Confinement of relativistic runaway electrons in tokamak plasmas

x+183hlm.;24c

Exact duality in the string effective action

We formulate sigma-model duality transformations in terms of spin connection, This allows one to investigate the symmetry of the string action including higher order alpha' corrections. An important feature of the new duality transformations is a simple homogeneous transformation rule of the spin connection (with torsion) and specifically adjusted transformation of the Yang-Mills field. We find that under certain conditions this duality is a symmetry of the full effective string action in the target space, free of alpha' corrections. We demonstrate how the exact duality generates new fundamental string solutions from supersymmetric string waves.</p

Mortars with incorporation of phase change materials (PCM): physical and mechanical properties and durability

O despertar da consciência ambiental pela sociedade, tem levantado problemas até então ignorados tais como os consumos energéticos. Numa sociedade com um elevado ritmo de crescimento e padrões de conforto cada vez maiores, surge a necessidade de minimizar os elevados consumos energéticos, tirando partido de fontes de energia renováveis. As argamassas com incorporação de materiais de mudança de fase (PCM) possuem a capacidade de regular a temperatura no interior dos edifícios, contribuindo desta forma para o aumento do nível de conforto térmico e diminuição do recurso a equipamentos de climatização, apenas com recurso à energia solar. Contudo, a incorporação de materiais de mudança de fase em argamassas modifica algumas das suas principais características. Portanto, o principal objetivo deste estudo consistiu na caracterização física e mecânica de argamassas aditivadas com PCM, assim como na avaliação da sua durabilidade. Para tal foram desenvolvidas 12 composições distintas, à base de diferentes ligantes e dopadas com 40% de PCM. Tendo sido possível observar que a incorporação de PCM provoca diferenças significativas em propriedades tais como a trabalhabilidade, resistência à compressão, resistência à flexão, aderência, absorção de água por capilaridade, absorção de água por imersão e resistência a ações de gelo-degelo. Contudo, foi possível concluir que a incorporação de PCM nas argamassas pode ser realizada com sucesso. Sendo que, as alterações verificadas nas argamassas podem ser contornadas através da incorporação de uma maior dosagem de ligante, superplastificante e até mesmo a inclusão de fibras. Apesar dos resultados desta investigação serem promissores é importante referir que outras investigações devem ser realizadas com o intuito de observar a influência do PCM em argamassas constituídas por outros materiais.The awakening of environmental awareness by society has raised issues previously ignored such as energy consumption. In a society with a high growth rate and increased standards of comfort arises the need to minimize the currently high energy consumption by taking advantage of renewable energy sources. The mortars with incorporation of phase change materials (PCM) have the ability to regulate the temperature inside buildings, contributing to the thermal comfort and reduction of the use of heating and cooling equipment, using only the energy supplied by the sun. However, the incorporation of phase change materials in mortars modifies its characteristics. The main purpose of this study was the physical and mechanical characterization, as well the evaluation of the durability. Twelve compositions were developed, based in different binders and doped with 40% of PCM. It was possible to observe that the incorporation of PCM in mortars caused significant differences in properties, such as workability, compression strength, flexural strength, adhesion, water absorption by capillarity, water absorption by immersion and degradation after freeze-thaw cycles. However, it was concluded that the incorporation of PCM in mortars can be performed successfully. Being that the changes in mortars can be solved by incorporating a higher content of binder, superplasticizer and the inclusion of fibers. Although the results of this investigation are promising it is important to note that further investigations should be performed aiming to observe the influence of PCM in mortars composed by other materials.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia pelo financiamento deste trabalho de investigação desenvolvido no âmbito do projeto “ Contribuição de Argamassas Térmicas Ativas para a Eficiência Energética dos Edifícios” (PTDC/ECM/102154/2008) e à atribuição da bolsa individual de doutoramento com referência SFRH/BD/95611/2013

Scale size of magnetic turbulence in tokamaks probed with 30 MeV electrons

Measurements of synchrotron radiation emitted by 30-MeV runaway electrons in the TEXTOR-94 tokamak show that the runaway population decays after switching on neutral beam injection (NBI). The decay starts only with a significant delay, which decreases with increasing NBI heating power. This delay provides direct evidence of the energy dependence of runaway confinement, which is expected if magnetic modes govern the loss of runaways. Application of the theory by Mynick and Strachan [Phys. Fluids 24, 695 (1981)] yields estimates for the "mode width" (delta) of magnetic perturbations: delta < 0.5 cm in Ohmic discharges, increasing to delta = 4.4 cm for 0.6 MW NBI

Control of runaway electron secondary generation by changing Z(eff)

The effect of Z(eff) on the runaway generation process by close collisions has been studied experimentally in the TEXTOR-94 tokamak in ohmic low density discharges. It is shown that the effective avalanching time increases with increasing Z(eff). This opens the possibility of controlling the runaway production in tokamaks by active impurity injection. Furthermore, the energy of the runaway electrons emitting the observed synchrotron radiation could be determined to be W-r approximate to 20 MeV. However, for ITER-like disruptions the runaway production will probably be reduced but not prevented by a Z(eff) increase

The behavior of self-compacting concrete containing micro-encapsulated Phase Change Materials

In order to come to a sustainable built environment the construction industry requires new energy saving concepts. One concept is to use Phase Change Materials (PCM), which have the ability to absorb and to release thermal energy at a specific temperature. This paper presents a set of experiments using different amounts of PCM in self-compacting concrete mixes. The study focuses on the direct mixing of micro-encapsulated PCM with concrete and its influence on the material properties. Therefore, the fresh concrete properties and the hardened properties are investigated. The hardened properties comprise strength tests and a thorough assessment of the thermal properties. It will be shown that increasing PCM amounts lead to lower thermal conductivity and increased heat capacity, which both significantly improve the thermal performance of concrete and therefore save energy. On the other hand a significant loss in strength and micro-structural analysis both indicate that a large part of the capsules is destroyed during the mixing process and releases its paraffin wax filling into the surrounding matrix. However, the compressive strength of our specimens still satisfies the demands of most structural applications

Diffusion of runaway electrons in TEXTOR-94

In the TEXTOR-94 tokamak, radial profiles of synchrotron radiation from relativistic runaway electrons have been measured. From these and measurements of the evolution of the radiation, a radial profile of the diffusion coefficient for the runaway electrons in the plasma core with W-r approximate to 25 MeV is derived. At half radius, D-r < 0.01 m(2) s(-1) is found. This result is compared with several other measurements of runaway diffusion coefficients derived mainly from runaway losses at the plasma edge