Kinetic simulations of sheared flow stabilization in high-temperature Z-pinch plasmas
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Voss Scientific, LLC, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
We present that the first fully kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of sheared flow stabilized Z-pinch plasmas show the suppression of the sausage instability by shear, ∂rvz ≠ 0, with flow Mach numbers ≲1, consistent with experimental observations. Experimental investigations of sheared-flow stabilized Z-pinches demonstrated stability for 10 s of microseconds, over 1000 Alfvén radial transit times, in quasi steady-state plasmas that are an intermediate between conventional inertial and magnetic confinement systems. The observed stability coincides with the presence of radial shear in axial flow profiles with peak speeds less than Mach 1, and experiments are underway to validate scaling this design to fusion conditions. The experimentally observed stability agrees with models of m = 1 kink mode suppression by sheared flows, but existing models of the m = 0 sausage mode underestimate the efficacy of sheared flow stabilization. These models rely on fluid approximations and find that stabilization requires flows ranging from Mach 1.7 to 4.3, and in some cases, stabilization is not reproduced in the models. This is faster than the measured flows in long-lived plasmas and would necessitate substantial energy convection out of the Z-pinch and the need to drive and sustain supersonic flows in future devices. The MHD models typically used in the literature are invalid in the high-temperature, high-current environments desirable for many Z-pinch applications, and they ignore large Larmor radius effects and viscous dissipation which are known to impact Z-pinch stability. PIC simulations can capture all these effects as well as kinetic instabilities that could influence the performance of high-temperature sheared flow stabilized Z-pinch plasmas. The PIC simulations presented here show the suppression and damping of m = 0 modes by sheared flows ∂rvz = 0.75vA/r0 with flow Mach numbers ≲1. Lastlyl, equivalent stability occurs under plasma conditions ranging from the limits of present-day experimental capabilities to the projected conditions of a sheared flow stabilized Z-pinch reactor.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-07NA27344; AR0000571
- OSTI ID:
- 1544963
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1526092
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-JRNL-767536; 957144
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 26, Issue 6; ISSN 1070-664X
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Retrospective of the ARPA-E ALPHA Fusion Program
|
journal | October 2019 |
Gyrokinetic simulations of m = 0 mode in sheared flow Z-pinch plasmas
|
journal | June 2019 |
Retrospective of the ARPA-E ALPHA fusion program | text | January 2019 |
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