Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Description

This course discusses MHD equilibria in cylindrical, toroidal, and noncircular tokamaks. It covers derivation of the basic MHD model from the Boltzmann equation, use of MHD equilibrium theory in poloidal field design, MHD stability theory including the Energy Principle, interchange instability, ballooning modes, second region of stability, and external kink modes. Emphasis is on discovering configurations capable of achieving good confinement at high beta.

Course Prerequisites

In order to register for 22.615, you should have previously completed 22.611J/8.613J/6.651J, with a grade of C or higher. Exceptions to this policy will require the permission of the instructor, and will be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Textbooks

Freidberg, J. P. Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics. This is out of print but Xerox copies will be available to registered students shortly after the start of classes.

Goedbloed, Hans, and Stefaan Poedts. Principles of Magnetohydrodynamics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780521626071.

Wesson, John. Tokamaks. 3rd ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1987. ISBN: 9780198563280.

Problem Sets

The weekly problem sets are an essential part of the course. Working through these problems is crucial to understanding the material.

Problem sets will generally be assigned at Tuesday's lecture and will be due at start of class on the following Thursday.

Exams

There will be a take home midterm and a take home final.

Grading

The final grade for the course will be based on the following:

Calendar