The magnetic coupling, during a disruption, between the plasma and the various coil systems on the PDX tokamak has been modelled. Using measured coil currents, the model indicates that dissipation of magnetic energy in the plasma equal to 75% of the energy stored in the poloidal field of the plasma current does occur and that coupling between the plasma and the coil systems can reduce such dissipation. In the case of PDX Ohmic discharges, radiation and charge-exchange energy losses, integrated over a disruption, account for 90% of the calculated energy dissipation, which was confirmed by bolometric measurements.
Spontaneous transfer of magnetically stored energy to kinetic energy by electric double layers