Yueqiang Liu M. S. Chu C. G. Gimblett R. J. Hastie
An analytical, large aspect ratio, calculation of the drift-kinetic energy perturbation is carried out for the resistive wall mode, due to the mode resonance with the magnetic precession drifts of trapped thermal ions and electrons. Four asymptotic cases are identified and analyzed in detail. Generally, a partial stabilization of the mode is possib…
PublishedC. G. Gimblett R. J. Hastie P. Helander
Edge-localized modes (ELMs) are cyclic disturbances in the outer region of tokamak plasmas that are influential in determining present and future tokamak performance. In this Letter, we outline an approach to modeling ELMs in which we envisage toroidal peeling modes initiating a Taylor relaxation [Phys. Rev. Lett. 33 , 1139 (1974)] of a tokamak out…
PublishedC. G. Gimblett
This paper discusses an approach to modelling Edge Localised Modes (ELMs) in which toroidal peeling modes are envisaged to initiate a constrained relaxation of the tokamak outer region plasma. Relaxation produces both a flattened edge current profile (which tends to further destabilise a peeling mode), and a plasma-vacuum negative current sheet whi…
PublishedC.G. Gimblett R.J. Hastie
An investigation is presented of the effect of an error field on the growth of a resistive wall mode (RWM). This issue is of importance to many toroidal confinement devices, but particularly to the proposed International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) [ITER Physics Basis, Nucl. Fusion 39 , 2175 (1999)], where if advanced tokamak performa…
PublishedP. Helander L.-G. Eriksson R. J. Akers C. Byrom C.G. Gimblett M. R. Tournianski
Spontaneous acceleration of ions to suprathermal energies is observed during magnetic reconnection in the Mega-Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST). A high-energy tail is observed in the iondistribution function following each internal reconnection event in Ohmic discharges. This phenomenon is explained in terms of runaway ion acceleration in the electr…
PublishedJ. B. Taylor J. W. Connor C. G. Gimblett H. R. Wilson R. J. Hastie
The resistive wall mode ~ RWM ! poses a threat to many plasma confinement devices. The continuous rotation of the wall relative to the plasma makes it appear perfectly conducting, because of the skin effect, but this is ineffective if the perturbation locks to the wall. This raises the question of whether a nonuniformly rotating wall is more effect…
PublishedC. G. Gimblett R. J. Hastie
The finite resistivity of the wall that surrounds any toroidal plasma confinement device can lead to a branch of instabilities known as the resistive wall mode (RWM). Theory indicates that the RWM is potentially activated whenever the plasma equilibrium is unstable with the wall placed at infinity. In particular, advanced tokamak power plant design…
PublishedC. G. Gimblett R. J. Hastie
A model is developed to analyze the stabilization of the resistive wall mode (RWM) by plasma rotation. Central to the model is a cylindrical plasma that is ideal magnetohydrodynamic unstable in the absence of a wall, and possesses an internal resonance [J. M. Finn, Phys. Plasmas 2 , 198 (1995)]. This system is then a qualitative model for the actua…
PublishedA. Bondeson C. G. Gimblett R. J. Hastie
The possibility of stabilizing ideal magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) instabilities by resistive walls and slow plasma rotation (rotation frequencies comparable to resistive tearing growth rates) was proposed recently by Finn [Phys. Plasmas 2 , 3782 (1995)] on the basis of cylindrical theory. In the present paper we analyze toroidal effects (pressure gr…
PublishedC. N. Lashmore-Davies J. A. Wesson C. G. Gimblett
A uniform compressible plasma with a uniform flow along the magnetic field in the presence of a resistive wall is shown to be subject to two instabilities. For the first instability, the flow velocity is required to exceed the Alfve´n speed, whereas for the second it need only exceed the sound speed. For a sufficiently high ion temperature, ion La…
Published