Variational moment solutions to the Grad--Shafranov equation

Journal Article · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1981 · Phys. Fluids; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.863562· OSTI ID:6309854

Lao, L L; Hirshman, S P; Wieland, R M

A variational method is developed to find approximate solutions to the Grad--Shafranov equation. The surfaces of the constant poloidal magnetic flux psi(R, Z) are obtained by solving a few ordinary differential equations, which are moments of the Grad--Shafranov equation, for the Fourier amplitudes of the inverse mapping R(psi, theta) and Z(psi, theta). Analytic properties and solutions of the moment equations are considered. Specific calculations using the Impurity Study Experiment (ISX-B) and the Engineering Test Facility (ETF)/International Tokamak Reactor (INTOR) geometries are performed numerically, and the results agree well with those calculated using standard two-dimensional equilibrium codes. The main advantage of the variational moment method is that it significantly reduces the computational time required to determine two-dimensional equilibria without sacrificing accuracy.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 6309854
• Journal Information: Phys. Fluids; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Fluids; (United States) Vol. 24:8; ISSN PFLDA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700105* -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research-- Plasma Kinetics-Theoretical-- (-1987)
ANNULAR SPACE
CONFIGURATION
FOURIER ANALYSIS
HIGH-BETA PLASMA
MAGNETIC FLUX
MOMENTS METHOD
PLASMA
SPACE
TOROIDAL CONFIGURATION
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
VARIATIONAL METHODS