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At least 217 records · Page 12
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DOE OSTI2011

Characteristics of microinstabilities in electron cyclotron and ohmic heated discharges

Characteristics of microinstabilities in electron cyclotron (EC) and ohmic heated (OH) discharges in the T10 tokamak have been analyzed by linear electrostatic gyrokinetic simulations with gyro[J. Candy and R. E. Waltz, J. Comput. Phys. 186, 545 (2003)] aiming to find insights into the effect of auxiliary heating on the transport. Trapped electron modes are found to be unstable in both OH and the EC heated scenarios. In the OH case the main drive is from the density gradient and in the EC case from the electron temperature gradient. The growth rates and particle fluxes exhibit qualitatively different scaling with the electron-to-ion temperature ratios in the two cases. This is mainly due to the fact that the dominant drives and the collisionalities are different. The inward flow velocity of impurities and the impurity diffusion coefficient decreases when applying EC heating, which leads to lower impurity peaking, consistently with experimental observations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Radial electric field generated by resonant trapped electron pinch with radio frequency injection in a tokamak plasma

Radial electric fields in tokamaks can be generated by charge accumulation due to a resonant trapped electron pinch effect. The radial field can then drive a toroidal flow. This resonant pinch effect was evaluated for the current-drive scheme that diffused electrons in the direction parallel to the toroidal field. It was found that, for typical tokamak parameters, to generate a radial electric field on the order of 100 kV/m, an rf power density on the order of kW/m{sup 3} is required. This power, absorbed by trapped electrons, is a small fraction of rf power density for current drive which is absorbed by passing electrons. However, according to the Landau resonant mechanism, the fraction of the momentum to trapped electrons decays exponentially with the square of the parallel phase velocity of the wave; therefore, the power absorbed at lower resonant velocities is the key. On the other hand, the redistribution of the current profile, due to rf current, decreases the local poloidal field and may reduce the particle transport significantly. It can relax the requirement of momentum deposited to trapped electrons, and, at the same time, contribute to explain the strongly correlation between the rotation and the driven current observed in experiments.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Analytical solutions for Tokamak equilibria with reversed toroidal current

In tokamaks, an advanced plasma confinement regime has been investigated with a central hollow electric current with negative density which gives rise to non-nested magnetic surfaces. We present analytical solutions for the magnetohydrodynamic equilibria of this regime in terms of non-orthogonal toroidal polar coordinates. These solutions are obtained for large aspect ratio tokamaks and they are valid for any kind of reversed hollow current density profiles. The zero order solution of the poloidal magnetic flux function describes nested toroidal magnetic surfaces with a magnetic axis displaced due to the toroidal geometry. The first order correction introduces a poloidal field asymmetry and, consequently, magnetic islands arise around the zero order surface with null poloidal magnetic flux gradient. An analytic expression for the magnetic island width is deduced in terms of the equilibrium parameters. We give examples of the equilibrium plasma profiles and islands obtained for a class of current density profile.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Exact momentum conservation laws for the gyrokinetic Vlasov-Poisson equations

The exact momentum conservation laws for the nonlinear gyrokinetic Vlasov-Poisson equations are derived by applying the Noether method on the gyrokinetic variational principle [A. J. Brizard, Phys. Plasmas 7, 4816 (2000)]. From the gyrokinetic Noether canonical-momentum equation derived by the Noether method, the gyrokinetic parallel momentum equation and other gyrokinetic Vlasov-moment equations are obtained. In addition, an exact gyrokinetic toroidal angular-momentum conservation law is derived in axisymmetric tokamak geometry, where the transport of parallel-toroidal momentum is related to the radial gyrocenter polarization, which includes contributions from the guiding-center and gyrocenter transformations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Zero-{beta} modeling of coaxial helicity injection in the HIT-II spherical torus

Coaxial helicity injection in the HIT-II [A. J. Redd et al., Phys. Plasmas 9, 2006 (2002)] spherical torus is modeled with time-dependent resistive magnetohydrodynamics computations run to steady state for conditions without strong relaxation. Laboratory and computed results on injector current and plasma current agree reasonably well as toroidal magnetic field and injector flux are scaled. The scalings are consistent with a dimensional estimate from the Grad-Shafranov equation that provides a new perspective on a previously published model based on a current-sheet equilibrium and the magnetic pressure required for the ''bubble-burst'' criterion. Numerical solutions of the Grad-Shafranov equation with an assumed current profile also indicate large qualitative changes as the predicted criterion is crossed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Spontaneous onset of magnetic reconnection in toroidal plasma caused by breaking of 2D symmetry

Magnetic reconnection is studied in the collisionless limit at the Versatile Toroidal Facility (VTF) at MIT. Two distinct magnetic configurations are applied in the experiments; an open magnetic cusp and a closed cusp. In the open cusp configurations, the field lines intersect the the vacuum vessel walls and here axisymmetric oscillatory reconnection is observed. Meanwhile, in the closed cusp configuration, where the field lines are confined inside the experiment, the coupling between global modes and a current sheet leads to powerful bursts of 3D spontaneous reconnection. These spontaneous events start at one toroidal location, and then propagate around the toroidal direction at the Alfven speed (calculated with the strength of the dominant guide field). The three dimensional measurements include the detailed time evolution of the plasma density, current density, the magnetic flux function, the electrostatic potential, and the reconnection rate. The vastly different plasma behavior in the two configurations can be described using a simple theoretical framework, linking together the interdependencies of the reconnection rate, the in-plane electrostatic potential, and the parallel electron currents. We find that it is the breaking of toroidal symmetry by the global mode that allows for a localized disruption of the x-line current and hereby facilitates the onset of spontaneous reconnection.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

New approach in two-dimensional fluid modeling of edge plasma transport with high intermittency due to blobs and edge localized modes

A new approach is proposed to simulate intermittent, non-diffusive plasma transport (via blobs and filaments of edge localized modes (ELMs)) observed in the tokamak edge region within the framework of two-dimensional transport codes. This approach combines the inherently three-dimensional filamentary structures associated with an ensemble of blobs into a macro-blob in the two-dimensional poloidal cross-section and advects the macro-blob ballistically across the magnetic field, B. Intermittent transport is represented as a sequence of macro-blobs appropriately seeded in the edge plasma according to experimental statistics. In this case, the code is capable of reproducing both the long-scale temporal evolution of the background plasma and the fast spatiotemporal dynamics of blobs. We report the results from a two-dimensional edge plasma code modeling of a single macro-blob dynamics, and its interaction with initially stationary background plasma as well as with material surfaces. The mechanisms of edge plasma particle and energy losses from macro-blobs are analyzed. The effects of macro-blob sizes and advection velocity on edge plasma profiles are studied. The macro-blob impact on power loading and sputtering rates on the chamber wall and on inner and outer divertor plates is discussed. Temporal evolution of particle inventory of the edge plasma perturbed by macro-blobs is analyzed. Application of macro-blobs to ELM modeling is highlighted.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Continuum modes in rotating plasmas: General equations and continuous spectra for large aspect ratio tokamaks

A theory for localized low-frequency ideal magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) modes in axisymmetric toroidal systems is generalized to take into account both toroidal and poloidal equilibrium plasma flows. The general set of equations describing the coupling of shear Alfven and slow (sound) modes and defining the continuous spectrum of rotating plasmas in axisymmetric toroidal systems is derived. The equations are applied to study the continuous spectra in large aspect ratio tokamaks. The unstable continuous modes in the case of predominantly poloidal plasma rotation with the angular velocity exceeding the sound frequency are found. Their stabilization by the shear Alfven coupling effect is studied.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Impurity flows and plateau-regime poloidal density variation in a tokamak pedestal

In the pedestal of a tokamak, the sharp radial gradients of density and temperature can give rise to poloidal variation in the density of impurities. At the same time, the flow of the impurity species is modified relative to the conventional neoclassical result. In this paper, these changes to the density and flow of a collisional impurity species are calculated for the case when the main ions are in the plateau regime. In this regime, it is found that the impurity density can be higher at either the inboard or outboard side. This finding differs from earlier results for banana- or Pfirsch-Schlueter-regime main ions, in which case the impurity density is always higher at the inboard side in the absence of rotation. Finally, the modifications to the impurity flow are also given for the other regimes of main-ion collisionality.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

On the bootstrap current in stellarators and tokamaks

The expression for the long-mean-free-path limit of the bootstrap current in stellarators is rederived in such a way that the expansion procedure is identical to that used in the corresponding calculation for a tokamak. In addition, the first correction due to finite collisionality is calculated and shown to vanish in quasi-isodynamic configurations without net current. This correction, which is proportional to the square root of the collisionality, is found to compare well with a numerical solution of the first-order drift kinetic equation in spherical tokamak geometry. Numerically, it appears that there is a similar correction in general stellarator geometry, which however depends on the strength of the radial electric field.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Investigations of the radial propagation of blob-like structure in a non-confined electron cyclotron resonance heated plasma on Q-shu University Experiment with a Steady-State Spherical Tokamak

A study of radial propagation and electric fields induced by charge separation in blob-like structures has been performed in a non-confined cylindrical electron cyclotron resonance heating plasma on Q-shu University Experiment with a Steady-State Spherical Tokamak using a fast-speed camera and a Langmuir probe. The radial propagation of the blob-like structures is found to be driven by E x B drift. Moreover, these blob-like structures were found to have been accelerated, and the property of the measured radial velocities agrees with the previously proposed model [C. Theiler et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 065001 (2009)]. Although the dependence of the radial velocity on the connection length of the magnetic field appeared to be different, a plausible explanation based on enhanced short-circuiting of the current path can be proposed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of poloidal flows in tokamaks and MHD pedestal

Poloidal rotation is routinely observed in present-day tokamak experiments, in particular near the plasma edge and in the high-confinement mode of operation. According to the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibrium theory [R. Betti and J. P. Freidberg, Phys. Plasmas 7, 2439 (2000)], radial discontinuities form when the poloidal velocity exceeds the poloidal sound speed (or rather, more correctly, the poloidal magneto-slow speed). Two-dimensional compressible magnetohydrodynamic simulations show that the transonic discontinuities develop on a time scale of a plasma poloidal revolution to form an edge density pedestal and a localized velocity shear layer at the pedestal location. While such an MHD pedestal surrounds the entire core, the outboard side of the pedestal is driven by the transonic discontinuity while the inboard side is caused by a poloidal redistribution of the mass. The MHD simulations use a smooth momentum source to drive the poloidal flow. Soon after the flow exceeds the poloidal sound speed, the density pedestal and the velocity shear layer form and persist into a quasi steady state. These results may be relevant to the L-H transition, the early stages of the pedestal and edge transport barrier formation.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

High-{beta} equilibria in tokamaks with toroidal flow

We extend existing 2-D analytical high-{beta} equilibrium solutions obtained by Cowley et al.[Phys. Fluids B 3, 2066 (1991)] and Hsu et al.[Phys. Plasmas 3, 266 (1996)] to the case of toroidally flowing plasma, assuming ideal magnetohydrodynamics and isothermal magnetic surfaces. Invoking the ordering {beta}q{sup 2}>>{epsilon}{sup 2} and M{sub {phi}}{sup 2}q{sup 2}>>{epsilon}, we solve the boundary layer problem, re-obtaining the static solution in the zero flow limit. The phenomenon of extreme plasma diamagnetism in the static solution was found to be reduced due to centrifugal drift currents for significant toroidal flow. Example equilibrium calculations are presented using plasma parameters which are approaching attainable values in next generation spherical tokamaks.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Transport bifurcation induced by sheared toroidal flow in tokamak plasmas

First-principles numerical simulations are used to describe a transport bifurcation in a differentially rotating tokamak plasma. Such a bifurcation is more probable in a region of zero magnetic shear than one of finite magnetic shear, because in the former case the component of the sheared toroidal flow that is perpendicular to the magnetic field has the strongest suppressing effect on the turbulence. In the zero-magnetic-shear regime, there are no growing linear eigenmodes at any finite value of flow shear. However, subcritical turbulence can be sustained, owing to the existence of modes, driven by the ion temperature gradient and the parallel velocity gradient, which grow transiently. Nonetheless, in a parameter space containing a wide range of temperature gradients and velocity shears, there is a sizeable window where all turbulence is suppressed. Combined with the relatively low transport of momentum by collisional (neoclassical) mechanisms, this produces the conditions for a bifurcation from low to high temperature and velocity gradients. A parametric model is constructed which accurately describes the combined effect of the temperature gradient and the flow gradient over a wide range of their values. Using this parametric model, it is shown that in the reduced-transport state, heat is transported almost neoclassically, while momentum transport is dominated by subcritical parallel-velocity-gradient-driven turbulence. It is further shown that for any given input of torque, there is an optimum input of heat which maximises the temperature gradient. The parametric model describes both the behaviour of the subcritical turbulence (which cannot be modelled by the quasi-linear methods used in current transport codes) and the complicated effect of the flow shear on the transport stiffness. It may prove useful for transport modelling of tokamaks with sheared flows.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Techniques for the measurement of disruption halo currents in the National Spherical Torus Experiment

This paper describes techniques for measuring halo currents, and their associated toroidal peaking, in the National Spherical Torus Experiments [M. Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000)]. The measurements are based on three techniques: (1) measurement of the toroidal field created by the poloidal halo current, either with segmented Rogowski coils or discrete toroidal field sensors, (2) the direct measurement of halo currents into specially instrument tiles, and (3) small Rogowski coils placed on the mechanical supports of in-vessel components. For the segmented Rogowski coils and discrete toroidal field detectors, it is shown that the toroidal peaking factor inferred from the data is significantly less than the peaking factor of the underlying halo current distribution, and a simple model is developed to relate the two. For the array of discrete toroidal field detectors and small Rogowski sensors, the compensation steps that are used to isolate the halo current signal are described. The electrical and mechanical design of compact under-tile resistive shunts and mini-Rogowski coils is described. Example data from the various systems are shown.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2011

Toroidal rotation and radial electric field driven by the lower-hybrid-wave in a tokamak fusion reactor

A theoretical model is proposed to interpret the counter-current rotation driven by the lower-hybrid-wave observed in the tokamak lower-hybrid-wave parallel current drive experiments. It is found that ions absorb the toroidal momentum indirectly from the wave through collisional friction with the resonant electrons that directly take the momentum from the wave through Landau resonance. This momentum coupling pumps out the ions to produce a negative radial electric field and makes the plasma rotate in the counter-current direction.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Diamagnetic thresholds for sawtooth cycling in tokamak plasmas

The cycling dynamics of the internal kink mode, which drives sawtooth oscillations in tokamak plasmas, is studied using the three dimensional, non-linear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code XTOR-2F [H. Luetjens and J.-F. Luciani, J. Comput. Phys. 229, 8130 (2010)]. It is found that sawtooth cycling, which is characterized by quiescent ramps and fast crashes in the experiment, can be recovered in two-fluid MHD provided that a criterion of diamagnetic stabilization is fulfilled. The simulation results indicate that diamagnetic effects alone may be sufficient to drive sawteeth with complete magnetic reconnection in high temperature Ohmic plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗