Internal magnetic field measurements of translated and merged field-reversed configuration plasmas in the FAT-CM device.

ABSTRACT

Field-reversed configuration (FRC) Amplification via Translation-Collisional Merging (FAT-CM) experiments have recently commenced to study physics phenomena of colliding and merged FRC plasma states. Two independently formed FRCs are translated into the confinement region of the FAT-CM device, collided near the mid-plane of the device with a relative speed of up to ∼400 km/s, and a final merged FRC plasma state is achieved. To measure internal magnetic field profiles of the translated and merged FRC plasmas as well as to understand its collisional-merging process, an internal magnetic probe array, developed by TAE Technologies, has been installed in the mid-plane of the FAT-CM device. Initial magnetic field measurements indicate that both the translated and the merged FRC plasma states exhibit a clear field-reversed structure, which is qualitatively in good agreement with 2D MHD simulation. It is found and verified that a sufficient mirror field in the confinement region is required for colliding FRCs to be fully merged into a single FRC plasma state.