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     

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     

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     

Numerical analyses of high‐beta spherical tokamaks with varied elongation

The effect of plasma elongation on the second‐stable spherical tokamak (ST) was numerically studied using the experimentally measured pressure and current profiles of ultrahigh‐beta STs. The maximum beta of ST over 50% was obtained in the TS‐3 ST/CT experiment by applying an external toroidal field to an FRC. It was found that the marginal beta for the ballooning instability increased with the plasma elongation κ of ST. The elongated STs with κ > 2 have the magnetic shear (S)–pressure gradient (α) profiles located in the second‐stable regime for the ballooning mode and the stability margin increased with κ. The close relation between the absolute minimum‐B profile and the second stability was documented. The effect of elongation on maximum beta was observed to saturate when κ exceed 3, indicating that the optimized elongation for high‐beta STs is located around 2 < κ < 3. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 155(4): 1–6, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20132     

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     

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.     

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     

Application of a force‐balanced coil to a tokamak device

High field is very favorable for magnetically confined fusion devices such as a tokamak, but electromagnetic force derived from the field becomes a fatal problem. In particular, the largest in‐plane centering force hinders toroidal field coils from operating at higher fields. Variable pitch multihelical coils, which we term force‐balanced coils (FBCs), by which this force is drastically reduced, are proposed for the coil system of tokamaks. FBCs can also provide poloidal flux swing for plasma breakdown and current induction during the ramp‐up phase of the coil current. In this paper, we indicate how to design FBCs for tokamaks. The fusion reactor‐size FBCs are designed and compared with that of the conventional toroidal field coil system. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 130(3): 39–48, 2000     

载波移相在大容量并联逆变电源中的应用

EAST（experimental advanced superconducting tokamak,超导托卡马克核聚变实验）快速控制电源是一种单相大容量逆变电源,其跟踪等离子体位移信号,对真空室内的线圈进行励磁控制,产生磁场实现等离子体位移控制。为满足等离子体位移快控电源大电流快速响应要求,采用多组变流器并联运行。电源系统采用移相PWM多重化技术,降低IGBT的开关损耗,提高变流器等效开关频率,改善输出波形。介绍了系统设计方案,并对输出谐波进行分析和仿真。实验结果说明该系统设计方案合理,控制策略有效,具备良好的大电流输出和快速响应能力。     

Variations in discharge current waveforms and their power spectra injected from contact discharges of ESD‐gun with different arrangements

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has prescribed an immunity test (IEC61000‐4‐2) of electronic equipment against electrostatic discharges (ESDs), in which a discharge current to be injected onto equipment under test is specified. As for the waveform, however, not the whole waveform but only the rise time, the first peak, and the current amplitudes at 30 and 60 ns are given in the time domain together with their uncertainties, which are required to check on the condition that an ESD generator (ESD‐gun) shall be arranged vertically to an IEC‐recommended calibration target and its earth return wire is kept away as far as possible from a vertical ground plane (IEC standard arrangement). In this study, to clarify how arrangements of an ESD‐gun and its earth return wire affect discharge currents, we measured discharge current waveforms for contact discharges of an ESD‐gun onto an IEC calibration target with respect to various inclinations of the ESD‐gun and arrangements of its earth return wire, and also calculated their current power spectra normalized to that of the discharge current for the IEC standard arrangement. As a result, we found that inclinations of the ESD gun affect the first peak current, which increases current power spectra by 14 dB at frequencies over 300 MHz, and that arrangements of the return wire influence the current waveforms between the first and second peaks, which provides variations in power spectra by ±12 dB in the frequency range from 10 MHz to 200 MHz. This finding suggests that arrangements of an ESD‐gun and its earth return wire are likely to cause different immunity test results. It was also found that in comparison with measured discharge currents for the standard arrangement, the calculated waveform of a discharge current from a formula, which has been included in the recent standard, has a more gentle falling waveform, and produces power spectra of +15 dB in the frequency range from 10 MHz to 200 MHz and –12 dB at frequencies over 300 MHz. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 180(1): 9–14, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21270     

Driving characteristics of X–Y linear induction motor with two‐dimensional primary winding

In the linear induction motor (LIM), the secondary can be made to move in two directions (X and Y) by placing the primary coils two‐dimensionally. When these coils are excited in the direction of 45 electrical degrees, the secondary moves in the direction which is determined by the pole pitches of both directions and the load condition. In this paper, we propose a new type of winding scheme composed of four groups of primary exciting coils, which are shifted spatially by π/2 in both the X and Y directions. Next, we compare the proposed winding scheme with another one using two independent exciting coils in both directions. We first made both of flat‐type X–Y LIMs with the proposed winding scheme and with a normal scheme. Then, we analyzed the magnetic fields in the air gaps of these motors by a three‐dimensional finite element analysis based on the A –ϕ method, and compared the results with experimental data. Finally, we applied the motor with the proposed winding scheme to a branch apparatus. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 128(2): 83–90, 1999     

多级电磁感应线圈炮的级间耦合特性

多级电磁感应线圈炮在发射过程中,前面各级驱动线圈放电产生的磁场和电枢自身感应电流产生的磁场都会耦合进入下一级驱动线圈,对驱动线圈的加速性能产生影响。基于多级感应线圈炮等效电路模型,建立了带有续流二极管的多级感应线圈炮数学模型,得到了其推力方程和运动方程。基于电磁感应定律,分析了2种耦合因素作用时下一级驱动线圈中感应电动势和感应电流的变化。基于场路耦合,对多级感应线圈炮进行了仿真,得到了不同情况下的耦合特性。研究结果表明:多级线圈发射中存在耦合效应;根据耦合磁通的不同,后面各级驱动线圈上会产生正向或反向串联的电动势;正向串联电动势有利于线圈炮的加速。     

Load‐following control for dispersed generators using a PI controller

Recently, there has been growing interest in utilizing dispersed generation systems, which are grouped into micro turbine systems, co‐generation systems, and so on, as a substitute for fuel oil energy and a technology to prevent global warming. Since start‐up time of dispersed generation systems is short, it is possible to operate systems to supply load power corresponding to a demand. Moreover, PPSs (Power Producers and Suppliers) can participate in a power retail sales company, since deregulation of electric utilities was instituted in March 2000. However, PPSs have to keep instantaneous generating power commissioning rule, to maintain supply‐and‐demand balance between customer and supplier. Therefore, in this paper, we examine instantaneous generating power commissioning for dispersed generators where start‐up time is short and it is possible to operate systems to supply a power load corresponding to a demand. We adopt a PI controller as a controller. The system is composed of double control loop in inner loop and in outer loop. In inner loop electric power is controlled and in outer loop electric energy is controlled. The controller parameters are designed using the pole‐placement technique. The effectiveness of the proposed control system is confirmed by simulations. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 145(2): 58–66, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10200     

Experiments on a tokamak device with force‐balanced coils

High field is very favorable for magnetically confined fusion devices such as a tokamak, but the electromagnetic force derived from the field becomes a fatal problem. In particular, the largest in‐plane centering force hinders toroidal field coils from operating at higher fields. Although variable‐pitch multihelical coils, which we term force‐balanced coils (FBCs), by which this force is drastically reduced, were proposed for the coil system of tokamaks, there had been no actual tokamak device with FBCs. Therefore, Todoroki‐1, a small tokamak device with FBCs has been manufactured and experiments started. In this paper, the structure of Todoroki‐1 is indicated, and the stray magnetic field and centering force on FBCs are investigated. The plasmas have been generated in the device, and attempts at better plasmas are beginning. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 130(3): 19–29, 2000     

Autonomous decentralized system for torque control of high‐power permanent magnet synchronous motor

An autonomous decentralized system (ADS) for the control of a high‐power permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) presented in this paper. The system decentralizes a centralized control system into several autonomous subsystems. Thus the power supply and power electronic devices of the control system can be replaced by smaller ones, thereby obtaining better fault tolerance of the system. The subsystems are connected only through the data field, which, in this paper consists of feedback elements and communication modules. This structure enables the autonomous controllability and autonomous coordinability of the system. The mathematical model of the PMSM with decentralized stator coils is proposed. This model takes into account the self‐ and mutual inductance of the coil, as well as the effect of the stator slot‐pitch angle. In addition, an autonomous algorithm for the torque control of the PMSM with decentralized stator coils is proposed, and the fault‐tolerance design is developed. Experimental results of the torque control and fault‐tolerance control confirm the validity of the proposed system. © 2012 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Study of the Counterclockwise/Clockwise (CCW/CW) Rotational Losses Measured with a Two‐dimensional Vector Magnetic Property Measurement System

In the development of high‐efficiency actuators, high‐magnetic flux density conditions are applied to achieve higher torque, lower weight and smaller size. It is therefore very important to understand the magnetic properties under high‐magnetic flux conditions in the electrical steel sheets. However, it is very difficult to measure the two‐dimensional vector magnetic properties under high‐flux density conditions due to nonlinearity and anisotropy of the magnetic materials. The measured magnetic power loss under clockwise rotating fields differs from that of the counter‐clockwise direction, and the value in counter‐clockwise rotating fields sometimes becomes negative. It can be considered that angle errors of H‐coils and B‐coils are the main causes of the measurement errors. In this paper, the angle errors of the double B‐coil (search coils) and the double H‐coil (cross‐type H‐coil) are evaluated with a projector‐type magnifying scope and a calibration device. We have compensated the measured magnetic field vector components caused by the angle errors and made clear their influence on the two‐dimensional vector magnetic property measurements. Furthermore, we proposed a method to cancel out small angle errors that remained in the saturated region. Copyright © 2008 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Current Superimposition Variable Flux Reluctance Motor

This paper proposes a novel variable flux reluctance motor without dc‐field coils. The stator of this motor has only armature coils. The proposed motor can control the torque‐speed characteristics by increasing or decreasing the field voltage that is superimposed on the armature currents. In this paper, the operational principle of the motor is described, and the N–T characteristics are computed by finite element analysis under vector control. In addition, the N–T characteristics are compared with a conventional variable flux reluctance machine with armature and dc‐field coils.     

The effect of an externally applied radio‐frequency electromagnetic field on the performance of a disk MHD generator

The effects of an externally applied radio‐frequency (rf) electromagnetic field on the nonequilibrium performance of a disk MHD generator were examined experimentally. As a preliminary experiment, plasma production by the applied rf electromagnetic field was attempted in the disk generator (Disk‐PIA), in which rf induction coils were embedded in the one‐side disk wall, under the conditions of no seeding, no flow, and no magnetic field. From the results of the preliminary experiment, it was confirmed that the argon plasma (～110 Torr) was produced uniformly in the azimuthal direction by the rf electromagnetic field even in the presence of exposed anodes in the faced disk wall and metallic support at the disk center. In MHD power generation experiments with the Disk‐PIA installed in the shock‐tube facility, the increase in the electrical output and more indiscrete discharge attributed to the rf electromagnetic field were verified with good reproducibility for the first time. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 140(4): 46–53, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10009     

Design and implementation of a digitally controlled single‐inductor dual‐output (SIDO) buck converter

This paper describes design and implementation of a digitally controlled single‐inductor dual‐output (SIDO) buck converter operating in discontinuous conduction mode. This converter adopts time‐multiplexing control in providing two independent output voltages using only an inductor. The design issues of the digital controller are discussed, including static and dynamic characteristics. Implementation of the controller, a modified hybrid digital pulse width modulator and a single look‐up table are developed. The digital controller was implemented on a field‐programmable gate array‐based control board. Experimental results demonstrating system validity are presented for a SIDO buck converter with nominal 3.6 V input voltage, and the outputs are regulated at 1.8 and 2.2 V. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.