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Start Over Year Published 2019

1. A scalable real-time framework for Thomson scattering analysis: Application to NSTX-U

Author(s):
F. M. Laggner, A. Diallo, B. P. LeBlanc, R. Rozenblat, G. Tchilinguirian, E.Kolemen, the NSTX-U team
Abstract:
A detailed description of a prototype setup for real-time (rt) Thomson scattering (TS) analysis is presented and implemented in the multi-point Thomson scattering (MPTS) diagnostic system at the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade(NSTX-U). The data acquisition hardware was upgraded with rt capable electronics (rt-analog digital converters (ADCs) and a rt server) that allow for fast digitization of the laser pulse signal of eight radial MPTS channels. In addition, a new TS spectrum analysis software for a rapid calculation of electron temperature (Te) and electron density (ne) was developed. Testing of the rt hardware and data analysis soft-ware was successfully completed and benchmarked against the standard, post-shot evaluation. Timing tests were performed showing that the end-to-end processing time was reproducibly below 17 ms for the duration of at least 5 s, meeting a 60 Hz deadline by the laser pulse repetition rate over the length of a NSTX-U discharge. The presented rt framework is designed to be scalable in system size, i.e. incorporation of additional radial channels by solely adding additional rt capable hardware. Furthermore, it is scalable in its operation duration and was continuously run for up to 30 min, making it an attractive solution for machines with long discharge duration such as advanced, non-inductive tokamaks or stellarators.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
March 2019

2. An extended MHD study of the 16 October 2015 MMS diffusion region crossing

Abstract:
The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission has given us unprecedented access to high cadence particle and field data of magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause. MMS first passed very near an X-line on 16 October 2015, the Burch event, and has since observed multiple X-line crossings. Subsequent 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) modeling efforts of and comparison with the Burch event have revealed a host of novel physical insights concerning magnetic reconnection, turbulence induced particle mixing, and secondary instabilities. In this study, we employ the Gkeyll simulation framework to study the Burch event with different classes of extended, multi-fluid magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), including models that incorporate important kinetic effects, such as the electron pressure tensor, with physics-based closure relations designed to capture linear Landau damping. Such fluid modeling approaches are able to capture different levels of kinetic physics in global simulations and are generally less costly than fully kinetic PIC. We focus on the additional physics one can capture with increasing levels of fluid closure refinement via comparison with MMS data and existing PIC simulations. In particular, we find that the ten-moment model well captures the agyrotropic structure of the pressure tensor in the vicinity of the X-line and the magnitude of anisotropic electron heating observed in MMS and PIC simulations. However, the ten-moment model has difficulty resolving the lower hybrid drift instability, which has been observed to plays a fundamental role in heating and mixing electrons in the current layer.
Type:
Dataset

4. Bubble pinch-off in turbulence

Abstract:
Experimental data, simulation code, and Python scripts to reproduce the data presented in "Bubble pinch-off in turbulence"
Type:
Dataset and Software

5. Calibrated VIC Model Parameters over CONUS

Author(s):
Yang, Yuan; Pan, Ming; Beck, Hylke; Fisher, Colby; Beighley, R. Edward; Kao, Shih-Chieh; Hong, Yang; Wood, Eric
Abstract:
Conventional basin-by-basin approaches to calibrate hydrologic models are limited to gauged basins and typically result in spatially discontinuous parameter fields. Moreover, the consequent low calibration density in space falls seriously behind the need from present-day applications like high resolution river hydrodynamic modeling. In this study we calibrated three key parameters of the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model at every 1/8° grid-cell using machine learning-based maps of four streamflow characteristics for the conterminous United States (CONUS), with a total of 52,663 grid-cells. This new calibration approach, as an alternative to parameter regionalization, applied to ungauged regions too. A key difference made here is that we tried to regionalize physical variables (streamflow characteristics) instead of model parameters whose behavior may often be less well understood. The resulting parameter fields no longer presented any spatial discontinuities and the patterns corresponded well with climate characteristics, such as aridity and runoff ratio. The calibrated parameters were evaluated against observed streamflow from 704/648 (calibration/validation period) small-to-medium-sized catchments used to derive the streamflow characteristics, 3941/3809 (calibration/validation period) small-to-medium-sized catchments not used to derive the streamflow characteristics) as well as five large basins. Comparisons indicated marked improvements in bias and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency. Model performance was still poor in arid and semiarid regions, which is mostly due to both model structural and forcing deficiencies. Although the performance gain was limited by the relative small number of parameters to calibrate, the study and results here served as a proof-of-concept for a new promising approach for fine-scale hydrologic model calibrations.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
4 September 2019

6. Comment on ‘Numerical modeling of tokamak breakdown phase driven by pure Ohmic heating under ideal conditions’

Author(s):
Yoo, Min-Gu; Na, Yong-Su
Abstract:
In this comment, we point out possible critical numerical flaws of recent particle simulation studies (Jiang et al 2016 Nucl. Fusion 56 126017, Peng et al 2018 Nucl. Fusion 58 026007) on the electrical gas breakdown in a simple one-dimensional periodic slab geometry. We show that their observations on the effects of the ambipolar electric fields during the breakdown, such as the sudden reversal of the ion flow direction, could not be real physical phenomena but resulting from numerical artifacts violating the momentum conservation law. We show that an incomplete implementation of the direct-implicit scheme can cause the artificial electric fields and plasma transports resulting in fallacies in simulation results. We also discuss that their simple plasma model without considering poloidal magnetic fields seriously mislead the physical mechanism of the electrical gas breakdown because it cannot reflect important dominant plasma dynamics in the poloidal plane (Yoo et al 2018 Nat. Commun. 9 3523).
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
June 2019

7. Competitive learning modulates memory consolidation during sleep

Author(s):
Antony, James W.; Cheng, Larry Y.; Brooks, Paula P.; Paller, Ken A.; Norman, Kenneth A.
Abstract:
Competition between memories can cause weakening of those memories. Here we investigated memory competition during sleep in human participants by presenting auditory cues that had been linked to two distinct picture-location pairs during wake. We manipulated competition during learning by requiring participants to rehearse picture-location pairs associated with the same sound either competitively (choosing to rehearse one over the other, leading to greater competition) or separately; we hypothesized that greater competition during learning would lead to greater competition when memories were cued during sleep. With separate-pair learning, we found that cueing benefited spatial retention. With competitive-pair learning, no benefit of cueing was observed on retention, but cueing impaired retention of well-learned pairs (where we expected strong competition). During sleep, post-cue beta power (16–30 Hz) indexed competition and predicted forgetting, whereas sigma power (11–16 Hz) predicted subsequent retention. Taken together, these findings show that competition between memories during learning can modulate how they are consolidated during sleep.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
November 2018

8. Electron inertial effects on linearly polarized electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves at Earth's magnetosphere

Author(s):
Kim, Eun-Hwa; Johnson, Jay; Lee, Dong-Hun
Abstract:
We discuss a role of the electron inertial effect on linearly polarized electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves at Earth. The linearly polarized EMIC waves have been previously suggested to be generated via mode conversion from the fast compressional wave at the ion-ion hybrid (IIH) resonance. When the electron inertial effects are neglected, the wave normal angle of the mode-converted IIH waves is 90 degrees because the wavevector perpendicular to the magnetic field becomes infinite at the IIH resonance. When the electron inertial effect is considered, the mode-converted IIH waves can propagate across the magnetic field lines and the wavelength perpendicular to the magnetic field approaches the electron inertial length scale near the Buchsbaum resonance. These waves are referred to as electron inertial waves. Due to the electron inertial effect, the perpendicular wavenumber to the ambient magnetic field near the IIH resonance remains finite and the wave normal angle is less than 90 degrees. The wave normal angle where the maximum absorption occurs in a dipole magnetic field is 30-80 degrees, which is consistent with the observed values near the magnetic equator. Therefore, the numerical results suggest that the linearly polarized EMIC wave generated via mode conversion near the IIH resonance can be detected in between the Buchsbaum and the IIH resonance frequencies, and these waves can have normal angle less than 90 degrees.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
April 2019

9. Formation of solitary zonal structures via the modulational instability of drift waves

Author(s):
Zhou, Yao; Zhu, Hongxuan; Dodin, I. Y.
Abstract:
{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\cocoartf1561\cocoasubrtf600 {\fonttbl\f0\fswiss\fcharset0 Helvetica;} {\colortbl;\red255\green255\blue255;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\*\expandedcolortbl;;\cssrgb\c0\c0\c0;} \margl1440\margr1440\vieww10800\viewh8400\viewkind0 \pard\tx887\tx1775\tx2662\tx3550\tx4438\tx5325\tx6213\tx7101\tx7988\tx8876\tx9764\tx10651\tx11539\tx12427\tx13314\tx14202\tx15090\tx15977\tx16865\tx17753\tx18640\tx19528\tx20416\tx21303\tx22191\tx23079\tx23966\tx24854\tx25742\tx26629\tx27517\tx28405\tx29292\tx30180\tx31067\tx31955\tx32843\tx33730\tx34618\tx35506\tx36393\tx37281\tx38169\tx39056\tx39944\tx40832\tx41719\tx42607\tx43495\tx44382\tx45270\tx46158\tx47045\tx47933\tx48821\tx49708\tx50596\tx51484\tx52371\tx53259\tx54147\tx55034\tx55922\tx56810\tx57697\tx58585\tx59472\tx60360\tx61248\tx62135\tx63023\tx63911\tx64798\tx65686\tx66574\tx67461\tx68349\tx69237\tx70124\tx71012\tx71900\tx72787\tx73675\tx74563\tx75450\tx76338\tx77226\tx78113\tx79001\tx79889\tx80776\tx81664\tx82552\tx83439\tx84327\tx85215\tx86102\tx86990\tx87877\tx88765\slleading20\pardirnatural\partightenfactor0 \f0\fs38 \cf2 The dynamics of the radial envelope of a weak coherent drift wave is approximately governed by a nonlinear Schr\'f6dinger equation, which emerges as a limit of the modified Hasegawa\'97Mima equation. The nonlinear Schr\'f6dinger equation has well-known soliton solutions, and its modulational instability can naturally generate solitary structures. In this paper, we demonstrate that this simple model can adequately describe the formation of solitary zonal structures in the modified Hasegawa\'97Mima equation, but only when the amplitude of the coherent drift wave is relatively small. At larger amplitudes, the modulational instability produces stationary zonal structures instead. Furthermore, we find that incoherent drift waves with beam-like spectra can also be modulationally unstable to the formation of solitary or stationary zonal structures, depending on the beam intensity. Notably, we show that these drift waves can be modeled as quantumlike particles (\'93driftons\'94) within a recently developed phase-space (Wigner\'97Moyal) formulation, which intuitively depicts the solitary zonal structures as quasi-monochromatic drifton condensates. Quantumlike effects, such as diffraction, are essential to these condensates; hence, the latter cannot be described by wave-kinetic models that are based on the ray approximation.\ }
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
June 2019

10. Global modeling of wall material migration following boronization in NSTX-U

Author(s):
Nichols, J.H.; Jaworski, M.A.; Skinner, C.H.; Bedoya, F.; Scotti, F.; Soukhanovskii, V.A.; Schmid, K.
Abstract:
Boronization is commonly utilized in tokamaks to suppress intrinsic impurities, most notably oxygen from residual water vapor. However, this is a temporary solution, as oxygen levels typically return to pre-boronization levels following repeated plasma exposure. The global impurity migration model WallDYN has been applied to the post-boronization surface impurity evolution in NSTX-U. A “Thin Film Model” has been incorporated into WallDYN to handle spatially inhomogeneous conditioning films of varying thicknesses, together with an empirical boron conditioning model for the NSTX-U glow discharge boronization process. The model qualitatively reproduces the spatial distribution of boron in the NSTX-U vessel, the spatially-resolved divertor emission pattern, and the increase in oxygen levels following boronization. The simulations suggest that oxygen is primarily sourced from wall locations without heavy plasma flux or significant boron deposition, namely the lower and upper passive plates and the lower private flux zone.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
March 2019

11. Initial transport and turbulence analysis and gyrokinetic simulation validation in NSTX-U L-mode plasmas

Author(s):
Guttenfelder, W.; Kaye, S.M.; Kreite, D.M.; Bell, R.E.; Diallo, A.; LeBlanc, B.P.; McKee, G.R.; Podesta, M.; Sabbagh, S.A.; Smith, D.R.
Abstract:
Transport analysis, ion-scale turbulence measurements, and initial linear and nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations are reported for a transport validation study based on low aspect ratio NSTX-U L-mode discharges. The relatively long, stationary L-modes enabled by the upgraded centerstack provide a more ideal target for transport validation studies that were not available during NSTX operation. Transport analysis shows that anomalous electron transport dominates energy loss while ion thermal transport is well described by neoclassical theory. Linear gyrokinetic GYRO analysis predicts that ion temperature gradient (ITG) modes are unstable around normalized radii $\rho$=0.6-0.8, although $E\timesB$ shearing rates are larger than the linear growth rates over much of that region. Deeper in the core ($\rho$=0.4-0.6), electromagnetic microtearing modes (MTM) are unstable as a consequence of the relatively high beta and collisionality in these particular discharges. Consistent with the linear analysis, local, nonlinear ion-scale GYRO simulations predict strong ITG transport at $\rho$=0.76, whereas electromagnetic MTM transport is important at $\rho$=0.47. The prediction of ion-scale turbulence is consistent with 2D beam emission spectroscopy (BES) that measures the presence of broadband ion-scale fluctuations. Interestingly, the BES measurements also indicate the presence of bi-modal poloidal phase velocity propagation that could be indicative of two different turbulence types. However, in the region between ($\rho$=0.56, 0.66), ion-scale simulations are strongly suppressed by the locally large $E\timesB$ shear. Instead, electron temperature gradient (ETG) turbulence simulations predict substantial transport, illustrating electron-scale contributions can be important in low aspect ratio L-modes, similar to recent analysis at conventional aspect ratio. However, agreement within experimental uncertainties has not been demonstrated, which requires additional simulations to test parametric sensitivities. The potential need to include profile-variation effects (due to the relatively large value of $\rho_*$=$\rho_i$/a at low aspect ratio), including electromagnetic and possibly multi-scale effects, is also discussed.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
March 2019

12. Instability of shear flows in spatially periodic domains

Abstract:
Force-driven parallel shear flow in a spatially periodic domain is shown to be linearly unstable with respect to both the Reynolds number and the domain aspect ratio. This finding is confirmed by computer simulations, and a simple expression is derived to determine stable flow conditions. Periodic extensions of Couette and Poiseuille flows are unstable at Reynolds numbers two orders of magnitude smaller than their aperiodic equivalents because the periodic boundaries impose fundamentally different constraints. This instability has important implications for designing computational models of nonlinear dynamic processes with periodicity.
Type:
Dataset

13. Light Curves from a Search for Variable Stars in the Globular Cluster M4 with K2

Abstract:
The data are 4554 light curves derived from images taken of the globular cluster M4 by the Kepler space telescope during the K2 portion of its mission, specifically during Campaign 2 of that mission, which occurred in 2014. A total of 3856 images were taken over approximately three months at a cadence of approximately half an hour. The purpose of these observations was to find stars and other objects that vary in brightness over time --- variable stars. Also included is a table with associated information for each of the 4554 objects and their light curves.
Type:
collection and Dataset

14. Machine Learning Characterization of Alfvénic and Sub-Alfvénic Chirping and Correlation With Fast-Ion Loss at NSTX

Author(s):
Woods, B. J. Q.; Duarte, V. N.; Fredrickson, E. D.; Gorelenkov, N. N.; Podestà, M.; Vann, R. G. L.
Abstract:
Abrupt large events in the Alfvenic and sub-Alfvenic frequency bands in tokamaks are typically correlated with increased fast-ion loss. Here, machine learning is used to speed up the laborious process of characterizing the behavior of magnetic perturbations from corresponding frequency spectrograms that are typically identified by humans. The analysis allows for comparison between different mode character (such as quiescent, fixed frequency, and chirping, avalanching) and plasma parameters obtained from the TRANSP code, such as the ratio of the neutral beam injection (NBI) velocity and the Alfven velocity (v_inj./v_A), the q-profile, and the ratio of the neutral beam beta and the total plasma beta (beta_beam,i / beta). In agreement with the previous work by Fredrickson et al., we find a correlation between beta_beam,i and mode character. In addition, previously unknown correlations are found between moments of the spectrograms and mode character. Character transition from quiescent to nonquiescent behavior for magnetic fluctuations in the 50200-kHz frequency band is observed along the boundary v_phi ~ (1/4)(v_inj. - 3v_A), where v_phi is the rotation velocity.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
December 2019

15. Methane emissions from oil and gas platforms in the North Sea.

Author(s):
Riddick, Stuart; Mauzerall, Denise
Abstract:
Since 1850 the concentration of atmospheric methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas, has more than doubled. Recent studies suggest that emission inventories may be missing sources and underestimating emissions. To investigate whether offshore oil and gas platforms leak CH4 during normal operation, we measured CH4 mole fractions around eight oil and gas production platforms in the North Sea which were neither flaring gas nor off-loading oil. We use the measurements from summer 2017, along with meteorological data, in a Gaussian plume model to estimate CH4 emissions from each platform. We find CH4 mole fractions of between 11 and 370 ppb above background concentrations downwind of the platforms measured, corresponding to a median CH4 emission of 6.8 g CH4 s-1 for each platform, with a range of 2.9 to 22.3 g CH4 s-1. When matched to production records, during our measurements individual platforms lost between 0.04% and 1.4% of gas produced with a median loss of 0.23%. When the measured platforms are considered collectively, (i.e. the sum of platforms’ emission fluxes weighted by the sum of the platforms’ production), we estimate the CH4 loss to be 0.19% of gas production. These estimates are substantially higher than the emissions most recently reported to the National Atmospheric Emission Inventory (NAEI) for total CH4 loss from United Kingdom platforms in the North Sea. The NAEI reports CH4 losses from the offshore oil and gas platforms we measured to be 0.13% of gas production, with most of their emissions coming from gas flaring and offshore oil loading, neither of which were taking place at the time of our measurements. All oil and gas platforms we observed were found to leak CH4 during normal operation and much of this leakage has not been included in UK emission inventories. Further research is required to accurately determine total CH4 leakage from all offshore oil and gas operations and to properly include the leakage in national and international emission inventories.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
February 2019

16. Modelling of Ablatant Deposition from Electromagnetically Driven Radiative Pellets for Disruption Mitigation Studies

Author(s):
Lunsford, Robert; Raman, Roger; Brooks, Arthur; Ellis, Robert A.; Lay, W-S;
Abstract:
The Electromagnetic Particle Injector (EPI) concept is advanced through the simulation of ablatant deposition into ITER H-mode discharges with calculations showing penetration past the H-mode pedestal for a range of injection velocities and granule sizes concurrent with the requirements of disruption mitigation. As discharge stored energy increases in future fusion devices such as ITER, control and handling of disruption events becomes a critical issue. An unmitigated disruption could lead to failure of the plasma facing components resulting in financially and politically costly repairs. Methods to facilitate the quench of an unstable high current discharge are required. With the onset warning time for some ITER disruption events estimated to be less than 10 ms, a disruption mitigation system needs to be considered which operates at injection speeds greater than gaseous sound speeds. Such an actuator could then serve as a means to augment presently planned pneumatic injection systems. The EPI uses a rail gun concept whereby a radiative payload is delivered into the discharge by means of the JxB forces generated by an external current pulse, allowing for injection velocities in excess of 1 km/s. The present status of the EPI project is outlined, including the addition of boost magnetic coils. These coils augment the self-generated rail gun magnetic field and thus provide a more efficient acceleration of the payload. The coils and the holder designed to constrain them have been modelled with the ANSYS code to ensure structural integrity through the range of operational coil cu
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
June 2019

17. Nonlinear saturation and oscillations of collisionless zonal flows

Author(s):
Zhu, Hongxuan; Zhou, Yao; Dodin, I. Y.
Abstract:
In homogeneous drift-wave (DW) turbulence, zonal flows (ZFs) can be generated via a modulational instability (MI) that either saturates monotonically or leads to oscillations of the ZF energy at the nonlinear stage. This dynamics is often attributed as the predator-prey oscillations induced by ZF collisional damping; however, similar dynamics is also observed in collisionless ZFs, in which case a different mechanism must be involved. Here, we propose a semi-analytic theory that explains the transition between the oscillations and saturation of collisionless ZFs within the quasilinear Hasegawa-Mima model. By analyzing phase-space trajectories of DW quanta (driftons) within the geometrical-optics (GO) approximation, we argue that the parameter that controls this transition is N ~ \gamma_MI/\omega_DW, where \gamma_MI is the MI growth rate and \omega_DW is the linear DW frequency. We argue that at N << 1, ZFs oscillate due to the presence of so-called passing drifton trajectories, and we derive an approximate formula for the ZF amplitude as a function of time in this regime. We also show that at N >~ 1, the passing trajectories vanish and ZFs saturate monotonically, which can be attributed to phase mixing of higher-order sidebands. A modification of N that accounts for effects beyond the GO limit is also proposed. These analytic results are tested against both quasilinear and fully-nonlinear simulations. They also explain the earlier numerical results by Connaughton et al. [J. Fluid Mech. 654, 207 (2010)] and Gallagher et al. [Phys. Plasmas 19, 122115 (2012)] and offer a revised perspective on what the control parameter is that determines the transition from the oscillations to saturation of collisionless ZFs.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
May 2019

18. Physics design for a lithium vapor box divertor experiment on Magnum-PSI

Author(s):
Schwartz, Jacob; Emdee, Eric; Goldston, Robert; Jaworski, Michael
Abstract:
The lithium vapor box divertor is a potential solution for power exhaust in toroidal confinement devices. The divertor plasma interacts with a localized, dense cloud of lithium vapor, leading to volumetric radiation, cooling, recombination, and detachment. To minimize contamination of the core plasma, lithium vapor is condensed on cool (300°C to 400°C) baffles upstream of the detachment point. Before implementing this in a toroidal plasma device with a slot divertor geometry, we consider an experiment with a scaled baffled-pipe geometry in the high-power linear plasma device Magnum-PSI. Three 15 cm-scale open cylinders joined by 6 cm diameter ‘nozzles’ are positioned on the plasma beam axis upstream of a target. The central box may be loaded with several tens of grams of lithium, which can be evaporated at 650°C to produce a vapor predicted, using a simple plasma-neutral interaction model, to be dense enough to cause volumetric detachment in the plasma. The power delivered to the target and box walls as measured by increases in their temperatures after a 10 s plasma pulse can be compared to determine the effectiveness of the vapor in detaching the plasma. Direct Simulation Monte Carlo simulations are performed to estimate the flow rates of lithium vapor between the boxes and to estimate the trapping of H2 delivered by the plasma in the boxes, which could inadvertently lead to detachment. Details of the geometry, simulations, and possible diagnostic techniques are presented.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
30 January 2019

19. Quasioptical modeling of wave beams with and without mode conversion: II. Numerical simulations of single-mode beams

Author(s):
K. Yanagihara, I. Y. Dodin, and S. Kubo
Abstract:
This work continues a series of papers where we propose an algorithm for quasioptical modeling of electromagnetic beams with and without mode conversion. The general theory was reported in the first paper of this series, where a parabolic partial differential equation was derived for the field envelope that may contain one or multiple modes with close group velocities. Here, we present a corresponding code PARADE (PAraxial RAy DEscription) and its test applications to single-mode beams in vacuum and also in inhomogeneous magnetized plasma. The numerical results are compared, respectively, with analytic formulas from Gaussian-beam optics and also with cold-plasma ray tracing. Quasioptical simulations of mode-converting beams are reported in the next, third paper of this series.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
August 2019

20. Quasioptical modeling of wave beams with and without mode conversion: III. Numerical simulations of mode-converting beams

Author(s):
K. Yanagihara, I. Y. Dodin, and S. Kubo
Abstract:
This work continues a series of papers where we propose an algorithm for quasioptical modeling of electromagnetic beams with and without mode conversion. The general theory was reported in the first paper of this series, where a parabolic partial differential equation was derived for the field envelope that may contain one or multiple modes with close group velocities. In the second paper, we presented a corresponding code PARADE (PAraxial RAy DEscription) and its test applications to single-mode beams. Here, we report quasioptical simulations of mode-converting beams for the first time. We also demonstrate that PARADE can model splitting of two-mode beams. The numerical results produced by PARADE show good agreement with those of one-dimensional full-wave simulations and also with conventional ray tracing (to the extent that one-dimensional and ray-tracing simulations are applicable).
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
August 2019

21. Real-time capable modeling of neutral beam injection on NSTX-U using neural networks

Author(s):
Boyer, M.D.; Kaye, S.; Erickson, K.
Abstract:
A new model of heating, current drive, torque and other effects of neutral beam injection on NSTX-U that uses neural networks has been developed. The model has been trained and tested on the results of the Monte Carlo code NUBEAM for the database of experimental discharges taken during the first operational campaign of NSTX-U. By projecting flux surface quantities onto empirically derived basis functions, the model is able to efficiently and accurately reproduce the behavior of both scalars, like the total neutron rate and shine through, and profiles, like beam current drive and heating. The model has been tested on the NSTX-U real-time computer, demonstrating a rapid execution time orders of magnitude faster than the Monte Carlo code that is well suited for the iterative calculations needed to interpret experimental results, optimization during scenario development activities, and real-time plasma control applications. Simulation results of a proposed design for a nonlinear observer that embeds the neural network calculations to estimate the poloidal flux profile evolution, as well as effective charge and fast ion diffusivity, are presented.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
February 2019

22. Reduced Model for Direct Induction Startup Scenario Development on MAST-U and NSTX-U

Author(s):
Battaglia, D.J.; Thornton, A.J.; Gerhardt, S.P.; Kirk, A.; Kogan, L; Menard, J.E.
Abstract:
A reduced semi-empirical model using time-dependent axisymmetric vacuum field calculations is used to develop the prefill and feed-forward coil current targets required for reliable direct induction (DI) startup on the new MA-class spherical tokamaks, MAST-U and NSTX-U. The calculations are constrained by operational limits unique to each device, such as the geometry of the conductive elements and active coils, power supply specifications and coil heating and stress limits. The calculations are also constrained by semi-empirical models for sufficient breakdown, current drive, equilibrium and stability of the plasma developed from a shared database. A large database of DI startup on NSTX and NSTX-U is leveraged to quantify the requirements for achieving a reliable breakdown (Ip ~ 20 kA). It is observed that without pre-ionization, STs access the large E/P regime at modest loop voltage (Vloop) where the electrons in the weakly ionized plasma are continually accelerating along the open field lines. This ensures a rapid (order millisecond) breakdown of the neutral gas, even without pre-ionization or high-quality field nulls. The timescale of the initial increase in Ip on NSTX is reproduced in the reduced model provided a mechanism for impeding the applied electric field is included. Most discharges that fail in the startup phase are due to an inconsistency in the evolution of the plasma current (Ip) and equilibrium field or loss of vertical stability during the burn-through phase. The requirements for the self-consistent evolution of the fields in the weakly and full-ionized plasma states are derived from demonstrated DI startup on NSTX, NSTX-U and MAST. The predictive calculations completed for MAST-U and NSTX-U illustrate that the maximum Ip ramp rate (dIp/dt) in the early startup phase is limited by the voltage limits on the poloidal field coils on MAST-U and passive vertical stability on NSTX-U.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
August 2019

23. Sound velocities in shock-synthesized stishovite to 72 GPa

Author(s):
Berryman, Eleanor J.; Winey, J. M.; Gupta, Yogendra M.; Duffy, Thomas S.
Abstract:
Stishovite (rutile-type SiO2) is the archetype of dense silicates and may occur in post-garnet eclogitic rocks at lower-mantle conditions. Sound velocities in stishovite are fundamental to understanding its mechanical and thermodynamic behavior at high pressure and temperature. Here, we use plate-impact experiments combined with velocity interferometry to determine the stress, density, and longitudinal sound speed in stishovite formed during shock compression of fused silica at 44 GPa and above. The measured sound speeds range from 12.3(8) km/s at 43.8(8) GPa to 9.8(4) km/s at 72.7(11) GPa. The decrease observed at 64 GPa reacts a decrease in the shear modulus of stishovite, likely due to the onset of melting. By 72 GPa, the measured sound speed agrees with the theoretical bulk sound speed indicating loss of all shear stiffness due to complete melting. Our sound velocity results provide direct evidence for shock-induced melting, in agreement with previous pyrometry data.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
2019

24. Sowing the Seeds for More Usable Web Archives: A Usability Study of Archive-It

Author(s):
Abrams, Samantha; Antracoli, Alexis; Appel, Rachel; Caust-Ellenbogen, Celia; Dennison, Sarah; Duncan, Sumitra; Ramsay, Stefanie
Abstract:
In 2017, seven members of the Archive-It Mid-Atlantic Users Group (AITMA) conducted a study of 14 subjects representative of their stakeholder populations to assess the usability of Archive-It, a web archiving subscription service of the Internet Archive. While Archive-It is the most widely-used tool for web archiving, little is known about how users interact with the service. This study intended to teach us what users expect from web archives, which exist as another form of archival material. End-user subjects executed four search tasks using the public Archive-It interface and the Wayback Machine to access archived information on websites from the facilitators’ own harvested collections and provide feedback about their experiences. The tasks were designed to have straightforward pass or fail outcomes, and the facilitators took notes on the subjects’ behavior and commentary during the sessions. Overall, participants reported mildly positive impressions of Archive-It public user interface based on their session. The study identified several key areas of improvement for the Archive-It service pertaining to metadata options, terminology display, indexing of dates, and the site’s search box.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
2019

25. Spontaneous multi-keV electron generation in a low-RF-power axisymmetric mirror machine

Author(s):
Swanson, C.;Cohen, S.A.
Abstract:
Title: Spontaneous multi-keV electron generation in a low-RF-power axisymmetric mirror machine Abstract: X-ray emission shows the existence of multi-keV electrons in low-temperature, low-power, capacitively-coupled RF-heated magnetic-mirror plasmas that also contain a warm (300 eV) minority electron population. Though these warm electrons are initially passing particles, we suggest that collisionless scattering -- mu non-conservation in the static vacuum field -- is responsible for a minority of them to persist in the mirror cell for thousands of transits during which time a fraction are energized to a characteristic temperature of 3 keV, with some electrons reaching energies above 30 keV. A heuristic model of the heating by a Fermi-acceleration-like mechanism is presented, with mu non-conservation in the static vacuum field as an essential feature.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
May 2019

26. Study of liquid metal surface wave damping in the presence of magnetic fields and electrical currents

Author(s):
Fisher, A.E.; Hvasta, M.G.; Kolemen, E.
Abstract:
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.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
March 2019

27. Study of the impact of pre- and real-time deposition of lithium on plasma performance on NSTX

Author(s):
Canal, G.P.; Maingi, R.; Evans, T.E.; Kaye, S.M.; Mansfield, D.K.
Abstract:
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.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
January 2019

28. TRANSP-based Optimization Towards Tokamak Scenario Development

Author(s):
W.P. Wehner, E. Schuster, M.D. Boyer, F. Poli
Abstract:
An optimization approach that incorporates the predictive transport code TRANSP is proposed for tokamak scenario development. Optimization methods are often employed to develop open-loop control strategies to aid access to high performance tokamak scenarios. In general, the optimization approaches use control-oriented models, i.e. models that are reduced in complexity and prediction accuracy as compared to physics-oriented transport codes such as TRANSP. In the presented approach, an optimization procedure using the TRANSP code to simulate the tokamak plasma is considered for improved predictive capabilities. As a test case, the neutral beam injection (NBI) power is optimized to develop a control strategy that maximizes the non-inductive current fraction during the ramp-up phase for NSTX-U. Simulation studies towards the achievement of non-inductive ramp up in NSTX-U have already been carried out with the TRANSP code. The optimization-based approach proposed in this work is used to maximize the non-inductive current fraction during ramp-up in NSTX-U, demonstrating that the scenario development task can be automated. An additional test case considers optimization of the current ramp rate in DIII-D for obtaining a stationary plasma characterized by a flat loop voltage profile in the flattop phase.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
April 2019

30. Verification of the global gyrokinetic stellarator code XGC-S for linear ion temperature gradient driven modes

Author(s):
Cole M; Hager R; Moritaka T; Dominski J; Kleiber R; Ku S; Lazerson S; Riemann J; Chang C
Abstract:
XGC (X-point Gyrokinetic Code) is a whole-volume, total-f gyrokinetic particle-in-cell code developed for modelling tokamaks.In recent work, XGC has been extended to model more general 3D toroidal magnetic configurations, such as stellarators.These improvements have resulted in the XGC-S version.In this paper, XGC-S is benchmarked in the reduced delta-f limit for linear electrostatic ion temperature gradient-driven microinstabilities, which can underlie turbulent transport in stellarators.An initial benchmark of XGC-S in tokamak geometry shows good agreement with the XGC1, ORB5, and global GENE codes.A benchmark between XGC-S and the EUTERPE global gyrokinetic code for stellarators has also been performed, this time in geometry of the optimised stellarator Wendelstein 7-X.Good agreement has been found for the mode number spectrum, mode structure, and growth rate.
Type:
Dataset
Issue Date:
August 2019