The resistive wall mode (RWM) and neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) have been simultaneously suppressed in the DIII-D for durations over 2 seconds at beta values 20% above the no-wall limit with modest electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) and low plasma rotation. The critical plasma rotation was significantly lower than reported at the IAEA FEC in 2006. However, even in this stabilized regime, stable steady-state operation is not unconditionally guaranteed. Various localized MHD activities such as edge localized modes (ELMs) and fishbones begin to couple to the RWM branch near the no-wall limit. Feedback is useful to improve the stability. Simultaneous operation of slow dynamic error field correction and fast feedback suppressed the ELM-induced RWM at high normalized beta. The result implies that successful feedback operation requires careful control of residual RWMs. The effectiveness of feedback operation was demonstrated using a reproducible current-driven RWM. The present findings are extremely useful in the challenge of control of RWM and NTM in the unexplored physics territory of burning plasmas in ITER.

A set of twelve coils for stability control has recently been installed inside the DIII-D [J. L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 (2002)] vacuum vessel, offering faster time response and a wider range of applied mode spectra than the previous external coils. Stabilization of the n=1 ideal kink mode is crucial to many high beta, steady-state tokamak scenarios. A resistive wall converts the kink to a slowly growing resistive wall mode (RWM). With feedback-controlled error field correction, rotational stabilization of the RWM has been sustained for more than 2.5 s. Using the internal coils, the required correction field is smaller than with the external coils, consistent with a better match to the mode spectrum of the error field. Initial experiments in direct feedback control have stabilized the RWMs at higher beta and lower rotation than could be achieved by the external coils in similar plasmas, in qualitative agreement with numerical modeling. The new coils have also allowed wall stabilization in plasmas with toroidal beta up to 6%, almost 50% greater than the no wall limit.

A detailed experiment-theory comparison reveals that linear ideal MHD theory is in quantitative agreement with external magnetic and internal soft x-ray measurements of the plasma response to externally applied non-axisymmetric fields over a broad range of beta and rotation. This result represents a significant step toward the goal of advancing the understanding of three-dimensional tokamak equilibria. Both the magnetic and soft x-ray measurements show the driven plasma perturbation increases linearly with the applied perturbation, suggesting the relevance of linear plasma response models. The magnetic and soft x-ray measurements are made at multiple toroidal and poloidal locations, allowing well resolved measurements of the global structure. The comparison also highlights the need to include kinetic effects in the MHD model once beta exceeds 80% of the kink mode limit without a conducting wall. Two distinct types of response fields are identified by the linear ideal MHD model: one that consists of localized currents at the rational surfaces that cancel the applied resonant field and another that is excited by the components of the external field that couple to the kink mode. Numerical simulations show these two fields have similar amplitudes in ITER-shaped DIII-D discharges where n = 3 fields are used to suppress edge localized modes.

Results from an array of theoretical and computational tools developed to treat the instabilities of most interest for high performance tokamak discharges are described. The theory and experimental diagnostic capabilities have now been developed to the point where detailed predictions can be productively tested so that competing effects can be isolated and either eliminated or confirmed. The predictions using high quality discharge equilibrium reconstructions are tested against the observations for the principal limiting phenomena in DIII-D: L-mode negative central shear (NCS) disruptions, H-mode NCS edge instabilities, and tearing and resistive wall modes (RWMs) in long pulse discharges. In the case of predominantly ideal MHD instabilities, agreement between the code predictions and experimentally observed stability limits and thresholds can now be obtained to within several percent, and the predicted fluctuations and growth rates to within the estimated experimental errors. Edge instabilities can be explained by a new model for edge localized modes as predominantly ideal low to intermediate n modes. Accurate ideal calculations are critical to demonstrating RWM stabilization by plasma rotation and the ideal eigenfunctions provide a good representation of the RWM structure when the rotation slows. Ideal eigenfunctions can then be used to predict stabilization using active feedback. For non-ideal modes, the agreement is approaching levels similar to that for the ideal comparisons; ∆' calculations, for example, indicate that some discharges are linearly unstable to classical tearing modes, consistent with the observed growth of islands in those discharges.

A matched filter analysis has been developed to identify the amplitude and phase of magnetohydrodynamic modes in DIII-D tokamak plasmas using magnetic probe signals (δBp). As opposed to conventional Fourier spatial analysis of toroidally spaced probes, this analysis includes data from both toroidally and poloidally spaced magnetic probe arrays. Using additional probes both improves the statistics of the analysis and more importantly incorporates poloidal information into the mode analysis. The matched filter is a numeric filter that matches signals from the magnetic probes with numerically predicted signals for the mode. The numerical predictions are developed using EFIT equilibrium reconstruction data as input to the stability code GATO and the vacuum field code VACUUM. Changes is the plasma equilibrium that occur on the same time scale as the mode are taken into account by modeling simple matched filter vectors corresponding to changes in total plasma current, plus vertical and horizontal plasma shifts. The matched filter method works well when there is good understanding of a mode and good modeling of its structure. Matched filter analysis results for a fast growing ideal kink mode, where equilibrium change effects are minimal, show the effectiveness of this method. A slow growing resistive-wall mode (RWM) is also analyzed using the matched filter method. The method gives good results for identifying the amplitude and phase of the RWM but the simple equilibrium vectors are insufficient for complete elimination of equilibrium changes on this time scale. An analysis of the computational requirements of the scheme indicates that real-time application of the matched filter for RWM identification will be possible.

Active feedback control in the DIII-D tokamak has fully stabilized the current-driven ideal kink resistive-wall mode (RWM). While complete stabilization is known to require both low frequency error field correction (EFC) and high frequency feedback, unambiguous identification has been made about the distinctive role of each in a fully feedback-stabilized discharge. Specifically, the role of direct RWM feedback, which nullifies the RWM perturbation in a time scale faster than the mode growth time, cannot be replaced by low frequency EFC, which minimizes the lack of axisymmetry of external magnetic fields.

DIII-D physics research addresses critical challenges for the operation of ITER and the next generation of fusion energy devices. This is done through a focus on innovations to provide solutions for high performance long pulse operation, coupled with fundamental plasma physics understanding and model validation, to drive scenario development by integrating high performance core and boundary plasmas. Substantial increases in off-axis current drive efficiency from an innovative top launch system for EC power, and in pressure broadening for Alfven eigenmode control from a co-/counter-I p steerable off-axis neutral beam, all improve the prospects for optimization of future long pulse/steady state high performance tokamak operation. Fundamental studies into the modes that drive the evolution of the pedestal pressure profile and electron vs ion heat flux validate predictive models of pedestal recovery after ELMs. Understanding the physics mechanisms of ELM control and density pumpout by 3D magnetic perturbation fields leads to confident predictions for ITER and future devices. Validated modeling of high-Z shattered pellet injection for disruption mitigation, runaway electron dissipation, and techniques for disruption prediction and avoidance including machine learning, give confidence in handling disruptivity for future devices. For the non-nuclear phase of ITER, two actuators are identified to lower the L–H threshold power in hydrogen plasmas. With this physics understanding and suite of capabilities, a high poloidal beta optimized-core scenario with an internal transport barrier that projects nearly to Q = 10 in ITER at ∼8 MA was coupled to a detached divertor, and a near super H-mode optimized-pedestal scenario with co-I p beam injection was coupled to a radiative divertor. The hybrid core scenario was achieved directly, without the need for anomalous current diffusion, using off-axis current drive actuators. Also, a controller to assess proximity to stability limits and regulate β N in the ITER baseline scenario, based on plasma response to probing 3D fields, was demonstrated. Finally, innovative tokamak operation using a negative triangularity shape showed many attractive features for future pilot plant operation.

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