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Start Over Domain Natural Sciences Year Published 2017

1. A Riccati Solution for the Ideal MHD Plasma Response with Applications to Real-time Stability Control

Author(s):
Glasser, A.; Kolemen, E.; Glasser, A.H.
Abstract:
To effectuate near real-time feedback control of ideal MHD instabilities in a tokamak geometry, a rapid solution for stability analysis is a prerequisite. Toward this end, we reformulate the δW stability method with a Hamilton-Jacobi theory, elucidating analytical and numerical features of the generic tokamak ideal MHD stability problem. The plasma response matrix is demonstrated to be the solution of an ideal MHD matrix Riccati differential equation (MRDE). Since Riccati equations are prevalent in the control theory literature, such a shift in perspective brings to bear a range of numerical methods that are well-suited to the robust, fast solution of control problems. We discuss the usefulness of Riccati techniques in solving the stiff ODEs often encountered in ideal MHD stability analyses-—for example, in tokamak edge and stellarator physics. We then demonstrate the applicability of such methods to an existing 2D ideal MHD stability code—DCON—enabling its parallel operation in near real-time. Output is shown to match with high accuracy, and with wall-clock time ≪ 1s. Such speed may help enable active feedback ideal MHD stability control, especially in tokamak plasmas whose ideal MHD equilibria evolve with inductive timescale τ > 1s-—as in ITER.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
March 2018

2. Advances in boronization on NSTX-Upgrade

Author(s):
Skinner, C.H.; Bedoya, F.; Scotti, F.; Allain, J.P.; Blanchard, W.; Cai, D.; Jaworski, M.; Koel, B.E.
Abstract:
Boronization has been effective in reducing plasma impurities and enabling access to higher density, higher confinement plasmas in many magnetic fusion devices. The National Spherical Torus eXperiment, NSTX, has recently undergone a major upgrade to NSTX-U in order to develop the physics basis for a ST-based Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF) with capability for double the toroidal field, plasma current, and NBI heating power and increased pulse duration from 1–1.5 s to 5–8 s. A new deuterated tri-methyl boron conditioning system was implemented together with a novel surface analysis diagnostic. We report on the spatial distribution of the boron deposition versus discharge pressure, gas injection and electrode location. The oxygen concentration of the plasma facing surface was measured by in-vacuo XPS and increased both with plasma exposure and with exposure to trace residual gases. This increase correlated with the rise of oxygen emission from the plasma.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
January 2017

3. Amplification of local changes along the timescale processing hierarchy

Author(s):
Yeshurun, Yaara; Nguyen, Mai; Hasson, Uri
Abstract:
Small changes in word choice can lead to dramatically different interpretations of narratives. How does the brain accumulate and integrate such local changes to construct unique neural representations for different stories? In this study we created two distinct narratives by changing only a few words in each sentence (e.g. “he” to “she” or “sobbing” to “laughing”) while preserving the grammatical structure across stories. We then measured changes in neural responses between the two stories. We found that the differences in neural responses between the two stories gradually increased along the hierarchy of processing timescales. For areas with short integration windows, such as early auditory cortex, the differences in neural responses between the two stories were relatively small. In contrast, in areas with the longest integration windows at the top of the hierarchy, such as the precuneus, temporal parietal junction, and medial frontal cortices, there were large differences in neural responses between stories. Furthermore, this gradual increase in neural difference between the stories was highly correlated with an area’s ability to integrate information over time. Amplification of neural differences did not occur when changes in words did not alter the interpretation of the story (e.g. “sobbing” to “crying”). Our results demonstrate how subtle differences in words are gradually accumulated and amplified along the cortical hierarchy as the brain constructs a narrative over time.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
August 2017

4. Application of Benchmarked Kinetic Resistive Wall Mode Stability Codes to ITER, Including Additional Physics

Author(s):
Berkery, J.W.; Wang, Z.R.; Sabbagh, S.A.; Liu, Y.Q.; Betti, R.; Guazotto, L.
Abstract:
Leading resistive wall mode (RWM) stability codes MARS-K [Y. Liu, et al., Phys. Plasmas 15, 112503 (2008)] and MISK [B. Hu, et al., Phys. Plasmas 12, 057301 (2005)] have been previously benchmarked. The benchmarking has now been extended to include additional physics, and used to project the stability of ITER in a realistic operating space. Due to ITER's relatively low plasma rotation and collisionality, collisions and non-resonance rotational effects were both found to have little impact on stability, and these non-resonance rotational effects also will not self-consistently affect the ITER RWM eigenfunction. Resonances between thermal ions and electrons and the expected level of ITER toroidal rotation were found to be important to stability, as were alpha particles, which are not in rotational resonance. MISK calculations show that without alpha particles, ITER is projected to be unstable to the RWM, but the expected level of alphas is calculated to provide a sufficient level of stability.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
October 2017

5. Application of IR imaging for free-surface velocity measurement in liquid-metal systems

Author(s):
Hvasta, M.H.; Kolemen, E.; Fisher, A.
Abstract:
Measuring free-surface, liquid-metal flow velocity is challenging to do in a reliable and accurate manner. This paper presents a non-invasive, easily-calibrated method of measuring the surface velocities of open-channel liquid-metal flows using an IR camera. Unlike other spatially-limited methods, this IR camera particle tracking technique provides full field-of-view data that can be used to better understand open-channel flows and determine surface boundary conditions. This method could be implemented and automated for a wide range of liquid-metal experiments, even if they operate at high-temperatures or within strong magnetic fields.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
January 2017

6. Application of IR imaging for free-surface velocity measurement in liquid-metal systems

Author(s):
Hvasta, M. G.; Kolemen, E.; Fisher, A.
Abstract:
Measuring free-surface, liquid-metal flow velocity is challenging to do in a reliable and accurate manner. This paper presents a non-invasive, easily-calibrated method of measuring the surface velocities of open-channel liquid-metal flows using an IR camera. Unlike other spatially-limited methods, this IR camera particle tracking technique provides full field-of-view data that can be used to better understand open-channel flows and determine surface boundary conditions. This method could be implemented and automated for a wide range of liquid-metal experiments, even if they operate at high-temperatures or within strong magnetic fields.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
January 2017

7. Application of Townsend avalanche theory to tokamak startup by coaxial helicity injection

Author(s):
Hammond, K.C.; Raman, R.; Volpe, F.A.
Abstract:
Townsend avalanche theory is employed to model and interpret plasma initiation in NSTX by Ohmic heating and coaxial helicity injection (CHI). The model is informed by spatially resolved vacuum calculations of electric field and magnetic field line connection length in the poloidal cross-section. The model is shown to explain observations of Ohmic startup including the duration and location of breakdown. Adapting the model to discharges initiated by CHI offers insight into the causes of upper divertor (absorber) arcs in cases where the discharge fails to initiate in the lower divertor gap. Finally, upper and lower limits are established for vessel gas fill based on requirements for breakdown and radiation. It is predicted that CHI experiments on NSTX-U should be able to use as much as four times the amount of prefill gas employed in CHI experiments in NSTX. This should provide greater flexibility for plasma start-up, as the injector flux is projected to be increased in NSTX-U.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
September 2017

8. Computation of Alfvèn eigenmode stability and saturation through a reduced fast ion transport model in the TRANSP tokamak transport code

Author(s):
Podesta, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Gorelenkov, N.N.; White, R.B.
Abstract:
Alfvénic instabilities (AEs) are well known as a potential cause of enhanced fast ion transport in fusion devices. Given a specific plasma scenario, quantitative predictions of (i) expected unstable AE spectrum and (ii) resulting fast ion transport are required to prevent or mitigate the AE- induced degradation in fusion performance. Reduced models are becoming an attractive tool to analyze existing scenarios as well as for scenario prediction in time-dependent simulations. In this work, a neutral beam heated NSTX discharge is used as reference to illustrate the potential of a reduced fast ion transport model, known as kick model, that has been recently implemented for interpretive and predictive analysis within the framework of the time-dependent tokamak transport code TRANSP. Predictive capabilities for AE stability and saturation amplitude are first assessed, based on given thermal plasma profiles only. Predictions are then compared to experimental results, and the interpretive capabilities of the model further discussed. Overall, the reduced model captures the main properties of the instabilities and associated effects on the fast ion population. Additional information from the actual experiment enables further tuning of the model’s parameters to achieve a close match with measurements.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
September 2017

9. Data for Nature Climate Change article 'Regional dry-season climate changes due to three decades of Amazonian deforestation'

Author(s):
Khanna, Jaya; Medvigy, David; Fueglistaler, Stephan; Walko, Robert
Abstract:
More than 20% Amazon rainforest has been cleared in the past three decades triggering important hydroclimatic changes. Small-scale (~few kilometers) deforestation in the 1980s has caused thermally-triggered atmospheric circulations that increase regional cloudiness and precipitation frequency. However, these circulations are predicted to diminish as deforestation increases. Here we use multi-decadal satellite records and numerical model simulations to show a regime shift in the regional hydroclimate accompanying increasing deforestation in Rondônia, Brazil. Compared to the 1980s, present-day deforested areas in downwind western Rondônia are found to be wetter than upwind eastern deforested areas during the local dry season. The resultant precipitation change in the two regions is approximately ±25% of the deforested area mean. Meso-resolution simulations robustly reproduce this transition when forced with increasing deforestation alone, showing a negligible role of large-scale climate variability. Furthermore, deforestation-induced surface roughness reduction is found to play an essential role in the present-day dry season hydroclimate. Our study illustrates the strong scale-sensitivity of the climatic response to Amazonian deforestation and suggests that deforestation is sufficiently advanced to have caused a shift from a thermally- to a dynamically-driven hydroclimatic regime.
Type:
Dataset and Software
Issue Date:
2017

10. Design of Faraday cup ion detectors built by thin film deposition

Author(s):
Szalkowski, G.A.; Darrow, D.S.; Cecil, F.E.
Abstract:
Thin film Faraday cup detectors can provide measurements of fast ion loss from magnetically confined fusion plasmas. These multilayer detectors can resolve the energy distribution of the lost ions in addition to giving the total loss rate. Prior detectors were assembled from discrete foils and insulating sheets. Outlined here is a design methodology for creating detectors using thin film deposition that are suited to particular scientific goals. The intention is to use detectors created by this method on JET and NSTX-U. The detectors will consist of alternating layers of aluminum and silicon dioxide, with layer thicknesses chosen to isolate energies of interest. Thin film deposition offers the advantage of relatively simple and more mechanically robust construction compared to other methods, as well as allowing precise control of film thickness. Furthermore, this depositional fabrication technique places the layers in intimate thermal contact, providing for three-dimensional conduction and dissipation of the ion-produced heating in the layers, rather than the essentially two-dimensional heat conduction in the discrete foil stack implementation.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
January 2017

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