped parameter method and power integration method were applied to analyze the transient process of energy releasing and to evaluate the average total energy stored in the reactor pressure vessel of the ACME (advanced core-cooling mechanism experiment) facility, which is now being built in China. The results show that the similarity requirements for such three methods to analyze the stored energy in the test facilities are reduced gradually. Under the condition of satisfying the integral similarity of natural circulation, the stored energy releasing process in the scale-down test facilities can't maintain exact similarity. The stored energy in the reactor pressure vessel wall of ACME, which is released quickly during the early stage of rapid depressurization of system, will not make a major impact on the long-term behavior of system. And the scaling distortion of integral average total energy of the stored heat is acceptable. (authors)

Improvement of confinement characteristics of tokamak plasma by controlling plasma-wall interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sengoku, Seio

1985-08-01

Relation between plasma-wall interactions and confinement characteristics of a tokamak plasma with respect to both impurity and fuel particle controls is discussed. Following results are obtained from impurity control studies: (1) Ion sputtering is the dominant mechanism of impurity release in a steady state tokamak discharge. (2) By applying carbon coating on entire first wall of DIVA tokamak, dominant radiative region is concentrated more in boundary plasma resulting a hot peripheral plasma with cold boundary plasma. (3) A physical model of divertor functions about impurity control is empilically obtained. By a computer simulation based on above model with respect to divertor functions for JT-60 tokamak, it is found that the allowable electron temperature of the divertor plasma is not restricted by a condition that the impurity release due to ion sputtering does not increase continuously. (4) Dense and cold divertor plasma accompanied with strong remote radiative cooling was diagnosed along the magnetic field line in the simple poloidal divertor of DOUBLET III tokamak. Strong particle recycling region is found to be localized near the divertor plate. by and from particle control studies: (1) The INTOR scaling on energy confinement time is applicable to high density region when a core plasma is fueled directly by solid deuterium pellet injection in DOUBLET III tokamak. (2) As remarkably demonstrated by direct fueling with pellet injection, energy confinement characteristics can be improved at high density range by decreasing particle deposition at peripheral plasma in order to reduce plasma-wall interaction. (3) If the particle deposition at boundary layer is necessarily reduced, the electron temperature at the boundary or divertor region increases due to decrease of the particle recycling and the electron density there. (J.P.N.)

BMP4 density gradient in disk-shaped confinement

Science.gov (United States)

Bozorgui, Behnaz; Teimouri, Hamid; Kolomeisky, Anatoly B.

We present a quantitative model that explains the scaling of BMP4 gradients during gastrulation and the recent experimental observation that geometric confinement of human embryonic stem cells is sufficient to recapitulate much of germ layer patterning. Based on a assumption that BMP4 diffusion rate is much smaller than the diffusion rate of it's inhibitor molecules, our results confirm that the length-scale which defines germ layer territories does not depend on system size.

Coulomb energy, vortices, and confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greensite, Jeff; Olejnik, Stefan

2003-01-01

We estimate the Coulomb energy of static quarks from a Monte Carlo calculation of the correlator of timelike link variables in the Coulomb gauge. We find, in agreement with Cucchieri and Zwanziger, that this energy grows linearly with distance at large quark separations. The corresponding string tension, however, is several times greater than the accepted asymptotic string tension, indicating that a state containing only static sources, with no constituent gluons, is not the lowest energy flux tube state. The Coulomb energy is also measured on thermalized lattices with center vortices removed by the de Forcrand-D'Elia procedure. We find that when vortices are removed, the Coulomb string tension vanishes

Small-Scale Renewable Energy Converters for Battery Charging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd Nasir Ayob

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents two wave energy concepts for small-scale electricity generation. In the presented case, these concepts are installed on the buoy of a heaving, point-absorbing wave energy converter (WEC for large scale electricity production. In the studied WEC, developed by Uppsala University, small-scale electricity generation in the buoy is needed to power a tidal compensating system designed to increase the performance of the WEC in areas with high tides. The two considered and modeled concepts are an oscillating water column (OWC and a heaving point absorber. The results indicate that the OWC is too small for the task and does not produce enough energy. On the other hand, the results show that a hybrid system composed of a small heaving point absorber combined with a solar energy system would be able to provide a requested minimum power of around 37.7 W on average year around. The WEC and solar panel complement each other, as the WEC produces enough energy by itself during wintertime (but not in the summer, while the solar panel produces enough energy in the summer (but not in the winter.

Fusion, magnetic confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berk, H.L.

1992-01-01

An overview is presented of the principles of magnetic confinement of plasmas for the purpose of achieving controlled fusion conditions. Sec. 1 discusses the different nuclear fusion reactions which can be exploited in prospective fusion reactors and explains why special technologies need to be developed for the supply of tritium or 3 He, the probable fuels. In Sec. 2 the Lawson condition, a criterion that is a measure of the quality of confinement relative to achieving fusion conditions, is explained. In Sec. 3 fluid equations are used to describe plasma confinement. Specific confinement configurations are considered. In Sec. 4 the orbits of particle sin magneti and electric fields are discussed. In Sec. 5 stability considerations are discussed. It is noted that confinement systems usually need to satisfy stability constraints imposed by ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) theory. The paper culminates with a summary of experimental progress in magnetic confinement. Present experiments in tokamaks have reached the point that the conditions necessary to achieve fusion are being satisfied

Impact of high temperature superconductors on the possibility of radio-frequency confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dean, S.O.

1989-01-01

Recent discoveries of superconducting materials that operate at high temperatures may have both technical and economic consequences for magnetic confinement fusion. In addition, they could also open up the possibility of plasma confinement by radio-frequency fields. The new, high temperature superconductors may impact the feasibility of rf confinement in two important ways: (1) higher temperature superconductors should have higher critical B fields and consequently may allow higher critical electric fields to be sustained in the cavity, thus allowing the necessary confining pressure to be achieved; and (2) the higher temperature superconductors lower the refrigeration power necessary to maintain the superconducting cavity, thus allowing a favorable energy balance

Improved plasma confinement by modulated toroidal current on HT-7 superconducting tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mao Jianshan; Zhao Junyu; Shen Biao; Luo Jiarong

2004-01-01

The improved confinement phase was observed during modulating toroidal current on the Hefei superconducting Tokamak-7 (HT-7). This improved plasma confinement phase is characterized by suppressing magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities effectively, thus increased the central line averaged electron density and the central electron temperature about 33%, out-put steeper density profiles, and reduced hydrogen radiation from the edge as well. The global energy confinement time was increased by 27%-45%; The impurity radiation was reduced by modulation of plasma toroidal current; particle confinement time was increased about two times; a stronger radial negative electric field formed inside the limiter. The radial electric field during modulating current was calculated and disscused. (authors)

Coulomb and Nuclear Breakup at Low Energies: Scaling Laws

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hussein M. S.

2013-12-01

Full Text Available We report on a recent work on the low-energy behavior of the breakup cross section in so far as it has important role in the fusion of weakly bound and halo nuclei at near-barrier energies. We assess the way the nuclear component of this cross section scales with the target mass. In complete accord with previous finding at higher energies we verify that the low energy behavior of the breakup cross section for a given projectile and relative center of mass energy with respect to the Coulomb barrier height scales as the cubic root of the mass number of the target. Surprisingly we find that the Coulomb component of the breakup cross section at these low energies also obeys scaling, but with a linear dependence on the target charge. Our findings are important when planning for experiments involving these exotic nuclei.

Laser ablation under different electron heat conduction models in inertial confinement fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shuanggui; Ren, Guoli; Huo, Wen Yi

2018-06-01

In this paper, we study the influence of three different electron heat conduction models on the laser ablation of gold plane target. Different from previous studies, we concentrate on the plasma conditions, the conversion efficiency from laser into soft x rays and the scaling relation of mass ablation, which are relevant to hohlraum physics study in indirect drive inertial confinement fusion. We find that the simulated electron temperature in corona region is sensitive to the electron heat conduction models. For different electron heat conduction models, there are obvious differences in magnitude and spatial profile of electron temperature. For the flux limit model, the calculated conversion efficiency is sensitive to flux limiters. In the laser ablation of gold, most of the laser energies are converted into x rays. So the scaling relation of mass ablation rate is quite different from that of low Z materials.

High efficiency confinement mode by electron cyclotron heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funahashi, Akimasa

1987-01-01

In the medium size nuclear fusion experiment facility JFT-2M in the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, the research on the high efficiency plasma confinement mode has been advanced, and in the experiment in June, 1987, the formation of a high efficiency confinement mode was successfully controlled by electron cyclotron heating, for the first time in the world. This result further advanced the control of the formation of a high efficiency plasma confinement mode and the elucidation of the physical mechanism of that mode, and promoted the research and development of the plasma heating by electron cyclotron heating. In this paper, the recent results of the research on a high efficiency confinement mode at the JFT-2M are reported, and the role of the JFT-2M and the experiment on the improvement of core plasma performance are outlined. Now the plasma temperature exceeding 100 million deg C has been attained in large tokamaks, and in medium size facilities, the various measures for improving confinement performance are to be brought forth and their scientific basis is elucidated to assist large facilities. The JFT-2M started the operation in April, 1983, and has accumulated the results smoothly since then. (Kako, I.)

Confinement facilities for handling plutonium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maraman, W.J.; McNeese, W.D.; Stafford, R.G.

1975-01-01

Plutonium handling on a multigram scale began in 1944. Early criteria, equipment, and techniques for confining contamination have been superseded by more stringent criteria and vastly improved equipment and techniques for in-process contamination control, effluent air cleaning and treatment of liquid wastes. This paper describes the evolution of equipment and practices to minimize exposure of workers and escape of contamination into work areas and into the environment. Early and current contamination controls are compared. (author)

Model Scaling of Hydrokinetic Ocean Renewable Energy Systems

Science.gov (United States)

von Ellenrieder, Karl; Valentine, William

2013-11-01

Numerical simulations are performed to validate a non-dimensional dynamic scaling procedure that can be applied to subsurface and deeply moored systems, such as hydrokinetic ocean renewable energy devices. The prototype systems are moored in water 400 m deep and include: subsurface spherical buoys moored in a shear current and excited by waves; an ocean current turbine excited by waves; and a deeply submerged spherical buoy in a shear current excited by strong current fluctuations. The corresponding model systems, which are scaled based on relative water depths of 10 m and 40 m, are also studied. For each case examined, the response of the model system closely matches the scaled response of the corresponding full-sized prototype system. The results suggest that laboratory-scale testing of complete ocean current renewable energy systems moored in a current is possible. This work was supported by the U.S. Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center (SNMREC).

Nanoscale Confinement and Fluorescence Effects of Bacterial Light Harvesting Complex LH2 in Mesoporous Silicas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ikemoto, Hideki; Tubasum, Sumera; Pullerits, Tonu

2013-01-01

Many key chemical and biochemical reactions, particularly in living cells, take place in confined space at the mesoscopic scale. Towards understanding of physicochemical nature of biomacromolecules confined in nanoscale space, in this work we have elucidated fluorescent effects of a light harvest...

Improving scaling methods to estimate eruption energies from volcanic crater structures using blast experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Sonder, I.; Graettinger, A. H.; Valentine, G.; Schmid, A.; Zimanowski, B.; Majji, M.; Ross, P.; White, J. D.; Taddeucci, J.; Lube, G.; Kueppers, U.; Bowman, D. C.

2013-12-01

In an ongoing effort to understand the relevant processes behind the formation of volcanic crater-, maar-, and diatreme structures, experiments producing craters with radii exceeding one meter were conducted at University at Buffalos Geohazards Field Station. A chemical explosive was used as energy source for the tests, and detonated in prepared test beds made from several stratified, compacted aggregates. The amount of explosive, as well as its depth of burial were varied in the twelve experiments. The detonations were recorded by a diverse set of sensors including high-speed/high-definition cameras, seismic and electric field sensors, normal- and infrasound microphones. Morphology and structures were documented after each blast by manual measurements and semi-automated photogrammetry. After all blasts were complete the structures excavated and analyzed. The measured sensor signals were evaluated and related to blast energies, depths of burial and crater morphologies. Former experiments e.g. performed by Goto et al. (2001; Geophys. Res. Lett. 28, 4287-4290) considered craters of single blasts at a given lateral position and found empirical relationships emphasizing the importance of length scaling with the cube root of the blasts energy E. For example the depth of burial producing the largest crater radius--the ';optimal' depth--is proportional to E1/3, as is the corresponding radius. Resembling natural processes creating crater and diatreme structures the experiments performed here feature several blasts at one lateral position. The dependencies on E1/3 could be roughly confirmed. Also the scaled depth correlated with the sensor signals capturing the blasts dynamics. However, significant scatter was introduced by the pre-existing morphologies. Using a suitable re-definition for the charges depth of burial (';eruption depth'), accounting for a pre-existing (crater) morphology, the measured dependencies of morphology and blast dynamics on E can be improved

Regime of very high confinement in the boronized DIII-D tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, G.L.; Winter, J.; Taylor, T.S.; Burrell, K.H.; DeBoo, J.C.; Greenfield, C.M.; Groebner, R.J.; Hodapp, T.; Holtrop, K.; Lazarus, E.A.; Lao, L.L.; Lippmann, S.I.; Osborne, T.H.; Petrie, T.W.; Phillips, J.; James, R.; Schissel, D.P.; Strait, E.J.; Turnbull, A.D.; West, W.P.; DIII-D Team

1991-01-01

Following boronization, tokamak discharges in DIII-D have been obtained with confinement times up to a factor of 3.5 above the ITER89-P L-mode scaling and 1.8 times greater than the DIII-D/JET H-mode scaling relation. Very high confinement phases are characterized by relatively high central density with n e (0)∼1x10 20 m -3 , and central ion temperatures up to 13.6 keV at moderate plasma currents (1.6 MA) and heating powers (12.5--15.3 MW). These discharges exhibit a low fraction of radiated power, P≤25%, Z eff (0) close to unity, and lower impurity influxes than comparable DIII-D discharges before boronization

Confined compressive strength model of rock for drilling optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiangchao Shi

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The confined compressive strength (CCS plays a vital role in drilling optimization. On the basis of Jizba's experimental results, a new CCS model considering the effects of the porosity and nonlinear characteristics with increasing confining pressure has been developed. Because the confining pressure plays a fundamental role in determining the CCS of bottom-hole rock and because the theory of Terzaghi's effective stress principle is founded upon soil mechanics, which is not suitable for calculating the confining pressure in rock mechanics, the double effective stress theory, which treats the porosity as a weighting factor of the formation pore pressure, is adopted in this study. The new CCS model combined with the mechanical specific energy equation is employed to optimize the drilling parameters in two practical wells located in Sichuan basin, China, and the calculated results show that they can be used to identify the inefficient drilling situations of underbalanced drilling (UBD and overbalanced drilling (OBD.

On the HL-1M tokamak plasma confinement time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin Yunwen

2001-01-01

Emphasizing that the tokamak plasma confinement time is the plasma particle or thermal energy loss characteristic time, the relevant physical concept and HL-1M tokamak experimental data analyses are reviewed

Brucellosis in pastoral and confined livestock: prevention and vaccination

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smits, H. L.

2013-01-01

The traditional lifestyle and beliefs of pastoralists and small-scale farmers with confined livestock, together with certain farming environments, create favourable conditions for the spread and transmission of brucellosis. The risks associated with these practices are difficult to control because

Photoexcitation and ionization of hydrogen atom confined in Debye environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lumb, S.; Lumb, S.; Nautiyal, V.

2015-01-01

The dynamics of a hydrogen atom confined in an impenetrable spherical box and under the effect of Debye screening, in the presence of intense short laser pulses of few femtosecond is studied in detail. The energy spectra and wave functions have been calculated using Bernstein polynomial (B-polynomial) method. Variation of transition probabilities for various transitions due to changes in Debye screening length, confinement radius as well as the parameters characterizing applied laser pulse is studied and explained. The results are found to be in good agreement with the results obtained by others. The photoexcitation and ionization of the atom strongly depend on confinement radius and screening parameter. For small confinement radii and for some values of screening parameter the atom is found to be ionized easily. The dynamics of the atom can be easily controlled by varying pulse parameters

Centrifugal particle confinement in mirror geometry

Science.gov (United States)

White, Roscoe; Hassam, Adil; Brizard, Alain

2018-01-01

The use of supersonic rotation of a plasma in mirror geometry has distinct advantages for thermonuclear fusion. The device is steady state, there are no disruptions, the loss cone is almost closed, sheared rotation stabilizes magnetohydrodynamic instabilities as well as plasma turbulence, there are no runaway electrons, and the coil configuration is simple. In this work, we examine the effect of rotation on mirror confinement using a full cyclotron orbit code. The full cyclotron simulations give a much more complete description of the particle energy distribution and losses than the use of guiding center equations. Both collisionless loss as a function of rotation and the effect of collisions are investigated. Although the cross field diffusion is classical, we find that the local rotating Maxwellian is increased to higher energy, increasing the fusion rate and also enhancing the radial diffusion. We find a loss channel not envisioned with a guiding center treatment, but a design can be chosen that can satisfy the Lawson criterion for ions. Of course, the rotation has a minimal effect on the alpha particle birth distribution, so there is initially loss through the usual loss cone, just as in a mirror with no rotation. However after this loss, the alphas slow down on the electrons with little pitch angle scattering until reaching low energy, so over half of the initial alpha energy is transferred to the electrons. The important problem of energy confinement, with losses primarily through the electron channel, is not addressed in this work. We also discuss the use of rotating mirror geometry to produce an ion thruster.

Energy efficiency supervision strategy selection of Chinese large-scale public buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin Zhenxing; Wu Yong; Li Baizhan; Gao Yafeng

2009-01-01

This paper discusses energy consumption, building development and building energy consumption in China, and points that energy efficiency management and maintenance of large-scale public buildings is the breakthrough point of building energy saving in China. Three obstacles are lack of basic statistics data, lack of service market for building energy saving, and lack of effective management measures account for the necessity of energy efficiency supervision for large-scale public buildings. And then the paper introduces the supervision aims, the supervision system and the five basic systems' role in the supervision system, and analyzes the working mechanism of the five basic systems. The energy efficiency supervision system of large-scale public buildings takes energy consumption statistics as a data basis, Energy auditing as a technical support, energy consumption ration as a benchmark of energy saving and price increase beyond ration as a price lever, and energy efficiency public-noticing as an amplifier. The supervision system promotes energy efficiency operation and maintenance of large-scale public building, and drives a comprehensive building energy saving in China.

Energy efficiency supervision strategy selection of Chinese large-scale public buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Zhenxing; Li, Baizhan; Gao, Yafeng [The Faculty of Urban Construction and Environmental Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing (China); Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region' s Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400045 (China); Wu, Yong [The Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Construction, Beijing 100835 (China)

2009-06-15

This paper discusses energy consumption, building development and building energy consumption in China, and points that energy efficiency management and maintenance of large-scale public buildings is the breakthrough point of building energy saving in China. Three obstacles are lack of basic statistics data, lack of service market for building energy saving, and lack of effective management measures account for the necessity of energy efficiency supervision for large-scale public buildings. And then the paper introduces the supervision aims, the supervision system and the five basic systems' role in the supervision system, and analyzes the working mechanism of the five basic systems. The energy efficiency supervision system of large-scale public buildings takes energy consumption statistics as a data basis, Energy auditing as a technical support, energy consumption ration as a benchmark of energy saving and price increase beyond ration as a price lever, and energy efficiency public-noticing as an amplifier. The supervision system promotes energy efficiency operation and maintenance of large-scale public building, and drives a comprehensive building energy saving in China. (author)

Energy efficiency supervision strategy selection of Chinese large-scale public buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin Zhenxing [Faculty of Urban Construction and Environmental Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing (China); Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region' s Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400045 (China)], E-mail: jinzhenxing33@sina.com; Wu Yong [Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Construction, Beijing 100835 (China); Li Baizhan; Gao Yafeng [Faculty of Urban Construction and Environmental Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing (China); Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region' s Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400045 (China)

2009-06-15

This paper discusses energy consumption, building development and building energy consumption in China, and points that energy efficiency management and maintenance of large-scale public buildings is the breakthrough point of building energy saving in China. Three obstacles are lack of basic statistics data, lack of service market for building energy saving, and lack of effective management measures account for the necessity of energy efficiency supervision for large-scale public buildings. And then the paper introduces the supervision aims, the supervision system and the five basic systems' role in the supervision system, and analyzes the working mechanism of the five basic systems. The energy efficiency supervision system of large-scale public buildings takes energy consumption statistics as a data basis, Energy auditing as a technical support, energy consumption ration as a benchmark of energy saving and price increase beyond ration as a price lever, and energy efficiency public-noticing as an amplifier. The supervision system promotes energy efficiency operation and maintenance of large-scale public building, and drives a comprehensive building energy saving in China.

Avoidance of singularity and global non-conservation of energy in general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verma, M.M.

2009-06-01

We show that the singularity in the General Theory of Relativity (GTR) is the expression of a non-Machian feature. It can be avoided with a scale-invariant dynamical theory, a property lacking in GTR. It is further argued that the global non-conservation of energy in GTR also results from the lack of scale-invariance, and the field formulation presented by several authors can only partly resolve the problem. Assuming the global energy conservation, we propose a negative energy density component with a positive equation of state that can drive the late-time acceleration in the universe, while the positive component confines to smaller scales. (author)

Multi-scale transport in the DIII-D ITER baseline scenario with direct electron heating and projection to ITER

Science.gov (United States)

Grierson, B. A.; Staebler, G. M.; Solomon, W. M.; McKee, G. R.; Holland, C.; Austin, M.; Marinoni, A.; Schmitz, L.; Pinsker, R. I.; DIII-D Team

2018-02-01

Multi-scale fluctuations measured by turbulence diagnostics spanning long and short wavelength spatial scales impact energy confinement and the scale-lengths of plasma kinetic profiles in the DIII-D ITER baseline scenario with direct electron heating. Contrasting discharge phases with ECH + neutral beam injection (NBI) and NBI only at similar rotation reveal higher energy confinement and lower fluctuations when only NBI heating is used. Modeling of the core transport with TGYRO using the TGLF turbulent transport model and NEO neoclassical transport reproduces the experimental profile changes upon application of direct electron heating and indicates that multi-scale transport mechanisms are responsible for changes in the temperature and density profiles. Intermediate and high-k fluctuations appear responsible for the enhanced electron thermal flux, and intermediate-k electron modes produce an inward particle pinch that increases the inverse density scale length. Projection to ITER is performed with TGLF and indicates a density profile that has a finite scale length due to intermediate-k electron modes at low collisionality and increases the fusion gain. For a range of E × B shear, the dominant mechanism that increases fusion performance is suppression of outward low-k particle flux and increased density peaking.

Particle-confinement criteria for axisymmetric field-reversed magnetic configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsiao, M.Y.; Miley, G.H.

1984-01-01

Based on two constants of motion, H and Psub(theta), where H is the total energy of a particle and Psub(theta) is its canonical angular momentum, particle confinement criteria are derived which impose constraints on H and Psub(theta). With no electric field at the ends of field-reversed magnetic configurations, confinement criteria for closed-field and absolute confinements are obtained explicitly, including both lower and upper bounds of Psub(theta)/q, where q is the charge of the species considered, for a class of Hill's vortex field-reversed magnetic configurations. The commonly used criterion for the Hamiltonian, H 0 Psub(theta), where ω 0 is identical to qB 0 /mc, is deduced from a more general form as a special case. In this special case, it is found necessary to impose a new criterion, -B 0 R 2 sub(w)/2c 0 is the vacuum field, which reduces the confinement region in (H,Psub(theta)) space. With the presence of electric fields at the ends of field-reversed magnetic configurations, confinement criteria are obtained for two interesting cases. In addition to lower and upper bounds of H, both lower and upper bounds of Psub(theta)/q are found. For axially confined particles, the lower bound of Psub(theta)/q reduces the confinement region in (H,Psub(theta)) space and represents a new criterion. These results can be applied to calculations for field-reversed mirrors and field-reversed theta pinches. (author)

X-ray sources by Z-pinch for inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akiyama, Hidenori; Katsuki, Sunao; Lisitsyn, Igor

1999-01-01

Inertial confinement nuclear fusion driven by X-ray from Z-pinch plasmas has been developed. Recently, extremely high X-ray power (290 TW) and energy (1.8 MJ) were produced in fast Z-pinch implosions on the Z accelerator (Sandia National Laboratories). Wire arrays are used to produce the initial plasma. The X-ray from Z-pinch plasmas produced by pulsed power has great potential as a driver of inertial confinement nuclear fusion. (author)

Thermonuclear plasma physic: inertial confinement fusion; Physique des plasmas thermonucleaires: la fusion par confinement inertiel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bayer, Ch.; Juraszek, D

2001-07-01

Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) is an approach to thermonuclear fusion in which the fuel contained in a spherical capsule is strongly compressed and heated to achieve ignition and burn. The released thermonuclear energy can be much higher than the driver energy, making energetic applications attractive. Many complex physical phenomena are involved by the compression process, but it is possible to use simple analytical models to analyze the main critical points. We first determine the conditions to obtain fuel ignition. High thermonuclear gains are achieved if only a small fraction of the fuel called hot spot is used to trigger burn in the main fuel compressed on a low isentrope. A simple hot spot model will be described. The high pressure needed to drive the capsule compression are obtained by the ablation process. A simple Rocket model describe the main features of the implosion phase. Several parameters have to be controlled during the compression: irradiation symmetry, hydrodynamical stability and when the driver is a laser, the problems arising from interaction of the EM wave with the plasma. Two different schemes are examined: Indirect Drive which uses X-ray generated in a cavity to drive the implosion and the Fast Ignitor concept using a ultra intense laser beam to create the hot spot. At the end we present the Laser Megajoule (LMJ) project. LMJ is scaled to a thermonuclear gain of the order of ten. (authors)

Unparticles: Scales and high energy probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bander, Myron; Feng, Jonathan L.; Rajaraman, Arvind; Shirman, Yuri

2007-01-01

Unparticles from hidden conformal sectors provide qualitatively new possibilities for physics beyond the standard model. In the theoretical framework of minimal models, we clarify the relation between energy scales entering various phenomenological analyses. We show that these relations always counteract the effective field theory intuition that higher dimension operators are more highly suppressed, and that the requirement of a significant conformal window places strong constraints on possible unparticle signals. With these considerations in mind, we examine some of the most robust and sensitive probes and explore novel effects of unparticles on gauge coupling evolution and fermion production at high energy colliders. These constraints are presented both as bounds on four-fermion interaction scales and as constraints on the fundamental parameter space of minimal models

ExB flow shear and enhanced confinement in the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed-field pinch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, B.E.; Almagri, A.F.; Anderson, J.K.; Chiang, C.; Craig, D.; Fiksel, G.; Lanier, N.E.; Prager, S.C.; Sarff, J.S.; Stoneking, M.R.; Terry, P.W.

1998-01-01

Strong ExB flow shear occurs in the edge of three types of enhanced confinement discharge in the Madison Symmetric Torus [Dexter et al., Fusion Technol. 19, 131 (1991)] reversed-field pinch. Measurements in standard (low confinement) discharges indicate that global magnetic fluctuations drive particle and energy transport in the plasma core, while electrostatic fluctuations drive particle transport in the plasma edge. This paper explores possible contributions of ExB flow shear to the reduction of both the magnetic and electrostatic fluctuations and, thus, the improved confinement. In one case, shear in the ExB flow occurs when the edge plasma is biased. Biased discharges exhibit changes in the edge electrostatic fluctuations and improved particle confinement. In two other cases, the flow shear emerges (1) when auxiliary current is driven in the edge and (2) spontaneously, following sawtooth crashes. Both edge electrostatic and global magnetic fluctuations are reduced in these discharges, and both particle and energy confinement improve. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

Compressing a confined DNA: from nano-channel to nano-cavity

Science.gov (United States)

Sakaue, Takahiro

2018-06-01

We analyze the behavior of a semiflexible polymer confined in nanochannel under compression in axial direction. Key to our discussion is the identification of two length scales; the correlation length ξ of concentration fluctuation and what we call the segregation length . These length scales, while degenerate in uncompressed state in nanochannel, generally split as upon compression, and the way they compete with the system size during the compression determines the crossover from quasi-1D nanochannel to quasi-0D nanocavity behaviors. For a flexible polymer, the story becomes very simple, which corresponds to a special limit of our description, but a much richer behavior is expected for a semiflexible polymer relevant to DNA in confined spaces. We also briefly discuss the dynamical properties of the compressed polymer.

Fusion plasma theory grant: Task 1, Magnetic confinement fusion plasma theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callen, J.D.

1989-07-01

The research performed under this grant during the current year has concentrated on key tokamak plasma confinement and heating theory issues: further development of neoclassical MHD; development of a new fluid/kinetic hybrid model; energy confinement degradation due to macroscopic phenomena in tokamaks; and some other topics (magnetics analysis, coherent structures, presheath structure). Progress and publications in these areas are briefly summarized in this report. 20 refs

S-duality, deconstruction and confinement for a marginal deformation of N=4 SUSY Yang-Mills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dorey, Nick

2004-01-01

We study an exactly marginal deformation of N=4 SUSY Yang-Mills with gauge group U(N) using field theory and string theory methods. The classical theory has a Higgs branch for rational values of the deformation parameter. We argue that the quantum theory also has an S-dual confining branch which cannot be seen classically. The low-energy effective theory on these branches is a six-dimensional non-commutative gauge theory with sixteen supercharges. Confinement of magnetic and electric charges, on the Higgs and confining branches respectively, occurs due to the formation of BPS-saturated strings in the low energy theory. The results also suggest a new way of deconstructing Little String Theory as a large-N limit of a confining gauge theory in four dimensions. (author)

Study of neutral particle behavior and particle confinement in JT-60U

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takenaga, Hidenobu; Shimizu, Katsuhiro; Asakura, Nobuyuki; Shimada, Michiya; Kikuchi, Mitsuru; Tsuji-Iio, Shunji; Uchino, Kiichiro; Muraoka, Katsunori.

1995-07-01

In order to understand the particle confinement properties in JT-60U, the particle confinement time was estimated through analyses of the neutral particle behavior. First, the neutral particle transport simulation code DEGAS using a Monte-Carlo technique was combined with the simple divertor code for calculating the edge plasma parameters, and was developed to calculate under the experimental conditions in JT-60U. Then, the charged particle source in the main plasma due to the ionization of the neutral particles was evaluated from the analyses of the neutral particle penetration to the main plasma based on results of the simulation code and measurements of D α emission intensities. Finally, the particle confinement time was estimated from the analysis of particle balance. The analyses were performed systematically for the L-mode plasma and H-mode plasma of JT-60U, and a data base of the particle confinement time was obtained. The dependence of the particle confinement time on the plasma parameters and the relationship between the properties of the particle confinement and the energy confinement were examined. (author)

Large Scale Brownian Dynamics of Confined Suspensions of Rigid Particles

Science.gov (United States)

Donev, Aleksandar; Sprinkle, Brennan; Balboa, Florencio; Patankar, Neelesh

2017-11-01

We introduce new numerical methods for simulating the dynamics of passive and active Brownian colloidal suspensions of particles of arbitrary shape sedimented near a bottom wall. The methods also apply for periodic (bulk) suspensions. Our methods scale linearly in the number of particles, and enable previously unprecedented simulations of tens to hundreds of thousands of particles. We demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of our methods on a suspension of boomerang-shaped colloids. We also model recent experiments on active dynamics of uniform suspensions of spherical microrollers. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under award DMS-1418706, and by the U.S. Department of Energy under award DE-SC0008271.

Stored energy analysis in the scaled-down test facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng, Chengcheng; Chang, Huajian; Qin, Benke; Wu, Qiao

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Three methods are developed to evaluate stored energy in the scaled-down test facilities. • The mechanism behind stored energy distortion in the test facilities is revealed. • The application of stored energy analysis is demonstrated for the ACME facility of China. - Abstract: In the scaled-down test facilities that simulate the accident transient process of the prototype nuclear power plant, the stored energy release in the metal structures has an important influence on the accuracy and effectiveness of the experimental data. Three methods of stored energy analysis are developed, and the mechanism behind stored energy distortion in the test facilities is revealed. Moreover, the application of stored energy analysis is demonstrated for the ACME test facility newly built in China. The results show that the similarity requirements of three methods analyzing the stored energy release decrease gradually. The physical mechanism of stored energy release process can be characterized by the dimensionless numbers including Stanton number, Fourier number and Biot number. Under the premise of satisfying the overall similarity of natural circulation, the stored energy release process in the scale-down test facilities cannot maintain exact similarity. The results of the application of stored energy analysis illustrate that both the transient release process and integral total stored energy of the reactor pressure vessel wall of CAP1400 power plant can be well reproduced in the ACME test facility.

Gyrokinetic theory for particle and energy transport in fusion plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Falessi, Matteo Valerio; Zonca, Fulvio

2018-03-01

A set of equations is derived describing the macroscopic transport of particles and energy in a thermonuclear plasma on the energy confinement time. The equations thus derived allow studying collisional and turbulent transport self-consistently, retaining the effect of magnetic field geometry without postulating any scale separation between the reference state and fluctuations. Previously, assuming scale separation, transport equations have been derived from kinetic equations by means of multiple-scale perturbation analysis and spatio-temporal averaging. In this work, the evolution equations for the moments of the distribution function are obtained following the standard approach; meanwhile, gyrokinetic theory has been used to explicitly express the fluctuation induced fluxes. In this way, equations for the transport of particles and energy up to the transport time scale can be derived using standard first order gyrokinetics.

Effect of electric fields and fluctuations on confinement in a bumpy torus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiroe, S.; Glowienka, J.C.; Hillis, D.L.

1986-06-01

In order to understand the relationships between confinement and space potential (electric field) and between confinement and density fluctuations, plasma parameters in the ELMO Bumpy Torus Scale (EBT-S) have been measured systematically for a wide range of operating conditions. Present EBT plasma parameters do not show a strong dependence on the potential profile, but rather exhibit a correlation with the fluctuations. The plasma pressure profile is found to be consistent with the profile anticipated on the basis of the flute stability criterion for a marginally stable plasma. For a heating power of 100 kW, the stored energy density is found to be restricted to the range between 4.5 x 10 13 eV-cm -3 and 7 x 10 13 eV-cm -3 . The lower limit remains constant regardless of heating power and pertains to plasmas lacking an equilibrium and/or stability. The upper limit increases with heating power and is found to result from the onset of instabilities. In between the two limits is a plasma that is in an equilibrium state and is marginally stable. Operational trajectories exist that take the EBT plasma from one limit to the other

Charge confinements in CdSe-ZnSe symmetric double quantum wells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tit, Nacir; Obaidat, Ihab M

2008-01-01

The bound states in the (CdSe) N w (ZnSe) N b (CdSe) N w -ZnSe(001) symmetric double quantum wells are investigated versus the well width (N w ) and the barrier thickness (N b ). A calculation based on the sp 3 s * tight-binding method which includes the spin-orbit interactions is employed to calculate the bandgap energy, quantum-confinement energy, and band structures. The studied systems possess a vanishing valence-band offset (VBO = 0) in consistency with the well known common-anion rule, and a large conduction-band offset (CBO ≅ 1 eV), which plays an essential role in the confinement of electrons within the CdSe wells. The biaxial strain, on the other hand, plays another role in confining the holes at the interfaces (within the well regions) and thus enhancing the radiative efficiency. The induced-strain energy is estimated to be ∼35 meV. More importantly, the results show that, for a fixed barrier thickness, the double wells are able to confine a pair of bound states when they are very thin. By increasing the wells' width (N w ), further, a new pair of states from the conduction-band continuum falls into the wells every time N w hits a multiple of four monolayers (more specifically, for 4n w ≤4(n+1), the number of bound states is 2(n+1), where n is an integer). On the other hand, the barrier thickness (N b ) is shown to have no effect on the number of bound states, but it solely controls their well-to-well interactions. A critical barrier thickness to switch off these latter interactions is estimated to occur at about N crit b ≅ 9 (L crit b ≅ 25∼AA. Rules governing the variation of the quantum-confinement energy versus both barrier thickness (N b ) and well width (N w ) have been derived. Our theoretical results are also shown to have excellent agreement with the available experimental photoluminescence data

Energy partitioning constraints at kinetic scales in low-β turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Gershman, Daniel J.; F.-Viñas, Adolfo; Dorelli, John C.; Goldstein, Melvyn L.; Shuster, Jason; Avanov, Levon A.; Boardsen, Scott A.; Stawarz, Julia E.; Schwartz, Steven J.; Schiff, Conrad; Lavraud, Benoit; Saito, Yoshifumi; Paterson, William R.; Giles, Barbara L.; Pollock, Craig J.; Strangeway, Robert J.; Russell, Christopher T.; Torbert, Roy B.; Moore, Thomas E.; Burch, James L.

2018-02-01

Turbulence is a fundamental physical process through which energy injected into a system at large scales cascades to smaller scales. In collisionless plasmas, turbulence provides a critical mechanism for dissipating electromagnetic energy. Here, we present observations of plasma fluctuations in low-β turbulence using data from NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in Earth's magnetosheath. We provide constraints on the partitioning of turbulent energy density in the fluid, ion-kinetic, and electron-kinetic ranges. Magnetic field fluctuations dominated the energy density spectrum throughout the fluid and ion-kinetic ranges, consistent with previous observations of turbulence in similar plasma regimes. However, at scales shorter than the electron inertial length, fluctuation power in electron kinetic energy significantly exceeded that of the magnetic field, resulting in an electron-motion-regulated cascade at small scales. This dominance is highly relevant for the study of turbulence in highly magnetized laboratory and astrophysical plasmas.

Tailoring electron energy distribution functions through energy confinement in dual radio-frequency driven atmospheric pressure plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Neill, C.; Waskoenig, J. [Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Maths and Physics, Queen' s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Gans, T. [Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Maths and Physics, Queen' s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); York Plasma Institute, Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD (United Kingdom)

2012-10-08

A multi-scale numerical model based on hydrodynamic equations with semi-kinetic treatment of electrons is used to investigate the influence of dual frequency excitation on the effective electron energy distribution function (EEDF) in a radio-frequency driven atmospheric pressure plasma. It is found that variations of power density, voltage ratio, and phase relationship provide separate control over the electron density and the mean electron energy. This is exploited to directly influence both the phase dependent and time averaged effective EEDF. This enables tailoring the EEDF for enhanced control of non-equilibrium plasma chemical kinetics at ambient pressure and temperature.

Confinement models for gluons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khadkikar, S.B.; Vinodkumar, P.C.

1987-04-01

Confinement model for gluons using a 'colour super current' is formulated. An attempt has been made to derive a suitable dielectric function corresponding to the current confinement model. A simple inhomogeneous dielectric confinement model for gluons is studied for comparison. The model Hamiltonians are second quantized and the glueball states are constructed. The spurious motion of the centre of confinement is accounted for. The results of the current confinement scheme are found to be in good agreement with the experimental candidates for glueballs. (author). 16 refs, 3 tabs

Isotopic scaling of transport in deuterium-tritium plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, S.D.; Murakami, M.; Adler, H.; Chang, Z.; Duong, H.; Grisham, L.R.; Fredrickson, E.D.; Grek, B.; Hawryluk, R.J.; Hill, K.W.; Hosea, J.; Jassby, D.L.; Johnson, D.W.; Johnson, L.C.; Loughlin, M.J.; Mansfield, D.K.; McGuire, K.M.; Meade, D.M.; Mikkelsen, D.M.; Murphy, J.; Park, H.K.; Ramsey, A.T.; Schivell, J.; Skinner, C.H.; Strachan, J.D.; Synakowski, E.J.; Taylor, G.; Thompson, M.E.; Wieland, R.; Zarnstorff, M.C.

1995-01-01

Both global and thermal energy confinement improve in high-temperature supershot plasmas in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) when deuterium beam heating is partially or wholly replaced by tritium beam heating. For the same heating power, the tritium-rich plasmas obtain up to 22% higher total energy, 30% higher thermal ion energy, and 20-25% higher central ion temperature. Kinetic analysis of the temperature and density profiles indicates a favorable isotopic scaling of ion heat transport and electron particle transport, with τ Ei (a/2) ∝ left angle A right angle 0.7-0.8 and τ pe (a) ∝ left angle A right angle 0.8 . (orig.)

Scale transformations, the energy-momentum tensor, and the equation of state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carruthers, P.

1989-01-01

The Equation of State (EOS) relates diagonal elements of the energy-momentum tensor θ μν . The first moment of the energy-momentum tensor generates scale transformations. The virial theorem, a consequence of the behavior of the energy density under scale transformations, allows one to eliminate the kinetic energy in terms of the potential terms. The trace theorem for the energy-momentum tensor expresses ε-3p in terms of ensemble averages of scale-breaking operators, allowing a new approach to the EOS. 10 refs

Comments on confinement criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurak, V.; Schroer, B.; Swieca, J.A.

1977-01-01

For a QED 2 model with SU(n) flavour, the nature of the physical states space is more subtle than one expects on the basis of the loop criterion for confinement. One may have colour confinement without confinement of the fundamental flavour representation. Attempts to formulate confinement criteria in which the quark fields play a more fundamental role are discussed [pt

General approach to polymer chains confined by interacting boundaries.

Science.gov (United States)

Freed, Karl F; Dudowicz, Jacek; Stukalin, Evgeny B; Douglas, Jack F

2010-09-07

Polymer chains, confined to cavities or polymer layers with dimensions less than the chain radius of gyration, appear in many phenomena, such as gel chromatography, rubber elasticity, viscolelasticity of high molar mass polymer melts, the translocation of polymers through nanopores and nanotubes, polymer adsorption, etc. Thus, the description of how the constraints alter polymer thermodynamic properties is a recurrent theoretical problem. A realistic treatment requires the incorporation of impenetrable interacting (attractive or repulsive) boundaries, a process that introduces significant mathematical complications. The standard approach involves developing the generalized diffusion equation description of the interaction of flexible polymers with impenetrable confining surfaces into a discrete eigenfunction expansion, where the solutions are normally truncated at the first mode (the "ground state dominance" approximation). This approximation is mathematically well justified under conditions of strong confinement, i.e., a confinement length scale much smaller than the chain radius of gyration, but becomes unreliable when the polymers are confined to dimensions comparable to their typically nanoscale size. We extend a general approach to describe polymers under conditions of weak to moderate confinement and apply this semianalytic method specifically to determine the thermodynamics and static structure factor for a flexible polymer confined between impenetrable interacting parallel plate boundaries. The method is first illustrated by analyzing chain partitioning between a pore and a large external reservoir, a model system with application to chromatography. Improved agreement is found for the partition coefficients of a polymer chain in the pore geometry. An expression is derived for the structure factor S(k) in a slit geometry to assist in more accurately estimating chain dimensions from scattering measurements for thin polymer films.

Coupling motion of colloidal particles in quasi-two-dimensional confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Jun; Jing, Guangyin

2014-01-01

The Brownian motion of colloidal particles in quasi-two-dimensional (q2D) confinement displays a distinct kinetic character from that in bulk. Here we experimentally report dynamic coupling motion of Brownian particles in a relatively long process (∼100 h), which displays a quasi-equilibrium state in the q2D system. In the quasi-equilibrium state, the q2D confinement results in the coupling of particle motions, which slowly damps the motion and interaction of particles until the final equilibrium state is reached. The process of approaching the equilibrium is a random relaxation of a many-body interaction system of Brownian particles. As the relaxation proceeds for ∼100 h, the system reaches the equilibrium state in which the energy gained by the particles from the stochastic collision in the whole system is counteracted by the dissipative energy resulting from the collision. The relaxation time of this stochastic q2D system is 17.7 h. The theory is developed to explain coupling motions of Brownian particles in q2D confinement. (paper)

Field reversal experiments (FRX). [Equilibrium, confinement, and stability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linford, R.K.; Armstrong, W.T.; Platts, D.A.; Sherwood, E.G.