Steady-state dynamo and current drive in a nonuniform bounded plasma

Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Physics of Fluids B; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.860406· OSTI ID:5588711

Mett, R R; Taylor, J B ^[1]

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1. Institute for Fusion Studies, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States)

Current drive due to helicity injection and the dynamo effect are examined in an inhomogeneous bounded plasma. Averaged over a magnetic surface, there is, in general, no dynamo effect independent of resistivity---contrary to the results found previously for an unbounded plasma. The dynamo field is calculated explicitly for an incompressible viscoresistive fluid in the plane-slab model. In accord with the authors' general conclusion, outside the Alfven resonant layer it is proportional to the resistivity. Within the resonant layer there is a contribution which is increased, relative to its value outside the layer, by a factor ({omega}{ital a}{sup 2}/({eta}+{nu})), where {omega} is the wave frequency, {ital a} is the plasma radius, {eta} is the magnetic diffusivity, and {nu} is the kinematic viscosity. However, this contribution vanishes when integrated across the layer. The average field in the layer is resonance enhanced by a factor ({omega}{ital a}{sup 2}/({eta}+{nu})){sup 2/3} and is proportional to the shear in the magnetic field and the cube root of the gradient of the Alfven speed. These results are interpreted in terms of helicity balance, and reconciled with the infinite medium calculations.

• DOE Contract Number: FG05-80ET53088
• OSTI ID: 5588711
• Journal Information: Physics of Fluids B; (United States), Vol. 4:1; ISSN 0899-8221
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
INHOMOGENEOUS PLASMA
CURRENT-DRIVE HEATING
HELICITY
ALFVEN WAVES
INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOW
MAGNETIC FLUX
MAGNETIC SURFACES
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
OHM LAW
PLASMA WAVES
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
VISCOSITY
ELECTRIC HEATING
FLUID FLOW
FLUID MECHANICS
HEATING
HYDRODYNAMICS
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
JOULE HEATING
MAGNETIC FIELD CONFIGURATIONS
MECHANICS
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
PLASMA
PLASMA HEATING
RESISTANCE HEATING
700340* - Plasma Waves
Oscillations
& Instabilities- (1992-)
700330 - Plasma Kinetics
Transport
& Impurities- (1992-)