From Dusty to Thermonuclear Plasmas: Research in Plasma Science and Engineering at the Dusty Plasma Laboratory

Abstract

In this talk, I describe the various research topics we are pursuing at the Dusty Plasma Laboratory (DPL) of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Our research includes numerical simulations as well as experiments. Numerical simulations using 3D resistive magnetohydrodynamic equations are carried out for a model of a high temperature plasma configuration, called spheromak, that is a candidate for confinement of thermonuclear-relevant plasmas applied to nuclear fusion energy.  This form of energy is considered the ‘holy grail’ of energy sources, and is one of the National Academy of Engineering grand challenges: fuel is abundant everywhere in the world, it would be virtually inexhaustible, no greenhouse gases or particulates output, weapons proliferation-resistant, and very low-level and short-lived nuclear waste. We are also interested in another fusion-relevant configuration, the rotating magnetic mirror, which is studied at DPL but from an atomistic perspective using experiments with dusty plasmas. These plasmas are composed of grains of up to tens of microns in size that are electrically charged and behave in many ways like atomic plasmas, but can be recorded and tracked individually with laboratory cameras, thus opening the possibility of using statistical mechanics tools on the ensemble of particles. The charged dust is made to rotate with external magnetic fields and inductively coupled radiofrequency from antennae that create plasma pressure gradients that confine the dust and at the same time pushes it in the ∇P x B direction. Experiments in collaboration with Auburn University achieved the highest rotation rates and with the largest dust, 50 µm, observed to date for dusty plasmas. I will also present our research in plasma diagnostics, including research into additive manufacturing of metals that could accelerate and reduce cost for research in high temperature plasma confinement; this new technology presents significant challenges including vacuum compatibility, high heat loads, and nuclear radiation resistance. In all of our research endeavors, including in collaborations within UMBC and with external partners, graduate and undergraduate participation is crucial. I will describe ongoing collaborations and future projects, and emphasize the role students play in each project.

About the Speaker

Prof. Carlos Romero-Talamás received a B.S. in Engineering Physics from the Instituto Technológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, in Monterrey, México in 1995, and a Master of Space Studies from the International Space University, in Strasbourg, France in 1998. He received a M.S. in Aeronautics in 2000 and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Applied Physics from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA in 2005. He then worked as a postdoctoral scholar at the Sustained Spheromak Physics Experiment (SSPX) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory until 2008, before joining the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics at the University of Maryland, College Park, as an Assistant Research Scientist, and in 2013 as an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at UMBC. In 2014 he was awarded the honor of Young Faculty Award by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for his research in fusion energy, and in 2015 the University System of Maryland's PROMISE AGEP Outstanding Faculty Mentor for 2015 – 2016. His research interests are focused on plasma science, technology, and energy applications, including laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, magnetic self-organization and reconnection, plasma-material interactions, dusty plasmas, air-plasmas, and electromagnetic heating of plasmas.

Light refreshments will be served.

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