Magnetic probe measurements of the current sheath on the PF-3 facility
- Russian Research Centre Kurchatov Institute (Russian Federation)
- Troitsk Institute for Innovation and Fusion Research (Russian Federation)
Results are presented from experimental studies of the dynamics of the current sheath (CS) on the PF-3 plasma focus facility. The parameters of the sheath, including the current distribution in it, were measured using absolutely calibrated magnetic probes installed at different positions with respect to the facility axis and the anode surface. The CS dynamics in discharges operating in argon and neon was investigated, and the skin depth in different stages of the discharge was determined. One of the probes was installed at a distance of {approx}2 cm from the facility axis, which made it possible to estimate the efficiency of current transfer to the region of pinch formation. Operating modes were obtained in which the current dynamics detected by magnetic probes at different distances from the axis agreed well with the dynamics of the total discharge current until the instant of singularity in the current time derivative. It is shown that shunting breakdowns can lead to the formation of closed current loops. The shunting of the discharge current by the residual plasma is directly related to the efficiency of snowplowing of the working gas by the CS as it propagates from the insulator toward the facility axis.
- OSTI ID:
- 21448972
- Journal Information:
- Plasma Physics Reports, Vol. 36, Issue 11; Other Information: DOI: 10.1134/S1063780X10110036; Copyright (c) 2010 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.; ISSN 1063-780X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Study of the interrelation between the electrotechnical parameters of the plasma focus discharge circuit and the plasma compression dynamics on the PF-3 and PF-1000 facilities
Diagnostics of PF-1000 Facility Operation and Plasma Concentration on the Basis of Spectral Measurements