MHD activity in the ISX-B tokamak: experimental results and theoretical interpretation

Technical Report · Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1983

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6042344· OSTI ID:6042344

Carreras, B. A.; Dunlap, J. L.; Cooper, W. A.

The observed spectrum of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fluctuations in the Impurity Study Experiment (ISX-B) tokamak is clearly dominated by the n = 1 mode when the q = 1 surface is in the plasma. This fact agrees well with theoretical predictions based on three-dimensional (3-D) resistive MHD calculations. They show that the (m = 1; n = 1) mode is the dominant instability. It drives other n = 1 modes through toroidal coupling and n > 1 modes through nonlinear couplings. These theoretically predicted mode structures have been compared in detail with the experimentally measured wave forms (using arrays of soft x-ray detectors). The agreement is excellent. More detailed comparisons between theory and experiment have required careful reconstructions of the ISX-B equilibria. The equilibria so constructed have permitted a precise evaluation of the ideal MHD stability properties of ISX-B. The present results indicate that the high-beta ISX-B equilibria are marginally stable to finite-n ideal MHD modes.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Institute for Fusion Studies
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 6042344
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-8648; ON: DE83012340
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ISX TOKAMAK
PLASMA MACROINSTABILITIES
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
ELECTRONS
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
X-RAY SPECTRA
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
INSTABILITY
LEPTONS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLASMA INSTABILITY
SPECTRA
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
TOKAMAK TYPE REACTORS
700107* - Fusion Energy- Plasma Research- Instabilities