Plasma parameters and electron energy distribution functions in a magnetically focused plasma

Spatially resolved measurements of ion density, electron temperature, floating potential, and the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) are presented for a magnetically focused plasma. The measurements identify a central plasma column displaying Maxwellian EEDFs at an electron temperature of about 5 eV indicating the presence of a significant fraction of electrons in the inelastic energy range (energies above 15 eV). It is observed that the EEDF remains Maxwellian along the axis of the discharge with an increase in density, at constant electron temperature, observed in the region of highest magnetic field strength. Both electron density and temperature decrease at the plasma radial edge. Electron temperature isotherms measured in the downstream region are found to coincide with the magnetic field lines.The authors would like to acknowledge support from the Australian Research Council through a Future Fellowship (FT100100825)

Role of Poloidal E×B\mathbf{E}\times\mathbf{B} Drift in Divertor Heat Transport in DIII-D

Simulations for DIII-D high confinement mode plasmas with the multifluid code UEDGE show a strong role of poloidal $\mathbf{E}\times\mathbf{B}$ drifts on divertor heat transport, challenging the paradigm of conduction limited scrape-off layer (SOL) transport. While simulations with reduced drift magnitude are well aligned with the assumption that electron heat conduction dominates the SOL heat transport, simulations with drifts predict that the poloidal convective $\mathbf{E}\times\mathbf{B}$ heat transport dominates over electron heat conduction in both attached and detached conditions. Since poloidal $\mathbf{E}\times\mathbf{B}$ flow propagates across magnetic field lines, poloidal transport with shallow magnetic pitch angles can reach values that are of the same order as would be provided by sonic flows parallel to the field lines. These flows can lead to strongly convection dominated divertor heat transport, increasing the poloidal volume of radiative power front, consistent with previous measurements at DIII-D. Due to these convective flows, the Lengyel integral approach, assuming zero convective fraction, is expected to provide a pessimistic estimate for radiative capability of impurities in the divertor. For the DIII-D simulations shown here, the Lengyel integral approach underestimates the radiated power by a factor of 6, indicating that for reliable DIII-D divertor power exhaust predictions, full 2D calculations, including drifts, would be necessary.Comment: Paper submitted into the Contributions to Plasma Physics in the special issue of the 17th International Workshop on Plasma Edge Theory in Fusion Device

Verification of doppler coherence imaging for 2D ion velocity measurements on DIII-D

Coherence Imaging Spectroscopy (CIS) has emerged as a powerful tool for investigating complex ion phenomena in the boundary of magnetically confined plasma devices. The combination of Fourier-transform interferometry and high-resolution fast-framing cameras has made it possible to make sensitive velocity measurements that are also spatially resolved. However, this sensitivity makes the diagnostic vulnerable to environmental effects including thermal drifts, vibration, and magnetic fields that can influence the velocity measurement. Additionally, the ability to provide an absolute calibration for these geometries can be impacted by differences in the light-collection geometry between the plasma and reference light source, spectral impurities, and the presence of thin-films on in-vessel optics. This paper discusses the mitigation of these effects and demonstration that environmental effects result in less than 0.5 km/s error on the DIII-D CIS systems. A diagnostic comparison is used to demonstrate agreement between CIS and traditional spectroscopy once tomographic artifacts are accounted for.This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, using the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, a DOE Office of Science user facility, under Award Nos. DEFC02-04ER54698 (DIII-D), DE-AC52-07NA27344 (LLNL), and DE-AC05-00OR22725 (ORNL). DIII-D data shown in this paper can be obtained in digital format by following the links at https://fusion.gat.com/global/D3D DMP

SDS-PAGE-Based Quantitative Assay for Screening of Kidney Stone Disease

Kidney stone disease is a common health problem in industrialised nations. We developed a SDS-PAGE-based method to quantify Tamm Horsfall glycoprotein (THP) for screening of kidney stone disease. Urinary proteins were extracted by using ammonium sulphate precipitation at 0.27 g salt/mL urine. The resulted pellet was dissolved in TSE buffer. Ten microliters of the urinary proteins extract was loaded and separated on 10% SDS-PAGE under reducing condition. THP migrated as single band in SDS-PAGE. The assay reproducibility and repeatability were 4.8% CV and 2.6% CV, respectively. A total of 117 healthy subjects and 58 stone patients were tested using this assay, and a distinct cut-off (P < 0.05) at 5.6 μg/mL THP concentration was used to distinguish stone patients from healthy subjects. The sensitivity and specificity of the method were 92.3% and 83.3%, respectively

NEXAFS spectroscopy of CVD diamond films exposed to fusion relevant hydrogen plasma

A series of CVD diamond films have been exposed to hydrogen plasma in the linear magnetized plasma device, MAGPIE, with various applied sample stage biases between 0 V (no applied bias) to - 500 V. The plasma-induced damage to the surface structure of the diamond films has been investigated by Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy in both the Auger electron yield (AEY) and total fluorescence yield (TFY) modes. The key diamond NEXAFS spectral features (diamond core exciton and second absolute band gap) are found to be diminished following plasma exposure as measured in the surface sensitive, AEY spectra, whilst these features remain unchanged relative to an unexposed diamond reference film as measured using the bulk sensitive, TFY spectra. These results, in conjunction with SRIM simulations, show definitively that the damage to the surface of the diamond films is restricted to the scale of the penetration depth of the H ions and no damage is induced at greater depths. The power and sensitivity of NEXAFS spectroscopy in assessing damage to the surface of diamond from fusion-relevant plasma-surface interactions are demonstrated