Session GP1 - Poster Session IV.
POSTER session, Tuesday afternoon, October 30
Exhibit Hall B,
For the first time, steady state, flux confined FRCs have been produced at TCS using non-inductive RMF current drive. Up to 60 kA toroidal current has been generated with an RMF vacuum field strength of about 60 G. These experiments differ from steady-state rotamaks in that the FRCs are similar to those formed in theta-pinch devices, that is elongated and confined inside a flux conserver. Experimental results from initial high RMF frequency ( ømega = 10^6 rad/s) experiments have relatively low ratio of equilibrium line current, I'_rev = 2 B_e/\mu_0 to possible synchronous current, I'_sync = 0.5 n_eeømegar_s^2, and the current is primarily edge driven, resulting in relatively low current drive efficiency and unsteady behavior. When the RMF frequency was lowered to ømega = 0.5x10^6 rad/s, the parameter \zeta = I'_rev /I'_sync increased, allowing higher density (up to 3x10^19 m^-3) FRCs to be produced. The plasma temperature cannot be increased much above 50 eV in these purely RMF formed FRCs, and the cross-field resistivity is high. Future experiments will start with hot, relatively low resistivity, theta pinch formed FRCs to explore RMF current drive in a more interesting regime.