Abstract:Boronization of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) has enabled access to higher density, higher confinement plasmas. A glow discharge with 4 mTorr helium and 10% deuterated trimethyl boron deposited 1.7 g of boron on the plasma facing surfaces. Ion beam analysis of witness coupons showed a B+C areal density of 10 18 (B+C) cm -2 corresponding to a film thickness of 100 nm. Subsequent ohmic discharges showed oxygen emission lines reduced by x15, carbon emission reduced by two and copper reduced to undetectable levels. After boronization, the plasma current flattop time increased by 70% enabling access to higher density, higher confinement plasmas.

The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) operates between 0.35 and 0.55 T, which, when coupled to up to 7 MW of neutral beam injection, leads to central rotation velocities in excess of 300 km/s and ExB shearing rates up to 1 MHz. This level of ExB shear can be up to a factor of five greater than typical linear growth rates of long-wavelength ion (e.g., ITG) modes, at least partially suppressing these instabilities. Evidence for this turbulence suppression is that the inferred diffusive ion thermal flux in NSTX H-modes is often at the neoclassical level, and thus these plasmas operate in an electron-dominated transport regime. Analysis of experiments using n=3 magnetic fields to change plasma rotation indicate that local rotation shear influences local transport coefficients, most notably the ion thermal diffusivity, in a manner consistent with suppression of the low-k turbulence by this rotation shear. The value of the effective momentum diffusivity, as inferred from steady-state momentum balance, is found to be larger than the neoclassical value. Results of perturbative experiments indicate inward pinch velocities up to 40 m/s and perturbative momentum diffusivities of up to 4 m 2 /s, which are larger by a factor of several than those values inferred from steady-state analysis. The inferred pinch velocity values are consistent with values based on theories in which low-k turbulence drives the inward momentum pinch. Thus, in Spherical Tori (STs), while the neoclassical ion energy transport effects can be relatively high and dominate the ion energy transport, the neoclassical momentum transport effects are near zero, meaning that transport of momentum is dominated by any low-k turbulence that exists.

IntroductionDuring neutral beam injection (NBI) in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX), a wide variety of fast ion driven instabilities is excited by the large ratio of fast ion velocity to Alfvén velocity, together with the relatively high fast ion beta, b f . The fast ion instabilities have frequencies ranging from a few kilohertz to the ion cyclotron frequency. The modes can be divided roughly into three categories, starting with Energetic Particle Modes (EPM) in the lowest frequency range (0 to 120 kHz), the Toroidal Alfvén Eigenmodes (TAE) in the intermediate frequency range (50 to 200 kHz) and the Compressional and Global Alfvén Eigenmodes (CAE and GAE, respectively) from ≈300 kHz up to the ion cyclotron frequency. Each of these categories of modes exhibits a wide range of behavior, including quasi-continuous oscillation, bursting, chirping and, except for the lower frequency range, turbulence. Some examples of the range of EPM and TAE activity can be seen in Figs. 1a -1c.

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