Design of an arrangement of cubic magnets for a quasi-axisymmetric stellarator experiment

Hammond, Kenneth ; Zhu, Caoxiang ; Corrigan, Keith ; Gates, David ; Lown, Robert; Mercurio, Robert; Qian, Tony ; Zarnstorff, Michael
Issue date: 2022
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY)
Cite as:
Hammond, Kenneth, Zhu, Caoxiang, Corrigan, Keith, Gates, David, Lown, Robert, Mercurio, Robert, Qian, Tony, & Zarnstorff, Michael. (2022). Design of an arrangement of cubic magnets for a quasi-axisymmetric stellarator experiment [Data set]. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University. https://doi.org/10.11578/1888258
@electronic{hammond_kenneth_2022,
  author      = {Hammond, Kenneth and
                Zhu, Caoxiang and
                Corrigan, Keith and
                Gates, David and
                Lown, Robert and
                Mercurio, Robert and
                Qian, Tony and
                Zarnstorff, Michael},
  title       = {{Design of an arrangement of cubic magnet
                s for a quasi-axisymmetric stellarator e
                xperiment}},
  publisher   = {{Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Pri
                nceton University}},
  year        = 2022,
  url         = {https://doi.org/10.11578/1888258}
}
Description:

The usage of permanent magnets to shape the confining field of a stellarator has the potential to reduce or eliminate the need for non-planar coils. As a proof-of-concept for this idea, we have developed a procedure for designing an array of cubic permanent magnets that works in tandem with a set of toroidal-field coils to confine a stellarator plasma. All of the magnets in the design are constrained to have identical geometry and one of three polarization types in order to simplify fabrication while still producing sufficient field accuracy. We present some of the key steps leading to the design, including the geometric arrangement of the magnets around the device, the procedure for optimizing the polarizations according to three allowable magnet types, and the choice of magnet types to be used. We apply these methods to design an array of rare-Earth permanent magnets that can be paired with a set of planar toroidal-field coils to confine a quasi-axisymmetric plasma with a toroidal magnetic field strength of about 0.5 T on axis. Consult the file README.txt for a more detailed description of the contents.

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