Engineering topics

Testa, D

Publications and source records attributed to Testa, D.

3 records

DOE OSTI2011

Individual Sawtooth Pacing by Synchronized ECCD in TCV

Previous real-time sawtooth control scenarios using EC actuators have attempted to shorten or lengthen the sawtooth period by optimally positioning the EC absorption near the q = 1 surface. In new experiments we demonstrate for the first time that individual sawtooth crashes can be repetitively induced at predictable times by reducing the stabilizing ECCD power after a predetermined time from the preceding crash. Other stabilizing actuators (e.g. ICRF, NBI) are expected to produce similar effects. Armed with these results, we present a new sawtooth / NTM control paradigm for improved performance in burning plasmas. The potential appearance of neo-classical tearing modes, triggered by long period sawtooth crashes even at low beta, becomes predictable and therefore amenable to preemptive ECCD. The ITER Electron Cyclotron Upper Launcher (EC-UL) design incorporates the needed functionalities for this method to be applied. The methodology and associated TCV experiments will be presented.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2011

ITER Test Blanket Module Error Field Simulation Experiments at DIII-D

Experiments at DIII-D investigated the effects of magnetic error fields similar to those expected from proposed ITER test blanket modules (TBMs) containing ferromagnetic material. Studied were effects on: plasma rotation and locking, confinement, L-H transition, the H-mode pedestal, edge localized modes (ELMs) and ELM suppression by resonant magnetic perturbations, energetic particle losses, and more. The experiments used a purpose-built three-coil mock-up of two magnetized ITER TBMs in one ITER equatorial port. The largest effect was a reduction in plasma toroidal rotation velocity v across the entire radial profile by as much as Delta upsilon/upsilon similar to 60% via non-resonant braking. Changes to global Delta n/n, Delta beta/beta and Delta H(98)/H(98) were similar to 3 times smaller. These effects are stronger at higher beta. Other effects were smaller. The TBM field increased sensitivity to locking by an applied known n = 1 test field in both L-and H-mode plasmas. Locked mode tolerance was completely restored in L-mode by re-adjusting the DIII-D n = 1 error field compensation system. Numerical modelling by IPEC reproduces the rotation braking and locking semi-quantitatively, and identifies plasma amplification of a few n = 1 Fourier harmonics as the main cause of braking. IPEC predicts that TBM braking in H-mode may be reduced by n = 1 control. Although extrapolation from DIII-D to ITER is still an open issue, these experiments suggest that a TBM-like error field will produce only a few potentially troublesome problems, and that they might be made acceptably small.

Schaffer, M J↗

DOE OSTI2011

Recent JET experiments on Alfven eigenmodes with intermediate toroidal mode numbers: measurements and modelling of n=3 toroidal Alfven eigenmodes with the TAEFL code

This paper reports the results of recent experiments performed on the JET tokamak on Alfven eigenmodes (AEs) with toroidal mode number (n) in the range n = 3-15. The stability properties of these medium-n AEs are investigated experimentally using a new set of compact in-vessel antennas, providing a direct and real-time measurement of the frequency, damping rate and amplitude for each individual toroidal mode number. We report here the quantitative analysis of the measurements of the damping rate for stable n = 3 toroidal AEs as a function of the edge plasma elongation, and the theoretical analysis of these data with the TAEFL code. The TAEFL results are in excellent qualitative agreement with the measurements, reproducing well the experimental scaling of increasing damping rate versus increasing edge elongation, and in many cases are also quantitatively correct, with a difference with respect to the measurements below 30%, particularly for magnetic configurations that have a larger edge magnetic shear.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗