Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “ALCATOR DEVICE”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Laboratory calibration of density-dependent lines in the extreme ultraviolet spectral region

We have been making spectral measurements in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) from different laboratory sources in order to investigate the electron density dependence of various astrophysically important emission lines and to test the atomic models underlying the diagnostic line ratios. The measurement are being performed at the Livermore EBIT-I electron beam ion trap, the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at Princeton, and the Alcator C-Mod tokamak at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which together span an electron density of four orders of magnitude and which allow us to test the various models at high and low density limits. Here we present measurements of Fe XXII and Ar XIV, which include new data from an ultra high resolution ({lambda}/{Delta}{lambda} >4000) spectrometer at the EBIT-I facility. We found good agreement between the measurements and modeling calculations for Fe XXII, but poorer agreement for Ar XIV.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

A new interferometry-based electron density fluctuation diagnostic on Alcator C-Mod

The two-color interferometry diagnostic on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak has been upgraded to measure fluctuations in the electron density and density gradient for turbulence and transport studies. Diagnostic features and capabilities are described. In differential mode, fast phase demodulation electronics detect the relative phase change between ten adjacent, radially-separated ({Delta}R= 1.2 cm, adjustable), vertical-viewing chords, which allows for measurement of the line-integrated electron density gradient. The system can be configured to detect the absolute phase shift of each chord by comparison to a local oscillator, measuring the line-integrated density. Each chord is sensitive to density fluctuations with k{sub R} < 20.3 cm{sup -1} and is digitized at up to 10 MS/s, resolving aspects of ion temperature gradient-driven modes and other long-wavelength turbulence. Data from C-Mod discharges is presented, including observations of the quasi-coherent mode in enhanced D-alpha H-mode plasmas and the weakly coherent mode in I-mode.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Lower hybrid current drive at high density in the multi-pass regime

Assessing the performance of lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) at high density is critical for developing non-inductive current drive systems on future steady-state experiments. Excellent LHCD efficiency has been observed during fully non-inductive operation ({eta}=2.0-2.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 19} AW{sup -1}m{sup -2} at n{sub e}=0.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 20} m{sup -3}) on Alcator C-Mod [I. H. Hutchinson et al., Phys. Plasmas 1, 1511 (1994)] under conditions (n{sub e}, magnetic field and topology, and LHCD frequency) relevant to ITER [S. Shiraiwa et al., Nucl. Fusion 51, 103024 (2011)]. To extend these results to advanced tokamak regimes with higher bootstrap current fractions on C-Mod, it is necessary to increase n{sub e} to 1.0-1.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 20} m{sup -3}. However, the number of current-carrying, non-thermal electrons generated by LHCD drops sharply in diverted configurations at densities that are well below the density limit previously observed on limited tokamaks. In these cases, changes in scrape off layer (SOL) ionization and density profiles are observed during LHCD, indicating that significant power is transferred from the LH waves to the SOL. Fokker-Planck simulations of these discharges utilizing ray tracing and full wave propagation codes indicate that LH waves in the high density, multi-pass absorption regime linger in the plasma edge, and SOL region, where absorption near or outside the LCFS results in the loss of current drive efficiency. Modeling predicts that non-thermal emission increases with stronger single-pass absorption. Experimental data show that increasing T{sub e} in high density LH discharges results in higher non-thermal electron emission, as predicted by the models.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Design of a correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic for Alcator C-Mod

A correlation electron cyclotron emission (CECE) diagnostic has been installed in Alcator C-Mod. In order to measure electron temperature fluctuations, this diagnostic uses a spectral decorrelation technique. Constraints obtained with nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations guided the design of the optical system and receiver. The CECE diagnostic is designed to measure temperature fluctuations which have k{sub {theta}}{<=} 4.8 cm{sup -1} (k{sub {theta}}{rho}{sub s} < 0.5) using a well-focused beam pattern. Because the CECE diagnostic is a dedicated turbulence diagnostic, the optical system is also flexible, which allows for various collimating lenses and antenna to be used. The system overview and the demonstration of its operability as designed are presented in this paper.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Novel energy resolving x-ray pinhole camera on Alcator C-Mod

A new energy resolving x-ray pinhole camera has been recently installed on Alcator C-Mod. This diagnostic is capable of 1D or 2D imaging with a spatial resolution of Almost-Equal-To 1 cm, an energy resolution of Almost-Equal-To 1 keV in the range of 3.5-15 keV and a maximum time resolution of 5 ms. A novel use of a Pilatus 2 hybrid-pixel x-ray detector [P. Kraft et al., J. Synchrotron Rad. 16, 368 (2009)] is employed in which the lower energy threshold of individual pixels is adjusted, allowing regions of a single detector to be sensitive to different x-ray energy ranges. Development of this new detector calibration technique was done as a collaboration between PPPL and Dectris Ltd. The calibration procedure is described, and the energy resolution of the detector is characterized. Initial data from this installation on Alcator C-Mod is presented. This diagnostic provides line-integrated measurements of impurity emission which can be used to determine impurity concentrations as well as the electron energy distribution.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Molybdenum emission from impurity-induced m= 1 snake-modes on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

A suite of novel high-resolution spectroscopic imaging diagnostics has facilitated the identification and localization of molybdenum impurities as the main species during the formation and lifetime of m= 1 impurity-induced snake-modes on Alcator C-Mod. Such measurements made it possible to infer, for the first time, the perturbed radiated power density profiles from which the impurity density can be deduced.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Modification of ordinary-mode reflectometry system to detect lower-hybrid waves in Alcator C-Mod

Backscattering experiments to detect lower-hybrid (LH) waves have been performed in Alcator C-Mod, using the two modified channels (60 GHz and 75 GHz) of an ordinary-mode reflectometry system with newly developed spectral recorders that can continuously monitor spectral power at a target frequency. The change in the baseline of the spectral recorder during the LH wave injection is highly correlated to the strength of the X-mode non-thermal electron cyclotron emission. In high density plasmas where an anomalous drop in the lower hybrid current drive efficiency is observed, the observed backscattered signals are expected to be generated near the last closed flux surface, demonstrating the presence of LH waves within the plasma. This experimental technique can be useful in identifying spatially localized LH electric fields in the periphery of high-density plasmas.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Measurements of ion cyclotron range of frequencies mode converted wave intensity with phase contrast imaging in Alcator C-Mod and comparison with full-wave simulations

Radio frequency waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) are widely used to heat tokamak plasmas. In ICRF heating schemes involving multiple ion species, the launched fast waves convert to ion cyclotron waves or ion Bernstein waves at the two-ion hybrid resonances. Mode converted waves are of interest as actuators to optimise plasma performance through current drive and flow drive. In order to describe these processes accurately in a realistic tokamak geometry, numerical simulations are essential, and it is important that these codes be validated against experiment. In this study, the mode converted waves were measured using a phase contrast imaging technique in D-H and D-{sup 3}He plasmas. The measured mode converted wave intensity in the D-{sup 3}He mode conversion regime was found to be a factor of {approx}50 weaker than the full-wave predictions. The discrepancy was reduced in the hydrogen minority heating regime, where mode conversion is weaker.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Numerical investigation of edge plasma phenomena in an enhanced D-alpha discharge at Alcator C-Mod: Parallel heat flux and quasi-coherent edge oscillations

Reduced-model scrape-off layer turbulence (SOLT) simulations of an enhanced D-alpha (EDA) H-mode shot observed in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak were conducted to compare with observed variations in the scrape-off-layer (SOL) width of the parallel heat flux profile. In particular, the role of the competition between sheath- and conduction-limited parallel heat fluxes in determining that width was studied for the turbulent SOL plasma that emerged from the simulations. The SOL width decreases with increasing input power and with increasing separatrix temperature in both the experiment and the simulation, consistent with the strong temperature dependence of the parallel heat flux in balance with the perpendicular transport by turbulence and blobs. The particularly strong temperature dependence observed in the case analyzed is attributed to the fact that these simulations produce SOL plasmas which are in the conduction-limited regime for the parallel heat flux. A persistent quasi-coherent (QC) mode dominates the SOLT simulations and bears considerable resemblance to the QC mode observed in C-Mod EDA operation. The SOLT QC mode consists of nonlinearly saturated wave-fronts located just inside the separatrix that are convected poloidally by the mean flow, continuously transporting particles and energy and intermittently emitting blobs into the SOL.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

X-ray imaging crystal spectroscopy for use in plasma transport research

This research describes advancements in the spectral analysis and error propagation techniques associated with x-ray imaging crystal spectroscopy (XICS) that have enabled this diagnostic to be used to accurately constrain particle, momentum, and heat transport studies in a tokamak for the first time. Doppler tomography techniques have been extended to include propagation of statistical uncertainty due to photon noise, the effect of non-uniform instrumental broadening as well as flux surface variations in impurity density. These methods have been deployed as a suite of modeling and analysis tools, written in interactive data language (IDL) and designed for general use on tokamaks. Its application to the Alcator C-Mod XICS is discussed, along with novel spectral and spatial calibration techniques. Example ion temperature and radial electric field profiles from recent I-mode plasmas are shown, and the impact of poloidally asymmetric impurity density and natural line broadening is discussed in the context of the planned ITER x-ray crystal spectrometer.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Stationary density profiles in the Alcator C-mod tokamak

In the absence of an internal particle source, plasma turbulence will impose an intrinsic relationship between an inwards pinch and an outwards diffusion resulting in a stationary density profile. The Alcator C-mod tokamak utilizes RF heating and current drive so that fueling only occurs in the vicinity of the separatrix. Discharges that transition from L-mode to I-mode are seen to maintain a self-similar stationary density profile as measured by Thomson scattering. For discharges with negative magnetic shear, an observed rise of the safety factor in the vicinity of the magnetic axis appears to be accompanied by a decrease of electron density, qualitatively consistent with the theoretical expectations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Time-domain simulation of nonlinear radiofrequency phenomena

Nonlinear effects associated with the physics of radiofrequency wave propagation through a plasma are investigated numerically in the time domain, using both fluid and particle-in-cell (PIC) methods. We find favorable comparisons between parametric decay instability scenarios observed on the Alcator C-MOD experiment [J. C. Rost, M. Porkolab, and R. L. Boivin, Phys. Plasmas 9, 1262 (2002)] and PIC models. The capability of fluid models to capture important nonlinear effects characteristic of wave-plasma interaction (frequency doubling, cyclotron resonant absorption) is also demonstrated.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

On the toroidal plasma rotations induced by lower hybrid waves

A theoretical model is developed to explain the plasma rotations induced by lower hybrid waves in Alcator C-Mod. In this model, torodial rotations are driven by the Lorentz force on the bulk-electron flow across flux surfaces, which is a response of the plasma to the resonant-electron flow across flux surfaces induced by the lower hybrid waves. The flow across flux surfaces of the resonant electrons and the bulk electrons are coupled through the radial electric field initiated by the resonant electrons, and the friction between ions and electrons transfers the toroidal momentum to ions from electrons. An improved quasilinear theory with gyrophase dependent distribution function is developed to calculate the perpendicular resonant-electron flow. Toroidal rotations are determined using a set of fluid equations for bulk electrons and ions, which are solved numerically by a finite-difference method. Numerical results agree well with the experimental observations in terms of flow profile and amplitude. The model explains the strong correlation between torodial flow and internal inductance observed experimentally, and predicts both counter-current and co-current flows, depending on the perpendicular wave vectors of the lower hybrid waves.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

On the formation of m = 1, n = 1 density snakes

The m/n = 1/1 helical ion density 'snake' located near the q = 1 magnetic surface in a toroidal, magnetically confined plasma arises naturally in resistive MHD, when the plasma density evolves separately from pressure. Nonlinear numerical simulations show that a helical density perturbation applied around q = 1 can form a quasi-steady state over q Greater-Than-Or-Equivalent-To 1 with T(tilde sign) of opposite average sign to n. Two principal outcomes depend on the magnitude of n/n and the underlying stability of the 1/1 internal kink mode. For a small q<1 central region, a moderate helical density drives a new, slowly growing type of nonlinear 1/1 internal kink inside q<1, with small n and {nabla}p(tilde sign) Asymptotically-Equal-To {nabla}(nT(tilde sign)). The hot kink core moves away from, or perpendicular to, the high density region near q Asymptotically-Equal-To 1, preserving the snake density during a sawtooth crash. The mode resembles the early stage of heavy-impurity-ion snakes in ohmic discharges, including recent observations in Alcator C-Mod. For a larger, more unstable q<1 region, the helical density perturbation drives a conventional 1/1 kink where n aligns with T(tilde sign), leading to a rapid sawtooth crash. The crash redistributes the density to a localized helical concentration inside q Less-Than-Or-Equivalent-To 1, similar to experimentally observed snakes that are initiated by a sawtooth crash.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Scanning retarding field analyzer for plasma profile measurements in the boundary of the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

A new Retarding Field Analyzer (RFA) head has been created for the outer-midplane scanning probe system on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. The new probe head contains back-to-back retarding field analyzers aligned with the local magnetic field. One faces 'upstream' into the field-aligned plasma flow and the other faces 'downstream' away from the flow. The RFA was created primarily to benchmark ion temperature measurements of an ion sensitive probe; it may also be used to interrogate electrons. However, its construction is robust enough to be used to measure ion and electron temperatures up to the last-closed flux surface in C-Mod. A RFA probe of identical design has been attached to the side of a limiter to explore direct changes to the boundary plasma due to lower hybrid heating and current drive. Design of the high heat flux (>100 MW/m{sup 2}) handling probe and initial results are presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

Investigation of the transport shortfall in Alcator C-Mod L-mode plasmas

A so-called 'transport shortfall,' where ion and electron heat fluxes and turbulence are underpredicted by gyrokinetic codes, has been robustly identified in DIII-D L-mode plasmas for {rho}>0.55[T. L. Rhodes et al., Nucl. Fusion 51(6), 063022 (2011); and C. Holland et al., Phys. Plasmas 16(5), 052301 (2009)]. To probe the existence of a transport shortfall across different tokamaks, a dedicated scan of auxiliary heated L-mode discharges in Alcator C-Mod are studied in detail with nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations for the first time. Two discharges, only differing by the amount of auxiliary heating are investigated using both linear and nonlinear simulation of the GYRO code [J. Candy and R. E. Waltz, J. Comput. Phys. 186, 545 (2003)]. Nonlinear gyrokinetic simulation of the low and high input power discharges reveals a discrepancy between simulation and experiment in only the electron heat flux channel of the low input power discharge. However, both discharges demonstrate excellent agreement in the ion heat flux channel, and the high input power discharge demonstrates simultaneous agreement with experiment in both the electron and ion heat flux channels. A summary of linear and nonlinear gyrokinetic results and a discussion of possible explanations for the agreement/disagreement in each heat flux channel is presented.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Parallel transport studies of high-Z impurities in the core of Alcator C-Mod plasmas

Measurements of poloidal variation, ñ{sub z}/ , in high-Z impurity density have been made using photodiode arrays sensitive to vacuum ultraviolet and soft x-ray emission in Alcator C-Mod plasmas. In/out asymmetries in the range of −0.2 <0.3 are observed for r/a<0.8, and accumulation on both the high-field side, n{sub z,cos}<0, and low-field side, n{sub z,cos}>0, of a flux surface is found to be well described by a combination of centrifugal, poloidal electric field, and ion-impurity friction effects. Up/down asymmetries, −0.05 <0.10, are observed over 0.5 0 corresponding to accumulation opposite the ion ∇B drift direction. Measurements of the up/down asymmetry of molybdenum are found to disagree with predictions from recent neoclassical theory in the trace limit, n{sub z}Z{sup 2}/n{sub i}≪1. Non-trace levels of impurities are expected to modify the main-ion poloidal flow and thus change friction-driven impurity density asymmetries and impurity poloidal rotation, v{sub θ,z}. Artificially modifying main-ion flow in parallel transport simulations is shown to impact both ñ{sub z}/ and v{sub θ,z}, but simultaneous agreement between measured and predicted up/down and in/out asymmetry as well as impurity poloidal rotation is not possible for these C-Mod data. This link between poloidal flow and poloidal impurity density variation outlines a more stringent test for parallel neoclassical transport theory than has previously been performed. Measurement and computational techniques specific to the study of poloidal impurity asymmetry physics are discussed as well.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Intermittent fluctuations in the Alcator C-Mod scrape-off layer

Fluctuations in the boundary region of the Alcator C-Mod tokamak have been analyzed using gas puff imaging data. It is found that the fluctuation amplitudes in the near scrape-off layer follow a normal distribution while the far scrape-off layer fluctuations are dominated by large amplitude bursts due to radial motion of blob-like structures and have a positively skewed and flattened amplitude probability distribution. Conditional averaging of the time series reveals burst wave forms with a fast rise and slow decay and exponentially distributed burst amplitudes and waiting times. Based on this, a stochastic model of the burst dynamics is constructed. The model predicts that fluctuation amplitudes should follow a Gamma distribution and that there is a parabolic relation between the skewness and the kurtosis moments of the fluctuations. This is shown to compare favorably with the gas puff imaging data over a range of line-averaged plasma densities.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗