Poster Session #1: UC Ballroom

The Effects of Plasma Current in the World's Largest Stelarator

Presentation Type

Poster

Faculty Mentor’s Full Name

Andrew Ware

Faculty Mentor’s Department

Physics

Abstract / Artist's Statement

This project explores plasma currents and there effect on plasma equilibrium for the application of nuclear fusion devices. Plasma is an energetic, ionized, electrically charged, state of matter. Nuclear fusion is the process of combining lighter atoms into heavier atoms with the potential to produce large amounts of energy. It can occur when plasmas reach high temperatures and densities. A source of inspiration for nuclear fusion in plasma devices comes from the sun, which is made of plasma and is powered by fusion. We focus on Wendelstien 7-X (W7-X), which is an advanced plasma containment device currently being built in Greifswald, Germany. Because plasma is made up of charged particles, it is very conductive. In order to make a more stable plasma, one design criteria for W7-X was to minimize plasma current. Some residual plasma current will still exist however. The goal of this project is to explore the effect of this current on the plasma equilibrium, by use of various computational codes. Plasma equilibrium is achieved through a balance of forces. In this work, equilibria are calculated for the W7-X coil configuration at a range of plasma pressure values with the assumption of zero plasma current. The residual plasma current has been calculated for each. An optimization is underway to recalculate the equilibria with the effect of the predicted plasma current included. The impact of both finite pressure and residual plasma currents on the magnetic structure in the edge will then be examined.

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Apr 12th, 11:00 AM Apr 12th, 12:00 PM

The Effects of Plasma Current in the World's Largest Stelarator

UC Ballroom

This project explores plasma currents and there effect on plasma equilibrium for the application of nuclear fusion devices. Plasma is an energetic, ionized, electrically charged, state of matter. Nuclear fusion is the process of combining lighter atoms into heavier atoms with the potential to produce large amounts of energy. It can occur when plasmas reach high temperatures and densities. A source of inspiration for nuclear fusion in plasma devices comes from the sun, which is made of plasma and is powered by fusion. We focus on Wendelstien 7-X (W7-X), which is an advanced plasma containment device currently being built in Greifswald, Germany. Because plasma is made up of charged particles, it is very conductive. In order to make a more stable plasma, one design criteria for W7-X was to minimize plasma current. Some residual plasma current will still exist however. The goal of this project is to explore the effect of this current on the plasma equilibrium, by use of various computational codes. Plasma equilibrium is achieved through a balance of forces. In this work, equilibria are calculated for the W7-X coil configuration at a range of plasma pressure values with the assumption of zero plasma current. The residual plasma current has been calculated for each. An optimization is underway to recalculate the equilibria with the effect of the predicted plasma current included. The impact of both finite pressure and residual plasma currents on the magnetic structure in the edge will then be examined.