Magnetic field diffusion and flux loss within a spheromak

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · IEEE Transactions on Magnetics (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States)

OSTI ID:5689315

Clegg, J R; Browning, P K; Rusbridge, M G ^[1]

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1. Dept. of Pure and Applied Physics, UMIST, Manchester M6O 1QD (GB)

This paper considers the magnetic confinement of a plasma within a prototype controlled fusion experiment, the spheromak. This device has a containment vessel that is topologically spherical, offering considerable engineering advantages compared with conventional toroidal systems. The authors' aim has been to evaluate possible designs for the flux conserver and gun magnetic field coils, taking account of flux penetration into the walls caused by finite resisitivity. The copper walls cannot remain perfect magnetic flux surfaces for the duration of the experiment, and we calculate the magnetic field penetration into the walls for a range of designs. This study is in response to recent results showing that wall conditions and flux loss are a vital element of the system's performance, with a substantial increase in global resistance arising if field becomes embedded in the walls creating a dead space that is not driven by the gun current. The authors develop a model bearing general application to magnetic field interaction with resistive walls in complex geometries, with particular reference to the UMIST spheromak experiment SPHEX.

• OSTI ID: 5689315
• Report Number(s): CONF-9004136-; CODEN: IEMGA
• Journal Information: IEEE Transactions on Magnetics (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States), Vol. 27:1; Conference: 5. IEEE symposium on electromagnetic launcher technology, Destin, FL (United States), 1-5 Apr 1990; ISSN 0018-9464
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
Fu
SPHEROMAK DEVICES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETIC FLUX
DESIGN
MAGNETIC CONFINEMENT
OPERATION
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
PLASMA GUNS
CLOSED PLASMA DEVICES
CONFINEMENT
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
TOKAMAK DEVICES
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