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TAYLOR INSTABILITY OF AN INCOMPRESSIBLE PLASMA UNDER A VARIABLE ACCELERATION

Journal Article · · Dissertation Abstr.
OSTI ID:4783520
A theoretical analysis is made of the stability of an interface between dissimilar, incompressible, ionized gases undergoing variable acceleration. This study represents a generalization of a study of Taylor instability of fluid and plasma interfaces and of the fluting instability. The cases investigated include plane, cylindrical, and spherical plasma configurations confined by a magnetic field. A perturbation analysis of the unperturbed accelerated plasma motion yields differential equations with timedependent coefficients for the growth behavior of disturb ances at the interface. For accelerations that do not change sign the results are similar to the conventional analysis for surfaces at rest, although interface radial dimensions and velocities lead to modified stability criteria. A possibility for stabilizing an otherwise unstable surface arises as a result of applying oscillatory driving forces. The effect is physically similar to that of stabilizing an inverted pendulum by oscillating its support, or to the stabilization scheme used in alternating-gradient accelerators. For the case of a plane undergoing oscillatory motion and supported against gravity, the stability conditions are described by the Mathieu equation. For other prescribed motions, stability criteria based on analytic and numerical solutions of the interface stability equations are presented for the three geometries and for a range of plasma parameters.
Research Organization:
Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
NSA Number:
NSA-16-028266
OSTI ID:
4783520
Journal Information:
Dissertation Abstr., Journal Name: Dissertation Abstr. Vol. Vol: 22
Country of Publication:
Country unknown/Code not available
Language:
English