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A practical way of estimating statistical errors of a Thomson scattering diagnostic measuring plasma electron temperature and density is described. Analytically derived expressions are successfully tested with Monte Carlo simulations and implemented in an automatic data processing code of the JET LIDAR diagnostic.
No abstract prepared.
In this paper, it will be shown that the runaway phenomenon in tokamak plasmas cannot be reduced to a one-dimensional problem, based on the competence between electric field acceleration and collisional friction losses in the parallel direction. A Langevin approach, including collisional diffusion in velocity space, will be used to analyze the two-dimensional runaway electron dynamics. An investigation of the runaway probability in velocity space will yield a criterion for runaway, which will be shown to be consistent with the results provided by the more simple test particle description of the runaway dynamics [Fuchs et al., Phys. Fluids 29, 2931 (1986)]. Electron perpendicular collisional scattering will be found to play an important role, relaxing the conditions for runaway. Moreover, electron pitch angle scattering perpendicularly broadens the runaway distribution function, increasing the electron population in the runaway plateau region in comparison with what it should be expected from electron acceleration in the parallel direction only. The perpendicular broadening of the runaway distribution function, its dependence on the plasma parameters, and the resulting enhancement of the runaway production rate will be discussed.
A numerical simulation is carried out to investigate the toroidal rotation of multiple species of ions and the radial electric field in a tokamak plasma driven by the lower-hybrid-wave (LHW). The theoretical model is based on the neoclassical transport theory associated with the anomalous transport model. Three species of ions (primary ion and two species of impurity ions) are taken into consideration. The predicted toroidal velocity of the trace impurities during the LHW injection agrees reasonably well with the experimental observation. It is shown that the toroidal rotation velocities of the trace impurity ions and the primary ions are close, therefore the trace impurity ions are representative of the primary ions in the toroidal rotation driven by the LHW.
Motivated by the wide range of physical parameters characterizing the scrape-off layer (SOL) of existing tokamaks, the regimes of low-frequency linear instabilities in the SOL are identified by numerical and analytical calculations based on the linear, drift-reduced Braginskii equations, with cold ions. The focus is put on ballooning modes and drift wave instabilities, i.e., their resistive, inertial, and ideal branches. A systematic study of each instability is performed, and the parameter space region where they dominate is identified. It is found that the drift waves dominate at high R/L{sub n}, while the ballooning modes at low R/L{sub n}; the relative influence of resistive and inertial effects is discussed. Electromagnetic effects suppress the drift waves and, when the threshold for ideal stability is overcome, the ideal ballooning mode develops. Our analysis is a first stage tool for the understanding of turbulence in the tokamak SOL, necessary to interpret the results of non-linear simulations.
A numerical study is carried out, based on a simple toroidal tokamak equilibrium, to demonstrate the radial re-distribution of the electromagnetic torque density, as a result of a rotating resistive plasma (linear) response to a static resonant magnetic perturbation field. The computed electromagnetic torque peaks at several radial locations even in the presence of a single rational surface, due to resonances between the rotating response, in the plasma frame, and both Alfven and sound continuum waves. These peaks tend to merge together to form a rather global torque distribution, when the plasma resistivity is large. The continuum resonance induced net electromagnetic torque remains finite even in the limit of an ideal plasma.
One of the main diagnostic tools for measuring electron density profiles and the characteristics of long wavelength turbulent wave structures in fusion plasmas is beam emission spectroscopy (BES). The increasing number of BES systems necessitated an accurate and comprehensive simulation of BES diagnostics, which in turn motivated the development of the Rate Equations for Neutral Alkali-beam TEchnique (RENATE) simulation code that is the topic of this paper. RENATE is a modular, fully three-dimensional code incorporating all key features of BES systems from the atomic physics to the observation, including an advanced modeling of the optics. Thus RENATE can be used both in the interpretation of measured signals and the development of new BES systems. The most important components of the code have been successfully benchmarked against other simulation codes. The primary results have been validated against experimental data from the KSTAR tokamak.
Recent experiments have demonstrated that locked magnetic island chains in stellarator plasmas spontaneously heal under certain conditions, and spontaneously grow under others. A formalism initially developed to study magnetic island dynamics in tokamak plasmas is employed to investigate this phenomenon. It is found that island healing/growth transitions can be caused either by a breakdown in torque balance in the vicinity of the island chain, or by an imbalance between the various terms in the island width evolution equation. The scaling of the healing/growth thresholds with the standard dimensionless plasma parameters {beta}, {nu}{sub *}, and {rho}{sub *} is determined. In accordance with the experimental data, it is found that island healing generally occurs at high {beta} and low {nu}{sub *}, and island growth at low {beta} and high {nu}{sub *}. In further agreement, it is found that island healing is accompanied an ion poloidal velocity shift in the electron diamagnetic direction, and island growth by a velocity shift in the ion diamagnetic direction. Finally, it is found that there is considerable hysteresis in the healing/growth cycle, as is also seen experimentally.
Plasma toroidal rotation reduces reconnection of externally applied resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) fields {delta}B on rational (q = m/n) magnetic flux surfaces. Hence, it causes radial perturbations {delta}B{sub {rho}m/n} to be small there, and thus inhibits magnetic island formation and stochasticity in the edge of high (H-) mode confinement tokamak plasmas. However, electron collisional damping combined with the spatial magnetic flutter {delta}B{sub {rho}m/n} induced by RMPs in the vicinity of rational surfaces causes a radial electron heat diffusivity in which {chi}{sub e Parallel-To }{sup eff}{approx}(v{sub Te}{sup 2}/{nu}{sub e})/(1+x{sup 2}/{delta}{sub Parallel-To }{sup 2}) is an effective parallel electron thermal diffusivity. These effects are reduced by magnetic shear effects at a distance x from rational surfaces for |x|>{delta}{sub Parallel-To} but amplified for {delta}B-caret{sub {rho}m/n}(x)>{delta}B-caret{sub {rho}m/n}(0). A kinetic, toroidal model of these RMP-flutter-induced plasma transport effects is developed and compared to a previously developed cylindrical model. The RMP-induced increases in plasma transport can be large enough to reduce plasma gradients in H-mode pedestals. Thus, they may contribute to suppressing edge localized modes in tokamak plasmas.
While the usual way of calculating continuum damping of global Alfven modes is the introduction of a small artificial resistivity, we present a computational approach to the problem based on a suitable path of integration in the complex plane. This approach is implemented by the Riccati shooting method and it is shown that it can be transferred to the Galerkin method used in three-dimensional ideal magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) codes. The new approach turns out to be less expensive with respect to resolution and computation time than the usual one. We present an application to large aspect ratio tokamak and stellarator equilibria retaining a few Fourier harmonics only and calculate eigenfunctions and continuum damping rates. These may serve as an input for kinetic MHD hybrid models making it possible to bypass the problem of having singularities on the path of integration on one hand and considering continuum damping on the other.
Internal kink instabilities have been studied in straight tokamak geometry employing an electromagnetic gyrokinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) code. The ideal-MHD internal kink mode and the collisionless m=1 tearing mode have been successfully simulated with the PIC code. Diamagnetic effects on the internal kink modes have also been investigated.
This study demonstrates the separation of the finite electron temperature on the plasma polarimetry in the magnetic confined fusion plasma for the first time. Approximate solutions of the transformed Stokes equation, including the relativistic effect, suggest that the orientation angle, {theta}, and ellipticity angle, {epsilon}, of polarization state have different dependency on the electron density, n{sub e}, and the electron temperature, T{sub e}, and that the separation of n{sub e} and T{sub e} from {theta} and {epsilon} is possible in principle. We carry out the equilibrium and kinetic reconstruction of tokamak plasma when the central electron density was 10{sup 20} m{sup -3}, and the central electron temperatures were 5, 10, 20, and 30 keV. For both cases when a total plasma current, I{sub p}, is known and when I{sub p} is unknown, the profiles of plasma current density, j{sub {phi}}, n{sub e}, and T{sub e} are successfully reconstructed. The reconstruction of j{sub {phi}} without the information of I{sub p} indicates the new method of I{sub p} measurement applicable to steady state operation of tokamak.
The proper boundary conditions at the magnetic presheath entrance for plasma fluid turbulence models based on the drift approximation are derived, focusing on a weakly collisional plasma sheath with T{sub i} Much-Less-Than T{sub e} and a magnetic field oblique to a totally absorbing wall. First, the location of the magnetic presheath entrance is rigorously derived. Then boundary conditions at the magnetic presheath entrance are analytically deduced for v{sub ||i}, v{sub ||e}, n, {phi}, T{sub e}, and for the vorticity {omega}={nabla}{sub Up-Tack }{sup 2}{phi}. The effects of E Multiplication-Sign B and diamagnetic drifts on the boundary conditions are also investigated. Kinetic simulations are performed that confirm the analytical results. Finally, the new set of boundary conditions is implemented in a three-dimensional global fluid code for the simulation of plasma turbulence and, as an example, the results of a tokamak scrape-off layer simulation are discussed. The framework presented can be generalized to obtain boundary conditions at the magnetic presheath entrance in more complex scenarios.
Massive gas injection (MGI) system was developed on Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) in 2011 campaign for disruption studies. The MGI valve has a volume of 80 ml and maximum injection pressure of 50 bar, the diameter of valve orifice to vacuum vessel is 18.4 mm, the distance between MGI valve and plasma edge is {approx}3.4 m. The MGI power supply employs a large capacitor of 1 mF with the maximum voltage of 3 kV, the valve can be opened in less than 0.1 ms, and the amount of MGI can be controlled by the imposed voltage. During KSTAR 2011 campaign, MGI disruptions are carried out by triggering MGI during the flat top of circular and limiter discharges with plasma current 400 kA and magnetic field 2-3.5 T, deuterium injection pressure 39.7 bar, and imposed voltage 1.1-1.4 kV. The results show that MGI could mitigate the heat load and prevent runaway electrons with proper MGI amount, and MGI penetration is deeper under higher amount of MGI or lower magnetic field. However, plasma start-up is difficult after some of D{sub 2} MGI disruptions due to the high deuterium retention and consequently strong outgassing of deuterium in next shot, special effort should be made to get successful plasma start-up after deuterium MGI under the graphite first wall.
A local gyrokinetic description of the centrifugal effects on impurity transport in tokamak plasmas is presented, which extends previous models with the inclusion of the gradient of the background toroidal angular velocity in the equilibrium distribution. The equations are implemented in a gyrokinetic code. An analytical model is derived and formulae are proposed which allow the calculation of centrifugal effects on impurity transport in the limit where centrifugal effects are large only for heavy impurities in trace concentration, but are negligible for the bulk plasma. The analytic formulae are shown to be in quantitative agreement with the numerical results and are proposed for complementing present transport models.
Characterization of the spatial structure of turbulence fluctuations during the edge localized mode cycle in the pedestal region is reported. Using the beam emission spectroscopy and the correlation reflectometry systems, measurements show spatial structure-k{sub Up-Tack }{rho}{sub i}{sup ped}-ranging from 0.2 to 0.7 propagating in the ion diamagnetic drift direction at the pedestal top. These propagating spatial scales are found to be anisotropic and consistent with ion-scale microturbulence of the type ion temperature gradient and/or kinetic ballooning modes.
No abstract prepared.
Magnetohydrodynamic instabilities of high-mode (H-mode) pedestal are investigated in this paper with the inclusion of bootstrap current for equilibrium and rotation for stability. The jointed European torus-like equilibria of H-mode discharges are generated numerically using the VMEC code. It is found that, when the bootstrap current is taken into account, a safety-factor reversal or plateau can be generated near plasma edge. This confirms previous results of numerical equilibrium reconstructions using other types of codes. The n = 1 magnetohydrodynamic instabilities, where n is toroidal mode number, are investigated numerically in this type of equilibria using the AEGIS code. It is found that the infernal type harmonic can prevail at safety-factor reversal or plateau region. The toroidal plasma rotation effect with low Mach number is investigated. The numerical results show that the mode frequency is close to the rotation frequency at pedestal top, when the value of safety factor at plateau is slightly above a rational number. This mode frequency range seems to coincide with the experimentally observed frequencies of n = 1 edge harmonic oscillations (or outer modes) at the quiescent H-mode discharges.