1. |
- Catto, Peter J., et al.
(författare)
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A unified treatment of kinetic effects in a tokamak pedestal
- 2011
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 53, s. 054004-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We consider the effects of a finite pedestal radial electric field on ion orbits using a unified approach. We then employ these modified orbit results to retain finite E×B drift departures from flux surfaces in an improved drift-kinetic equation. The procedure allows us to make a clear distinction between transit averages and flux surface averages when solving this kinetic equation. The technique outlined here is intended to clarify and unify recent evaluations of the banana regime decrease and plateau regime alterations in the ion heat diffusivity; the reduction and possible reversal of the poloidal flow in the banana regime, and its augmentation in the plateau regime; the increase in the bootstrap current; and the enhancement of the residual zonal flow regulation of turbulence.
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2. |
- Catto, P. J., et al.
(författare)
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Kinetic effects on a tokamak pedestal ion flow, ion heat transport and bootstrap current
- 2013
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 55:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We consider the effects of a finite radial electric field on ion orbits in a subsonic pedestal. Using a procedure that makes a clear distinction between a transit average and a flux surface average we are able to solve the kinetic equation to retain the modifications due to finite E X B drift orbit departures from flux surfaces. Our approach properly determines the velocity space localized, as well as the nonlocal, portion of the ion distribution function in the banana and plateau regimes in the small aspect ratio limit. The rapid variation of the poloidal ion flow coefficient and the electrostatic potential in the total energy modify previous banana regime evaluations of the ion flow, the bootstrap current, and the radial ion heat flux in a subsonic pedestal. In the plateau regime, the rapid variation of the poloidal flow coefficient alters earlier results for the ion flow and bootstrap current, while leaving the ion heat flux unchanged since the rapid poloidal variation of the total energy was properly retained.
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3. |
- Chapman, I.T., et al.
(författare)
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The Effect of Energetic Particles on Resistive Wall Mode Stability in MAST
- 2011
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 53, s. 065022-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Resistive wall mode (RWM) stability limits have been probed by MHD spectroscopy and numerical modelling. MAST plasmas have operated up to βN = 5.7, well above the predicted ideal kink no-wall limit or measured resonant field amplification limits due to a combination of rotation and kinetic damping. By varying the density, both the rotation and the fast ion distribution function have been changed dramatically. Detailed drift-kinetic modelling shows that whilst the contribution of energetic beam ions to RWM damping does increase at sufficiently high plasma rotation as to allow resonance with the fast ion precession frequency, the thermal ion damping always dominates over the fast ion contribution.
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4. |
- Connor, J W, et al.
(författare)
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High-m kink/tearing modes in cylindrical geometry
- 2014
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 56:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The global ideal kink equation, for cylindrical geometry and zero beta, is simplified in the high poloidal mode number limit and used to determine the tearing stability parameter, Δ'. In the presence of a steep monotonic current gradient, Δ' becomes a function of a parameter, σ0, characterising the ratio of the maximum current gradient to magnetic shear and xs, characterising the separation of the resonant surface from the maximum of the current gradient. In equilibria containing a current 'spike', so that there is a non-monotonic current profile, Δ' also depends on two parameters: κ, related to the ratio of the curvature of the current density at its maximum to the magnetic shear and xs, which now represents the separation of the resonance from the point of maximum current density. The relation of our results to earlier studies of tearing modes and to recent gyrokinetic calculations of current driven instabilities, is discussed, together with potential implications for the stability of the tokamak pedestal.
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5. |
- Corde, S., et al.
(författare)
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Betatron emission as a diagnostic for injection and acceleration mechanisms in laser plasma accelerators
- 2012
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 54:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Betatron x-ray emission in laser plasma accelerators is a promising compact source that may be an alternative to conventional x-ray sources, based on large scale machines. In addition to its potential as a source, precise measurements of betatron emission can reveal crucial information about relativistic laser-plasma interaction. We show that the emission length and the position of the x-ray emission can be obtained by placing an aperture mask close to the source, and by measuring the beam profile of the betatron x-ray radiation far from the aperture mask. The position of the x-ray emission gives information on plasma wave breaking and hence on the laser non-linear propagation. Moreover, the measurement of the longitudinal extension helps one to determine whether the acceleration is limited by pump depletion or dephasing effects. In the case of multiple injections, it is used to retrieve unambiguously the position in the plasma of each injection. This technique is also used to study how, in a capillary discharge, the variations of the delay between the discharge and the laser pulse affect the interaction. The study reveals that, for a delay appropriate for laser guiding, the x-ray emission only occurs in the second half of the capillary: no electrons are injected and accelerated in the first half.
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6. |
- Dieckmann, Mark Eric, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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Simulation of a collisionless planar electrostatic shock in a proton–electron plasma with a strong initial thermal pressure change
- 2010
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - Bristol : Institute of Physics and IOP Publishing Limited. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 52:2, s. 025001-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The localized deposition of the energy of a laser pulse, as it ablates a solid target, introduces high thermal pressure gradients in the plasma. The thermal expansion of this laser-heated plasma into the ambient medium (ionized residual gas) triggers the formation of non-linear structures in the collisionless plasma. Here an electron–proton plasma is modelled with a particle-in-cell simulation to reproduce aspects of this plasma expansion. A jump is introduced in the thermal pressure of the plasma, across which the otherwise spatially uniform temperature and density change by a factor of 100. The electrons from the hot plasma expand into the cold one and the charge imbalance drags a beam of cold electrons into the hot plasma. This double layer reduces the electron temperature gradient. The presence of the low-pressure plasma modifies the proton dynamics compared with the plasma expansion into a vacuum. The jump in the thermal pressure develops into a primary shock. The fast protons, which move from the hot into the cold plasma in the form of a beam, give rise to the formation of phase space holes in the electron and proton distributions. The proton phase space holes develop into a secondary shock that thermalizes the beam.
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7. |
- Dumont, R. J., et al.
(författare)
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Multi-megawatt, gigajoule plasma operation in Tore Supra
- 2014
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 56:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Integrating several important technological elements required for long pulse operation in magnetic fusion devices, the Tore Supra tokamak routinely addresses the physics and technology issues related to this endeavor and, as a result, contributes essential information on critical issues for ITER. During the last experimental campaign, components of the radiofrequency system including an ITER relevant launcher (passive active multijunction (PAM)) and continuous wave/3.7 GHz klystrons, have been extensively qualified, and then used to develop steady state scenarios in which the lower hybrid (LH), ion cyclotron (IC) and electron cyclotron (EC) systems have been combined in fully stationary shots (duration similar to 150 s, injected power up to similar to 8MW, injected/extracted energy up to similar to 1 GJ). Injection of LH power in the 5.0-6.0MW range has extended the domain of accessible plasma parameters to higher densities and non-inductive currents. These discharges exhibit steady electron internal transport barriers (ITBs). We report here on various issues relevant to the steady state operation of future devices, ranging from operational aspects and limitations related to the achievement of long pulses in a fully actively cooled fusion device (e. g. overheating due to fast particle losses), to more fundamental plasma physics topics. The latter include a beneficial influence of IC resonance heating on the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability in these discharges, which has been studied in detail. Another interesting observation is the appearance of oscillations of the central temperature with typical periods of the order of one to several seconds, caused by a nonlinear interplay between LH deposition, MHD activity and bootstrap current in the presence of an ITB.
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8. |
- Eriksson, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
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Finite Larmor radii effects in fast ion measurements with neutron emission spectrometry
- 2013
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 55:1, s. 015008-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- When analysing data from fast ion measurements it is normally assumed that the gyro-phase distribution of the ions is isotropic within the field of view of the measuring instrument. This assumption is not valid if the Larmor radii of the fast ions are comparable to—or larger than—the gradient scale length in the spatial distribution of the ions, and if this scale length is comparable to—or smaller than—the width of the field of view of the measuring instrument. In this paper the effect of such an anisotropy is demonstrated by analysing neutron emission spectrometry data from a JET experiment with deuterium neutral beams together with radiofrequency heating at the third harmonic of the deuterium cyclotron frequency. In the experiment, the neutron time-of-flight spectrometer TOFOR was used to measure the neutrons from the d(d,n) 3 He-reaction. Comparison of the experimental data with Monte Carlo calculations shows that the finite Larmor radii of the fast ions need to be included in the modelling to get a good description of the data. Similar effects are likely to be important for other fast ion diagnostics, such as γ -ray spectroscopy and neutral particle analysis, as well.
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9. |
- Gatu Johnson, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Modelling and TOFOR measurements of scattered neutrons at JET
- 2010
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 52:8, s. 085002-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, the scattered and direct neutron fluxes in the line of sight (LOS) of the TOFOR neutron spectrometer at JET are simulated and the simulations compared with measurement results. The Monte Carlo code MCNPX is used in the simulations, with a vessel material composition obtained from the JET drawing office and neutron emission profiles calculated from TRANSP simulations of beam ion density profiles. The MCNPX simulations show that the material composition of the scattering wall has a large effect on the shape of the scattered neutron spectrum. Neutron source profile shapes as well as radial and vertical source displacements in the TOFOR LOS are shown to only marginally affect the scatter, while having a larger impact on the direct neutron flux. A matrix of simulated scatter spectra for mono-energetic source neutrons is created which is folded with an approximation of the source spectrum for each JET pulse studied to obtain a scatter component for use in the data analysis. The scatter components thus obtained are shown to describe the measured data. It is also demonstrated that the scattered flux is approximately constant relative to the total neutron yield as measured with the JET fission chambers, while there is a larger spread in the direct flux, consistent with simulations. The simulated effect on the integrated scattered/direct ratio of an increase with movements outward along the radial direction and a drop at higher values of the vertical plasma position is also reproduced in the measurements. Finally, the quantitative agreement found in scatter/direct ratios between simulations (0.185 ± 0.005) and measurements (0.187 ± 0.050) serves as a solid benchmark of the MCNPX model used.
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10. |
- Gopal, A., et al.
(författare)
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MegaGauss magnetic field generation by ultra-short pulses at relativistic intensities
- 2013
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 55:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the experimental studies on megaGauss magnetic field generation using a 35 femtosecond laser at relativistic intensities. The polarization change of the self-generated harmonics was recorded to estimate the magnetic field. A parameter scan was performed by varying the input laser intensity as well as the contrast ratio. External optical probing diagnostics were performed using the second harmonic of the incident laser. Additionally, the optical transition radiation from the rear of the target was also recorded.
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11. |
- In, Y., et al.
(författare)
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Requirements for active resistive wall mode (RWM) feedback control
- 2010
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 52:10, s. 104004-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The requirements for active resistive wall mode (RWM) feedback control have been systematically investigated and established using highly reproducible current-driven RWMs in ohmic discharges in DIII-D. The unambiguous evaluation of active RWM feedback control was not possible in previous RWM studies primarily due to the variability of the onset of the pressure-driven RWMs; the stability of the pressure-driven RWM is thought to be sensitive to various passive stabilization mechanisms. Both feedback control specifications and physics requirements for RWM stabilization have been clarified using the current-driven RWMs in ohmic discharges, when little or no passive stabilization effects are present. The use of derivative gain on top of proportional gain is found to be advantageous. An effective feedback control system should be equipped with a power supply with bandwidth greater than the RWM growth rate. It is beneficial to apply a feedback field that is toroidally phase-shifted from the measured RWM phase in the same direction as the plasma current. The efficacy of the RWM feedback control will ultimately be determined by the plasma fluctuations on internal diagnostics, as well as on external magnetics. The proximity of the feedback coils to the plasma appears to be an important factor in determining the effectiveness of the RWM feedback coils. It is desirable that an RWM feedback control system simultaneously handles error field correction at a low frequency, along with direct RWM feedback at a high frequency. There is an indication of the influence of a second least stable RWM, which had been theoretically predicted but never identified in experiments. A preliminary investigation based on active MHD spectroscopic measurement showed a strong plasma response around 400 Hz where the typical plasma response associated with the first least stable RWM was expected to be negligible. Present active feedback control requirements are based on a single mode assumption, so the investigation of the second least stable RWM is of high interest.
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12. |
- Kazakov, Yevgen, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Enhanced ICRF (ion cyclotron range of frequencies) mode conversion efficiency in plasmas with two mode conversion layers
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 52:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ICRF (ion cyclotron range of frequencies) mode conversion regime efficiently provides local electron heating. The efficiency of mode conversion could be enhanced due to the interference between the reflected waves (Fuchs V et al 1995 Phys. Plasmas 2 1637–47). Plasmas of large-scale tokamaks can include multiple mode conversion layers which results in a complicated picture of mode conversion. The 1D theory of mode conversion in plasmas with two ion–ion hybrid resonance layers is presented. Using the phase-integral method the analytical expression for the conversion coefficient is derived within a cold plasma model. The possible enhancement of the mode conversion coefficient in such plasmas is shown. The developed theory is used to analyze the role of carbon ions in the (3He)H scenario of ICRF heating. As hot plasma effects may decrease the amount of power ultimately ending up on mode converted waves, a brief discussion of numerically obtained results but relying on a hot plasma model is included.
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13. |
- Kazakov, Ye O., et al.
(författare)
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Poloidal asymmetries due to ion cyclotron resonance heating
- 2012
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 54:10, s. 105010-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The poloidal density asymmetry of impurity ions in ion cyclotron resonance heated (ICRH) discharges is calculated. The link between the asymmetry strength and ICRH and plasma parameters is quantified. The main parameter governing the asymmetry strength is identified to be the minority ion temperature anisotropy. Through numerical simulations with the full-wave TORIC code coupled to the Fokker-Planck quasilinear solver SSFPQL, the dependence of the anisotropy on various parameters, such as ICRH power, background density and temperature, minority and impurity concentration and toroidal wavenumber has been investigated. An approximate expression for the poloidal asymmetry of impurities as a function of plasma parameters, resonance location and ICRH power is given. A quantification of the link of the impurity asymmetry and ICRH heating is valuable not only for understanding the changes in the cross-field transport but also for the possibilities to use the asymmetry measurements as diagnostics.
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14. |
- Kirk, A., et al.
(författare)
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Magnetic perturbation experiments on MAST L and H-mode plasmas using internal coils
- 2011
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 53, s. 065011-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Experiments have been performed on MAST using internal (n = 3) resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) coils. The application of the RMPs to L-mode discharges has shown a clear density pump-out when the field line pitch angle at the low-field side of the plasma is sufficiently well aligned with the applied field. The application of the RMPs before the L–H transition increases the power required to achieve H-mode by at least 30%. In type I ELMing H-mode discharges, at a particular value of q95, the ELM frequency can be increased by a factor of 5 by the application of the RMPs. This effect on the ELMs and the L-mode density pump-out is not correlated with the width of the region for which the Chirikov parameter, calculated using the vacuum field, is greater than 1 but may be correlated with the size of the resonant component of the applied field in the pedestal region or with the location of the peak plasma displacement when the plasma response is taken into account.
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15. |
- Liu, Yueqiang, 1971, et al.
(författare)
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Modelling resonant field amplification due to low-n peeling modes in JET
- 2010
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 52:4, s. 045011-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The MHD code MARS-F is used to model low-n, low-frequency, large-amplitude resonant field amplification peaks observed in JET low-pressure plasmas. The resonant response of a marginally stable, n = 1 ideal peeling mode is offered as a candidate to explain the experimental observation. It is found that, unlike the response of a stable resistive wall mode, the peeling mode response is not sensitive to the plasma rotation, nor to the kinetic effects.
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16. |
- Liu, Yueqiang, 1971, et al.
(författare)
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Resistive wall mode control code maturity: progress and specific examples
- 2010
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 52:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two issues of the resistive wall mode (RWM) control code maturity are addressed: the inclusion of advanced mode damping physics beyond the ideal MHD description, and the possibility of taking into account the influence of 3D features of the conducting structures on the mode stability and control. Examples of formulations and computational results are given, using the MARS-F/K codes and the CarMa code. The MARS-K calculations for a DIII-D plasma shows that the fast ion contributions, which can give additional drift kinetic stabilization in the perturbative approach, also drive an extra unstable branch of mode in the self-consistent kinetic modelling. The CarMa modelling for the ITER steady state advanced plasmas shows about 20% reduction in the RWM growth rate by the volumetric blanket modules. The multi-mode analysis predicts a weak interaction between the n = 0 and the n = 1 RWMs, due to the 3D ITER walls. The CarMa code is also successfully applied to model the realistic feedback experiments in RFX.
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17. |
- Mantica, P., et al.
(författare)
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Ion heat transport studies in JET
- 2011
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 53:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Detailed experimental studies of ion heat transport have been carried out in JET exploiting the upgrade of active charge exchange spectroscopy and the availability of multi-frequency ion cyclotron resonance heating with (3)He minority. The determination of ion temperature gradient (ITG) threshold and ion stiffness offers unique opportunities for validation of the well-established theory of ITG driven modes. Ion stiffness is observed to decrease strongly in the presence of toroidal rotation when the magnetic shear is sufficiently low. This effect is dominant with respect to the well-known omega(ExB) threshold up-shift and plays a major role in enhancing core confinement in hybrid regimes and ion internal transport barriers. The effects of T(e)/T(i) and s/q on ion threshold are found rather weak in the domain explored. Quasi-linear fluid/gyro-fluid and linear/non-linear gyro-kinetic simulations have been carried out. Whilst threshold predictions show good match with experimental observations, some significant discrepancies are found on the stiffness behaviour.
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18. |
- Mollén, Albert, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Impurity transport in Alcator C-Mod in the presence of poloidal density variation induced by ion cyclotron resonance heating
- 2014
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 2014:56, s. 124005-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Impurity particle transport in an ion cyclotron resonance heated Alcator C-Mod discharge is studied with local gyrokinetic simulations and a theoretical model including the effect of poloidal asymmetries and elongation. In spite of the strong minority temperature anisotropy in the deep core region, the poloidal asymmetries are found to have a negligible effect on the turbulent impurity transport due to low magnetic shear in this region, in agreement with the experimental observations. According to the theoretical model, in outer core regions poloidal asymmetries may contribute to the reduction of the impurity peaking, but uncertainties in atomic physics processes prevent quantitative comparison with experiments.
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19. |
- Moradi, Sara, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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A possible mechanism responsible for generating impurity outward flow under radio frequency heating
- 2011
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 53:11, s. 115008-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effect of poloidal asymmetry of impurities on impurity transport driven by electrostatic turbulence in tokamak plasmas is analyzed. It is found that in the presence of in–out asymmetric impurity populations the zero-flux impurity density gradient (the so-called peaking factor) is significantly reduced. A sign change in the impurity flux may occur if the asymmetry is sufficiently large. This may be a contributing reason for the observed outward convection of impurities in the presence of radio frequency heating. This paper extends a previous work (Fülöp and Moradi 2011 Phys. Plasmas 18 030703), by including the effect of ion parallel compressibility on the peaking factor, which is found to have a significant contribution in the presence of poloidal asymmetry. It is shown here that in the ion temperature gradient mode dominated plasmas the presence of an in–out poloidal asymmetry can lead to a negative impurity peaking factor, and it becomes more negative in regions with larger ion temperature gradients. In the trapped electron mode dominated plasmas an in–out poloidal asymmetry results in a strong reduction of the peaking factor; however, it remains positive for typical experimental parameters. Furthermore, it is shown that an up–down asymmetry reduces the peaking factor while an out–in asymmetry increases it.
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20. |
- Papp, Gergely, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Runaway electron losses caused by resonant magnetic perturbations in ITER
- 2011
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 53:9, s. 095004-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disruptions in large tokamaks can lead to the generation of a relativistic runaway electron beam that may cause serious damage to the first wall. To suppress the runaway beam the application of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) has been suggested. In this work we investigate the effect of RMPs on the confinement of runaway electrons by simulating their drift orbits in magnetostatic perturbed fields and calculating the transport and orbit losses for various initial energies and different magnetic perturbation configurations. In the simulations we model the ITER RMP configuration and solve the relativistic, gyro-averaged drift equations for the runaway electrons including a time-dependent electric field, radiation losses and collisions. The results indicate that runaway electrons are rapidly lost from regions where the normalized perturbation amplitude δB/B is larger than 0.1% in a properly chosen perturbation geometry. This applies to the region outside the radius corresponding to the normalized toroidal flux ψ = 0.5.
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21. |
- Papp, Gergely, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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The effect of resonant magnetic perturbations on runaway electron transport in ITER
- 2012
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 54:12, s. 125008-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper the effect of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) on the net radial transport of runaway electrons (REs) is calculated by simulating the RE drift orbits in magnetostatic perturbed fields. Through the transport, RMP influences the time dynamics and preferred loss directions of the REs, which are determined for different magnetic perturbation configurations. The distribution of the field mesh exit points of the REs become more localized compared with the unperturbed case, since the loss pattern depends on the geometric properties of the RMP configuration such as periodicity or helicity. On the other hand, the loss patterns do not depend on the particle energies and starting positions. The particle radial steps are correlated with the local radial magnetic perturbation component, which makes the transport chaotic, but deterministic.
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22. |
- Pusztai, Istvan, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Neoclassical plateau regime transport in a tokamak pedestal
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 52:7, s. 075016-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In tokamak pedestals with subsonic flows the radial scale of plasma profiles can be comparable to the ion poloidal Larmor radius, thereby making the radial electrostatic field so strong that the E × B drift has to be retained in the ion kinetic equation in the same order as the parallel streaming. The modifications of neoclassical plateau regime transport—such as the ion heat flux and the poloidal ion and impurity flows—are evaluated in the presence of a strong radial electric field. The altered poloidal ion flow can lead to a significant increase in the bootstrap current in the pedestal where the spatial profile variation is strong because of the enhanced coefficient of the ion temperature gradient term near the electric field minimum. Unlike the banana regime, orbit squeezing does not affect the plateau regime results.
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23. |
- Van Eester, D., et al.
(författare)
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Minority and mode conversion heating in (He-3)-H JET plasmas
- 2012
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 54:7, s. 074009-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Radio frequency (RF) heating experiments have recently been conducted in JET (He-3)-H plasmas. This type of plasmas will be used in ITER's non-activated operation phase. Whereas a companion paper in this same PPCF issue will discuss the RF heating scenario's at half the nominal magnetic field, this paper documents the heating performance in (He-3)-H plasmas at full field, with fundamental cyclotron heating of He-3 as the only possible ion heating scheme in view of the foreseen ITER antenna frequency bandwidth. Dominant electron heating with global heating efficiencies between 30% and 70% depending on the He-3 concentration were observed and mode conversion (MC) heating proved to be as efficient as He-3 minority heating. The unwanted presence of both He-4 and D in the discharges gave rise to 2 MC layers rather than a single one. This together with the fact that the location of the high-field side fast wave (FW) cutoff is a sensitive function of the parallel wave number and that one of the locations of the wave confluences critically depends on the He-3 concentration made the interpretation of the results, although more complex, very interesting: three regimes could be distinguished as a function of X[He-3]: (i) a regime at low concentration (X[He-3] < 1.8%) at which ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) heating is efficient, (ii) a regime at intermediate concentrations (1.8 < X[He-3] < 5%) in which the RF performance is degrading and ultimately becoming very poor, and finally (iii) a good heating regime at He-3 concentrations beyond 6%. In this latter regime, the heating efficiency did not critically depend on the actual concentration while at lower concentrations (X[He-3] < 4%) a bigger excursion in heating efficiency is observed and the estimates differ somewhat from shot to shot, also depending on whether local or global signals are chosen for the analysis. The different dynamics at the various concentrations can be traced back to the presence of 2 MC layers and their associated FW cutoffs residing inside the plasma at low He-3 concentration. One of these layers is approaching and crossing the low-field side plasma edge when 1.8 < X[He-3] < 5%. Adopting a minimization procedure to correlate the MC positions with the plasma composition reveals that the different behaviors observed are due to contamination of the plasma. Wave modeling not only supports this interpretation but also shows that moderate concentrations of D-like species significantly alter the overall wave behavior in He-3-H plasmas. Whereas numerical modeling yields quantitative information on the heating efficiency, analytical work gives a good description of the dominant underlying wave interaction physics.
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24. |
- Terranova, D., et al.
(författare)
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A 3D approach to equilibrium, stability and transport studies in RFX-mod improved regimes
- 2010
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 52:12, s. 124023-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The full three-dimensional (3D) approach is now becoming an important issue for all magnetic confinement configurations. It is a necessary condition for the stellarator but also the tokamak and the reversed field pinch (RFP) now cannot be completely described in an axisymmetric framework. For the RFP the observation of self-sustained helical configurations with improved plasma performances require a better description in order to assess a new view on this configuration. In this new framework plasma configuration studies for RFX-mod have been considered both with tools developed for the RFP as well as considering codes originally developed for the stellarator and adapted to the RFP. These helical states are reached through a transition to a very low/reversed shear configuration leading to internal electron transport barriers. These states are interrupted by MHD reconnection events and the large Te gradients at the barriers indicate that both current and pressure driven modes are to be considered. Furthermore the typically flat Te profiles in the helical core have raised the issue of the role of electrostatic and electromagnetic turbulence in these reduced chaos regions, so that a stability analysis in the correct 3D geometry is required to address an optimization of the plasma setup. In this viewtheVMECcode proved to be an effectiveway to obtain helical equilibria to be studied in terms of stability and transport with a suite of well tested codes. In this work, the equilibrium reconstruction technique as well as the experimental evidence of 3D effects and their first interpretation in terms of stability and transport are presented using both RFP and stellarator tools.
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25. |
- Lerche, E., et al.
(författare)
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Optimizing ion-cyclotron resonance frequency heating for ITER : dedicated JET experiments
- 2011
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 53:12, s. 124019-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the past years, one of the focal points of the JET experimental programme was on ion-cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) studies in view of the design and exploitation of the ICRH system being developed for ITER. In this brief review, some of the main achievements obtained in JET in this field during the last 5 years will be summarized. The results reported here include important aspects of a more engineering nature, such as (i) the appropriate design of the RF feeding circuits for optimal load resilient operation and (ii) the test of a compact high-power density antenna array, as well as RF physics oriented studies aiming at refining the numerical models used for predicting the performance of the ICRH system in ITER. The latter include (i) experiments designed for improving the modelling of the antenna coupling resistance under various plasma conditions and (ii) the assessment of the heating performance of ICRH scenarios to be used in the non-active operation phase of ITER.
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