Recent results from the Los Alamos CTX spheromak

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:7057194

Barnes, C W; Henins, I; Hoida, H W; Jarboe, T R; Knox, S O; Linford, R K; Platts, D A; Sherwood, A R

Continued discharge cleaning, improved vacuum practices, and optimized plasma formation operation have resulted in the Los Alamos CTX spheromak experiment achieving 1 millisecond plasma lifetimes with average temperatures of 20 to 40 eV. Impurity radiation power loss has been reduced significantly and the plasma behavior appears to be dominated by pressure-driven instabilities causing increased particle loss. The major advance in operation has been the use of a constant, uniform background of 5 to 20 mTorr of H/sub 2/ filling the vacuum tank, flux conserver, and plasma source. This fill operation directly reduces the impurities generated in the plasma source, allows operation of the source at parameters resulting in fewer impurities, and provides a neutral source to maintain the density for long lifetimes. In this paper we present data on the improved operation of CTX, and present evidence for its ..beta..-limited operation.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 7057194
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-82-2891; CONF-821059-3; ON: DE83002068
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700200* -- Fusion Energy-- Fusion Power Plant Technology
BETA RATIO
CLOSED PLASMA DEVICES
CONFINEMENT
ENERGY LOSSES
IMPURITIES
LOSSES
OPERATION
PINCH EFFECT
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
REVERSE-FIELD PINCH
SPHEROMAK DEVICES
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
TOKAMAK DEVICES