Variational bounds for transport coefficients in three-dimensional toroidal plasmas

Journal Article · Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1989 · Phys Fluids B; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.859116· OSTI ID:6527007

van Rij, W I; Hirshman, S P

A variational principle is developed for the linearized drift-kinetic, Fokker--Planck equation, from which both upper and lower bounds for neoclassical transport coefficients can be calculated for plasmas in three-dimensional toroidal confinement geometries. These bounds converge monotonically with the increasing phase-space dimensionality of the assumed trial function. This property may be used to identify those portions of phase space that make dominant contributions to the transport process. A computer code based on this principle has been developed that uses Fourier--Legendre expansions for the poloidal, toroidal, and pitch-angle dependences of the distribution function. Numerical calculations of transport coefficients for a plasma in the TJ-II flexible heliac (Nucl. Fusion 28, 157 (1988)) are used to demonstrate the application of this procedure.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831
• OSTI ID: 6527007
• Journal Information: Phys Fluids B; (United States), Vol. 1:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
PLASMA
CHARGED-PARTICLE TRANSPORT
CALCULATION METHODS
COMPUTER CODES
FOKKER-PLANCK EQUATION
KINETIC EQUATIONS
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
TOROIDAL CONFIGURATION
VARIATIONAL METHODS
ANNULAR SPACE
CLOSED CONFIGURATIONS
CONFIGURATION
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
EQUATIONS
MAGNETIC FIELD CONFIGURATIONS
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
RADIATION TRANSPORT
SPACE
700103* - Fusion Energy- Plasma Research- Kinetics