Events

Physics Colloquium - Progress and Plans for NSTX Upgrade and Kinetic Resistive Wall Mode Stability

Time: Apr 15, 2016 (03:00 PM)
Location: 236 Parker Hall - Snacks in 200 Allison at 2:45

Details:

Jack Berkery (Columbia University) and the NSTX-U team

 

The National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) project was recently completed at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in Princeton, NJ. Physics research began in December 2015 and great progess is being made. NSTX-U will extend opportunities to study toroidal fusion plasma confinement physics in novel regimes, such as at low aspect ratio, with strong shaping, at high β, and with low collisionality.  Additionally, advanced divertors, lithium walls, and unique start-up solutions will be studied.  This research will inform the optimal configuration for a next-step Fusion Nuclear Science Facility device. NSTX has also contributed greatly to our understanding of the stability of plasmas to disruptive modes such as the Resistive Wall Mode (RWM).  It has been shown that kinetic (particle motion) effects modify ideal stability calculations, and these include plasma rotation, collisionality, and energetic particle effects. The Modifications to Ideal Stability by Kinetic effects (MISK) code has been developed, benchmarked, and applied to multiple devices to help explain experimental stability.