Formation of a field reversed configuration for magnetic and electrostatic confinement of plasma

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10217531-B2
Application number	US-201615153652-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 12, 2016
Priority date	Feb 1, 2001
Publication date	Feb 26, 2019
Grant date	Feb 26, 2019

Abstract

A method of containing plasma and forming a Field Reversed Configuration (FRC) magnetic topology. A magnetic guide field is created within a cylindrical chamber. The guide field has field lines axially extending within the chamber parallel to the longitudinal axis. A plasma of charged electron and ion particles is injected into the chamber. The plasma is caused to rotate, which forms a magnetic poloidal self-field surrounding the rotating plasma due to the current carried by the rotating plasma. The rotational energy of the plasma is increased to increase the magnitude of the self-field to a level that overcomes the magnetic guide field axially extending within the chamber, which causes the formation of a magnetic field within the chamber with FRC topology.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising the steps of
creating a magnetic guide field within a cylindrical chamber having a longitudinal axis, wherein the magnetic guide field having field lines axially extending within the chamber parallel to the longitudinal axis,
injecting a plasma of charged electron and ion particles into the chamber toward a midplane of the chamber,
causing the plasma of charged electron and ion particles to rotate within the chamber and form a magnetic poloidal self-field surrounding the rotating plasma due to the current carried by the rotating plasma, and
increasing the rotational energy of the plasma to increase the magnitude of the self-field to a level that overcomes the magnetic guide field axially extending within the chamber causing the formation of a magnetic field within the chamber with field reversed topology.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of causing the plasma to rotate includes generating an azimuthal electric field within the chamber coupling to the charged electron and ion particles of the plasma and generating ponderomotive forces causing the charged electron and ion particles to accelerate causing the plasma to rotate within the chamber.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of generating the azimuthal electric field within the chamber includes creating and rapidly increasing an axial magnetic flux within the chamber.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of generating the azimuthal electric field includes increasing current running through a betatron flux coil concentric with a principle axis of the chamber.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of accelerating the rotating plasma to increase the rotational energy of the rotating plasma from a first level of rotational energy to a second level of rotational energy by increasing the rate of change of the current running through the betatron flux coil.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of creating the magnetic guide field includes energizing a plurality of field coils and mirror coils extending about the chamber.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of adjusting the magnitude of the guide field to adjust the radial size of the rotating plasma.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of accelerating the rotating plasma to a level of rotational energy in a range of about 100 keV to 3.3 MeV.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of accelerating the rotating plasma includes the steps of injecting ion beams with an energy level in a range of about 100 keV to 3.3 MeV into the magnetic field with field reversal within the chamber and trapping the beams in betatron orbits within the chamber.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of adjusting the magnitude of the magnetic guide field to adjust a magnitude of an electrostatic well formed within the chamber in conjunction with the magnetic field with field reversal wherein the magnitude of the electrostatic well is a function of the magnitude of the magnetic guide field and the injected ion beams.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of magnetically confining ions within the magnetic field having field reversed topology, and electrostatically confining electrons within the electrostatic well.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the rotational energy of the rotating plasma is increased to a range of about 75 eV to 125 eV.

13. The method of claim 5 wherein the rotational energy of the rotating plasma is increased to a range of about 100 keV to 3.3 MeV.

14. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of neutralizing the ion beams with a plurality of electrons and electrically polarizing the neutralized ion beams.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of drifting the polarized and neutralized ion beams un-deflected through the magnetic field with field reversal, and depolarizing the ion beams.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of depolarizing the ion beams includes the steps of contacting the ion beam with the plasma within the magnetic field with field reversal and draining the electric polarization from the ion beams.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of injecting the ion beams includes injecting the ion beams orthogonal to a principal axis of the chamber and at a radial position from the principle axis where the plasma is contained within the magnetic field with field reversal.

18. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of trapping the beams includes exerting a Lorentz force due to the magnetic field with field reversal on the ion beam to bend the ion beam into a betatron orbit.

Assignees

• Univ California

Inventors

• Rostoker Norman
• Binderbauer Michl W
• Garate Eusebio
• Bystritskii Vitaly

Classifications

• H05H1/14

  wherein the containment vessel is straight and has magnetic mirrors · CPC title

• G21B1/052 Primary

  reversed field configuration · CPC title

• H05H1/03

  using electrostatic fields · CPC title

• Y02E30/122

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• H05H1/10

  using externally-applied magnetic fields only {, e.g. Q-machines, Yin-Yang, base-ball} · CPC title