Estimations of transport coefficients of $$N_{2}{-}O_{2}$$ N 2 - O 2 mixtures are obtained by describing $$N_{2}{-}N_{2}$$ N 2 - N 2 , $$O_{2}{-}O_{2}$$ O 2 - O 2 and $$N_{2}{-}O_{2}$$ N 2 - O 2 binary collisions with three distinct Potential Energy Surfaces. Classical Trajectories are then used in combination with Monte Carlo and with non-equilibrium Direct Simulation Monte Carlo simulations to obtain transport coefficients of $$N_{2} {-} O_{2}$$ N 2 - O 2 mixtures.

Estimations of transport coefficients of N_2-O_2 mixtures are obtained by describing N_2-N_2 , O_2-O_2 and N_2-O_2 binary collisions with three distinct Potential Energy Surfaces. Classical Trajectories are then used in combination with Monte Carlo and with non-equilibrium Direct Simulation Monte Carlo simulations to obtain transport coefficients of N_2- O_2 mixtures.

We investigate internal energy relaxation processes and the corresponding volume viscosity coefficients in fluids. We successively consider a simplified two temperature model, a two-mode two temperature model, and finally a well as state-to-state model for a mixture of polyatomic species. The apparition of volume-or bulk-viscosity coefficients in relaxation regimes is studied as well as the relations with the limiting equilibrium one-temperature bulk viscosity coefficients. Monte Carlo numerical simulations from the literature are next addressed and found to be in agreement with the kinetic theory analysis. New numerical simulations of state-to-state mixtures of Hydrogen and Helium are presented and found to be in full agreement with the theory.

ITER envisages the use of two heating neutral beam injectors plus an optional one as part of the auxiliary heating and current drive system. The 16.5 MW expected neutral beam power per injector is several notches higher than worldwide existing facilities. A Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) was established at Consorzio RFX, exploiting the synergy of two test beds, SPIDER and MITICA. SPIDER is dedicated to developing and characterizing large efficient negative ion sources at relevant parameters in ITER-like conditions: source and accelerator located in the same vacuum where the beam propagates, immunity to electromagnetic interferences of multiple radio-frequency (RF) antennas, avoidance of RF-induced discharges on the outside of the source. Three years of experiments on SPIDER have addressed to the necessary design modifications to enable full performances. The source is presently under a long shut-down phase to incorporate learnings from the experimental campaign. Parallelly, developments on MITICA, the full-scale prototype of the ITER NBI featuring a 1 MV accelerator and ion neutralization, are underway including manufacturing of in-vessel components, while power supplies and auxiliary plants are already under final testing and commissioning. Integration, commissioning and tests of the 1MV power supplies are essential for this first-of-kind system, unparalleled both in research and industry field. The integrated test to confirm 1MV output by combining invertor systems, DC generators and transmission lines extracted errors/accidents in some components. To realize a concrete system for ITER, solutions for the repair and the improvement of the system were developed. Hence, NBTF is emerging as a necessary facility, due to the large gap with existing injectors, effectively dedicated to identify issues and find solutions to enable successful ITER NBI operations in a time bound fashion.

A roto-vibrational resolved corona model is discussed for the simulation of the Fulcher spectrum in Hydrogen low pressure discharges. The model allows to derive H 2 rotational and vibrational temperatures from the analysis of emission spectra in the [600:640] nm range. The model is applied to the analysis of emission spectra collected at the SPIDER negative ion source. Results are presented for different values of the applied power to the plasma, pressure, and for different regions of the plasma, thus providing a characterization of the plasma with respect to the internal temperatures of the molecular component.

The SPIDER test facility is the full-size ITER neutral beam injector (NBI) ion source, required to provide 355 A/m2 extracted negative ion current density in hydrogen (285 A/m2 in deuterium) with an electron-to-ion ratio lower than 0.5 (one in deuterium). The negative ion source is attached to a three-grids extraction and acceleration system. The operational conditions for the cases presented in this work involve short pulses (up to about 30 s length) repeated every five to six minutes. The duty cycle can be adjusted. In order to fulfil the requirement on the extracted negative ion current with reduced amount of co-extracted electrons, the evaporation of caesium into the ion source through Cs ovens (three in SPIDER) and the optimisation of Cs conditioning techniques are mandatory. At SPIDER, the plasma is monitored via optical emission spectroscopy techniques measuring the plasma emission in a line-of-sight (LOS) integrated manner in several positions inside the ion source. In particular, close to the extraction region, two sets (centred at 5 mm and at 35 mm distance from the plasma grid) of four horizontal LOSs are used to retrieve the vertical profile of the plasma emission. During the Cs conditioning campaign performed at SPIDER, although the extraction capabilities were reduced due to technical problems, the RF power coupled to the plasma reached 400 kW with all four RF generators working simultaneously. The negative ions produced by surface emission affects the plasma radiation, and the ion source performances in terms of extracted negative ions and co-extracted electrons. The aim of this work is to study the evolution of the plasma emission over the initial phase of the Cs conditioning campaign. The effect of Cs conditioning on the extracted negative ions and electrons is also presented and discussed.

Spectral line shape models can successfully reproduce experimental Rayleigh-Brillouin spectra, but they need knowledge about the bulk viscosity ηb. Light scattering involves GHz frequencies, but since ηb is only documented at low frequencies, ηb is usually left as a free parameter, which is determined by a fit of the model to an experimental spectrum. The question is whether models work so well because of this freedom. Moreover, for light scattering in air, spectral models view "air" as an effective molecule. We critically evaluate the use of ηb as a fit parameter by comparing ηb obtained from fits of the Tenti S6 model to the result of Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) for a mixture of Nitrogen and Oxygen. These simulations are used to compute light scattering spectra, which are then compared to experiments. The DSMC simulation parameters are cross-checked with a molecular dynamics simulation based on intermolecular potentials. At large values of the uniformity parameter y, y ≈ 4, where the Brillouin contribution to spectra is large, fitted ηb are 20% larger than the ones from DSMC, while the quality of the simulated spectra is comparable to that of the Tenti S6 line shape model. At smaller y, the difference between fitted and simulated ηb can be as large as 100%. We hypothesize the breakdown of the bulk viscosity concept to be the cause of this fallacy.

Internal energy relaxation processes in fluid models derived from the kinetic theory are revisited, as are related bulk viscosity coefficients. The apparition of bulk viscosity coefficients in relaxation regimes and the links with equilibrium one-temperature bulk viscosity coefficients are discussed. First, a two-temperature model with a single internal energy mode is investigated, then a two-temperature model with two internal energy modes and finally a state-to-state model for mixtures of gases. All these models lead to a unique physical interpretation of the apparition of bulk viscosity effects when relaxation characteristic times are smaller than fluid times. Monte Carlo numerical simulations of internal energy relaxation processes in model gases are then performed, and power spectrums of density fluctuations are computed. When the energy relaxation time is smaller than the fluid time, both the two temperature and the single-temperature model including bulk viscosity yield a satisfactory description. When the energy relaxation time is larger than the fluid time, however, only the two-temperature model is in agreement with Boltzmann equation. The quantum population of a He-H2 mixture is also simulated with detailed He-H2 cross sections, and the resulting bulk viscosity evaluated from the Green–Kubo formula is in agreement with the theory. The impact of bulk viscosity in fluid mechanics is also addressed, as well as various mathematical aspects of internal energy relaxation and Chapman–Enskog asymptotic expansion for a two-temperature fluid model.

Rayleigh-Brillouin scattering (RBS) in gases has received considerable attention due to its applications in LIDAR (light detection and ranging) remote sensing and gas property measurements. In most cases, the RBS spectra in the kinetic regime are calculated based on kinetic model equations, which are difficult to be applied to complex gas mixtures. In this work, we employ two widely used molecular simulation methods, i.e., direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) and molecular dynamics (MD), to calculate the spontaneous RBS spectra of binary gas mixtures. We validate these two methods by comparing the simulation results for mixtures of argon and helium with the experimental results. Then we extend the RBS calculations to gas mixtures involving polyatomic gases. The rotational relaxation numbers specific to each species pair in DSMC are determined by fitting the DSMC spectra to the MD spectra. Our results show that all the rotational relaxation numbers for air composed of N_{2} and O_{2} increase with temperature in the range of 300-750 K. We further calculate the RBS spectra for binary mixtures composed of N_{2} and one noble monatomic gas, and the simulation results show that the rotational relaxation of N_{2} is greatly affected by the mass of the noble gas atoms. This work demonstrates that RBS is a promising and alternative way to study the rotational relaxation process in gas mixtures.

To reach fusion conditions and control the plasma configuration in ITER, the next step in tokamak fusion research, two neutral beam injectors (NBIs) will supply 16.5 MW each, by neutralizing accelerated negative hydrogen or deuterium ions. The requirements of ITER NBIs (40A/1 MeV D-ions for <1 h, 46A/870 keV H-ions for <1000 s) have never been simultaneously attained. So in the Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF, Consorzio RFX, Italy) the operation of the full-scale ITER NBI prototype (MITICA) will be tested and optimised up to full performances, focussing on accelerator (including voltage holding), beam optics, neutralisation, residual ion removal. The NBTF includes also the full-scale prototype of the ITER NBI source with 100 keV particle energy (SPIDER), for early investigation of: negative ion production and extraction, source uniformity, negative ion current density and beam optics. This paper will describe the main results of the first two years of SPIDER operation, devoted to characterizing plasma and beam parameters, including investigation of RF-plasma coupling efficiency and magnetic filter field effectiveness in reducing co-extracted electrons. SPIDER is progressing towards the first caesium injection, which aims at increasing the negative ion density. A major shutdown, planned for 2021, to solve the issues identified during the operation and to carry out programmed modifications, will be outlined. The installation of each MITICA power supply and auxiliary system is completed; in-vessel mechanical components are under procurement by Fusion for Energy (F4E). Integration, commissioning and test of the power supplies, procured by F4E and QST, as the Japanese Domestic Agency (JADA), will be presented. In particular, 1.0MV insulating tests were carried out step-by-step and successfully completed. In 2020 integrated tests of the power supplies on the accelerator dummy load started, including the assessment of their resilience to accelerator grid breakdowns using a short-circuit device located in vacuum. The aggressive programme, to validate the NBI design at NBTF and to meet ITER schedule (requiring NBIs in operation in 2032), will be outlined. Unfortunately, in 2020 the coronavirus disease infection affected the NBTF activities. A solution to proceed with integrated power tests despite the coronavirus is presented.

Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) on the SPIDER negative ion source has been collecting data since the beginning of operation in Summer 2018. The first few months were devoted to complete the diagnostic commissioning and its integration with the SPIDER control and data acquisition system. Consistent sets of spectroscopic data have been acquired under different experimental conditions, not only varying the plasma source filling pressure and injected power but also changing the RF generator frequencies and the strength of the magnetic field acting as a filter in front of the plasma grid. The main results of OES data analysis are presented in this work. SPIDER optical emission diagnostic comprises a set of 66 channels wavelength resolved and 36 single line channels by means of interference filtering. Some of them collect the photons along line of sight (LOS) perpendicular to the grids through the 8 RF drivers and others along LOS parallel to and near the grids, both horizontally and vertically. Since the starting of extraction experiments, 22 channels have been dedicated to collect the extracted beam emission. The LOS layout allows tracing two 9-point vertical profiles of the source plasma in the extraction region at 35 and 5 mm from the Plasma Grid (PG) and four 4-point horizontal profiles spanning the 65 mm region before the PG. It is also possible to collect spectra from LOS looking in between the grids. Both Balmer series and Fulcher band between 600 nm and 640 nm were routinely collected. Their intensities are very sensitive to the plasma parameters and when coupled to a collisional radiative model can give an estimation of the electron density and gas dissociation. It has been found that the Balmer emission and gas dissociation inside the drivers scale linearly with the RF power, the latter reaching a value up to 20% at high power and low pressure. Rotational gas temperature has also been evaluated; it ranged between 900 K and 1400 K, where higher values were reached for higher pressures and RF powers.

Rayleigh-Brillouin scattering spectra of SF6 are modeled at room temperature in the pressure range [0.2-5] bar and compared to recent experimental measurements (Wang et al., 2017). It is shown that lineshape models that account for density-dependent corrections to the thermodynamic properties provide substantially better agreement than the models assuming an ideal gas model. For intermediate pressures, where a hydrodynamic description of the spectra fails due to kinetic effects, the Enskog-Vlasov kinetic model is shown to reproduce experimental data with good accuracy both at low and high pressure.

Work done by the authors on the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) simulation of thermal fluctuation in gases is summarized here. The calculation of the gas transport properties via the Green-Kubo formulas is discussed. Results from classical trajectory DSMC simulations of molecular oxygen show how the approach can be used to validate a particular interaction model (a Potential Energy Surface in this case). Direct experimental validation of the dynamics of spontaneous density fluctuations is also possible due to its connection to the spectrum measured in Rayleigh-Brillouin light scattering experiments (RBS). A number of examples of the DSMC simulation of RBS spectra for atomic gases and their mixtures, and for a molecular gas (oxygen) are discussed. Finally, an extension of the method is discussed that allows discussion of small density-dependent nonideality effects in the RBS spectra of SF6.

A vibration-specific approach is employed to describe vibrational relaxation and reactive processes in shock-heated air. Models are implemented that include results from recent theoretical calculations for the relevant rate coefficients. Two sets of rate coefficients for the Zeldovich reactions of nitric oxide formation, derived from quasi-classical trajectory calculations, are compared. The relaxation kinetics, nitric oxide formation, and vibrational nonequilibrium behind the shock are discussed in detail. Results show that the nitric oxide formation kinetics is sensitive to the details of the adopted rate coefficients. The effect of the adopted kinetic descriptions (multitemperature, state-to-state) on the postshock plasma radiative signature is investigated. The predicted radiative contribution from the oxygen Schumann-Runge band is dominant in the spectral range 200-300 nm for shock speeds of 5-8 km/s. Comparison to shock-tube absolute intensity measurements has provided indications for improvement of nonequilibrium flow modeling. It is suggested that a kinetic treatment of the radiating electronic states may improve the agreement.

Spectral densities of plasma fluctuations are calculated for the thermal case using classical molecular dynamics (MD) assuming Coulomb interactions and a short-range cutoff radius. The aim of the calculation is to verify limits and performances of such calculations in the light of possible generalizations, e.g. collisional or non-ideal plasmas. Results are presented for ideal, collisionless, fully ionized thermal plasmas. Comparison with the analytical theory reveals a generally satisfactory agreement with possibility for improvement when more strict numerical parameters are used albeit with a strong increase in computational cost. The largest deviations have been observed in the vicinity of the weakly damped eigenmodes. The agreement is strong in other parts of the spectrum, where Landau damping is prominent, and overcomes the effects stemming from the excess collisionality and coupling as well as from the exclusion of short-range collisions.

A review of the existing chemical kinetics models for H2/He mixtures and related transport and thermodynamic properties is presented as a pre-requisite towards the development of innovative models based on the state-to-state approach. A survey of the available results obtained during the mission preparation and post-flight analyses of the Galileo mission has been undertaken and a computational matrix has been derived. Different chemical kinetics schemes for hydrogen/helium mixtures have been applied to numerical simulations of the selected points along the entry trajectory. First, a reacting scheme, based on literature data, has been set up for computing the flow-field around the probe at high altitude and comparisons with existing numerical predictions are performed. Then, a macroscopic model derived from a state-to-state model has been constructed and incorporated into a CFD code. Comparisons with existing numerical results from the literature have been performed as well as cross-check comparisons between the predictions provided by the different models in order to evaluate the potential of innovative chemical kinetics models based on the state-to-state approach.

Rayleigh–Brillouin scattering spectra (RBS) in molecular Oxygen have been simulated by DSMC. Different scattering models have been implemented based either on the Larsen–Borgnakke relaxation model and on the Classical Trajectories technique. Results are compared with recent experimentally measured spectra showing good agreement. It is suggested that DSMC-based models be used in the interpretation of light scattering experiments in place of the simplified kinetic models, widely used for the interpretation of RBS experiments. Actually, the former have a firmer physical ground and are readily extended to treat gas mixtures of arbitrary complexity.

A vibrationally detailed kinetic model is used to study the relaxation behind shock waves in air. The role of recently published data for the rate coefficients of the Zeldovich reactions of NO formation is studied in detail. Results allow to study the radiation emitted from the shock-heated gas. Comparison with some emission spectroscopy study performed in a shock tube facility shows only qualitative agreement with the model predictions but it allows to identify directions for model improvement.

The radiative cooling of shocked gas with primordial chemical composition is an important process relevant to the formation of the first stars and structures, as well as taking place also in high-velocity cloud collisions and supernovae explosions. Among the different processes that need to be considered, the formation kinetics and cooling of molecular hydrogen are of prime interest, since they provide the only way to lower the gas temperature to values well below ∼104 K. In previous works, the internal energy level structure of H2 and its cation has been treated in the approximation of ro-vibrational ground state at low densities, or trying to describe the dynamics using some arbitrary v > 0 H2 level that is considered representative of the excited vibrational manifold. In this study, we compute the vibrationally resolved kinetics for the time-dependent chemical and thermal evolution of the post-shock gas in a medium of primordial composition. The calculated non-equilibrium distributions are used to evaluate effects on the cooling function of the gas and on the cooling time. Finally, we discuss the dependence of the results to different initial values of the shock velocity and redshift.

The vibration-specific State-to-State approach is employed to described vibrational relaxation and reactive processes in shock-heated air. The gas mixture consists of the five chemical species N-2, O-2, NO, N and O. Making use of two different sets of quasi-classical trajectory calculations for the Zeldovich exchange reactions of NO formation on theoretically calculated potential energy surfaces, the thermal and chemical kinetics of NO is discussed in detail. Then the emission spectra are determined and compared to shock tube measurements.