Flow dynamics and magnetic induction in the von-Karman plasma experiment

TL;DR

This paper introduces the von-Karman plasma experiment, a versatile setup for studying magnetic induction and flow dynamics in weakly magnetized plasmas, combining experimental and simulation approaches.

Contribution

It presents a novel experimental device capable of exploring magnetic induction and flow turbulence in plasmas, supported by MHD simulations for optimized flow control.

Findings

Achieved rotating plasma flows up to nearly 1 km/s

Demonstrated control of flow dynamics via JxB torques

Supported experimental results with MHD simulations

Abstract

The von-Karman plasma experiment is a novel versatile experimental device designed to explore the dynamics of basic magnetic induction processes and the dynamics of flows driven in weakly magnetized plasmas. A high-density plasma column (10^16 - 10^19 particles.m^-3) is created by two radio-frequency plasma sources located at each end of a 1 m long linear device. Flows are driven through JxB azimuthal torques created from independently controlled emissive cathodes. The device has been designed such that magnetic induction processes and turbulent plasma dynamics can be studied from a variety of time-averaged axisymmetric flows in a cylinder. MHD simulations implementing volume-penalization support the experimental development to design the most efficient flow-driving schemes and understand the flow dynamics. Preliminary experimental results show that a rotating motion of up to nearly 1 km/s is controlled by the JxB azimuthal torque.