Study of turbulence in the high betap discharge using only RF heating on EAST

High poloidal beta scenarios with favorable energy confinement (β_p~1.9, H_98y2~1.4) have been achieved on Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) using only radio frequency waves heating. Gyrokinetic simulations are carried out with experimental plasma parameters and tokamak equilibrium data of a typical high β_p discharge by the GTC code. Linear simulations show that electron temperature scale length and electron density scale length destabilize the turbulence, collision effects stabilize the turbulence, and the instability propagates in the electron diamagnetic direction. These indicate that the dominant instability in the core of high β_p plasma is collisionless trapped electron mode. Ion thermal diffusivities calculated by nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations are consistent with the experimental value, in which the electron collision effects play an important role. Further analyses show that instabilities with k_θ ρ_s>0.38 are suppressed by collision effects and collision effects reduce the radial correlation length of turbulence, resulting in the suppression of the turbulence.

Study on the divertor plasma behavior through sweeping strike point in the new lower divertor on EAST

A series of L-mode discharges have been conducted in the new ‘corner slot’ divertor on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) to study the divertor plasma behavior through sweeping strike point. The plasma control system controls the strike point sweeping from the horizontal target to the vertical target through poloidal field coils, with keeping the main plasma stability. The surface temperature of the divertor target cools down as the strike point moves away, indicating that sweeping strike point mitigates the heat load. To avoid the negative effect of probe tip damage, a method based on sweeping strike point is used to get the normalized profile and study the decay length of particle and heat flux on the divertor target λ js , λ q .In the discharges with high radio-frequency (RF) heating power, electron temperature T e is lower and λ js is larger when the strike point locates on the horizontal target compared to the vertical target, probably due to the corner effect. In the Ohmic discharges, λ js , λ q are much larger compared to the discharges with high RF heating power, which may be attributed to lower edge T e .

Quality of Milled Rice from Large-Scale Dried Paddy Rice by Hot Air Combined with Radio Frequency Heating

A scaled-up process for paddy drying was developed using hot air (HA) combined with radio frequency (RF) heating. The study was conducted using hot air (control treatment) arranged in descending order in four temperature levels, namely 80 °C at moisture content of 25–26%, 70 °C at moisture content of 20–25%, 60 °C at moisture content of 17–20%, and 50 °C at moisture content of 13–17%, as well as with hot air combined with radio frequency (HA/RF) at different paddy temperatures (45–60 °C) by adjusting the appropriate RF energy when passing through RF heating chamber, namely HA/RF45, HA/RF50, HA/RF55, and HA/RF60. Each treatment was performed in three replicates and data were statistically analyzed in a randomized complete block design. The quality attributes of paddies affected by the drying process were assessed: fissure percentage, color, milling quality, and sensory evaluation. The drying efficiency showed that the drying time and the specific energy consumption could be decreased by up to 54.44% and 23.17% at HA/RF60 and HA/RF45, respectively. As the RF heating temperature increased, the fissure percentage of brown rice kernels at HA/RF45 and HA was not significantly impacted. Regarding color evaluation, combining RF heating and convective drying at all given conditions could be statistically applied in terms of the b*, WI, and ΔE* value. Considering the milling yield of HA as the baseline, head rice yield was maximized at HA/RF45, while bran yield reached the maximum at HA/RF60. The liking score of cooked rice after it was dried using the HA method was the highest. This study concludes that the HA/RF45 was the most appropriate drying condition, and this may provide preliminary exposure to the industrial drying of paddies.

Radio Frequency Heating Simulation Using A Reservoir Simulator Coupled with Electromagnetic Solver for Soil Remediation

Radio frequency (RF) heating is recognized as a technique having the potential to thermally enhance remediation of hydrocarbon-impacted soil. RF heating delivers electromagnetic (EM) power to a targeted body of soil, resulting in an increased soil temperature that enhances the in-situ remediation processes such as biodegradation. Antennas are placed either on the ground or installed in the soil near the ground surface. The antennas operate in the hundreds of kHz to MHz range. To model the RF heating process, we successfully coupled a reservoir simulator with a 3-dimensional (3D) EM solver to evaluate the ability of RF technology to heat soil in situ. The coupled reservoir/EM simulator solves the EM fields and associated heating for a heterogeneous reservoir or soil volume in the presence of multiple antennas. The coupling was accomplished through a flexible interface in the reservoir simulator that allows the runtime loading of third-party software libraries with additional physics. This coupled workflow had been previously used for studying RF heating for heavy oil recovery (Li 2019). An RF heating simulation case study was performed in support of a soil remediation field test designed to demonstrate the ability to heat soils using EM energy. The study included field test data analysis, simulation model building, and history matching the model to test data. Results indicate, on average, the soil was heated ∼2-3°C above the initial formation temperature after approximately two days (52 hours) of RF heating. We found that the RF heating was local, and our simulation model, after tuning input parameters, was able to predict a temperature profile consistent with the field test observations. With properly designed RF heating field pilots and tuning of EM and reservoir parameters in simulation models, the coupled reservoir/EM simulator is a powerful tool for the calibration, evaluation, and optimization of RF heating operations.

Inactivation of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus in rice by radio-frequency heating

The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of the milling degree (MD) of Oryza sativa L. (Korean rice) on the heating rate, pathogen inactivation (Salmonella Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus), and color change resulting from radio-frequency (RF) heating. Rice samples inoculated with pathogens were placed in a polypropylene jar and subjected to RF heating for 0-75 s. The heating rate of rice with a 2% MD was the highest during RF heating, followed by those with a 0, 8, and 10% MD, and the reduction of pathogens showed the same trend. The reduction of the levels of pathogens in rice with a MD 0 and 2% was significantly higher than that observed for rice with a MD of 8 and 10% under the same treatment conditions. For example, log reductions of S. Typhimurium in rice by 55 s RF heating were 3.64, 5.19, 2.18, and 1.80 for milling degree of 0, 2, 8, and 10%, respectively. At the same treatment conditions, log reduction of S. aureus were 2.77, 5.08, 1.15, and 0.90 for milling degree of 0, 2, 8, and 10%, respectively. The color of rice measured according to L*, a*, and b* was not significantly altered after RF heating, regardless of the MD. Therefore, the MD of rice should be considered before RF heating is applied to inactivate foodborne pathogens.

Volumetric fusion of graphite-doped nylon 12 powder with radio frequency radiation

Purpose Additive manufacturing (AM) of thermoplastic polymers for powder bed fusion processes typically requires each layer to be fused before the next can be deposited. The purpose of this paper is to present a volumetric AM method in the form of deeply penetrating radio frequency (RF) radiation to improve the speed of the process and the mechanical properties of the polymer parts. Design/methodology/approach The focus of this study was to demonstrate the volumetric fusion of composite mixtures containing polyamide (nylon) 12 and graphite powders using RF radiation as the sole energy source to establish the feasibility of a volumetric AM process for thermoplastic polymers. Impedance spectroscopy was used to measure the dielectric properties of the mixtures as a function of increasing graphite content and identify the percolation limit. The mixtures were then tested in a parallel plate electrode chamber connected to an RF generator to measure the heating effectiveness of different graphite concentrations. During the experiments, the surface temperature of the doped mixtures was monitored. Findings Nylon 12 mixtures containing between 10% and 60% graphite by weight were created, and the loss tangent reached a maximum of 35%. Selective RF heating was shown through the formation of fused composite parts within the powder beds. Originality/value The feasibility of a novel volumetric AM process for thermoplastic polymers was demonstrated in this study, in which RF radiation was used to achieve fusion in graphite-doped nylon powders.

Uncertainty Quantification of Allen-Cahn Phase Field Parameters in Multiphysics Simulation of Oil Shale Radio Frequency Heating

Radio frequency (RF) heating represents a dielectric heating technique for converting kerogen-rich oil shale into liquid oil through in-situ pyrolysis. This process can be modeled using a multiphysics finite element based coupled thermal, phase field, mechanical and electromagnetic (TPME) numerical framework. This work focuses on the combination of a two-dimensional (2D) TPME multiphysics simulation with uncertainty quantification (UQ) that incorporates the Allen-Cahn phase field parameters, specifically those which describe the associated reaction-diffusion process as electromagnetic energy being converted to thermal energy in the RF heating process. The breadth of UQ performed in this study includes not only the Allen-Cahn parameters but also selected thermal, statistical rock-type distribution in the geological model, as well as electromagnetic parameters of the applied quasi-static Maxwell equation. A Non-Intrusive Polynomial Chaos (NIPC) is used for: considering the affect of Allen-Cahn phase field parameters on the evaluation of plausible conversion timelines of TPME simulation and the evaluation of summary statistics to predict the order of Polynomial Chaos Expansion (PCE) that is representative of full kerogen-rich zonal conversion response in a geologically descriptive finite element model. A sparse representation of polynomial chaos coefficients is highlighted in the process of computing summary statistics for the complex stochastically-driven TPME simulation results. Additionally, Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were performed in order to validate the results of the sparse NIPC representation. This is done considering MC is a widely recognized stochastic simulation process. Additionally, NIPC was used to illustrate the potential performance improvement that are possible, with a sparse polynomial chaos expansion enhanced by the incorporation of Least Angle Regression (LAR), as compared to MC simulation. Although the parametic uncertainty of the reaction-diffusion parameters of the Allen-Cahn was comprehensive, they did not accelerate the conversion timelines associated with the full zonal conversion of the kerogen-rich rock type in the statistical simulation results. By executing the stochastic simulations for a greater length of time the extent of full zonal conversion is examined in the RF modeling.