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The ability to confine very high temperature plasmas is central to the issue of fusion power generation. RSPE hosts the H1-NF toroidal helical-axis stellarator which is used to study the physics of confined plasmas and to develop novel diagnostic instrumentation for larger power reactors. Special areas of interest include plasma turbulence and spectroscopic instrumentation.
In support of the experimental efforts, RSPE also undertakes a strong theoretical research program in modelling of plasma flow dynamics and related complex phenomena. We are also a partial host for the ARC Complex Systems Research Network.
Potential student research projects
You could be doing your own research into fusion and plasma confinement. Below are some examples of student physics research projects available in RSPE.
Lorentz forces in a tokamak
In this project we will examine the forces generated in superconductoring magnetics, and scope the forces generated during a disruption.
Diagnosing plasma-surface interactions under fusion-relevant conditions
This project involves studying the complex plasma-surface interaction region of a fusion-relevant plasma environment through laser-based and spectroscopic techniques.
Constraining toroidal equilibria to accretion disc observations
In this project we would compare the construction of accretion disc and magnetic configuration Grad-Shafranov problems, and apply a recently developed toroidal magnetic confinement equilibrium code to model an accretion disc. A focus of the project will...
Shocks transitions in nonuniform magnetic fields
Recent development of a flowing MHD model for the rotating, collisional column of MAGPIE plasmas discovered the intriguing prediction of opposite axial acceleration of the plasma ions in the subsonic and supersonic regimes. This project would examine the regime...
Thermonuclear ringtones in tokamak plasmas
Key to sustaining fusion plasmas is that they are MHD stable to disruptive mode activity, and other electromagnetic modes do not result in catastrophic performance degradation. The project involves exploiting a generalised MHD code to describe high frequency...
Electric field structure of Energetic Geodesic Acoustic Modes (EGAMs)
The project aims to add particle orbit effects to an ANU developed theory for solving the electric field structure of Energetic Geodesic Acoustic Modes (EGAMs). EGAMs are unstable electrostatic oscillations in tokamak plasmas that are harmful to plasma...
Please browse our full list of available physics research projects to find a student research project that interests you.
Updated: 31 July 2019/ Responsible Officer: Director, RSPhys/ Page Contact: Physics Webmaster
