Magnetized plasma flows and magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters

Andreussi, Tommaso; Пегораро, Ф.

doi:10.1063/1.3447876

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Approximate solutions for the case of axisymmetric and fully 3D equilibria have been obtained in this way in Refs. 42-46. Similarly, axisymmetric equilibria with flow have been obtained for application to laboratory and astrophysical plasmas [8] and plasma thrusters [9,47]. Likewise, the variational principle of (67) can be used to construct helical equilibria with and without flow that are of importance for both laboratory and naturally occurring plasmas.…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hamiltonian magnetohydrodynamics: Helically symmetric formulation, Casimir invariants, and equilibrium variational principles

2012

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The noncanonical Hamiltonian formulation of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is used to construct variational principles for symmetric equilibrium configurations of magnetized plasma including flow. In particular, helical symmetry is considered and results on axial and translational symmetries are retrieved as special cases of the helical configurations. The symmetry condition, which allows the description in terms of a magnetic flux function, is exploited to deduce a symmetric form of the noncanonical Poisson bracket of MHD. Casimir invariants are then obtained directly from the Poisson bracket. Equilibria are obtained from an energy-Casimir principle and reduced forms of this variational principle are obtained by the elimination of algebraic constraints. * Electronic address: t.andreussi@alta-space.com †

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Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hamiltonian magnetohydrodynamics: Helically symmetric formulation, Casimir invariants, and equilibrium variational principles

2012

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“…Kruskal and Kulsrud found static axisymmetric equilibria by minimizing the potential energy in the magnetic field and plasma in the presence of a number of carefully chosen ideal MHD constraints [1]. For equilibria with mass flow similar variational principles have been formulated that include the kinetic energy of the flow in the energy functional to be minimized [2][3][4]. A rigorous foundation for these variational principles is presented in Andreussi et al [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The goal is to examine the resulting radial electric field and flows from this new perspective and compare them with the standard neoclassical results. Note that sonic flows will affect the background MHD equilibrium, and in principle they should be considered as part of a more complete energy integral, as in [2][3][4]. In this work we will make the simplifying assumption that the flows are not strong enough to have an appreciable effect on the background equilibrium.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A variational principle and its implications for radial electric field and rotation in tokamaks

Aydemir¹,

Kim²,

Park³

2014

Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion

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A variational principle that minimizes an energy functional of the total electric field and the kinetic energy of the plasma flows with respect to the radial electric field is presented. Minimization is performed order by order in a small-gyroradius expansion, retaining up to second-order electric fields and third-order flows in the small parameter δ = ρ i /L. The electric fields and flows obtained variationally are interpreted in the context of a global momentum conservation integral, while comparing them with neoclassical results based on the radial transport of toroidal angular momentum.

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“…This result was verified experimentally. Andreussi et al created a model which was, in many ways, very similar to Mach-2 [116]. It was axisymmetric and it was used to develop relations between plasma flow and thruster performance.…”

Section: Magnetohydrodynamic Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Central-Cathode Electrostatic Thruster Featuring a High-Temperature Superconducting Applied Field Module

Acheson

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In recent decades, advances in electric propulsion have enabled the development of novel mission designs for space exploration. However, future deep space mission payloads of unprecedented mass will require advances in high thrust, high specific impulse propulsion. To achieve higher thrust density than traditional ion thrusters or Hall effect thrusters, novel designs for central-cathode electrostatic thrusters (CC-ESTs) and applied field magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters incorporate an applied magnetic field module which is used to accelerate plasma. The high thrust density of such designs makes them suitable candidates for further research and development for space deployment.Crucial performance metrics of such thrusters have been shown to increase as the applied magnetic field increases, and high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets show promise as low-power, high applied field modules. Both the strength and the profile of the applied magnetic field are closely tied to thruster performance. This raises the question- which magnetic fields improve thruster performance and why?In this thesis, the impact of the magnetic field strength and profile on the performance of a plasma thruster is investigated. Numerical modelling of a central-cathode electrostatic thruster (CC-EST) was performed with particular regard to the detachment of plasma from magnetic field lines. This modelling was conducted alongside an experimental campaign to manufacture and integrate a high temperature superconducting applied field module with a CC-EST to characterise the HTS CC-EST performance. CC-EST performance was measured at central bore fields exceeding 1 T and with two different magnetic field profiles. These efforts have led to a novel understanding of the scaling of performance parameters in CC-EST with magnetic field, and how the performance of the thruster might be tailored to a specific application.

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Magnetized plasma flows and magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters

Cited by 6 publications

References 29 publications

Hamiltonian magnetohydrodynamics: Helically symmetric formulation, Casimir invariants, and equilibrium variational principles

Hamiltonian magnetohydrodynamics: Helically symmetric formulation, Casimir invariants, and equilibrium variational principles

A variational principle and its implications for radial electric field and rotation in tokamaks

A Central-Cathode Electrostatic Thruster Featuring a High-Temperature Superconducting Applied Field Module

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