Spheromak Energy Transport Studies via Neutral Beam Injection

Results from the SSPX spheromak experiment provide strong motivation to add neutral beam injection (NBI) heating. Such auxiliary heating would significantly advance the capability to study the physics of energy transport and pressure limits for the spheromak. This LDRD project develops the physics basis for using NBI to heat spheromak plasmas in SSPX. The work encompasses three activities: (1) numerical simulation to make quantitative predictions of the effect of adding beams to SSPX, (2) using the SSPX spheromak and theory/modeling to develop potential target plasmas suitable for future application of neutral beam heating, and (3) developing diagnostics to provide the measurements needed for transport calculations. These activities are reported in several publications.