Magnetic Reynolds Number and Neon Current Sheet Structure in the Axial Phase of a Plasma Focus

The Magnetic Reynolds Number (MRN) in neon is computed as a function of Neon shock speed. The magnetic field profiles at various positions in the axial run down phase of the INTI Plasma Focus device are measured over a range of pressures from 2 to 20 Torr. These profiles are assessed for good electromagnetic coupling including measuring the current per unit current sheet thickness as a comparative measure of current sheet diffusion. It was found that at an axial current sheet speed of over 3.5 cm/μs (corresponding to MRN > 15), the current sheet has a compact profile with current density of 55 kA/cm of sheet thickness whereas at speeds below 2.8 cm/μs (corresponding to MRN < 10) the profile is more diffuse with current density less than 30 kA/cm of sheet thickness. Based on these studies it is proposed to take a speed of 3 cm/μs corresponding to an MRN of 10 as the minimum speed of neon current sheet below which the electromagnetic coupling begins to weaken.     

Magnetic Probe Measurements in INTI Plasma Focus to Determine Dependence of Axial Speed with Pressure in Neon

Current sheath dynamics generated in INTI plasma focus device operated with neon gas has been studied. A 3-turn Rogowski coil design has been used to measure derivative current. A new magnetic probe was designed and used to study of current sheath arrival time, current profile and velocity variation in the axial phase at different experimental conditions. The current sheath’s average velocity was found to vary with pressure^?0.51 with a R² value of 0.9 which agrees well with the theoretically expected variation of pressure^?0.5.     

Stray Capacitance in a Plasma Focus Device: Implications on the Current Derivative Calibration and the Effective Discharge Current

The notion that PF discharge circuits should be represented by an equivalent circuit having two loops instead of the traditional single one is presented. This implies that two frequencies must be expected in the currents and voltages in these devices. Also, that the current flowing into the plasma is not the same as the current flowing from the capacitor bank. Finally, the difficulties for calibrating in situ a Rogowski coil are discussed.     

Predictive Simulations of Plasma Heating and Current Drive by Neutral Beam Injection on EAST

Long pulse and high performance steady-state operation is the main scientific mission of experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST). In order to achieve this objective, high-power auxiliary heating systems are essential. Radio frequency (RF) wave heating and neutral beam injection (NBI) are two principal methods. NBI is an effective method of plasma heating and current drive, and it has been used in many magnetic confinement fusion devices. Based on the plasma equilibrium of EAST (Li et al., Plasma Phys Control Fusion 55:125008, 2013) plus previous EAST experimental data used as initial conditions, the NBI module (Polevoi et al., JAERI-Data, 1997) employed in automated system for transport analysis (ASTRA) code (Pereverzev et al., IPP-Report, 2002) is applied to predict the effects of plasma heating and current drive with different neutral beam injection power levels. At certain levels of plasma densities and plasma current densities, the simulation results show that the NBI heats plasma effectively, also increases the proportions of NB current and bootstrap current among total current significantly.     

Measurement and Processing of Fast Pulsed Discharge Current in Plasma Focus Machines

The fast pulsed electric discharge current drives all physical processes in the plasma focus device; in turn all physical processes in the focus affect the current waveform. Thus the discharge current waveform is the most important indicator of plasma focus performance. This underlies the importance of properly measuring, processing and interpreting the discharge current waveform. This paper reports the measurement of fast pulsed discharge current by the Rogowski coil, in two different modes: the current transformer, ??I?? mode, and current derivative, ??Idot?? mode. The processing and interpretation of recorded current waveform to obtain useful information about the physical processes in the plasma focus device are discussed. The current transformer with a large number of turns and a sub-1 Ohm terminator has good high frequency response, necessary for the sharp current dip region when dI/dt exceeds 2?×?10¹¹?A/s. However the signal is ??noisy?? in the current dip region. Several methods to extract the current dip from the noise are discussed and examples of how low pass filters affect the signals are shown. The dI/dt coil, the Rogowski coil in ??Idot?? mode, with a few turns terminated by 50-Ohm is also described. Integrating the 1?GSa/s digital waveform does remove the high frequency noise components, yet the extracted waveform shows sharp angular features indicative of the retention of short-time features. This makes the dI/dt coil superior to the current transformer. A 7-turn coil is tested against the Lee Model code and found to be suitable to measure the plasma focus discharge current.     

Experimental Study of Current Discharge Behavior and Hard X-ray Anisotropy by APF Plasma Focus Device

Amirkabir (APF) is a new Mather-type plasma focus device (16 kV, 36 μf, and 115 nH). In this work we present some experimental results as variation of discharge current signal respect to applied voltage at the optimum pressure, focusing time of plasma versus gas pressure, and variations of current discharge with different insulator sleeve dimensions. As we prospected optimum pressure tending to increase as we tried to higher voltage levels. The time taken by the current sheath to lift-off the insulator surface and therefore quality of pinched plasma depends on the length of the insulator sleeve. The results show that the insulator diameter can influence on pinch quality. Behavior of hard X-ray (HXR) signals with the pressure and also anisotropy of HXR investigated by the use of two scintillation detectors. The distribution of HXR intensity shows a large anisotropy with a maximum intensity between 22.5° and 45° and also between −22.5° and −67.5°.     

Formation of Nano-Crystalline Phase in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Thin Film by Plasma Focus Ion Beam Irradiation

A 3.3 kJ Mather type dense plasma focus device is used to generate a pulsed argon ion beam of 100 KeV in this work. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) film prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on c-Si substrate was irradiated with the argon ion beam produced by this dense plasma focus device. The effects of exposure to a single, 5 and 10 shots of dense plasma focus argon ion beam irradiation on the surface morphology, crystallinity and chemical bonding properties of the a-Si:H films were studied using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, respectively. Formation of nano-crystalline silicon phase along with increase in structural order and hydrogen content in the film structure has been observed when the a-Si:H film was irradiated with a single shot of dense plasma focus argon ion beam. Exposure to 5 and 10 shots of the dense plasma focus argon ion beam irradiation reduced the hydrogen content resulting in a decrease in crystallinity and structural order in the film structure.     

Effect of Plasma Rotation on Neutral Beam Heating and Current Drive in Tokamaks

For a rapidly rotating plasma, the effects of the resulting Doppler shift have to be included in the neoclassical theory of neutral beam heating, current drive, and plasma transport. In this paper, an improved simulation of neutral beam injection (NBI) and current drive in rotating plasmas is introduced. NBI is simulated using the Monte Carlo code NUBEAM along with the transport code ONETWO. The physical characteristics of heating and current drive for co- and counter-NBI are investigated for non-rotating, co-rotating, and counter-rotating plasmas, all of which can take place in the experiments. In general, it is found that rotation of the plasma can increase the NBI power deposition on the plasma electrons but has little effect on the ions. Moreover, plasma heating by co-NBI is more efficient than that by counter-NBI. For neutral beam current drive, because of the Doppler shift, co-rotation (counter-rotation) of the bulk plasma tends to decrease the co-NBI (counter-NBI) driven current. On the other hand, due to trapping and orbit loss of the fast ions, co-rotation (counter-rotation) has little effect on the counter-NBI (co-NBI) driven current. The results are applied to the forthcoming NBI heating and current drive experiments of the EAST tokamak and should also be useful in the design of experiments in ITER.     

Influence of an External DC Electric Current on Plasma Cleaning Rate: an Application on the Enlarged Plasma-Surface Theory

During the last decades many researchers have been occupied with other plasma ap- plications apart from the big challenge which the thermonuclear fusion poses. Many experiments have been carried out on the plasma behavior in contact with a solid surface; when the surface material consists of chemical compounds (e.g. oxides of metals), then the plasma chemistry takes place. The present paper contains the final experimental and theoretical work of Plasma Labora- tory at \Demokritos", which consists of an elaboration of plasma sheath parameters adapted to experimental conditions, a suitable choice of plasma gases (either H₂ or N₂), and an electric po- tential current enforcement on objects. Additionally, a brief theory is given to explain the results, with a short reference to both boundary phenomena in thermonuclear reactors and low pressure plasma of glow discharges, so as to reveal the similarities and di®erences of these two cases. An extensive examination of the treated objects by X-ray di®raction method (XRD) gives results in agreement with the theoretical predictions. Using this improvement on plasma restoration system, (a combination of electric current on metallic object into suitable plasma), it is shown that better results can be achieved on the cleaning and conservation of archaeological objects.     

Influence of an External DC Electric Current on Plasma Cleaning Rate: an Application on the Enlarged Plasma-Surface Theor

During the last decades many researchers have been occupied with other plasma applications apart from the big challenge which the thermonuclear fusion poses. Many experiments have been carried out on the plasma behavior in contact with a solid surface; when the surface material consists of chemical compounds (e.g. oxides of metals), then the plasma chemistry takes place. The present paper contains the final experimental and theoretical work of Plasma Laboratory at Demokritos, which consists of an elaboration of plasma sheath parameters adapted to experimental conditions, a suitable choice of plasma gases (either H 2 or N 2 ), and an electric po- tential current enforcement on objects. Additionally, a brief theory is given to explain the results, with a short reference to both boundary phenomena in thermonuclear reactors and low pressure plasma of glow discharges, so as to reveal the similarities and differences of these two cases. An extensive examination of the treated objects by X-ray diffraction method (XRD) gives results in agreement with the theoretical predictions. Using this improvement on plasma restoration system, (a combination of electric current on metallic object into suitable plasma), it is shown that better results can be achieved on the cleaning and conservation of archaeological objects.     

A Study of Energy Conversion Efficiency Versus Plasma Density by Lower Hybrid Current Drive in HT—7 Tokamak

Ramp-up experiments by means of lower hydrid wave on HT-7 superconducting tokamak have been performed and analyzed.A ramp-up rate of over 300kA/s is obtained and a conversion efficiency of over 10% has been achieved during the ramp-up phases.The study of the dependence of conversion efficiency on plasma density shows that the conversion efficiency is affected by the driven current,which is mainly dominated by the competition of impurity concentration with wave accessibility condition.In addition,the effect of current profile may play an important role in determining the conversion efficiency.     

Extraction of Some Elements by Mixture of DIDPA-TBP and Its Application to Actinoid Partitioning Process

Effect of TBP on the extraction of Pu(IV), Zr(IV), Nb(V), Nd(III) and Am (III) was studied with diisodecylphosphoric acid(DIDPA) as an extractant. Hydrolyzable elements contained in the high-level liquid waste of fuel reprocessing,i.e. Pu(IV), Zr(IV) and Nb(V), could be extracted with mixtures of DIDPA and TBP of different compositions. Addition of TBP to DIDPA causes an increase and a decrease of respectively distribution rate and ratio of Zr(IV). These elements extracted were completely stripped with the aid of oxalic acid. An effect of TBP on separation of transplutonides (III) from lanthanoids(III) in the DIDPA and DTPA extraction system was also studied.

Based on the results, a process flow sheet utilizing the extractant of DIDPA and TBP mixture was contrived for partitioning actinoids in the high-level liquid waste.     

Esterification by the Plasma Acidic Water:Novel Application of Plasma Acid

This work explores the possibility of plasma acid as acid catalyst in organic reactions. Plasma acidic water was prepared by dielectric barrier discharge and used to catalyze esterification of n-heptanioc acid with ethanol. It is found that the plasma acidic water has a stable and better performance than sulfuric acid, meaning that it is an excellent acid catalyst. The plasma acidic water would be a promising alternative for classic mineral acid as a more environment friendly acid.     

Study of the Soft and Hard X-Ray Emitted by APF Plasma Focus Device in Different Pressures

In this paper, an investigation on the X-rays emitted in different pressures by APF plasma focus devices using filtered PIN-diodes and fast plastic scintillation detector is reported. The highest X-ray emission was observed in the pressure of 1.6 torr and the behavior of X-ray intensities registered by different filters versus applied pressure were seemed to be similar. The X-ray angular distribution was bimodal, peaked approximately at ±18°. The intensity of X-rays decreased abruptly along the central axis of the device where the cylindrical plasma pinch was formed.     

Investigation of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Discharge and Its Application to Surface Modification of Blood-Filtering Material

Melt-blown polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) nonwoven materials treated by using plasma is regarded as one of the excellent materials to filter white blood cells (WBC) from blood.In this paper, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma source at an improved quasi-stable atmospheric pressure is achieved when discharge voltage, discharge current, and gap between the electrodes are carefully controlled. This plasma source has been used to modify the surface of PBT melt-blown nonwoven materials. Experimental results indicate that both the wettablity and permeation of treated PBT melt-blown nonwoven materials are greatly improved.     

Damage Characteristics of the Logical Chip Module Due to Plasma Created by Hypervelocity Impacts

To researching the damage characteristics of typical logical chip modules in spacecraft due to plasma generated by hypervelocity impacts,we have established a triple Langmuir probe diagnostic system and a logical chips measurement system,which were used to diagnose plasma characteristic parameters and the logical chip module’s logical state changes due to the plasma created by a 7075 aluminum projectile hypervelocity impact on the 2A12 aluminum target.Three sets of experiments were performed with the collision speeds of 2.85 km/s,3.1 km/s and2.20 km/s,at the same incident angles of 30 degrees and logical chip module’s positions by using a two-stage light gas gun loading system,a plasma characteristic parameters diagnostic system and a logical chip module’s logical state measurement system,respectively.Electron temperature and density were measured at given position and azimuth,and damage estimation was performed for the logical chip module by using the data acquisition system.Experimental results showed that temporary damage could be induced on logical chip modules in spacecraft by plasma generated by hypervelocity impacts under the given experimental conditions and the sensors’ position and azimuth.     

Angular Distribution of Argon Ions and X-Ray Emissions in the Apf Plasma Focus Device

Angular distribution of ion beam emission from an argon gas-filled plasma focus devices has been investigated using an array of five Faraday cups. The argon ion beam emission is found to be highly pressure-dependent and reaches its maximum at the pressure of 1 torr. The ions flux decreased as the working pressure increased; the maximum ion density at 1 torr was estimated to be around 9.24 × 10²⁴ ions/steradian. Also, the study on the angular distribution of X-rays has been carried out using TLD-100 dosimeters. The intensity of ions reduced significantly at angles higher than ±11° but the X-ray distribution was bimodal, peaked approximately at ±15°.     

Using FLUKA to Study Concrete Square Shield Performance in Attenuation of Neutron Radiation Produced by APF Plasma Focus Neutron Source

In 2010, representatives from the Nuclear Engineering and physics Department of Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) requested development of a project with the objective of determining the performance of a concrete shield for their Plasma Focus as neutron source. The project team in Laboratory of Nuclear Engineering and physics department of Amirkabir University of Technology choose some shape of shield to study on their performance with Monte Carlo code. In the present work, the capability of Monte Carlo code FLUKA will be explored to model the APF Plasma Focus, and investigating the neutron fluence on the square concrete shield in each region of problem. The physical models embedded in FLUKA are mentioned, as well as examples of benchmarking against future experimental data. As a result of this study suitable thickness of concrete for shielding APF will be considered.