During buildup of a spheromak by helicity injection, magnetic reconnection converts toroidal flux into poloidal flux. This physics is explored in the resistive magnetohydrodynamic code, NIMROD [C. R. Sovinec, A. H. Glasser, T. A. Gianakon, D. C. Barnes, R. A. Nebel, S. E. Kruger, D. D. Schnack, S. J. Plimpton, A. Tarditi, and M. S. Chu, J. Comp. Phys. 195, 355 (2004)], which reveals negative current sheets with reversed relative to the applied current. The simulated event duration is consistent with magnetic diffusion on the sheet thickness and is accompanied by cathode voltage spikes and poloidal field increases similar to those seen in the Sustained Spheromak Physics Experiment, SSPX [E. B. Hooper, L. D. Pearlstein, and R. H. Bulmer, Nucl. Fusion 39, 863 (1999)]. All magnetic field lines are open during reconnection and their trajectories are very sensitive to their starting points, resulting in chaos. The current sheets are most intense inside the separatrix near the point of the mean-field spheromak, suggesting that the reconnection occurs near field lines which are closed in the azimuthal average.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
September 2005
Research Article|
September 09 2005
Magnetic reconnection during flux conversion in a driven spheromak Available to Purchase
E. B. Hooper;
E. B. Hooper
a)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
Search for other works by this author on:
T. A. Kopriva;
T. A. Kopriva
b)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
Search for other works by this author on:
B. I. Cohen;
B. I. Cohen
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
Search for other works by this author on:
D. N. Hill;
D. N. Hill
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
Search for other works by this author on:
H. S. McLean;
H. S. McLean
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
Search for other works by this author on:
R. D. Wood;
R. D. Wood
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
Search for other works by this author on:
S. Woodruff;
S. Woodruff
c)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
Search for other works by this author on:
C. R. Sovinec
C. R. Sovinec
University of Wisconsin
, 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
Search for other works by this author on:
E. B. Hooper
a)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
T. A. Kopriva
b)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
B. I. Cohen
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
D. N. Hill
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
H. S. McLean
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
R. D. Wood
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
S. Woodruff
c)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550
C. R. Sovinec
University of Wisconsin
, 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706a)
Electronic mail: [email protected]
b)
Present address: University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706.
c)
Present address: Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.
Phys. Plasmas 12, 092503 (2005)
Article history
Received:
June 09 2005
Accepted:
August 02 2005
Citation
E. B. Hooper, T. A. Kopriva, B. I. Cohen, D. N. Hill, H. S. McLean, R. D. Wood, S. Woodruff, C. R. Sovinec; Magnetic reconnection during flux conversion in a driven spheromak. Phys. Plasmas 1 September 2005; 12 (9): 092503. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2040207
Download citation file:
Pay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Citing articles via
Summary report from the mini-conference on Digital Twins for Fusion Research
D. P. Schissel, R. M. Nazikian, et al.
A future of inertial confinement fusion without laser-plasma instabilities
D. H. Froula, C. Dorrer, et al.
Simulation of an inductively coupled plasma with a two-dimensional Darwin particle-in-cell code
Dmytro Sydorenko, Igor D. Kaganovich, et al.
Related Content
Simulation of spheromak evolution and energy confinement
Phys. Plasmas (April 2005)
Three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the Helicity Injected Torus with Steady Inductive drive
Phys. Plasmas (April 2005)
Measurements and phenomenological modeling of magnetic flux buildup in spheromak plasmas
Phys. Plasmas (April 2008)
Spheromak formation and sustainment studies at the sustained spheromak physics experiment using high-speed imaging and magnetic diagnostics
Phys. Plasmas (February 2006)
Controlled and spontaneous magnetic field generation in a gun-driven spheromak
Phys. Plasmas (April 2005)