The effect of plasma with toroidal rotation on the resistive wall modes in tokamaks is studied numerically. An eigenvalue method is adopted to calculate the growth rate of the modes for changing plasma resistivity and plasma density distribution, as well as the diffusion time of magnetic field through the resistive wall. It is found that the resistive wall mode can be suppressed by the toroidal rotation of the plasma. Also, the growth rate of the resistive wall mode decreases when the edge plasma density is the same as the core plasma density, but it only changes slightly with the plasma resistivity.
A cylindrical model of linear MHD instabilities in tokamaks is presented. In the model, the cylindrical plasma is surrounded by a vacuum which is divided into inner and outer vacuum areas by a conducting wall. Linearized resistivity MHD equations with plasma viscosity are adopted to describe our model, and the equations are solved numerically as an initial value problem. Some of the results are used as benchmark tests for the code, and then a series of equilibrium current profiles are used to simulate the bootstrap current profiles in actual experiments with a bump on tail. Thus the effects of these kinds of profiles on MHD instabilities in tokamaks are revealed. From the analysis of the numerical results, it is found that more plasma can be confined when the center of the current bump is closer to the plasma surface, and a higher and narrower current bump has a better stabilizing effect on the MHD instabilities.
A predictive calculation is carried out for neutral beam heating of fusion plasmas in EAST by using NUBEAM code under certain plasma conditions. Results calculated are analyzed for different plasma parameters. Relations between major plasma parameters, such as density and temperature, are obtained and key physical processes in the neutral beam heating, including beam power deposition, trapped fraction, heating efficiency, and power loss, are simulated. Other physical processes, such as current-drive, toroidal rotation and neutron emission, are also discussed.
As an essential mechanism in large scale fast magnetic energy releases and field reconfigurations processes in space,astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas,magnetic reconnection,particularly collisionless magnetic reconnection,has been studied for more than 65 years.Many progresses have been achieved in recent years and basic features of the process have been well understood,largely due to more and more satellite observation data available in the last decade.However,a few outstanding issues are still remained unresolved.We in the paper review the development of collisionless magnetic reconnection studies and major achievements in recent years,and also briefly discuss the open questions remained to be answered in studies of collisionless magnetic reconnection.
