Studies of turbulence, transport and flows in the Large Plasma Device

这个项目的目标是获得在实验室等离子体的流动，湍流和运输之间的相互作用的理解。实验将使用大型等离子体装置（LAPD）进行，该装置是加州大学洛杉矶分校基础等离子体科学设施的一部分。这项工作将建立在最近观察到的偏置驱动的旋转在洛杉矶警察局触发的粒子约束过渡。在拟议的工作中，重点将是在湍流，运输和流动在LAPD的平行边界条件的作用。一组限制器将被构造，以建立明确的，但可变的，在LAPD的边缘平行的边界条件。在湍流，运输，驱动和自发流动与平行边界条件的修改将进行调查。第二个重点将是角动量输送和流动产生在洛杉矶警察局，强调间歇性对流在这些过程中的作用的研究。此外，一组主题的备用线的研究进行了讨论，包括研究的缩放的过渡阈值与等离子体参数，和轴向依赖的驱动流和约束过渡。拟议的研究的智力价值源于湍流，运输和流动在广泛的等离子体中的基本重要性。拟议的关于输运、湍流和流动之间相互作用的详细研究将对等离子体物理学的一系列分领域产生影响，包括磁约束聚变以及空间和天体物理等离子体物理学，拟议工作的更广泛影响将在研究和教育活动中实现。该提案的一个主要重点是培养一名研究生，攻读博士学位和一名本科生。拟议的工作将补充与LLNL合作的现有工作，将LAPD的测量结果与3D Braginskii流体代码BOUT的预测进行比较。LAPD中可能的详细测量为BOUT等模拟代码的预测能力提供了重要的测试。在磁化等离子体中建立湍流和输运的预测能力对于促进对各种环境中基本等离子体过程的理解非常重要，但对于磁聚变能量研究的进展尤其重要。这里提出的工作将在一定程度上帮助建立洛杉矶警察局作为一个实验平台，用于测试电流的能力（例如，BOUT）和计划（例如，边缘动力学模拟）并行湍流模拟代码。该提案提交给了等离子体科学和工程联合征集08-589中的NSF-DoE伙伴关系。该奖项由物理学系等离子体物理学项目资助。

The goal of this project is to gain understanding of the interaction between flows, turbulence, and transport in a laboratory plasma. Experiments will be performed using the Large Plasma Device (LAPD), which is part of the Basic Plasma Science Facility at UCLA. The work would build on the recent observation of a particle confinement transition triggered by bias-driven rotation in LAPD. In the proposed work, focus will be given to the role of parallel boundary conditions in turbulence, transport and flows in LAPD. A set of limiters will be constructed in order to establish well-defined, yet changeable, parallel boundary conditions in the edge of LAPD. Modifications in turbulence, transport, and driven and spontaneous flows with parallel boundary conditions will be investigated. A second focus will be on angular momentum transport and flow generation in LAPD, emphasizing a study of the role of intermittent convection in these processes. In addition, a set of topics for alternate lines of research are discussed, including studies of the scaling of the transition threshold with plasma parameters, and the axial dependence of driven flows and the confinement transition. The intellectual merit of the proposed research stems from the fundamental importance of turbulence, transport, and flows in a wide range of plasmas. The proposed detailed study of the interplay between transport, turbulence and flows will have an impact on a wide range of subfields of plasma physics, including magnetic confinement fusion, and space and astrophysical plasma physics.The broader impacts of the proposed work would be realized in both the research and educational activites. A major focus of the proposal is the training of one graduate student, working toward a PhD, and one undergraduate student. The proposed work will complement an existing effort in collaboration with LLNL to compare measurements in LAPD to predictions of the 3D Braginskii fluid code BOUT. The detailed measurements possible in LAPD provide a significant test of the predictive capabilities of a simulation code such as BOUT. Establishing a predictive capability in turbulence and transport in magnetized plasmas is important in advancing understanding of fundamental plasma processes in a variety of settings, but is especially critical to progress in magnetic fusion energy research. The work proposed here will, in part, help establish LAPD as an experimental platform for testing the capabilities of current (e.g., BOUT) and planned (e.g., edge kinetic simulation) massively-parallel turbulence simulation codes.This proposal was submitted to the NSF-DoE Partnership in Plasma Science and Engineering joint solicitation 08-589. This award is being funded by the Plasma Physics Program in the Division of Physics.