DIII-D data for modeling the scrape-off-layer plasma

We are in the process of assembling a database of edge and divertor plasma parameters suitable for use in benchmarking tious 2D models of the scrape-off- layer (SOL) plasma. Also, we are using the Braams B2 code to derive transport coefficients for the edge plssma. In parallel, work is starting on an upgrade to the B2 code that includes padlel current flow and EXB drifts. These efforts are directed at increasing the confidence level of models of the tokamak edge plasma so that we can predict the effect of planned upgrades to DIII-D (e.g., the Advanced Divertor Program) and the performance of next generation machines such as CIT or ITER, where initial design studies show that plasma conditions at the divertor targets can have a large impact on the lifetime and cost of the machine. This report summarizes our recent progress in characterizing the DIII-D SOL plasma and in modeling these data with the the B2 code. Section I contains a brief description of the diagnostics available for characterizing the SOL plasma. In Section II we present our measurements of the SOL parameters for H-mode plasmas. This includes data showing how the divertor plasma parameters (n{sub e}(r), T{sub e}(r), and Q(r)) vary from ohmic to L-mode to H-mode, and power balance for quasi-stationary H-mode plasmas. Section III covers divertor-target heat-flux asymmetries for double and single null operation with forward and reversed toroidal field. In Section IV we show the scaling of L-mode parameters with neutral beam power, and Section V concludes with a summary of the results obtained from the Braams B2 SOL simulation code

Gallium arsenide thermal conductivity and optical phonon relaxation times from first-principles calculations

In this paper, thermal conductivity of crystalline GaAs is calculated using first-principles lattice dynamics. The harmonic and cubic force constants are obtained by fitting them to the force-displacement data from density functional theory calculations. Phonon dispersion is calculated from a dynamical matrix constructed using the harmonic force constants and phonon relaxation times are calculated using Fermi's Golden rule. The calculated GaAs thermal conductivity agrees well with experimental data. Thermal conductivity accumulations as a function of the phonon mean free path and as a function of the wavelength are obtained. Our results predict a significant size effect on the GaAs thermal conductivity in the nanoscale. Relaxation times of optical phonons and their contributions from different scattering channels are also studied. Such information will help the understanding of hot phonon effects in GaAs-based devices.United States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Science (Award DE-SC0001299

Identification of Antifungal Compounds Active against Candida albicans Using an Improved High-Throughput Caenorhabditis elegans Assay

Candida albicans, the most common human pathogenic fungus, can establish a persistent lethal infection in the intestine of the microscopic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The C. elegans–C. albicans infection model was previously adapted to screen for antifungal compounds. Modifications to this screen have been made to facilitate a high-throughput assay including co-inoculation of nematodes with C. albicans and instrumentation allowing precise dispensing of worms into assay wells, eliminating two labor-intensive steps. This high-throughput method was utilized to screen a library of 3,228 compounds represented by 1,948 bioactive compounds and 1,280 small molecules derived via diversity-oriented synthesis. Nineteen compounds were identified that conferred an increase in C. elegans survival, including most known antifungal compounds within the chemical library. In addition to seven clinically used antifungal compounds, twelve compounds were identified which are not primarily used as antifungal agents, including three immunosuppressive drugs. This assay also allowed the assessment of the relative minimal inhibitory concentration, the effective concentration in vivo, and the toxicity of the compound in a single assay

Characterization of off-axis fishbones

Repetitive bursting instabilities with strong frequency chirping occur in high-beta, beam-heated plasmas with safety factor q > 1 in the DIII-D tokamak. Although the mode structures differ, in many ways, the off-axis fishbones are similar to the q = 1 fishbones first observed on the Poloidal Divertor Experiment (PDX). The modes are driven by energetic trapped ions at the fast-ion precession frequency. During a burst, the frequency changes most rapidly as the mode reaches its maximum amplitude. Larger amplitude bursts have larger growth rates and frequency chirps. Unlike PDX fishbones, the decay phase is highly variable and is usually shorter than the growth phase. Also, the waveform is highly distorted by higher harmonics during the latter portion of a burst. The radial mode structure alters its shape during the burst. Like PDX fishbones, the modes expel trapped ions in a 'beacon' with a definite phase relationship relative to the mode. Seven types of loss detectors measure the beacon. The losses scale linearly with mode amplitude. The neutron rate changes most rapidly at maximum mode amplitude but, depending on the loss diagnostic, the losses often peak a few cycles later. The non-ambipolar fast-ion losses cause a sudden change in toroidal rotation frequency across the entire plasma. In addition to an overall drop, the neutron signal oscillates in response to the wave. Unlike the beacon of lost particles, which maintains a fixed phase relative to the mode, the phase of the neutron oscillations steadily increases throughout the burst, with the greatest phase slippage occurring in the highly nonlinear phase near maximum mode amplitude. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd

Erosion and deposition of metals and carbon in the DIII-D divertor

Net erosion rates at the outer strike point of the DIII-D divertor plasma were measured for several materials during quiescent H-mode operation with deuterium plasmas. Materials examined include graphite, beryllium, tungsten, vanadium and molybdenum. For graphite, net erosion rates up to 4 nm/sec were found. Erosion rates for the metals were much smaller than for carbon. Ion fluxes from Langmuir probe measurements were used to predict gross erosion by sputtering. Measured net erosion was much smaller than predicted gross erosion. Transport of metal atoms by the plasma across the divertor surface was also examined. Light atoms were transported farther than heavy atoms as predicted by impurity transport models

Measuring the escaping beam ions from a tokamak plasma

A new technique using a silicon surface barrier (SSB) diode has been developed for measuring the escaping fast ion flux from a tokamak plasma. Calibration of the detector with an ion beam showed that at a fixed energy the diode's output current varied linearly with the incident deuteron flux. The diode was mounted inside the PDX vacuum vessel with collimating apertures designed to admit the spiraling orbits of 50-keV deuterons expelled from the plasma by MHD instabilities. Results from PDX indicated that relative measurements of the escaping fast ion flux due to several plasma instabilities could be made

Measuring the escaping beam ions from a tokamak plasma

A new technique using a silicon surface barrier (SSB) diode has been developed for measuring the escaping fast ion flux from a tokamak plasma. Calibration of the detector with an ion beam showed that at a fixed energy the diode's output current varied linearly with the incident deuteron flux. The diode was mounted inside the PDX vacuum vessel with collimating apertures designed to admit the spiraling orbits of 50-keV deuterons expelled from the plasma by MHD instabilities. Results from PDX indicated that relative measurements of the escaping fast ion flux due to several plasma instabilities could be made