Plasma transport computations for high-beta plasmas with impurities and neutrals

The evolution of a high-β plasma after the initial dynamic phase is described by a multifluid (electrons, hydrogenic ions, neutrals, and impurities) model for a belt-pinch configuration. The numerical results obtained from the model agree with experimental findings from the Garching Belt Pinch II. The power balance is dominated by radiation losses for impurity percentages of 1-3%. Neutrals play a role for plasma densities < or approximately equal to 1014 cmsup(-3). Energy confinement times, and thus decay times for β, in the ms-range should be obtainable. An optimization is presented for plasmas whose initial densities, temperatures, and impurity contents are produced by shock heating. (author)