Experiments on the transportation of a magnetized plasma stream in the GOL-3 facility

• Published in: Plasma physics reports 2016-04, Vol.42 (4), p.319-326
• Main Authors: Postupaev, V. V., Batkin, V. I., Burdakov, A. V., Ivanov, I. A., Kuklin, K. N., Mekler, K. I., Rovenskikh, A. F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; Atomic; BEAM INJECTION; COLD PLASMA; GOL-3 DEVICE; Magnetic Confinement Systems; MAGNETIC FIELDS; MAGNETIC FLUX; MAGNETIZATION; MIRROR RATIO; MIRRORS; Molecular; Optical and Plasma Physics; PARTICLE BEAMS; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; PLASMA CONFINEMENT; PLASMA DENSITY; SOLENOIDS; TRAPS
• ISSN: 1063-780X; 1562-6938
• DOI: 10.1134/S1063780X16040073

The program of the deep upgrade of the GOL-3 multiple-mirror trap is presented. The upgrade is aimed at creating a new GOL-NB open trap located at the GOL-3 site and intended to directly demonstrate the efficiency of using multiple-mirror magnetic cells to improve longitudinal plasma confinement in a gasdynamic open trap. The GOL-NB device will consist of a new central trap, adjoint cells with a multiple-mirror magnetic field, and end tanks (magnetic flux expanders). Plasma in the central trap will be heated by neutral beam injection with a power of up to 1.5 MW and duration of 1 ms. At present, physical experiments directed at developing plasma technologies that are novel for this facility are being carried out using the 6-m-long autonomous part of the GOL-3 solenoid. The aim of this work was to develop a method for filling the central trap with a low-temperature start plasma. Transportation of a plasma stream from an arc source over a distance of 3 m in a uniform magnetic field with an induction of 0.5–4.5 T is demonstrated. In these experiments, the axial plasma density was (1–4) × 10 20 m –3 and the mirror ratio varied from 5 to 60. In general, the experiments confirmed the correctness of the adopted decisions for the start plasma source of the GOL-NB device.