Transport Simulation of a Field-Reversed Configuration Plasma

A numerical simulation of the evolution of a field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasma is described. The calculation proceeds by alternating between a two-dimensional axisymmetric equilibrium calculation and a one-dimensional transport calculation. The equilibrium calculation uses flux-surface coordinates and finite elements. The transport calculation consists of the simultaneous solution of three one-dimensional equations for the differential ion density, electron entropy, and ion entropy. The transport calculation includes classical transport processes, loss on open field lines, radiation cooling due to impurities, and lower hybrid drift anomalous transport. Examples of FRC simulations are presented.