Related papers: Direct Microstability Optimization of Stellarator …
The main problems of nonvacuum numerical relativity, compact binary mergers and stellar collapse, involve hydromagnetic instabilities and turbulent flows, so that kinetic energy at small scales have mean effects at large scale that drive…
Bulk toroidal rotation has proven capable of stabilising both dangerous MHD modes and turbulence. In this thesis, we explore a method to drive rotation in large tokamaks: up-down asymmetry in the magnetic equilibrium. We seek to maximise…
First results from the optimized helias Wendelstein 7-X stellarator (W7-X) have shown that core transport is no longer mostly neoclassical, as is the case in previous kinds of stellarators. Instead, turbulent transport poses a serious…
Recently, theoretical analysis has identified plasma microinstabilities as the primary mechanism responsible for anomalous heat transport in tokamaks. In particular, the microtearing mode (MTM) has been credited with the production of…
A key uncertainty in the design and development of magnetic confinement fusion energy reactors is predicting edge plasma turbulence. An essential step in overcoming this uncertainty is the validation in accuracy of reduced turbulent…
Recent advances in stellarator optimization have found nearly precise quasisymmetric configurations. These are expected to reduce the non-turbulent background plasma transport to acceptable neoclassical levels while removing nearly all…
Reduced magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations are used to study the nonlinear dynamics of external kinks in a quasi-axisymmetric (QA) stellarator with varying fractions of external rotational transform. The large bootstrap currents associated…
Laminar drag reduction is a critical technology for enhancing the endurance and station-keeping capabilities of airship platforms. However, existing transport-based transition models fail to account for the premature transition induced by…
The SOL width is a parameter of paramount importance in modern tokamaks as it controls the power density deposited at the divertor plates, critical for plasma-facing material survivability. An understanding of the parameters controlling it…
We introduce the Turbulent Transport in Tokamaks via Stochastic Trajectories (T3ST) code, designed to address the problem of turbulent transport using a statistical approach complementary to gyrokinetics. The code employs test-particle…
Differentially rotating stars and planets transport angular momentum internally due to turbulence at rates that have long been a challenge to predict reliably. We develop a self-consistent saturation theory, using a statistical closure…
We conduct two kinds of homogeneous isotropic turbulence simulations relevant for the intracluster medium (ICM): (i) pure turbulence runs without radiative cooling; (ii) turbulent heating$+$radiative cooling runs with global thermal…
First principle gyrokinetic simulation of the edge turbulent transport in toroidal plasmas finds a reverse trend in the turbulent transport coefficients under strong gradients. It is found that there exist both linear and nonlinear critical…
The method of using neural networks (NNs) for turbulent transport prediction in a simplified model of tokamak plasmas is explored. The NNs are trained on a database obtained via test-particle simulations of a transport model in the…
High-power-density tokamaks offer a potential solution to design cost-effective fusion devices. One way to achieve high power density is to operate at a high $\beta$ value (the ratio of thermal to magnetic pressure), i.e., $\beta \sim 1$.…
Under many conditions, macroscopic grains flow like a fluid; kinetic theory pred icts continuum equations of motion for this granular fluid. In order to test the theory, we perform event driven molecular simulations of a two-dimensional gas…
Turbulent flows in the solar wind, large scale current sheets, multiple current sheets, and shock waves lead to the formation of environments in which a dense network of current sheets is established and sustains "turbulent reconnection".…
The Tokamak device is the most promising candidate for producing sustainable electric power by nuclear fusion. It is a torus-shaped device that confines plasma by a strong magnetic field. The development, design and control of the design…
Spherical tokamaks (STs) have many desirable features that make them an attractive choice for a future fusion power plant. Power plant viability is intrinsically related to plasma heat and particle confinement and this is often determined…
Plasma flow is damped in stellarators because they are not intrinsically ambipolar, unlike tokamaks, in which the flux-surface averaged radial electric current vanishes for any value of the radial electric field. Only quasisymmetric…