Bergstedt, K.; Ji, H.; Jara-Almonte, J.; Yoo, J.; Ergun, R. E.; Chen, L.-J.
Abstract:
We present the first statistical study of magnetic structures and associated energy dissipation observed during a single period of turbulent magnetic reconnection, by using the in situ measurements of the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in the Earth's magnetotail on 26 July 2017. The structures are selected by identifying a bipolar signature in the magnetic field and categorized as plasmoids or current sheets via an automated algorithm which examines current density and plasma flow. The size of the plasmoids forms a decaying exponential distribution ranging from subelectron up to ion scales. The presence of substantial number of current sheets is consistent with a physical picture of dynamic production and merging of plasmoids during turbulent reconnection. The magnetic structures are locations of significant energy dissipation via electric field parallel to the local magnetic field, while dissipation via perpendicular electric field dominates outside of the structures. Significant energy also returns from particles to fields.
This is the data archive for the paper Lonigro & Zhu 2021 Nucl. Fusion https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac2ff3.
You can reproduce all the figures in the paper using the data and plotting scripts archived in this folder.
Kraus, B. Frances; Gao, Lan; Hill, K. W.; Bitter, M.; Efthimion, P. C.; Hollinger, R.; Wang, Shoujun; Song, Huanyu; Nedbailo, R.; Rocca, J. J.; Mancini, R. C.; MacDonald, M. J.; Beatty, C. B.; Shepherd, R.
Abstract:
A high-resolution x-ray spectrometer was coupled with an ultrafast x-ray streak camera to produce time-resolved line shape spectra measured from hot, solid-density plasmas. A Bragg crystal was placed near a laser-produced plasma to maximize throughput; alignment tolerances were established by raytracing. The streak camera produced single-shot time-resolved spectra, heavily sloped due to photon time-of-flight differences, with sufficient reproducibility to accumulate photon statistics. The images are time-calibrated by the slope of streaked spectra and dewarped to generate spectra emitted at different times defined at the source. The streaked spectra demonstrate the evolution of spectral shoulders and other features on ps timescales, showing the feasibility of plasma parameter measurements on the rapid timescales necessary to study high-energy-density plasmas.
Hill, K. W.; Gao, L.; Kraus, B. F.; Bitter, M.; Efthimion, P. C.; Pablant, N. A.; Schneider, M. B.; Thorn, D. B.; Chen, H.; Kauffman, R. L.; Liedahl, D. A.; MacDonald, M. J.; MacPhee, A. G.; Scott, H. A.; Stoupin, S.; Doron, R.; Stambulchik, E.; Maron, Y.; Lahmann, B.
Abstract:
Numerical data used to draw the figures in the manuscript
Experiments and predictions of surface wave damping in liquid metal due to a surface aligned magnetic field and externally regulated j × B force are presented. Fast-flowing, liquid-metal plasma facing components (LM-PFCs) are a proposed alternative to solid PFCs that are unable to handle the high heat flux, thermal stresses, and radiation damage in a tokamak. The significant technical challenges associated with LM-PFCs compared to solid PFCs are justified by greater heat flux management, self-healing properties, and reduced particle recycling. However, undesirable engineering challenges such as evaporation and splashing of the liquid metal introduce excessive impurities into the plasma and degrade plasma performance. Evaporation may be avoided through high-speed flow that limits temperature rise of the liquid metal by reducing heat flux exposure time, but as flow speed increases the surface may become more turbulent and prone to splashing and uneven surfaces. Wave damping is one mechanism that reduces surface disturbance and thus the chances of liquid metal impurity introduction into the plasma. Experiments on the Liquid Metal eXperiment Upgrade (LMX-U) examined damping under the influence of transverse magnetic fields and vertically directed Lorentz force.
The efficiency of two lithium (Li) injection methods used on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) are compared in terms of the amount of Li used to produce equivalent plasma performance improvements, namely Li evaporation over the divertor plates, prior to the initiation of the discharge, and real-time Li injection directly into the plasma scrape-off layer during the discharge. The measurements show that the real-time method can affect the energy confinement and edge stability of NSTX plasmas in a more efficient way than the Li evaporation method as it requires only a fraction of the amount of Li used by the evaporation method to produce similar improvements.
This dataset contains supplementary materials for Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 of Yiheng Tao's PhD dissertation (2022). The dissertation’s abstract is provided here:
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) mitigates climate change by capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from large point sources, or CO2 from the ambient air, and subsequently reusing the captured CO2 or injecting it into deep geological formations for long-term and secure storage. Almost all current decarbonization pathways include large-scale CCUS, on the order of a billion tonnes (Gt) of CO2 captured and stored each year globally starting in 2030, yet the actual deployment has lagged far behind (around 0.04 Gt CO2 was captured in 2021). In this dissertation, I contribute to several aspects of largescale deployment of CCUS by (1) developing and applying efficient numerical models to simulate geological CO2 storage and (2) identifying key policies to address the bottlenecks of overall CCUS deployment. This dissertation concerns the United States, China, and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) region through research projects that are consistent with each location’s current development stage of CCUS.
Chapters 2 and 3 contain computational modeling studies. In Chapter 2, I develop a new series of vertical-equilibrium (VE) models in the dual-continuum modeling framework to simulate CO2 injection and migration in fractured geological formations. Those models are shown to be effective and efficient when properties of the formation allow for the VE assumption. In Chapter 3, I apply a VE model to simulate basin-scale CO2 injection in the Junggar Basin of Northwestern China. The results show that current regional emissions of more than 100 million tonnes of CO2 per year can be stored effectively, thereby confirming the great potential of the Junggar Basin for early CCUS deployment.
Chapters 4 and 5 contain policy analyses. In Chapter 4, I propose a dynamic system consisting of new CO2 pipelines and novel Allam-cycle power plants in the Central United States, and examine how government policies, including an extended Section 45Q tax credit, may improve the economic feasibility of this system. Lastly, in Chapter 5, I investigate and quantify CO2 emissions implications of power plant projects associated with the BRI. I also propose a “greenness ratio” to measure the level of environmental sustainability of BRI in the power sector.
This is the supplemental material for the manuscript "Verification, validation, and results of an approximate model for the stress of a Tokamak toroidal field coil at the inboard midplane" submitted to Fusion Engineering and Design. This material includes PDF writeups of the derivations of the axisymmetric extended plane strain model, the elastic properties smearing model, and 20+ MATLAB scripts and functions which implement the model and generate the figures in the paper.