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- Romanelli, F, et al.
(author)
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Overview of the JET results
- 2011
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In: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1741-4326 .- 0029-5515. ; 51:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Since the last IAEA Conference JET has been in operation for one year with a programmatic focus on the qualification of ITER operating scenarios, the consolidation of ITER design choices and preparation for plasma operation with the ITER-like wall presently being installed in JET. Good progress has been achieved, including stationary ELMy H-mode operation at 4.5 MA. The high confinement hybrid scenario has been extended to high triangularity, lower ρ*and to pulse lengths comparable to the resistive time. The steady-state scenario has also been extended to lower ρ*and ν*and optimized to simultaneously achieve, under stationary conditions, ITER-like values of all other relevant normalized parameters. A dedicated helium campaign has allowed key aspects of plasma control and H-mode operation for the ITER non-activated phase to be evaluated. Effective sawtooth control by fast ions has been demonstrated with3He minority ICRH, a scenario with negligible minority current drive. Edge localized mode (ELM) control studies using external n = 1 and n = 2 perturbation fields have found a resonance effect in ELM frequency for specific q95values. Complete ELM suppression has, however, not been observed, even with an edge Chirikov parameter larger than 1. Pellet ELM pacing has been demonstrated and the minimum pellet size needed to trigger an ELM has been estimated. For both natural and mitigated ELMs a broadening of the divertor ELM-wetted area with increasing ELM size has been found. In disruption studies with massive gas injection up to 50% of the thermal energy could be radiated before, and 20% during, the thermal quench. Halo currents could be reduced by 60% and, using argon/deuterium and neon/deuterium gas mixtures, runaway electron generation could be avoided. Most objectives of the ITER-like ICRH antenna have been demonstrated; matching with closely packed straps, ELM resilience, scattering matrix arc detection and operation at high power density (6.2 MW m-2) and antenna strap voltages (42 kV). Coupling measurements are in very good agreement with TOPICA modelling. © 2011 IAEA, Vienna.
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2. |
- Abel, I, et al.
(author)
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Overview of the JET results with the ITER-like wall
- 2013
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In: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1741-4326 .- 0029-5515. ; 53:10, s. 104002-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Following the completion in May 2011 of the shutdown for the installation of the beryllium wall and the tungsten divertor, the first set of JET campaigns have addressed the investigation of the retention properties and the development of operational scenarios with the new plasma-facing materials. The large reduction in the carbon content (more than a factor ten) led to a much lower Z(eff) (1.2-1.4) during L- and H-mode plasmas, and radiation during the burn-through phase of the plasma initiation with the consequence that breakdown failures are almost absent. Gas balance experiments have shown that the fuel retention rate with the new wall is substantially reduced with respect to the C wall. The re-establishment of the baseline H-mode and hybrid scenarios compatible with the new wall has required an optimization of the control of metallic impurity sources and heat loads. Stable type-I ELMy H-mode regimes with H-98,H-y2 close to 1 and beta(N) similar to 1.6 have been achieved using gas injection. ELM frequency is a key factor for the control of the metallic impurity accumulation. Pedestal temperatures tend to be lower with the new wall, leading to reduced confinement, but nitrogen seeding restores high pedestal temperatures and confinement. Compared with the carbon wall, major disruptions with the new wall show a lower radiated power and a slower current quench. The higher heat loads on Be wall plasma-facing components due to lower radiation made the routine use of massive gas injection for disruption mitigation essential.
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5. |
- Lerche, E., et al.
(author)
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Optimizing ion-cyclotron resonance frequency heating for ITER : dedicated JET experiments
- 2011
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In: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 53:12, s. 124019-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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8. |
- Tala, T., et al.
(author)
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NBI modulation experiments to study momentum transport and magnetic field induced ripple torque on JET
- 2011
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In: 38th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics 2011, EPS 2011. Strasbourg, 27 June - 1 July 2011. - 9781618395931 ; 35:1, s. 605-608
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Several parametric scans have been performed to study momentum transport on JET. NBI modulation technique has been applied to separating the diffusive and convective momentum transport terms. The magnitude of the inward momentum pinch depends strongly on the inverse density gradient length, with an experimental scaling for the pinch number being -Rv pmch/ X φ= 1.2RJL n + 1.4. There is no dependence of the pinch number on collisionality. The Prandtl number was not found to depend either on R/L n, collisionality or on q. The gyro- kinetic simulations show qualitatively similar dependence of the pinch number on R/L n, but the dependence is weaker in the simulations. Gyro-kinetic simulations do not find any clear parametric dependence in the Prandtl number, in agreement with experiments, but the experimental values are larger than the simulated ones. The extrapolation of these results to ITER illustrates that at R/L n>2 the pinch number becomes large enough (> 3-4) to make the rotation profile peaked provided that the edge rotation is non-zero. this rotation peaking can be achieved with small or even with no core torque source. The absolute value of the core rotation is still very challenging to predict partly due to the lack of the present knowledge of the rotation at the plasma edge, partly due to insufficient understanding of 3D effects like braking and partly due to the uncertainties in the extrapolation of the present momentum transport results to a larger device.
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9. |
- Van Eester, D., et al.
(author)
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Enhancing the mode conversion efficiency in JET plasmas with multiple mode conversion layers
- 2011
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In: AIP Conf. Proc.. - : AIP. - 1551-7616 .- 0094-243X. - 9780735409781 ; , s. 301-308
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The constructive interference effect described by Fuchs et al. [1] shows that the mode conversion and thereby the overall heating efficiency can be enhanced significantly when an integer number of fast wave wavelengths can be folded in between the high field side fast wave cutoff and the ion-ion hybrid layer(s) at which the ion Bernstein or ion cyclotron waves are excited. This effect was already experimentally identified in ( 3He)-D plasmas [2] and was recently tested in ( 3He)-H JET plasmas. The latter is an 'inverted' scenario, which differs significantly from the ( 3He)-D scenarios since the mode-conversion layer is positioned between the low field side edge of the plasma and the ion-cyclotron layer of the minority 3He ions (whereas the order in which a wave entering the plasma from the low field side encounters these layers is inverted in a 'regular' scenario), and because much lower 3He concentrations are needed to achieve the mode-conversion heating regime. The presence of small amounts of 4He and D in the discharges gave rise to an additional mode conversion layer on top of the expected one associated with 3He-H, which made the interpretation of the results more complex but also more interesting: Three different regimes could be distinguished as a function of X[ 3He], and the differing dynamics at the various concentrations could be traced back to the presence of these two mode conversion layers and their associated fast wave cutoffs. Whereas (1-D and 2-D) numerical modeling yields quantitative information on the RF absorptivity, recent analytical work by Kazakov [3] permits to grasp the dominant underlying wave interaction physics.
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10. |
- Van Eester, D., et al.
(author)
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Minority and mode conversion heating in (He-3)-H JET plasmas
- 2012
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In: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 54:7, s. 074009-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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12. |
- Hellsten, Torbjörn, et al.
(author)
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Observations of rotation in JET plasmas with electron heating by ion cyclotron resonance heating
- 2012
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In: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 54:7, s. 074007-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The rotation of L-mode plasmas in the JET tokamak heated by waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) damped on electrons, is reported. The plasma in the core is found to rotate in the counter-current direction with a high shear and in the outer part of the plasma with an almost constant angular rotation. The core rotation is stronger in magnitude than observed for scenarios with dominating ion cyclotron absorption. Two scenarios are considered: the inverted mode conversion scenarios and heating at the second harmonic He-3 cyclotron resonance in H plasmas. In the latter case, electron absorption of the fast magnetosonic wave by transit time magnetic pumping and electron Landau damping (TTMP/ELD) is the dominating absorption mechanism. Inverted mode conversion is done in (He-3)-H plasmas where the mode converted waves are essentially absorbed by electron Landau damping. Similar rotation profiles are seen when heating at the second harmonic cyclotron frequency of He-3 and with mode conversion at high concentrations of He-3. The magnitude of the counter-rotation is found to decrease with an increasing plasma current. The correlation of the rotation with the electron temperature is better than with coupled power, indicating that for these types of discharges the dominating mechanism for the rotation is related to indirect effects of electron heat transport, rather than to direct effects of ICRF heating. There is no conclusive evidence that mode conversion in itself affects rotation for these discharges.
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13. |
- Lerche, E., et al.
(author)
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Experimental investigation of ion cyclotron range of frequencies heating scenarios for ITER's half-field hydrogen phase performed in JET
- 2012
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In: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 54:7, s. 074008-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Two ion cyclotron range of frequencies ( ICRF) heating schemes proposed for the half-field operation phase of ITER in hydrogen plasmas-fundamental H majority and second harmonic He-3 ICRF heating-were recently investigated in JET. Although the same magnetic field and RF frequencies (f approximate to 42 MHz and f approximate to 52 MHz, respectively) were used, the density and particularly the plasma temperature were lower than those expected in the initial phase of ITER. Unlike for the well-performing H minority heating scheme to be used in He-4 plasmas, modest heating efficiencies (n = P-absorbed/P-launched < 40%) with dominant electron heating were found in both H plasma scenarios studied, and enhanced plasma-wall interaction manifested by high radiation losses and relatively large impurity content in the plasma was observed. This effect was stronger in the He-3 ICRF heating case than in the H majority heating experiments and it was verified that concentrations as high as similar to 20% are necessary to observe significant ion heating in this case. The RF acceleration of the heated ions was modest in both cases, although a small fraction of the 3He ions reached about 260 keV in the second harmonic He-3 heating experiments when 5MW of ICRF power was applied. Considerable RF acceleration of deuterium beam ions was also observed in some discharges of the He-3 heating experiments (where both the second and third harmonic ion cyclotron resonance layers of the D ions are inside the plasma) whilst it was practically absent in the majority hydrogen heating scenario. While hints of improved RF heating efficiency as a function of the plasma temperature and plasma dilution (with He-4) were confirmed in the H majority case, the He-3 concentration was the main handle on the heating efficiency in the second harmonic He-3 heating scenario.
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15. |
- Versloot, T W, et al.
(author)
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Comparison between dominant NB and dominant IC heated ELMy H-mode discharges in JET
- 2011
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In: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0029-5515 .- 1741-4326. ; 51:10, s. 103033-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The experiment described in this paper is aimed at characterization of ELMy H-mode discharges with varying momentum input, rotation, power deposition profiles and ion to electron heating ratio obtained by varying the proportion between ion cyclotron (IC) and neutral beam (NB) heating. The motivation for the experiment was to verify if the basic confinement and transport properties of the baseline ITER H-mode are robust to these changes, and similar to those derived mostly from dominant NB heated H-modes. No significant difference in the density and temperature profiles or in the global confinement were found. Although ion temperature profiles were seen to be globally stiff, some variation of stiffness was obtained in the experiment by varying the deposition profiles, but not one that could significantly affect the profiles in terms of global confinement. This analysis shows the thermal plasma energy confinement enhancement factor to be independent of the heating mix, for the range of conditions explored. Moreover, the response of the global confinement to changes in density and power were also independent of heating mix, reflecting the changes in the pedestal, which is in agreement with globally stiff profiles. Consistently, the pedestal characteristics (pressure and width) and their dependences on global parameters such as density and power were the same during NB only or with predominant IC heating.
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16. |
- Mantica, P, et al.
(author)
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Key to Improved Ion Core Confinement in the JET Tokamak : Ion Stiffness Mitigation due to Combined Plasma Rotation and Low Magnetic Shear
- 2010
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- New experimental evidence indicates that ion stiffness mitigation in the core of rotating plasmas, observed previously in JET, results from the combined effect of high rotational shear and low magnetic shear. Ionstiffness in the outer plasma region is found to remain very high irrespective of rotation. Dedicated experimentsin plasmas with different q profiles and rotation levels point to a larger effect of rotation in reducing stiffnesswhen the core q profile is made flatter. The results have implications for the understanding of improved ion coreconfinement in hybrid plasmas or Internal Transport Barriers, both characterized by high rotation and low magnetic shear. Experimental evidence in these scenarios is discussed. Simulations indicate that the physics behindthese results may lie in the ITG/TEM turbulence behavior at the transition between fully developed turbulenceand zonal flows quenching. These findings point to the need for future devices of achieving sufficient rotationalshear and capability of q profile manipulation to reach improved ion core confinement, which is an essentialfeature of Advanced Tokamak operation.
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