Merging formation and current amplification of field‐reversed configuration

The merging formation of the field‐reversed configuration (FRC) has been developed in the TS‐3 merging experiment, leading us to a new scenario of FRC slow formation, heating and current amplification. Two force‐free spheromaks with opposing toroidal fields were merged together in the axial direction to form a high‐β FRC with higher efficiency than the conventional field‐reversed theta‐pinch method. This unique relaxation from the force‐free (β ∼ 0.05 − 0.1) spheromaks to the high‐β (β ∼ 0.7 − 1) FRC is attributed to the conversion of toroidal magnetic energy into ion thermal energy through the reconnection outflow. A central ohmic heating (OH) coil worked successfully to amplify the FRC plasma current by a factor of 2. Toroidal mode analysis of magnetic structure indicated that the tilting stability of the oblate FRC was provided by an ion kinetic effect. This oblate FRC is also useful as an initial equilibrium to produce a high‐β_p spherical tokamak (ST) with diamagnetic toroidal magnetic field, suggesting the close relationship between FRCs and high‐β_p STs in the second stable region of the ballooning mode. © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Spherical tokamak generation and merging on UTST using ex‐vessel poloidal field coils only

We successfully generated two spherical tokamaks (ST) at two null points by using ex‐vessel poloidal field (PF) coils only and succeeded in merging them. This scheme is called a double null merging (DNM) scheme. First, two pairs of ex‐vessel PF coils generate two null points where the poloidal field is zero at the upper and lower regions inside the vacuum vessel. Then a poloidal flux swing generates two STs at two null points, because the distance to the wall along the magnetic field is long at the null points. Finally, the coil currents push two STs toward the mid‐plane and merge them into a single ST. Since a magnetic reconnection during merging transforms magnetic energy into thermal energy, this merged ST plasma is expected to have a high beta. It must be noted that the DNM scheme generates an ST without a center solenoid coil. The DNM scheme was demonstrated on the TS‐3/4 (Japan) and MAST (UKAEA). However, these devices have all PF coils inside the vacuum vessels, and the initial plasmas were generated around the PF coils, not the null points. Since internal coils are not feasible in a fusion reactor due to high neutron flux, it is important to demonstrate the DNM scheme by using ex‐vessel PF coils. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 179(4): 18–24, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21254     

First plasma experiment on spherical tokamak device UTST

The UTST (University of Tokyo Spherical Tokamak) device was constructed for the purpose of exploring the formation of ultrahigh‐beta ST (spherical tokamak) plasma using the double null plasma merging method. When two plasmas merge together to form a single plasma, magnetic field lines reconnect, and magnetic field energy is converted to plasma kinetic energy, increasing the plasma beta. Merging start‐up has been demonstrated in the TS‐3/4, START, and MAST devices using coils inside the vacuum vessel, and the TS‐3 plasma obtained a 50% beta. In order to demonstrate start‐up in a more reactor‐relevant situation, UTST has all poloidal field (PF) coils outside the vacuum vessel. The first plasma experiment on the UTST was begun in December 2007. In the results, the plasma obtained 10 kA by using only the outer PF coils and a single ST was generated in the lower area (z = –0.3 to –1.0 m) close to a washer gun. This result suggests that another washer gun on the top of the UTST can allow the generation of ST in the upper area and merging start‐up by using outer PF coils. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 179(2): 20–26, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21216     

Measurements of electron density profile characteristics in various kinds of plasma configurations in the TS‐3 plasma merging device

Measurements and a comparative study have been performed on electron density profiles, focusing on the electron density gradient near the magnetic separatrix in various kinds of plasma confinements such as the ST, spheromak, and RFP in the TS‐3 device. A CO₂ laser interferometer using a glass tube to clear the path for the laser was introduced in order to measure the electron density profile with time resolution. It was shown that ST with a high q value at the plasma edge (q: safety factor) has a larger electron density gradient than low‐q plasma confinements such as the spheromak and RFP. In particular, the ST with edge q value greater than about 2 showed a large electron density gradient at the edge. The idea that the j × B force profile of the higher‐q ST could sustain the higher thermal pressure supports these results. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 145(2): 35–41, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10158     

Stability of sinusoidal responses of marginally stable bandpass sigma delta modulators

In this paper, we analyse the stability of the sinusoidal responses of second‐order interpolative marginally stable bandpass sigma delta modulators (SDMs) with the sum of the numerator and denominator polynomials equal to one and explore new results on the more general second‐order interpolative marginally stable bandpass SDMs. These results can be further extended to the high‐order interpolative marginally stable bandpass SDMs. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative study of electron density profiles in compact torus plasma merging experiments

Following two previous papers on comparative studies of the electron density distributions for a single compact torus (CT) and a spherical tokamak (ST), and for a single ST and a merged ST, a comparative study on the dynamics of the electron density profile during and after the CT and ST plasma merging process was performed. The sharpness of the peak in the electron density profile around the midplane just after the merging of CT with a low safety factor (q value) such as RFP or spheromak is found to be related to the speed of the magnetic axis during the plasma merging process. It is also found that the electron density gradient near the plasma edge in a high‐q ST is larger than that of a low‐q CT. High‐q ST is found to have a magnetic structure which is able to sustain a large thermal pressure by a strong j × B force. Despite these differences in the electron density profile between CT and ST during merging, the confinement characteristics evaluated from the number of electrons confined within the magnetic separatrix after the completion of the merging are almost similar between the merging CT and the merging ST. For all configurations, the electron density profiles after the completion of the merging are analogous to those of the corresponding single configuration produced without the merging process. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 148(2): 14–21, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10312     

A new blind source separation method based on fractional lower‐order statistics

We proposed neural network structures related to multilayer feed‐forward networks for performing blind source separation (BSS) based on fractional lower‐order statistics. As alpha stable distribution process has no its second‐ or higher‐order statistics, we modified conventional BSS algorithms so that their capabilities are greatly improved under both Gaussian and lower‐order alpha stable distribution noise environments. We analysed the performances of the new algorithm, including the stability and convergence performance. The analysis is based on the assumption that the additive noise can be modelled as alpha stable process. The simulation experiments and analysis show that the proposed class of networks and algorithms is more robust than second‐order‐statistics‐based algorithm. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative studies on magnetic flux relaxations of varied spherical toroids produced by co‐helicity merging

The co‐helicity merging operations of compact toroid (CT) and spherical tokamak (ST) have been performed with external toroidal fields in the CT/ST merging device TS‐4. The low‐q (safety factor) CT merging as the compact RFP merging and the spheromak merging show the flux conversion from toroidal to poloidal in the course of the reconstruction of the Taylor force free state. The relaxation to the Taylor state proceeds through the following three states: (1) axisymmetric merging with increasing toroidal flux; (2) increase in the poloidal flux Ψ; and (3) relaxation to the Taylor state. The high‐q ST merging shows different relaxation process from those of the compact RFP and the spheromak mergings. Increases in Ψ were not clearly observed in the ST merging. The measured eigenvalues λ show that ST's, especially high‐q ST's, approach a unique intrinsic equilibrium state that has a λ proportional to Ψ with a longer lifetime than that of CT's. When external toroidal field is set in a certain range between the low‐q operation and the high‐q operation for ST's, an abnormal phenomenon was found in the ST formation, namely, a drastic decrease in the plasma lifetime. This phenomenon is characterized by very weak poloidal flux generations during the initial plasma production phase and the subsequent plasma separation phase when the plasma starts detaching from the flux core. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 151(4): 7–15, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20069     

MIMO multi‐periodic repetitive control system: universal adaptive control schemes

This paper presents a simple adaptive multi‐periodic repetitive control scheme when the MIMO LTI plant is not necessarily positive real (PR), however it is strictly minimum‐phase, the spectrum of high‐frequency gain matrix CB is symmetric and lies in the open right/left half complex plane(sign/spectrum definite). The non‐identifier‐based direct adaptive control technique, which does not need plant parameter information, is used to construct adaptive schemes and the system stability is analysed by Lyapunov second method. The extension to plant under certain non‐linear perturbations and an exponential stability scheme are also discussed. Finally, an adaptive proportional plus multi‐periodic repetitive control scheme is proposed. The theoretical findings are supported with simulations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamical movements of electron density profiles in spherical tokamak merging processes

Plasma merging is a promising, innovative method of initial heating for spherical tokamak (ST) plasmas. Detailed measurements of the temporal evolution of electron density profiles during plasma merging processes in a TS‐3 device was studied using a CO₂ laser interferometer with temporal and spatial resolution. The experimental observations show that the electrons are confined securely inside the magnetic separatrix in the moving plasma during the merging process. It has been found that the plasma particles are not ejected from the confinement region during the magnetic reconnection event, even though the magnetic structure of the plasma is changed drastically. Furthermore, it is shown that the electron density profile becomes hollow after plasma merging. These results indicate that plasma merging is effective not only as a method of initial heating of the ST, but also as a means of particle supply to the ST. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 145(2): 42–49, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10159     

Highly elongated,low‐aspect‐ratio tokamak produced by negative‐biased theta pinch

Ultra Low Aspect Ratio Tokamaks (ULART) are produced by using a negative‐biased theta‐pinch device. A slender conducting rod which serves as a toroidal field coil is newly installed along a geometrical center axis of the theta‐pinch coil. The ULART is quickly formed for about 10 μs by applying programmed current flows from three sets of fast banks and a slow bank to these coils and is sustained for about 100 μs. The plasma diagnosed from a magnetic probe array has a low aspect ratio A = 1.1 and a poloidal surface with a high elongation ratio κ = 10. The safety factor reaches about 30 near the separatrix edge when I_p = 280 kA flows in the plasma and I_tfc = 30 kA in the conducting rod. A preliminary result on global MHD characteristics of the ULART is also given. The plasma is unstable with respect to a vertical displacement and a toroidal n = 1 mode. The amplitudes of these modes depend on the values of I_tfc and κ. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 134(4): 19–27, 2001     

A study on collaborative operation method for a new energy type dispersed power supply system by AC‐EMAP model

Application of a dispersed power supply system consisting of a large‐scale photovoltaic system (PV), a fuel cell (FC), and an electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) is studied in this paper. This system is operated in autonomous mode, taking account of time delay characteristics of FC. The modified Euler type Moving Average Prediction (EMAP) model is improved using short‐time fast Fourier transform (ST‐FFT). The Adaptive Control type EMAP (AC‐EMAP) model is introduced to reduce the capacity of EDLC. This system can meet the multi‐quality electric power requirements of customers, and improve voltage stability and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) function as well. Moreover, the required capacity of EDLC to compensate the fluctuation of both PV output and Load demand is clarified by a simulation based on collaborative operation method by a prediction model using software MATLAB/Simulink. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 156(1): 13–24, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20262     

Experiments of the improvement in the performance of a disk CCMHD generator

The present experiment has aimed at the improvement in the performance of a shock‐tube‐driven disk CCMHD generator. For that purpose, an experimental setup was arranged as follows: (1) An inlet swirl was introduced. (2) The area ratio of the disk generator was small. (3) A cesium‐seeded helium gas was used as a working medium. Not only these factors but also the production of a homogeneous plasma contributed to outstanding performance characterized by an isentropic efficiency of 63% and an enthalpy extraction ratio of 30.8% at a stagnation temperature of 2250 K and stagnation pressure of 0.14 MPa. Furthermore, a maximum electrical power output of 1.23 MW and a maximum power density of 297 MW/m³ were obtained. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 157(2): 24–31, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20024     

Development of NbTi superconducting strands and cables for the field winding of a 200‐MW‐class high‐energy‐density superconducting generator

The NbTi superconducting strands and cables for the field winding of the 200‐MW‐class high‐energy‐density‐type superconducting generator are developed. They are composed of Cu/Cu‐10wt%Ni/Nb‐46.5wt%Ti superconducting strands and the 10‐kA (at 5 T)‐class 9‐strand compacted cables. The diameter of strands is 1.33 mm, and the 9‐strand compacted cables are 2.4 mm thick and 6.0 mm wide. In order to produce high‐current‐density NbTi strands, we made strands under controlled aging heat treatments, the total and final strains, and the strains between heat treatments, by using large‐scale extruder. Moreover, in order to produce high‐stability and low‐AC‐loss NbTi strands and cables, the matrix ratio of strands and the cross sections of strands are optimized. The current density of NbTi filaments for the four‐time‐aging manufactured 1.33‐mm‐diameter strands was J_C=3150 A/mm² at 5 T, 1150 A/mm² at 8 T. The critical current of the 9‐strand compacted cable is 10.7 kA at 5 T. The AC losses of the final compacted cables are less than 100 kW/m³ at 5 T, 5 T/s, that is, decreased to less than half of the target of the AC loss value (< at 5 T, 5 T/s). Compared with the strand (Cu ratio 1.77), the minimum quench energy (MQE) of the strand (Cu ratio>2) increased about 40% at the operation mode current of the superconducting generator. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 156(3): 24– 31, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20266     

A new algorithm for shot noise removal in medical ultrasound images based on alpha‐stable model

Ultrasonic images are generally affected by multiplicative shot noise. Shot noise filtering is thus a critical pre‐processing step in medical ultrasound imagery. This paper analyses and models the coefficients of 2‐D multi‐resolution wavelet decomposition of logarithmically transformed images using alpha‐stable distribution model. Consequently, we propose a new function that performs a non‐linear operation on the data of classifying the coefficients, thus achieving a novel form of noise removal based on multi‐resolution wavelet decomposition and the alpha‐stable model. We compare our new technique with current shot noise reduction methods applied on actual ultrasound medical images and simulations results show that the proposed new method is more robust than the methods based on Gaussian assumption. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adaptive synchronization of fractional‐order complex networks via pinning control

Adaptive synchronization of a class of fractional‐order complex networks is investigated in this paper. On the basis of the fractional‐order system stability theory, adaptive synchronization criteria of fractional‐order complex networks with 0 < q < 1 is achieved. Furthermore, pinning control method is then suggested to control the networks, and adaptive strategy is employed to tune the control gains and coupling strength. Because the nodes with high degree may not be the center of the networks, a new attempt to choose the pinned nodes on the basis of the closeness centrality scheme is proposed. Finally, numerical simulations are given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach based on the closeness centrality scheme. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High‐efficiency UV LEDs using quaternary InAlGaN

High‐efficiency ultraviolet (UV) light sources are very attractive for application to the medical field, white lighting, high‐density memories, and so on. We have demonstrated that 300‐ to 370‐nm UV emission is considerably enhanced by the introduction of several percent of In into AlGaN due to an In‐segregation effect. We fabricated 310‐nm‐band UV LEDs with quaternary InAlGaN emitting layers on a sapphire substrate and obtained submilliwatt output power. We also fabricated 350‐nm‐band InAlGaN‐based quantum‐well LEDs on GaN substrates in order to eliminate the effects of threading dislocations. The maximum UV output power obtained was as high as 7.4 mW under room‐temperature CW operation. The maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) was 1.1% with an injection current of 50 mA, which is the highest EQE ever obtained for 350‐nm‐band UV LEDs with top‐emission geometry. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 157(3): 43–51, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20287 Copyright © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Stability and H∞ performance of multiple‐delay systems with successive delay components

This paper presents a new model for linear time‐delay systems with multiple delayed states where each delay contains finite number of successive components with different time‐varying properties, referred to as multiple‐delay system with successive time‐varying delay components (MDSSTDCs). General stability result and H_∞ performance conditions, under which the MDSSTDCs are asymptotically stable with certain H_∞ disturbance attenuation level, are derived by exploiting a general Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and by making use of novel techniques for time‐delay systems. The result is applied to two special types of time‐delay systems frequently used in engineering applications and corresponding conditions for stability and H_∞ performance are obtained. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of several discretization methods of the Steklov–Poincaré operator

In this paper, we present three methods to discretize the Steklov–Poincaré operator. Two of these methods are already well known and commonly used and the third one is new. These methods are based either on the ballooning technique or on the integral theory or on the Calderon equations and we recall the principles of the discretization for each method. Then, we implement these discretization procedures in a code which treats the three‐dimensional magnetostatic problem with a mixed and hybrid finite element method. The exterior domain is treated with the Steklov–Poincaré operator discretized using the three procedures. A comparison in terms of precision, performance and ease of implementation is given. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Asymptotic stabilization and synchronization of parametric LCR resonant circuit using the characteristics of its coefficients

In this paper, we analyze stability of a time‐varying system represented by second‐order vector differential equations based on the characteristics of their coefficient matrices. New sufficient conditions for asymptotic stability of the equilibrium points are derived. Then, an asymptotic stabilizing control method of parametric LCR resonant system is discussed by using the obtained sufficient conditions. A method synchronizing two parametric LCR resonant systems is also given. The effectiveness of the results is illustrated by numerical examples. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 154(3): 48–55, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20142