A fundamental requirement for the successful operation of a tokamak is the maintenance of a toroidal electric current within the tokamak plasma itself. Maintaining this internal plasma current can be a very difficult technological problem. In this work, a well-known but non-standard method for maintaining the tokamak current called the bootstrap effect is discussed. The bootstrap effect occurs when a fusion plasma is near thermonuclear conditions, and allows the tokamak to greatly amplify its electric current.;Because the bootstrap effect amplifies but does not create a plasma current, it has long been argued that a completely bootstrapped tokamak is not possible. That is, it has been argued that some fraction of the tokamak current must be created externally and injected into the plasma for a bootstrap amplification to occur. This injection of current is not desirable, however, since current-drive schemes are difficult to implement and are only marginally efficient.;An important but largely unexplored implification of the bootstrap effect is that the effect, by itself, creates hollow (outwardly peaked) tokamak current profiles. Hollow tokamak current profiles are known to lead to tearing modes, which are resistive (non-ideal) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) plasma instabilities. Although usually characterized as harmful for plasma confinement, it turns out that tearing modes may actually be beneficial for the tokamak bootstrap effect.;In this work, a new theoretical approach based on a helicity conserving mean-field Ohm's law is used to examine the interaction between the bootstrap effect and tearing modes. Magnetic helicity is a topological quantity which is conserved even in turbulent plasma. Computer simulation results of the mean-field Ohm's law are presented which suggest that a completely bootstrapped tokamak may indeed be possible. In a completely bootstrapped tokamak, the tokamak self-maintains its electric current by amplifying an intrinsic internal plasma current due to the tearing modes.

The interaction of a high intensity laser beam with a plasma is generally susceptible to the filamentation instability due to nonuniformities in the laser profile. In ponderomotive filamentation high intensity spots in the beam expell plasma by ponderomotive force, lowering the local density, causing even more light to be focused into the already high intensity region. The result--the beam is broken up into a filamentary structure.;Several optical smoothing techniques have been proposed to eliminate this problem. In the Random Phase Plates (RPS) approach, the beam is split into a very fine scale, time-stationary interference pattern. The irregularities in this pattern are small enough that thermal diffusion is then responsible for smoothing the illumination. In the Induced Spatial Incoherence (ISI) approach the beam is broken up into a larger scale but non-time-stationary interference pattern. In this dissertation we propose that the photons in an ISI beam resonantly interact with the sound waves in the wake of the beam. Such a resonant interaction induces diffusion in the velocity space of the photons. The diffusion will tend to spread the distribution of photons, thus if the diffusion time is much shorter than the e-folding time of the filamentation instability, the instability will be suppressed.;Using a wave-kinetic description of laser-plasma interactions we have applied quasilinear theory to model the resonant interaction of the photons in an ISI beam with the beam's wake field. We have derived an analytic expression for the transverse diffusion coefficient. The quasilinear hypothesis was tested numerically and shown to yield an underestimate of the diffusion rate. By comparing the quasilinear diffusion rate, {dollar}\gamma\sb{lcub}D{rcub}{dollar}, with the maximum growth rate for the ponderomotive filamentation of a uniform beam, {dollar}\gamma\sb{lcub}f\sb{lcub}max{rcub}{rcub}{dollar}, we have derived a worst case criterion for stability against ponderomotive filamentation: {dollar}{dollar}{lcub}\gamma\sb{lcub}f\sb{lcub}max{rcub}{rcub}\over \gamma\sb D{rcub} \sim .5 {lcub}\tilde f\sp5/\tilde D\sp5\over \vert \tilde E\vert\sp2 \tilde\omega\sbsp{lcub}0{rcub}{lcub}2{rcub}\tilde N\sp6{rcub}\ll 1.{dollar}{dollar}The tildaed quantities are scaled to the following fusion relevant reference values; laser intensity: {dollar}\vert E\vert\sp2{dollar} = 10{dollar}\sp{lcub}15{rcub}\vert\tilde E\vert{dollar} Watts cm,{dollar}\sp{lcub}-2{rcub}{dollar} focal length: {dollar}f = 30\tilde f{dollar}m, width of each ISI echelon: {dollar}D = .75\tilde D{dollar} cm, laser carrier frequency: {dollar}\omega\sb{lcub}0{rcub} = 7.5 \times 10\sp{lcub}15{rcub}\tilde\omega\sb0{dollar} s{dollar}\sp{lcub}-1{rcub}{dollar}, and the number of ISI echelons: {dollar}N = 20\tilde N{dollar}.

With the advent of massively parallel processor machines, thermal lattice Boltzmann equation (TLBE) techniques offer an attractive way of handling turbulence simulations. TLBE is new form of DNS (direct numerical simulation method)--with the important advantages of being ideal for multi-parallel processors as well as being able to handle complicated geometries. Since there are many kinetic models that will reproduce the macroscopic nonlinear (compressible) transport equations, TLBE chooses that subset which can be readily solved on a discrete spatial lattice. The lattice geometry must be so chosen that the discrete phase representation of TLBE will not taint the rotational symmetric continuum equations. For 2D compressible flows, linear stability analyses described in this work indicates that the hexagonal lattice is optimum.;In nearly all lattice Boltzmann literature, the linearized Boltzmann collision operator has been taken to be the simple single-time Krook relaxation collision operator. This scalar collision operator is sufficient to recover the nonlinear transport equations under Chapmann-Enskog expansions. However, all previous LBE have suffered from the problem of density dependent transport coefficients. Even though this poses no problem for incompressible flows, it is critical and must be handled for compressible fluid simulations. The other deficiency of conventional TLBE scheme with single relaxation operator is that it only allows for fixed Prandtl number flow simulations.;In this work, to simulate flows with arbitrary Prandtl number, a matrix collision operator is introduced. With the inclusion of additional free parameter in the off-diagonal components, the scheme is now extended to a multi-relaxation process. This allows generalizations on relaxation parameters to produce density independent transport coefficients. Explicit solutions of TLBE are presented for 2D free decaying turbulence.

A method for simulating a turbulent binary fluid flow system based on the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is presented. The fluid equations up to the Navier-Stokes transport level are derived for this two fluid system, and results from numerical simulations using this method are shown. Finally, grid resolution is performed in a single fluid (LBM) simulation which determines the largest valid mesh size for a simulation that seeks to resolve physical structures of all scales.

Estágio realizado no CeNTI e orientado pelo Eng.º António Vieira / Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Química. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2008

L’incorporation de fibres de carbone greffées avec des nanotubes de carbone (CNTs-CF) dansune matrice polymère permet d’obtenir des matériaux avec des propriétés mécaniques, des propriétés de conductivité électrique et de conductivité thermique notamment améliorées. Ces matériaux sont des candidats idéaux pour être intégrés dans des applications fonctionnelles et même structurales dans les domaines de l’industrie aéronautique, de l’industrie automobile, de la défense et de l’industrie des produits pour le sport. L’objectif (des travaux menés au cours) de cette thèse de Doctorat est d’établir une technique efficace de production de matériaux composites possédant des propriétés multifonctionnelles. Nous étudions l’adaptation d’une technique de dépôt de polymère par plasma sur la surface de fibres de carbone (CFs) puis sur la surface de CNT-CFs. Le dépôt de polymère par plasma sur la surface CNT-CFs est ici recherché non pour des raisons de sécurité, certainement avantageuses, mais pour conférer les propriétés des nanotubes de carbone à l’ensemble du matériau composite. Dans le premier chapitre, nous proposons un tour d’horizon des 2 sujets majeurs de notre étude : (1) les matériaux composites et leurs applications (2) les applications des plasmas pour procédés de traitement des matériaux. Dans le deuxième chapitre, nous présentons la procédure expérimentale du traitement plasma des fibres, ainsi que le schéma détaillé du mécanisme permettant de manipuler les échantillons. Nous précisons aussi les procédures suivies pour la caractérisation chimique, électrique et mécanique des fibres et des matériaux composites. Dans le troisième chapitre, nous évaluons les effets des variations de 2 et de 3 paramètres (par exemple la puissance plasma utilisée, la durée d’exposition et la nature des précurseurs) sur la résistivité électrique des fibres de carbone (CFs) et des fibres de carbone greffées de nanotubes de carbone (CNTs-CF) par la méthodologie des surfaces de réponse. D’après cette étude pour l’optimisation du procédé, nous étudions les principaux facteurs et les interactions entre les différents paramètres. Nous montrons les variables (ou facteurs) qui ont la plus grande influence sur la résistivité électrique sur les 2 types de fibres de carbone. Dans le quatrième chapitre, nous traitons des études de caractérisations des fibres de carbone par XPS (composition chimique), MEB (microstructure), AFM (topologie, rugosité) et TGA (stabilité thermique, cinétique de dégradation). Il s’agit de fournir une meilleure compréhension des structures obtenues sur de telles fibres dans des domaines allant du macroscopique jusqu’au niveau de l’atome. Nous analysons aussi des échantillons avant traitement pour comparer les différences morphologiques et chimiques avec les échantillons traités par plasma. Finalement, dans le cinqième chapitre, nous étudions les proprieties mécaniques et électriques des échantillons de matériaux composites élaborés à partir de fibres non-traitées et des fibres traitées par dépôt plasma de polypyrrole (sur CFs et CNTs-CF). A partir des essais mécaniques et des mesures électriques, nous concluons sur les améliorations apportées par le traitement plasma. / The incorporation of carbon nanotubes grafted carbon fibers (CNTs-CF) into polymermatrices provides highly-enhanced mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties to the materials. They are ideal candidates to be integrated into structural and functional applications in the fields of aerospace, automobile, defense, and sport industries. The aim of this PhD thesis is to establish an efficient technique to produce carbon fiber composites with multifunctional properties. We study the adaptation of a plasma technique for polymer deposition on the surface of carbon fibers (CFs) and carbon nanotubes grafted carbon fibers (CNTs-CF). The plasma polymer deposition on CNTs-CF is not performed only to keep nanotubes on the carbon fiber surface for safety reasons, but it is also applied to retain the bulk properties of those materials. In the first chapter, we give an overview of the two major subjects of the study: (1) composites and their applications, (2) plasma application for materials processing. In the second chapter, we present the experimental procedure of the plasma treatment process of fibers including the detailed design of the plasma system for the treatment of these samples. Then we explain the procedures of several sorts of characterization studies of fibers and composites (e.g. chemical, electrical, and mechanical). In the third chapter, we evaluate the effect of double and triple varied process parameters (i.e. plasma power, exposure time and precursors) on electrical resistivity of CFs and CNTs-CF by response surface methodology. According to the optimization studies we investigate the main factors and the interactions between the different process parameters and we demonstrate which variable (or factor) has the greatest effect on the electrical resistivity of both types of the treated carbon fibers. In the forth chapter, we deal with the characterization studies of the plasma treated CFs and CNTs-CF by using XPS (chemical structure), SEM (microstructure), AFM (topography, roughness), and TGA (thermal stability, degradation kinetics) in order to provide better understanding of the obtained structures on such fibers in a domain ranging from macroscopic to atomic scales. We also analyze the untreated samples to compare mainly the chemical and morphological differences between unmodified and plasma modified fibers. Finally, in the fifth chapter, we study the mechanical and electrical properties of untreated and plasma polypyrrole treated CFs and CNTs-CF reinforced composites experimentally. According to the electrical and mechanical tests, we determine the healing effect of plasma surface treatment performed on CFs and CNTs-CF.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 38-04, Section: B, page: 1774. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1976.

We derived the unidirectional shear flows appropriate for Hele Shaw cell when there is no buoyancy driving force. Using the Galerkin spectral method, the linear stability of Hele Shaw convection in shear flows has been analyzed. The results show that all shear flows stabilize the convection. / Using a modified perturbation method with a two parameter expansion and a strained time coordinate, we successfully obtained the oscillatory (steady) finite amplitude solutions with (without) imposed shear flows. The two parameters are $\epsilon$ Pe, where $\epsilon$ is the amplitude of the stream function to leading order, and Pe is the Peclet number. It has been found that the flow pattern in Couette flow tilted more strongly with the stream as the Prandtl number was decreased. The temperature pattern was symmetric about the vertical axis when the Prandtl number is large. As the Prandtl number is decreased the temperature pattern becomes an intense narrow hot center and relatively weak broad cold center and then the cold center splits into a cats-eyes pattern and the hot center remains narrow and intense. This kind of pattern change has also been observed as the Peclet number is increased. / The generated mean flow and the momentum flux in both shear flows were derived analytically and were increased whereas the Prandtl number decreases. The momentum flux in all shear flows is found to be always up the gradient of the mean flow and results in the energy transformation from the the convective kinetic energy into the mean kinetic energy. / The study reported here might be very helpful for understanding the porous medium convection in shear flows. Therefore, the consequence of these results to ground water transport as well as industrial processes might be significant. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-04, Section: B, page: 1926. / Major Professor: Ruby Krishnamurti. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

Nonlinear pattern formation in parametric surface waves in weakly viscous fluids is studied by using both analytical and numerical means. The investigation is based on a quasi-potential approximation valid for weakly viscous incomprehensible fluids. The three-dimensional quasi-potential equations are then written in a two-dimensional nonlocal form (2D-QPEs). Standing wave and traveling wave amplitude equations are derived by using a multiple scale perturbation method. The 2D-QPEs are also solved numerically by using a pseudospectral method. In addition, analytical and numerical studies are also performed on a two-dimensional order parameter model to further describe the nonlinear dynamics of parametric surface waves away from onset. On the conceptual level, the findings of our investigation include (i) an amplitude-limiting effect by the driving force in parametrically forced systems; (ii) the importance of three-wave resonant interactions among capillary-gravity waves to pattern selection. Our results provide explanations to a number of recent experimental observations, as well as a number of predictions that await experimental verification. The main results include: (1) We explain why standing wave patterns of square symmetry are observed experimentally near onset of capillary Faraday waves with a sinusoidal forcing. (2) We predict that hexagonal or triangular patterns, and patterns of quasicrystalline symmetry can be stabilized in certain mixed capillary-gravity waves with a sinusoidal forcing. (3) Analytical results for a bicritical line for two-frequency forced Faraday waves are obtained. The results are in qualitative agreement with the available experimental results. (4) The triad resonant condition for capillary-gravity waves is modified for two-frequency forced Faraday waves of frequency ratio 1:2 compared to the case of single frequency forcing. / As a result, square patterns can be unstable for subharmonic responses of the fluid surface even in the capillary wave limit. (5) An order parameter equation (OPE) for a two-dimensional complex field is proposed for weakly damped Faraday waves. Stationary solutions of this OPE become unstable to transverse amplitude modulation (TAM) at a finite value of the reduced driving amplitude. For larger values of the driving force, TAM defects appear, and the system appears to be spatiotemporally chaotic due to the erratic motions of TAM defects. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-11, Section: B, page: 4910. / Co-Major Professors: Jorge Vinals; Dennis W. Duke. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

Nitriding is a plasma based processing technique that is used to improve the surface properties of components and products in many areas including the aerospace, automotive and biomedical industries to name a few. Active Screen Plasma Nitriding (ASPN) is a relatively new nitriding technique which has potential advantages over the more traditional nitriding techniques such as Direct Current (DC) plasma nitriding where high substrate biases can be problematic. However, there is considerable debate as to the mechanism for nitriding in ASPN. This thesis focuses on investigating the mechanism for nitriding in a commercial ASPN system. Commercial ASPN treatments of nitrideable alloy steels were found to be unsatisfactory unless a sufficient bias was applied. The level of bias required to produce a satisfactory nitriding response, in terms of the cross sectional hardness, was found to depend on the concentration of strong alloy nitride forming elements present in the steel. Although active screen material was found to be transferred to the workload, no evidence was found that this process played a significant role in enhancing the nitriding response. The primary mechanism for nitrogen mass transfer in ASPN was found to be dependent on the active screen/workload separation distance. When this separation is small (less than approximately 10cm for the conditions used in this study) then nitrogen mass transfer in the form of energetic ions or neutrals can occur between the active screen and the workload. This allows samples to be treated without a substrate bias. On the other hand, when the active screen/workload separation distance is large (greater than approximately 10cm) as is normally the case in a commercial environment, this mechanism for nitrogen mass transfer breaks down and a substrate bias is essential. In this latter case, nitrogen ions attracted to the workload using a bias is the primary nitrogen mass transfer mechanism and the role of the active screen is primar ily to uniformly heat the workload.