Stability and confinement of spheromaks and field-reversed configurations
The formation, confinement and stability of two types of compact toroids, spheromaks and field reversed configurations (FRC), are reviewed. Spheromaks, which contain both toroidal and poloidal magnetic fields, have been formed with magnetized coaxial plasma guns, by a combination of Z- and theta-pinch techniques and by an electrodeless slow induction technique, and trapped in both prolate and oblate flux conservers. As predicted by theory, the prolate configuration is unstable to the tilt mode, but the oblate configuration with a conducting wall is stable. Configuration lifetimes of up to 0.8 ms are observed. The FRC is a high-beta, highly prolate compact toroid formed with field-reversed theta-pinch techniques and having purely poloidal magnetic field. Theory predicts unstable fluting and internal tilting modes, but they are not observed experimentally. Configurations with high densities approx. 10/sup 15/ cm/sup -3/ and with lifetimes of 50 to 120 ..mu..s are terminated by an n=2 rotational mode of instability.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 5153968
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-82-1558; CONF-820618-6; ON: DE82018378; TRN: 82-017445
- Resource Relation:
- Journal Volume: T2B; Conference: International conference on plasma physics, Goteborg, Sweden, 7 Jun 1982
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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REVERSE-FIELD PINCH
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
STABILITY
SPHEROMAK DEVICES
ASPECT RATIO
HIGH-BETA PLASMA
PLASMA INSTABILITY
THETA PINCH
TOROIDAL CONFIGURATION
ANNULAR SPACE
CLOSED PLASMA DEVICES
CONFIGURATION
CONFINEMENT
INSTABILITY
PINCH EFFECT
PLASMA
SPACE
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
TOKAMAK DEVICES
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