Prairie View Rotamak
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Prairie View (PV) Rotamak is a plasma physics experiment at Prairie View A&M University.[1] The experiment studies magnetic plasma confinement to support controlled nuclear fusion experiments. Specifically, the PV Rotamak can be used as either a spherical tokamak or a field-reversed configuration. Some time between 2015 and 2017, most personnel moved on to advanced career opportunities.[2] In 2017, a Final Report to Department of Energy (DOE) was prepared and submitted by Dr. Saganti of PVAMU on the entire research work supported by DOE for 12 years.[3]
FRCs and spherical tokamaks are of interest to the plasma physics community because of their confinement properties and their small size. While most large fusion experiments in the world are tokamaks, FRCs and STs are seen as a viable alternative because of their higher Beta, meaning the same power output could be produced from a smaller volume of plasma, and their good plasma stability.
History
The PV Rotamak was built in 2001, largely out of components of the disassembled Flinders Rotamak.[4] The PV Rotamak has furnished the experimental data to produce more than 12 academic papers on plasma physics as of 2017.[5] More recent pictorial depictions and short videos with all the equipment layout can be found from Saganti-PVSO Google Site.[6]
Apparatus
The experimental apparatus consists of a vacuum vessel, electromagnetic coils, a high-power radio-frequency (RF) generation system to run the rotating magnetic field (RMF), and diagnostics. The vacuum vessel is made of Pyrex glass and is 80 cm long and 40 cm in diameter.[7] The electromagnetic coils can produce up to 230 Gauss (0.023 tesla) magnetic fields center of the vacuum vessel. Another electromagnetic coil running through the axis of the vacuum vessel can produce the magnetic field necessary to make the apparatus a spherical tokamak. The RF generation system can deliver 400 kW of power to the plasma in the form of a rotating magnetic field at a frequency of 500 kHz. The RMF can run for 40ms at a time.
