Browsing Aeronautics and astronautics by Subject "Plasma physics"
Now showing items 1-20 of 59
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A Domain-Hybridized Plasma Model Using Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Elements
Plasmas are found all over the Universe and exhibit varying properties depending on temperature, density, field strength, and collisionality. Thus, various physics models can be used to describe plasma dynamics. This work ... -
A Kinetic Vlasov Model for Plasma Simulation Using Discontinuous Galerkin Method on Many-Core Architectures
Advances are reported in the three pillars of computational science achieving a new capability for understanding dynamic plasma phenomena outside of local thermodynamic equilibrium. A continuum kinetic model for plasma ... -
Axial Evolution of a Sheared-Flow-Stabilized Z Pinch
The Fusion Z-pinch Experiment (FuZE) is a sheared-flow-stabilized Z pinch based on the ZaP and ZaP-HD experiments. The FuZE device generates neutron-producing, 50-cm-long Z pinches formed from plasma accelerated through ... -
A Blended Finite Element Method for Multi-fluid Plasma Modeling
In a multi-fluid plasma model electrons and ions are represented as separate fluids that interact through collisions and electromagnetic fields. The model encapsulates physics that spans a vast range of temporal and spatial ... -
Breathing Mode Effects on Hall Thruster Plasma Quantities and Channel Wall Power Loss
Breathing mode instabilities, axially-oriented waves between 5-40 kHz, have been observed in Hall thruster operation since the earliest days of experimental research, including their ability to grow large enough to extinguish ... -
Characterization of An Exploding Micro-Wire Pulsed Plasma Thruster
Pulsed Plasma Thrusters typically live in the low-range efficiency realm compared to other types of electric propulsion thrusters. In an attempt to explore if any added benefits could be gained from experimenting with a ... -
Characterization of the Plasma Response to Injector Frequency in the HIT-SI3 Spheromak Experiment
The Helicity Injected Torus - Steady Inductive 3 (HIT-SI3) was a spheromak experiment at the Univeristy of Washington HIT-SI laboratory that used three injectors running in AC to inject magnetic helicity into a copper flux ... -
Characterizing the Plasma Exhaust Plume from a Sheared-Flow Stabilized Z-Pinch
A plasma Z-pinch has often been overlooked as a method for magnetic confinement fusion due to instabilities. Using sheared-flow to stabilize the Z-pinch extends its life to where it is a plausible solution for fusion and ... -
Comparison of Diagnostics for Determining Z Pinch Centroid in the ZaP-HD Experiment
A Z-pinch configuration plasma has been theoretically shown to be a viable fusion energy source. By applying radially sheared flow, the Z pinch instabilities can be mitigated. In the process of stabilizing the pinch for ... -
Comparison of Electrode Configurations on ZaP: Investigation of Heating Mechanisms in a Flow Z-Pinch
(2013-02-25)The ZaP Flow Z-Pinch is a basic plasma physics experiment that investigates the effect of sheared axial flows Z-pinch stability. Two modifications are made: 1)~Installation of a perforated conducting wall to evaluate the ... -
Convective Power Loss Measurements in a Field Reversed Configuration with Rotating Magnetic Field Current Drive
The Translation, Confinement, and Sustainment Upgrade (TCSU) experiment achieves direct formation and sustainment of a field reversed configuration (FRC) plasma through rotating magnetic fields (RMF). The pre-ionized gas ... -
Decelerating Dust Grains Using Pulsed Plasma Thrusters
This thesis seeks to examine the feasibility of a system that uses Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs) to slow down hypervelocity, micron-size ice grains in order to preserve potential organic material contained within. The ... -
Development and validation of computational tools for the characterization and analysis of non-linear plasma photonic crystals
Plasma photonic crystals have the potential to significantly expand the capabilities of current microwave filtering and switching technologies by providing high speed (microsecond) control of energy band-gap/pass characteristics ... -
Development of a 5N-moment Multi-Fluid Plasma Model for D-T Fusion in an Axisymmetric Z Pinch
The thermonuclear fusion process in a D-T Z pinch is investigated by developing the multi-component, deuterium-tritium-helium-electron, model including fusion reactions and interspecies collisions via the WARPXM simulation ... -
Development of a Collisionless Plasma Kinetic Solver and an Investigation of One-Dimensional Plasma Waves and Instabilities
Several classic problems in collisionless plasma kinetics are treated by solving the one-dimensional multi-species Vlasov-Poisson system with a BGK collision operator. Calculations are done using a second order discontinuous ... -
Development of a Gridded Energy Analyzer for Measurement of the Mochi Experiment Ion Energy Distribution
A new experiment at the University of Washington called Mochi is intended to simulate astrophysical jets in the laboratory and investigate their stability, with particular interest in conservation of canonical helicity. ... -
Development of a Helicon Plasma Receiver for Wireless Power Transfer
Typical research of long distance wireless power transfer systems is limited to electromagnetic waves, specifically microwave and laser systems. Plasma provides an appealing alternative due to its internal charge separation ... -
Diagnostic Development and Plasma-Material Interaction Studies on the ZaP-HD Device
The ZaP-HD Flow Z-Pinch device was designed to investigate the use of a tri-axial electrode configuration to scale a sheared-flow stabilized Z pinch to high energy density conditions. Decoupling the power used to form the ... -
Diagnostics and Exploration of Current Sheet Formation in the High-Pulse-Rate Pulsed Inductive Thruster (HiPeR-PIT)
Experimental measurements and numerical modeling of plasma current sheets in a newdesign for an Inductive Pulsed Plasma Thruster (IPPT) are presented. The High-Pulse- Rate Pulsed Inductive Thruster (HiPeR-PIT), is a low ... -
Driving Flows in Laboratory Astrophysical Plasma Jets: The Mochi.LabJet Experiment
Mochi.Labjet is a new experiment at the University of Washington developed to investigate the interaction of shear flows in plasma jets with boundary conditions similar to an accretion disc system. This thesis details the ...