Improving the NIO Heliostat Field Optical Error Characterization Method and Tools
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Izygon, Michel↗
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The non-thermal origin of the tokamak low-density stability limit
DIII-D plasmas at very low density exhibit onset of n=1 error field (EF) penetration (the `low-density locked mode') not at a critical density or EF, but instead at a critical level of runaway electron (RE) intensity. Raising the density during a discharge does not avoid EF penetration, so long as RE growth proceeds to the critical level. Penetration is preceded by non-thermalization of the electron cyclotron emission, anisotropization of the total pressure, synchrotron emission shape changes, as well as decreases in the loop voltage and bulk thermal electron temperature. The same phenomena occur despite various types of optimal EF correction, and in some cases modes are born rotating. Similar phenomena are also found at the low-density limit in JET. These results stand in contrast to the conventional interpretation of the low-density stability limit as being due to residual EFs and demonstrate a new pathway to EF penetration instability due to REs. Existing scaling laws for penetration project to increasing EF sensitivity as bulk temperatures decrease, though other possible mechanisms include classical tearing instability, thermo-resistive instability, and pressure-anisotropy driven instability. Regardless of first-principles mechanism, known scaling laws for Ohmic energy confinement combined with theoretical RE production rates allow rough extrapolation of the RE criticality condition, and thus, the low-density limit to other tokamaks. Furthermore, the extrapolated low-density limit by this pathway decreases with increasing machine size and is considerably below expected operating conditions for ITER. While likely unimportant for ITER, this effect can explain the low-density limit of existing tokamaks operating with small residual EFs.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Rotation of tokamak halo currents
During tokamak disruptions, halo currents, which can be tenths of the total plasma current, can flow at the plasma edge along the magnetic field lines that intercept the chamber walls. Non-axisymmetric halo currents are required to maintain force balance as the plasma kinks when the edge safety factor drops to about two in a vertical displacement event. The plasma quickly assumes a definite toroidal velocity v{sub a}(r) with respect to that of the magnetic kink, v{sub k}, where v{sub a}(r) is set by the radial electric field required for ambipolarity. The plasma velocity, v{sub pl}=v{sub a}+v{sub k}, near the edge is influenced by the interaction with neutrals and with the potential in the halo required for quasi-neutrality on open magnetic field lines, and the plasma velocity in the core is influenced by external error fields. When plasma effects dominate magnetic locking, the magnetic kink should rotate at a diamagnetic speed of either the edge or the core. If the magnetic field lines of the halo plasma intercept the wall at locations of very different electrical conductivity, the toroidal rotation of the halo currents can intermittently stall at wall locations of high conductivity. Such stalling is seen in experiments. The toroidal phase difference between the stalled halo currents and the kink, which is expected to rotate smoothly, must satisfy {delta}{phi}<{+-}{pi}/2. A concern cited by ITER engineers is that the time varying force of the rotating halo could substantially increase the disruption loads on in-vessel components.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
SU-E-T-337: Treatment Planning Study of Craniospinal Irradiation with Spot Scanning Proton Therapy
Purpose: To develop a treatment planning technique that achieves optimal robustness against systematic position and range uncertainties, and interfield position errors for craniospinal irradiation (CSI) using spot scanning proton radiotherapy. Methods: Eighteen CSI patients who had previously been treated using photon radiation were used for this study. Eight patients were less than 10 years old. The prescription dose was 23.4Gy in 1.8Gy fractions. Two different field arrangement types were investigated: 1 posterior field per isocenter and 2 posterior oblique fields per isocenter. For each field type, two delivery configurations were used: 5cm bolus attached to the treatment table and a 4.5cm range shifter located inside the nozzle. The target for each plan was the whole brain and thecal sac. For children under the age of 10, all plan types were repeated with an additional dose of 21Gy prescribed to the vertebral bodies. Treatment fields were matched by stepping down the dose in 10% increments over 9cm. Robustness against 3% and 3mm uncertainties, as well as a 3mm inter-field error was analyzed. Dose coverage of the target and critical structure sparing for each plan type will be considered. Ease of planning and treatment delivery was also considered for each plan type. Results: The mean dose volume histograms show that the bolus plan with posterior beams gave the best overall plan, and all proton plans were comparable to or better than the photon plans. The plan type that was the most robust against the imposed uncertainties was also the bolus plan with posterior beams. This is also the plan configuration that is the easiest to deliver and plan. Conclusion: The bolus plan with posterior beams achieved optimal robustness against systematic position and range uncertainties, as well as inter-field position errors.
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
Growth and decay of runaway electrons above the critical electric field under quiescent conditions
Extremely low density operation free of error field penetration supports the excitation of trace-level quiescent runaway electron (RE) populations during the flat-top of DIII-D Ohmic discharges. Operation in the quiescent regime allows accurate measurement of all key parameters important to RE excitation, including the internal broadband magnetic fluctuation level. RE onset is characterized and found to be consistent with primary (Dreicer) generation rates. Impurity-free collisional suppression of the RE population is investigated by stepping the late-time main-ion density, until RE decay is observed. The transition from growth to decay is found to occur 3–5 times above the theoretical critical electric field for avalanche growth and is thus indicative of anomalous RE loss. This suggests that suppression of tokamak RE avalanches can be achieved at lower density than previously expected, though extrapolation requires predictive understanding of the RE loss mechanism and magnitude.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Controlling the size of non-axisymmetric magnetic footprints using resonant magnetic perturbations
The structure of the non-axisymmetric heat load distribution at the divertor plates is determined not only by the toroidal but also from the poloidal spectrum of non-axisymmetric field perturbations. Whether they are intrinsic, like error fields, or they are applied through 3D coils, the non-axisymmetric fields produce complex 3D edge magnetic topologies (footprints) that alter the properties of the heat and particle flux distributions on the divertor target plates. In this manuscript, a study of the impact of applied 3D field poloidal spectrum on the footprint size and structure is done for the DIII-D tokamak using the resistive MHD code M3D-C1 coupled with the field line tracing code TRIP3D. To resolve the impact of the poloidal spectrum of the magnetic perturbation, the relative phase of the two rows of in-vessel 3D coils used to produce both a n = 2 and a n = 3 perturbation is varied, where n is the toroidal harmonic of the magnetic perturbation. This shows that the largest footprint is predicted when the relative phase of the two rows is close to zero, which is also where the resonant coupling with the plasma is maximized. These results suggest that it will be challenging to decouple the footprint size from the requisite resonant coupling for RMP–ELM control. The correlation between the measured heat load and particle flux distributions at the outer divertor plates in DIII-D and the magnetic measurements is in good agreement with the predicted dependence of the magnetic footprint size on the amplitude of the resonant component of the plasma response.
3D fields↗
Scenario Development During Commissioning Operations on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade
The National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) will advance the physics basis required for achieving steady-state, high-beta, and high-confinement conditions in a tokamak by accessing high toroidal field (1 T) and plasma current (1.0 - 2.0 MA) in a low aspect ratio geometry (A = 1.6 - 1.8) with flexible auxiliary heating systems (12 MW NBI, 6 MW HHFW). This paper describes progress in the development of L- and H-mode discharge scenarios and the commissioning of operational tools in the first ten weeks of operation that enable the scientific mission of NSTX-U. Vacuum field calculations completed prior to operations supported the rapid development and optimization of inductive breakdown at different values of ohmic solenoid current. The toroidal magnetic field (B_T0 = 0.65 T) exceeded the maximum values achieved on NSTX and novel long-pulse L-mode discharges with regular sawtooth activity exceeded the longest pulses produced on NSTX (tpulse > 1.8s). The increased flux of the central solenoid facilitated the development of stationary L-mode discharges over a range of density and plasma current (Ip). H-mode discharges achieved similar levels of stored energy, confinement (H98y,2 > 1) and stability (beta_N/beta_N-nowall > 1) compared to NSTX discharges for Ip < 1 MA. High-performance H-mode scenarios require an L-H transition early in the Ip ramp-up phase in order to obtain low internal inductance (li) throughout the discharge, which is conducive to maintaining vertical stability at high elongation (kappa > 2.2) and achieving long periods of MHD quiescent operations. The rapid progress in developing L- and H-mode scenarios in support of the scientific program was enabled by advances in real-time plasma control, efficient error field identification and correction, effective conditioning of the graphite wall and excellent diagnostic availability.
Error field correction↗
Scenario development during commissioning operations on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade
The National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) will advance the physics basis required for achieving steady-state, high-beta, and high-confinement conditions in a tokamak by accessing high toroidal field (1 T) and plasma current (1.0 - 2.0 MA) in a low aspect ratio geometry (A = 1.6 - 1.8) with flexible auxiliary heating systems (12 MW NBI, 6 MW HHFW). This paper describes progress in the development of L- and Hmode discharge scenarios and the commissioning of operational tools in the first ten weeks of operation that enable the scientific mission of NSTX-U. Vacuum field calculations completed prior to operations supported the rapid development and optimization of inductive breakdown at different values of ohmic solenoid current. The toroidal magnetic field (BT0 = 0.65 T) exceeded the maximum values achieved on NSTX and novel long-pulse L-mode discharges with regular sawtooth activity exceeded the longest pulses produced on NSTX (tpulse > 1.8s). The increased flux of the central solenoid facilitated the development of stationary L-mode discharges over a range of density and plasma current (Ip). H-mode discharges achieved similar levels of stored energy, confinement (H98y,2 > 1) and stability (βN/βN-nowall > 1) compared to NSTX discharges for Ip ≤ 1 MA. High-performance H-mode scenarios require an L-H transition early in the Ip ramp-up phase in order to obtain low internal inductance (li) throughout the discharge, which is conducive to maintaining vertical stability at high elongation (κ > 2.2) and achieving long periods of MHD quiescent operations. The rapid progress in developing L- and H-mode scenarios in support of the scientific program was enabled by advances in real-time plasma control, efficient error field identification and correction, effective conditioning of the graphite wall and excellent diagnostic availability.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Quantification of locked mode instability triggered by a change in confinement
Abstract This work presents the first analysis of the disruptive locked mode (LM) triggered by the dynamics of a confinement change. It shows that, under certain conditions, the LM threshold during the transient is significantly lower than expected from steady states. We investigate the sensitivity to a controlled n = 1 error field (EF) activated prior to the L-H transition in the COMPASS tokamak, at q 95 ∼ 3, β N ∼ 1, and using EF coils on the high-field side of the vessel. A threshold for EF penetration subsequent to the L-H transition is identified, which shows no significant trend with density or applied torque, and is an apparent consequence of the reduced intrinsic rotation of the 2/1 mode during this transient phase. This finding challenges the assumption made in theoretical and empirical works that natural mode rotation can be predicted by global plasma parameters and urges against using any parametric EF penetration scaling derived from steady-state experiments to define the EF correction strategy in the entire discharge. Furthermore, even at EFs below the identified penetration threshold, disruptive locking of sawtooth-seeded 2/1 tearing modes is observed after about 30% of L-H transitions without external torque.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
MHD, disruptions and control physics: Chapter 4 of the special issue: on the path to tokamak burning plasma operation
In this chapter, we review the progress in MHD stability, disruptions and control in magnetic fusion research that has occurred over the past (more than) one and a half decades since the publication by Hender et al in 2007 on the same topic as part of the update of ITER Physics Basis. During this period, remarkable progress has been achieved in the understanding of the basic physics and overall control of MHD instabilities through a wide spectrum of dedicated experiments, theory and modeling. The sawtooth activities are probably today one of the best understood of MHD events and very robust control schemes have been developed for reliable operation of tokamaks through core heating. Similarly, significant improvements have been achieved in understanding and control of neoclassical tearing modes, resistive wall modes or locked modes and their control through ECCD or error field control. The field of disruption prediction through application of artificial intelligence, machine learning or deep learning methods, which had already started at the time of the 2007 review, has progressed significantly due to general progress in these fields and application of newer, more sophisticated algorithms. However, although remarkable progress has been achieved in the field of Disruptions, their understanding, prediction, possible avoidance and mitigation still remain probably the most active fields of R&D globally in this field. This is especially because reactor grade machines like ITER and DEMO will be much less tolerant in respect of disruptions and runaway currents, and their occurrences must be either avoided altogether or minimized to an acceptable value without causing any significant hindrance to robust machine operations. This review is intended to present a broad spectrum of the R&D that has occurred in this field in support of ITER, which will also be of immense significance for all future machines, especially reactors like DEMO.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Modelling the nonlinear plasma response to externally applied three-dimensional fields with the Stepped Pressure Equilibrium Code
Small-amplitude, symmetry-breaking magnetic field perturbations, including resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) and error fields, can profoundly impact plasma properties in both tokamaks and stellarators. In this work, we perform the first comparison between the Stepped Pressure Equilibrium Code (SPEC) (a comparatively fast and efficient equilibrium code based on energy-minimisation principles) and M3D-C 1 (a high-fidelity albeit computationally expensive initial-value extended-magnetohydro-dynamic (MHD) code) to assess the conditions under which SPEC can be used to model the nonlinear, non-ideal plasma response to an externally applied (m = 2,n = 1) RMP field in an experimentally relevant geometry. We find that SPEC is able to capture the plasma response in the weakly nonlinear regime – meaning perturbation amplitudes below the threshold for break up of the separatrix and onset of secondary magnetic island formation – when around half of the total toroidal flux is enclosed in the volume containing the q = 2 resonant surface. Further, the observed dependence of SPEC solutions on input parameters, including toroidal flux and the number of volumes into which the plasma is partitioned, indicates that additional exploration of the underlying Multi-Region Relaxed MHD physics model is needed to constrain the choice of parameters. Nonetheless, this work suggests promising applications of SPEC to optimisation and fusion plasma design.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Significant reduction in the low-field magnetization of Nb 3 Sn superconducting strands using the internal oxidation APC approach
Nb 3 Sn superconductors are promising for building accelerator magnets for future energy-frontier circular colliders. A critical factor for this application is the low-field persistent-current magnetization because it leads to several critical issues: e.g. low-field instability (including flux jumps), hysteresis loss, and field errors in magnet bores. Suppression of low-field magnetization requires reduction of low-field critical current density (J c ) or effective subelement size (d eff ). However, reduction of deff of state-of-the-art Nb 3 Sn conductors—the restacked-rod-process (RRP ® ) type—below 40–50 μm without a pronounced decrease in high-field J c is difficult. On the other hand, the internal oxidation method which forms artificial pinning centers (APC) in Nb 3 Sn offers an alternative approach to reducing the low-field magnetization. Compared with a conventional Nb 3 Sn conductor whose flux pinning force versus field (F p –B) curve peaks at ~20% of its irreversibility field (B irr ), the F p –B curve peaks of APC conductors shift to higher fields due to the point pinning effect, leading to flattening of the J c –B curves. The goal of this paper is to quantitatively study how much the APC approach can reduce the low-field magnetization. Here we measured the J c –B curves of an RRP ® conductor and two APC conductors (reacted at 700 °C) from zero field to B irr using a high-field vibrating sample magnetometer. Here the results showed that the APC conductors have higher non-Cu J c at high fields (e.g. 32%–41% higher at 16 T) and simultaneously lower non-Cu Jc at low fields (e.g. 28%–34% lower at 1 T) compared with the RRP ® . This effect is due to a competition between their Nb3Sn layer fraction ratios and layer F p ratios. Suppose they reach the same 16 T non-Cu J c , then the 1 T non-Cu J c and magnetization of the APC conductors are only half or even less compared with the RRP ® conductor.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
A Hybrid HTS/LTS Superconductor Design for High-Field Accelerator Magnets (Final Report)
This paper presents the design, construction, and test results of a hybrid dipole magnet. The inner coils were of second generation (2G) high-temperature superconductor (HTS) ReBCO tape and the outer coils were of low-temperature superconductor (LTS) Nb 3 Sn Rutherford cable. The HTS and LTS coils were independently powered and protected using different power supplies. The HTS coils were quenched many times with no degradation in performance observed. The hybrid field reached ~8.6 T, which is believed to be a record for a hybrid dipole. The maximum field was limited by the stable operation of the leads in the LTS coil at 8000 A. The HTS coils were independently ramped to 800 A, and the LTS coils to 10,000 A. With improved leads and instrumentation, this hybrid dipole is expected to produce over 13 T when the ReBCO tape in the HTS coil is aligned nearly parallel to the field. One major purpose of this program was to perform magnetization studies in the coils made with the HTS tape. Magnetization-induced field errors are expected to be small when the field is nearly parallel to the wide face of the tape. The magnetization measurements were performed at 77 K with the two racetrack coils in two orientations, with field predominantly either parallel or perpendicular to the wide face of the HTS tape. In addition, measurements were also performed at 4 K in different background fields provided by the outer Nb3Sn coils. This paper will summarize the magnetization measurements and present the quenching experience of the HTS coils in this hybrid magnet system.
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
Calculation of Eddy Currents In the CTH Vacuum Vessel and Coil Frame
Knowledge of eddy currents in the vacuum vessel walls and nearby conducting support structures can significantly contribute to the accuracy of Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equilibrium reconstruction in toroidal plasmas. Moreover, the magnetic fields produced by the eddy currents could generate error fields that may give rise to islands at rational surfaces or cause field lines to become chaotic. In the Compact Toroidal Hybrid (CTH) device (R0 = 0.75 m, a = 0.29 m, B ≤ 0.7 T), the primary driver of the eddy currents during the plasma discharge is the changing flux of the ohmic heating transformer. Electromagnetic simulations are used to calculate eddy current paths and profile in the vacuum vessel and in the coil frame pieces with known time dependent currents in the ohmic heating coils. MAXWELL and SPARK codes were used for the Electromagnetic modeling and simulation. MAXWELL code was used for detailed 3D finite-element analysis of the eddy currents in the structures. SPARK code was used to calculate the eddy currents in the structures as modeled with shell/surface elements, with each element representing a current loop. In both cases current filaments representing the eddy currents were prepared for input into VMEC code for MHD equilibrium reconstruction of the plasma discharge. __________________________________________________
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Bayesian truncation errors in chiral effective field theory: Nucleon-nucleon observables
Not Available
Melendez, J. A.↗
Field Mapper for Superconducting Torus Magnet for the Jefferson Lab 12GeV Upgrade
As part of the Jefferson Lab 12 GeV upgrade, the Hall B magnet system requires two conduction cooled superconducting magnets ? a Torus and a Solenoid. The Torus consists of 6 trapezoidal coils connected in series with an operating current of 3770 A. During commissioning of the torus magnet, field mapping was carried out at different levels of operating current in order to determine the field profile and field error table. In order to meet the physics requirement of the field accuracy we need magnetic field strength measurements which are accurate at the 0.1% level, and we need to know radius and azimuth to 0.1 mm and z to 0.5 mm. The center line of the torus magnet is approximately 6 m from ground level and the overall height of the torus magnet is approximately 8.5 m. There is also limited space around the magnet and in between the coils. Field mapping had to be carried out along the Z axis (i.e. along the bore) and at 4 radial locations between each coil. These restrictions provided certain challenges for the magnetic field mapping task. The mapper prototype was built and tested prior to use on the Torus itself. In this presentation the field mapper design, prototyping and actual data collection procedure will be presented.
Rajput-Ghoshal, Renuka↗
First observation of RMP ELM mitigation on MAST Upgrade
Abstract The first experimental attempts at controlling edge localised modes (ELMs) via the application of resonant magnetic perturbations on the MAST Upgrade tokamak are reported. Using the linear MHD model MARS-F, the phase shift between the upper and lower coil rows ΔΦ was optimised for toroidal mode number n = 1 and n = 2 fields, to provide forward guidance to experiments. In low β N discharges, the application of n = 1 3D fields caused the ELM frequency f E L M to increase by over a factor 20 relative to the reference, and also induced a locked mode, which did not cause a plasma termination nor an H-L back transition. However when β N was raised, this induced locked mode caused plasma termination which precluded mitigation access. Initially, applying a numerically optimised n = 2 field had no effect. However applying a rigid toroidal shift to this field caused a locked mode disruption, demonstrating the presence of a substantial n = 2 error field. Coil current ramps were conducted with ΔΦ set at 6 different values, resulting in either locked mode disruptions or no effect, but mitigation with n = 2 fields was not established.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Analysis of Screening Current Effects in a Hybrid Nb$_{3}$Sn/REBCO Superconducting Accelerator Magnet Using a T - A Formulation
To explore the feasibility of using high-temperature superconducting (HTS) REBCO coated conductors in future accelerator magnets, two REBCO flat racetrack coils were fabricated using 4-mm wide EuBCO tapes at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK). These coils were tested as an insert inside a Nb$_{3}$Sn common-coil dipole magnet, which provides a background field of up to $\sim$ 9.5T, at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). REBCO tapes offer exceptionally high critical current density under strong magnetic fields; however, they also exhibit significant magnetization due to screening currents, leading to magnetic field errors. Here, this study presents a 2D finite element model of screening current-induced fields (SCIF) in REBCO coils using the T-A formulation, along with the results obtained. Simulations were then performed for two KEK test cases: one where the REBCO conductors were oriented with the HTS tapes parallel to the background field, and another where the tapes were perpendicular to it. Since screening currents also influence the stress distribution and increase the peak stress in the coils, the mechanical effects of these currents were analyzed. The implications of these simulation and test results for the design of Nb$_{3}$Sn/REBCO superconducting accelerator magnets are discussed.
Accelerator magnets↗