Reversed Field Pinch Plasmas with Various Boundary Conditions

摘要

RFP behavior with boundary conditions which deviate from the perfectly conducting circular shell are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Interchange (Mercier) stability and the resulting beta limits are evaluated for various noncircular shapes. Growth rates are calculated for various current-driven MHD instabilities for both resistive and distant walls. A sustained noncircular RFP experiment is operated to investigate magnetic fluctuations in regions of good and bad curvature. Behavior of a nonsustained RFP is investigated, in which the plasma is situated far from the conducting shell in a poloidal divertor configuration. (ERA citation 13:002538)