Graduation Year
2025
Graduation Month
May
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
School or Department
Physics and Astronomy
Major
Physics
Faculty Mentor Department
Physics and Astronomy
Faculty Mentor
Andrew Ware
Keywords
Physics, Plasma, Nuclear Energy
Subject Categories
Nuclear | Physics | Plasma and Beam Physics
Abstract
Lachlan Dean Coil Optimization for a High-Beta Stellarator-Tokamak Hybrid Magnetic coil configurations are developed for a tokamak-stellarator hybrid that is stable to both pressure- and current-driven modes for high values of beta. Previous work on this configuration [A. S. Ware, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett, 89, 125003 (2002)] was carried out using a fixed-boundary equilibrium (i.e., with no set of external coils) and prior attempts to develop an initial coil set using the COILOPT code were not successful. In this work, the recently developed SIMSOPT code [M. Landreman, et. al., J. Open Source Software 6, 3525 (2021)] is used to optimize coils for this configuration. Since this is a hybrid device, the goal is to develop a modular coil set that is simpler than modular coils for stellarator such as W7-X and NCSX. Further optimization including targeting quasi-symmetry will be discussed. Will Austin Variation of the Number of Field Periods for Symmetric Stellarators Research is presented analyzing the optimization of certain properties of nuclear fusion stellarator reactors using computer simulations conducted with the Perlmutter (NERSC-9) supercomputer located at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. These optimizations focus on the symmetric geometry of stellarators to produce more quasisymmetry. Better quasisymmetry in a stellarator means the strength of a magnetic field is more uniform about the reactor. It has been hypothesized that a quasisymmetric stellarator is better capable of containing the hot plasma which allows the reactor to produce energy. To accomplish optimization, computer code was constructed utilizing SIMSOPT, an open-sourced Python-based framework specializing in stellarator optimization. These codes were run on preexisting cases of stellarator design created by Matt Landreman and Elizabeth Paul, varying the geometry and number of field periods to optimize quasisymmetry. The goal of this project was to optimize the separate variations of the stellarator's field periods enough so their quasisymmetry is on par with the original four field period case given by Landreman-Paul. This research is important as much of quasisymmetry optimization is still unknown. By better understanding how the geometry and properties of the magnetic field affect plasma containment, those testing nuclear fusion reactors have access to better data to implement better designs. This research helps contribute to the global push for fusion power which, if successful, will revolutionize energy technology.
Honors College Research Project
1
GLI Capstone Project
no
Recommended Citation
Austin, William Lee and Dean, Lachlan, "Plasma and Magnetic Coil Optimization" (2025). Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts. 550.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/550
Included in
© Copyright 2025 William Lee Austin and Lachlan Dean