TY - JOUR
T1 - Harmonic analysis for magnetic configuration control in experimental stellarator devices
AU - Neilson, G. H.
AU - Harris, J. H.
PY - 1987/5
Y1 - 1987/5
N2 - Stellarator magnetic field configurations are analysed using a harmonic expansion of the scalar potential. Harmonic functions for fields due both to external coils (vacuum fields) and to plasma currents are derived from those for a straight stellarator, using a perturbation technique to obtain first-order toroidal corrections. In the case of the vacuum fields, the coefficients, or generalized multipole moments, are determined by a least-squares fit to the ‘exact’ fields, which are calculated from the coil geometry using the Biot-Savart method. The mode structure of the Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF) torsatron, in particular, is basically that of a pure system, augmented by an asymmetric broadening in the poloidal mode number spectrum because of toroidicity. Configuration control in ATF is accomplished by varying the axisymmetric moments: The magnetic axis shift is most sensitive to the m = 1 moment and the central rotational transform is most sensitive to the m = 2 moment. These moments, in turn, are expressible simply as linear combinations of the coil currents, which allows them to be determined readily from experimental data.
AB - Stellarator magnetic field configurations are analysed using a harmonic expansion of the scalar potential. Harmonic functions for fields due both to external coils (vacuum fields) and to plasma currents are derived from those for a straight stellarator, using a perturbation technique to obtain first-order toroidal corrections. In the case of the vacuum fields, the coefficients, or generalized multipole moments, are determined by a least-squares fit to the ‘exact’ fields, which are calculated from the coil geometry using the Biot-Savart method. The mode structure of the Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF) torsatron, in particular, is basically that of a pure system, augmented by an asymmetric broadening in the poloidal mode number spectrum because of toroidicity. Configuration control in ATF is accomplished by varying the axisymmetric moments: The magnetic axis shift is most sensitive to the m = 1 moment and the central rotational transform is most sensitive to the m = 2 moment. These moments, in turn, are expressible simply as linear combinations of the coil currents, which allows them to be determined readily from experimental data.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0023348084&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/0029-5515/27/5/001
DO - 10.1088/0029-5515/27/5/001
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:0023348084
SN - 0029-5515
VL - 27
SP - 711
EP - 724
JO - Nuclear Fusion
JF - Nuclear Fusion
IS - 5
ER -