Related papers: An adjoint-based method for optimizing MHD equilib…
Intrinsically explosive growth of a ballooning finger is demonstrated in nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic calculations of high-$\beta$ disruptions in tokamaks. The explosive finger is formed by an ideally unstable n=1 mode, dominated by an…
Solutions to a model 2D eigenmode equation describing micro-instabilities in tokamak plasmas are presented that demonstrate a sensitivity of the mode structure and stability to plasma profiles. In narrow regions of parameter space, with…
A new classical TM stability simulation workflow has been developed that solves the resistive inner-layer equations in a plasma slab to yield a linear, quasi-toroidal TM growth rate $\gamma$ and mode rotation frequency $\omega$. This…
In ideal MHD, shear Alfv\'{e}n eigenmodes may experience dissipationless damping due to resonant interaction with the shear Alfv\'{e}n continuum. This continuum damping can make a significant contribution to the overall growth/decay rate of…
In this bachelor's thesis, isotope effects for pedestal instabilities have been studied based on an ASDEX Upgrade H-Mode scenario. This was done using the JOREK code for extended MHD simulations, including the ion diamagnetic drift and the…
It is known that magnetic perturbations can mitigate edge localized modes (ELMs) in experiments, for example MAST (Kirk et al 2013 Nucl. Fusion 53 043007). One hypothesis is that the magnetic perturbations cause a three dimensional…
Global electromagnetic gyrokinetic simulations show the existence of near threshold conditions for both a high-$n$ kinetic ballooning mode (KBM) and an intermediate-$n$ kinetic version of peeling-ballooning mode (KPBM) in the edge pedestal…
The design of a stellarator with acceptable confinement properties requires optimization of the magnetic field in the non-convex, high-dimensional spaces describing their geometry. Another major challenge facing the stellarator program is…
This paper presents the calculation of the bounce-averaged drift of trapped particles in a near-axis framework for axisymmetric and quasisymmetric magnetic fields that possess up-down and stellarator symmetry respectively. This analytic…
The shape gradient quantifies the change in some figure of merit resulting from differential perturbations to a shape. Shape gradients can be applied to gradient-based optimization, sensitivity analysis, and tolerance calculation. An…
A direct construction of equilibrium magnetic fields with toroidal topology at arbitrary order in the distance from the magnetic axis is carried out, yielding an analytical framework able to explore the landscape of possible magnetic flux…
Circular cross-section plasma is the most basic form of tokamak plasma and the fundamental configuration for magnetic confinement fusion experiments. Based on the HL-2A limiter discharge experiments, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)…
Nonlinear electromagnetic stabilization by suprathermal pressure gradients found in specific regimes is shown to be a key factor in reducing tokamak microturbulence, augmenting significantly the thermal pressure electromagnetic…
In this paper, we report the novel experimental observation of both unstable and stable Toroidicity-induced Alfv\'en Eigenmodes (TAEs) measured simultaneously in a JET tokamak plasma. The three-ion-heating scheme (D-DNBI-3He) is employed to…
We study the evolution of kink instability in a force-free, non-rotating plasma column of high magnetization. The main dissipation mechanism is identified as reconnection of magnetic field-lines with various intersection angles, driven by…
For a long time, ballooning instabilities have been believed to be a possible triggering mechanism for the onset of substorm and current disruption initiation in the near-Earth magnetotail. Yet the stability of the kinetic ballooning mode…
This paper studies the decay of an objective functional using a new control technique within Pontryagin's framework. Convergence analysis is carried out on the infinite-dimensional space of Tokamak plasma dynamical state as described by…
We investigate the launching and stability of extragalactic jets through nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation and linear eigenmode analysis. In the simulations of jet evolution, a small-scale equilibrium magnetic arcade is twisted…
We consider the linear axisymmetric stability of a differentially rotating collisionless plasma in the presence of a weak magnetic field; we restrict our analysis to wavelengths much larger than the proton Larmor radius. This is the kinetic…
Benign termination, in which magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities deconfine runaway electrons (REs) following hydrogenic injections, is a promising strategy for mitigating dangerous RE loads after disruptions. Recent experiments on the…