Predicting intrinsic plasma rotation and its shear, which often help stabilize plasma instabilities affecting plasma performance, is important for prospective fusion grade devices. Although rotation in ITER-like scenarios has been extrapolated from measured experimental plasma rotation data, little is understood about the underlying mechanisms governing either the generation or dissipation of momentum in a tokamak plasma. This paper reports on studies of intrinsic toroidal and poloidal plasma rotation from charge exchange spectroscopy using a low power diagnostic beam on the TCV tokamak [Tonetti et al., in Proceedings of the Symposium on Fusion Technology (1991), p. 587] that drives negligible toroidal velocity. In TCV, plasma behavior can be separated by the core and edge regions. In limited configurations, the core rotates in the counter-current direction and can reverse to the co-current direction with a <10% increase in the plasma density. This is different for diverted configurations where the core rotates in the co-current direction reversing to the counter-current direction at higher plasma densities. For all these situations, core toroidal momentum is strongly transported by plasma sawteeth oscillations. In contrast, the toroidal edge rotation is close to stationary for limited discharges but evolves with plasma density for diverted configurations. Theoretical models that predict a change in momentum transport from turbulence have previously been suggested to provide a mechanism that might explain these phenomena. In this paper, mode activity that changes at the toroidal velocity reversal, is identified as a new possible candidate. In the absence of an available model that can explain these basic phenomena, this paper presents observations and, where possible, scaling of the rotation profiles with some of the major plasma parameters such as current, density and shape to guide the development of a physics model for use in improving the extrapolation of the rotation amplitude and profiles to future devices.
Starting from a standard single null X-point configuration, a second order null divertor (snowflake (SF)) has been successfully created on the Tokamak à Configuration Variable (TCV) tokamak. The magnetic properties of this innovative configuration have been analysed and compared with a standard Xpoint configuration. For the SF divertor, the connection length and the flux expansion close to the separatrix exceed those of the standard X-point by more than a factor of 2. The magnetic shear in the plasma edge is also larger for the SF configuration.
The development of reliable H-modes on MAST, together with advances in heating power and a range of high spatial resolution diagnostics, has provided a platform to enable MAST to address some of the most important issues of tokamak stability. In particular the high β potential of the spherical tokamak is highlighted with stable operation at βN ∼ 5–6, βT ∼ 16% and βp up to ∼2. Magnetic diagnostic evaluation of the global β parameters is independently confirmed by kinetic profile data. Calculations indicate that the βN values are in the vicinity of no-wall stability limits. Studies of neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) have been extended to explore their effects and develop avoidance strategies. Experiments have demonstrated that sawteeth play a strong role in triggering NTMs—by avoiding large sawteeth a much higher βN value has been reached. The significance of NTMs is confirmed, with large islands observed using the 300 point Thomson scattering diagnostic, and locking of large n = 1 modes frequently leading to disruptions, which become more rapid at low q95. The role of error fields has been explored. H-mode plasmas are also limited by edge localized modes (ELMs), with confinement degraded as the ELM frequency rises. However, in contrast to the conventional tokamak, the ELMs in high performing regimes on MAST (HIPB98Y2 ∼ 1) appear to be type III in nature. Modelling using the ELITE code, which incorporates finite n corrections, identifies instability to peeling modes, consistent with a type III interpretation. It also shows considerable scope to raise pressure gradients before ballooning type modes (perhaps associated with type I ELMs) occur. The calculations show that narrow pedestals can support much stronger pressure gradients than might be expected from simple n = ∞ ballooning calculations. Finally sawteeth are shown to degrade confinement by ∼10–15% in particular cases examined. They are observed not to remove the q = 1 surface in the cases where snakes are present—various physics models of the sawteeth are now being explored. Thus research on MAST is not only demonstrating stable operation at high performance levels and developing methods to control instabilities; it is also providing detailed tests of the stability physics and models applicable to conventional tokamaks, such as ITER.
The low aspect ratio of the mega amp spherical tokamak (MAST) allows differentiation between different forms of the H-mode threshold scaling. With optimized fuelling using inboard puffing, and a connected double null divertor (DND) magnetic configuration, the H-mode power threshold data lie about 1.7 times higher than recent scaling laws. Slight magnetic configuration changes, of the order of the ion Larmor radius, around a connected DND significantly influence H-mode access. H-mode confinement in discharges with low frequency edge localized modes (ELMs) is generally consistent with international scaling laws, e.g. IPB98(y,2). Strong indications of both particle and energy internal transport barriers have been seen. Normalized beta values β N > 5 have been obtained, approaching the ideal n = 1 no wall external kink stability limit. Sawtooth triggered neo-classical tearing modes have been observed; numerical modelling of the island evolution reproduces mode behaviour well and confirms the significance of stabilizing field curvature effects. Divertor power loading studies, including transient effects due to ELMs, show a strong bias of power efflux to the outboard targets, where it is more easily handled. ELM energy losses, W ELM , are less than 4% of the stored energy in all regimes explored so far, but ELM effluxes extending 30 cm outside the outboard separatrix have been measured. Toroidally asymmetric divertor biasing resulted in significant broadening of the D α profile on the biased components and a reduction in the total power to the unbiased components. Halo current magnitudes and asymmetries are generally small compared with conventional tokamaks;
Electron internal transport barriers (eITBs) are generated in the TCV tokamak with strong electron cyclotron resonance heating in a variety of conditions, ranging from steady-state fully noninductive scenarios to stationary discharges with a finite inductive component and finally to transient current ramps without current drive. The confinement improvement over L-mode ranges from 3 to 6; the bootstrap current fraction is invariably large and is above 70% in the highest confinement cases, with good current profile alignment permitting the attainment of steady state. Barriers are observed both in the electron temperature and density profiles, with a strong correlation both in location and in steepness. The dominant role of the current profile in the formation and properties of eITBs has been conclusively proven in a TCV experiment exploiting the large current drive efficiency of the Ohmic transformer: small current perturbations accompanied by negligible energy transfer dramatically alter the confinement. The crucial element in the formation of the barrier is the appearance of a central region of negative magnetic shear, with the barrier strength improving with increasingly steep shear. This connection has also been corroborated by transport modelling assisted by gyrofluid simulations. Rational safety-factor (q) values do not appear to play a role in the barrier formation, at least in the q range 1.3-2.3, as evidenced by the smooth dependence of the confinement enhancement on the loop voltage over a broad eITB database. MHD mode activity is however influenced by rational q values and results in a complex, sometimes cyclic, dynamic evolution.
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