U.S. Department of EnergyOffice of Scientific and Technical Information
Stability of spheromaks compressed by liquid walls
Abstract
We consider Rayleigh-Taylor instability of the liquid-plasma interface of a spheromak ignited by slow compression discussed previously. We conclude that instability may indeed occur despite the stabilizing influence of magnetic shear in the spheromak. If it occurs, instability would be greatest for modes concentrated toward the midplane. As for the cylindrical LINUS configuration, rotation about the geometric axis would stabilize these modes, but at the price of roughly doubling the input energy and reducing the gain. However, even in the absence of rotation, in a sphere instability occurs only at the end of compression near the stagnation point. Revised estimates of the fusion energy gain taking this brief period of instability into account still give, within the uncertainties, a gain G {approx} 20 for our earlier example with an input energy of 150 MJ and fusion yield of 3 GJ.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Defense Programs (DP) (US)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 13774
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID-135551; AT5015020
AT5015020; TRN: US0110749
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- Resource Type:
- Technical Report
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 17 Aug 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; SPHEROMAK DEVICES; FUSION YIELD; RAYLEIGH-TAYLOR INSTABILITY; STAGNATION POINT; IGNITION; COMPRESSION
Citation Formats
Fowler, T K. Stability of spheromaks compressed by liquid walls. United States: N. p., 1999.
Web. doi:10.2172/13774.
Fowler, T K. Stability of spheromaks compressed by liquid walls. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/13774
Fowler, T K. 1999.
"Stability of spheromaks compressed by liquid walls". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/13774. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/13774.
@article{osti_13774,
title = {Stability of spheromaks compressed by liquid walls},
author = {Fowler, T K},
abstractNote = {We consider Rayleigh-Taylor instability of the liquid-plasma interface of a spheromak ignited by slow compression discussed previously. We conclude that instability may indeed occur despite the stabilizing influence of magnetic shear in the spheromak. If it occurs, instability would be greatest for modes concentrated toward the midplane. As for the cylindrical LINUS configuration, rotation about the geometric axis would stabilize these modes, but at the price of roughly doubling the input energy and reducing the gain. However, even in the absence of rotation, in a sphere instability occurs only at the end of compression near the stagnation point. Revised estimates of the fusion energy gain taking this brief period of instability into account still give, within the uncertainties, a gain G {approx} 20 for our earlier example with an input energy of 150 MJ and fusion yield of 3 GJ.},
doi = {10.2172/13774},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/13774},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Aug 17 00:00:00 EDT 1999},
month = {Tue Aug 17 00:00:00 EDT 1999}
}