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U.S. Department of Energy
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Resistive instabilities in tokamaks

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:7106218

The influence of resistivity on the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability of the tokamak and of a diffuse linear pinch is investigated. Ideal MHD instabilities of axisymmetric toroidal equilibria with circular cross section are investigated and it is found that toroidal effects can stabilize both the kink and interchange modes. A two region model and associated computer program are developed. The two regions, according to the eigenfunction approximations used, are: an ideal MHD region that employs a cylindrical approximation modified with toroidal corrections and a thin resistive layer region. Using this model it is found that toroidal effects can stabilize the resistive interchange and tearing modes for safety factors greater than one. It is also found that it is not correct to use stability parameters calculated for tearing modes in the analysis of overstable modes. The development of a resistive shooting code is described. Since the set of resistive MHD differential equations are stiff differential equations, a generalized Ricatti transformation is used to obtain a solution.

OSTI ID:
7106218
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English