Deflection of Plasma by High Magnetic Fields at Variable Pressures (Final Report)
- Univ. of Alabama, Huntsville, AL (United States)
The goal of the proposed work is to study the deflection of plasma by high magnetic fields using the high uniform magnetic field of the Magnetized Dusty Plasma Experiment (MDPX) located at the Magnetized Plasma Research Laboratory (MPRL) at Auburn University. The proposal team consists of faculty from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). One of the motivations for this work is to study the concept of a magnetic nozzle for pulsed fusion propulsion. Fusion propulsion can provide extremely high specific impulse, >30,000 sec, for fuel-efficient and thus mass-efficient trips to other planets. One such fusion propulsion design of interest in this research is the Pulsed Fission-Fusion (PuFF) concept. PuFF uses a Z-pinch device to create a fusion reaction at the back of the spacecraft inside the magnetic nozzle. As the resulting plasma explosion is isotropic, a large portion of the momentum will be directed toward the ship and needs to be redirected to efficiently produce thrust. The magnetic nozzle is thus necessary to redirect or deflect the plasma from an isotropic expansion into the directed thrust. Thus, the pulsed-fusion propulsion nozzle is herein referred to as a deflection magnetic nozzle, as opposed to the more traditional and well-studied accelerating magnetic nozzle. The purpose of this project was thus to study the behavior of a plasma in the MDPX fields to better understand the plasma-field interactions and how it could lead to deflection and a pulsed fusion magnetic nozzle.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Alabama, Huntsville, AL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- Contributing Organization:
- Auburn University
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0021280
- OSTI ID:
- 2316037
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-UAH-0021280; TRN: US2408750
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: "Investigation of high field plasma dynamics in a laser produced plasma expanding into a background gas."Z. White,1, a) K.G. Xu,1 and S. Chakraborty Thakur2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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