MCTrans++: A 0-D Model for Centrifugal Mirrors

Abstract

The centrifugal mirror confinement scheme incorporates supersonic rotation of a plasma into a magnetic mirror device. This concept has been shown experimentally to drastically decrease parallel losses and increase plasma stability as compared to prior axisymmetric mirrors. MCTrans++ is a 0D scoping tool which rapidly models experimental operating points in the Centrifugal Mirror Fusion Experiment (CMFX) at the University of Maryland. In the low-collisionality regime, parallel losses can be modeled analytically. A confining potential is set up that is partially ambipolar and partially centrifugal. Due to the stabilizing effects of flow-shear, the perpendicular losses can be modeled as classical. Radiation losses such as Bremsstrahlung and cyclotron emission are taken into account. A neutrals model is included, and, in some circumstances, charge-exchange losses are found to exceed all other loss mechanisms. We use the SUNDIALS ARKODE library to solve the underlying equations of this model; the resulting software is suitable for scanning large parameter spaces, and can also be used to model time-dependent phenomena such as a capacitive discharge. MCTrans++ has been used to verify results from prior centrifugal mirrors, create an experimental plan for CMFX, and find configurations for future reactor-scale fusion devices.