G.J. Hartwell

Magnetic surface mapping with highly transparent screens on the Auburn torsatron

In stellarator‐type magnetic confinement devices (of which the torsatron is one), the magnetic field is produced entirely by external, current‐carrying coils. Two methods for mapping magnetic surfaces in the Auburn torsatron were tested and compared, both of which involve the use of highly transparent screens. The first method consists of coating the screen with a phosphor that emits light when struck by electrons emitted by an electron gun. A pattern representative of a magnetic surface is formed on the screen, and this pattern is recorded photographically. The second method uses an uncoated screen to collect electrons emitted from an emissive probe, which is scanned over a poloidal cross section of the torus. Under certain conditions, the collected current is a constant over a particular magnetic surface so that a contour plot of the current versus position is equivalent to a plot of the magnetic surfaces. Parametric studies of the two methods are presented, and the effectiveness of each technique is di...

Control of magnetic islands with horizontal field trim coils in a low aspect ratio torsatron

The presence of large magnetic islands associated with rational magnetic surfaces in toroidal fusion devices can lead to a reduction of the confinement time of plasmas in such devices. In stellarators and torsatrons, the island size is usually minimized by careful design and coil construction within close tolerances in order to reduce the effect of error fields. In addition, magnetic islands resulting from unavoidable error fields can be reduced or eliminated through the use of auxiliary trim coils. The Compact Auburn Torsatron has been equipped with two pairs of large Helmholtz coils producting mutually orthogonal magnetic fields in the horizontal plane. These trim coils are used to control the size and phase of the t=1/2 magnetic island. A reduction of the inherent t=1/2 magnetic island size by a factor of three is achieved through a systematic variation of both horizontal trim field components. The minimization of the island size occurs simultaneously with the largest poloidal rotation rate of the island as a function of the correction coil current

Magnetic configuration studies in a compact Torsatron

An overview is presented of an experimental program of magnetic field line mapping on the research-grade Compact Auburn Torsatron (CAT). The vacuum magnetic flux surfaces of the CAT device have been experimentally mapped in a variety of magnetic configurations. The results are compared with an extensive computer model in order to validate the coil design. In initial field mapping experiments, an up-down asymmetry was identified in the vacuum magnetic surfaces, and was corrected with the use of a radial trim field. Magnetic islands are observed and their size has been reduced, also through the use of auxiliary trim coils. The Compact Auburn Torsatron is equipped with two pairs of large Helmholtz coils producing mutually orthogonal magnetic fields in the horizontal plane, and two pairs of helical saddle coils wound directly on the toroidal vacuum vessel. These trim coils are used to control the size and phase of the t=1/2 magnetic island. Through a systematic variation of trim field components, we demonstrate a reduction of the inherent t=1/2 magnetic island size by a factor of three. The technique is applicable to correcting small error fields in larger helical confinement devices. The measurements of island size are compared with measurements of magnetic field line rotation within the island, and are found to be in good agreement with first-order perturbation theory.

NEW TECHNIQUES OF MAGNETIC SURFACE MEASUREMENT ON THE COMPACT AUBURN TORSATRON

Torsatron and stellarator plasma devices rely on magnetic surface mapping to verify the detailed vacuum magnetic field structure. Two new techniques of magnetic surface mapping are under development on the compact Auburn torsatron. The first is a fast‐rotating fluorescent wire (FRFW) system. Compared with the usual fluorescent screen, fluorescent rod, or the capacitive point probe techniques, the FRFW system has the advantage of greatly increasing the number of detectable toroidal transits and of minimizing surface mapping time. The second technique is a resistive wire system which provides an alternative fast‐field mapping method.

Electron transport studies in stochastic magnetic fields on the Compact Auburn Torsatron

A steady‐state source of electrons was installed in the Compact Auburn Torsatron (CAT) [Fusion Technol. 18, 28 (1990)]. The transport of the electrons was studied with externally applied resonant magnetic fields. Magnetic fields with primary modes n/m=1/4 and n/m=1/3, and average radial field amplitude 〈(br/Bφ)rms〉∼1% have been employed. The perturbation fields produced mixed islands and stochastic regions at the outer region of the CAT torsatron. The particle diffusion coefficient was measured and compared to stochastic transport models.

Design, Construction, and Operation of the Compact Toroidal Hybrid

Abstract The Compact Toroidal Hybrid (CTH) is a low-aspect-ratio (), low-beta (%) torsatron with a major radius of . CTH is operable as a pure stellarator, but most research on this device is conducted with hybrid discharges in which a toroidal plasma current is driven in order to study magnetohydrodynamic instabilities and disruptions in current-carrying stellarator plasmas. The vacuum helical field of CTH is produced by a continuously wound helical coil with poloidal and toroidal periodicities of and , respectively. The maximum on-axis toroid al magnetic field is . The helical coil encloses a circular vacuum vessel of major radius = 0.75 m with a circular cross section of minor radius 0.29 m. A toroidal plasma current up to 80 kA is produced with an ohmic heating (OH) transformer. The average plasma radius is typically 0.20 m. Five independently controllable magnet coil sets produce the base stellarator magnetic field configuration. With 15-kW electro.n cyclotron heating at the fundamental frequency, densities of and electron temperatures of 20 eV are achieved. With the addition of OH, densities reach with temperatures of . Ten motor/generator power supplies provide up to 10 MW of power to energize the magnet set providing the equilibrium field, and a capacitor bank provides the pulsed current for the OH system. Design considerations, constraints, and construction techniques of the CTH magnet coils, vacuum vessel, and support structure are discussed, and an operational overview is given.

Suppression of vertical instability in elongated current-carrying plasmas by applying stellarator rotational transforma)

The passive stability of vertically elongated current-carrying toroidal plasmas has been investigated in the Compact Toroidal Hybrid, a stellarator/tokamak hybrid device. In this experiment, the fractional transform f, defined as the ratio of the imposed external rotational transform from stellarator coils to the total rotational transform, was varied from 0.04 to 0.50, and the elongation κ was varied from 1.4 to 2.2. Plasmas that were vertically unstable were evidenced by motion of the plasma in the vertical direction. Vertical drifts are measured with a set of poloidal field pickup coils. A three chord horizontally viewing interferometer and a soft X-ray diode array confirmed the drifts. Plasmas with low fractional transform and high elongation are the most susceptible to vertical instability, consistent with analytic predictions that the vertical mode in elongated plasmas can be stabilized by the poloidal field of a relatively weak stellarator equilibrium.

Magnetic surface optimization on the Auburn Torsatron

Magnetic surface optimization studies have been conducted on the Auburn Torsatron. Winding errors in the original helical field coil resulted in a displacement and an up-down asymmetry in the magnetic surfaces. The displacement was initially corrected by unbalancing the outer Helmholtz coils. Computer modelling showed that the observed displacement and asymmetry are expected for a helical field coil winding error having a cos (θ) modulation. A helical correction coil with the appropriate modulation was designed and installed. Magnetic surface mappings with and without the helical correction coil were conducted. With the correction coil, there was a significant improvement in surface symmetry. The experimental results are in good agreement with the predictions of the computer modelling.

Non-axisymmetric equilibrium reconstruction of a current-carrying stellarator using external magnetic and soft x-ray inversion radius measurements

Non-axisymmetric free-boundary equilibrium reconstructions of stellarator plasmas are performed for discharges in which the magnetic configuration is strongly modified by ohmically driven plasma current. These studies were performed on the compact toroidal hybrid device using the V3FIT reconstruction code with a set of 50 magnetic diagnostics external to the plasma. With the assumption of closed magnetic flux surfaces, the reconstructions using external magnetic measurements allow accurate estimates of the net toroidal flux within the last closed flux surface, the edge safety factor, and the plasma shape of these highly non-axisymmetric plasmas. The inversion radius of standard sawteeth is used to infer the current profile near the magnetic axis; with external magnetic diagnostics alone, the current density profile is imprecisely reconstructed.

Low edge safety factor operation and passive disruption avoidance in current carrying plasmas by the addition of stellarator rotational transform

Low edge safety factor operation at a value less than two ( q(a)=1/ιtot(a)<2) is routine on the Compact Toroidal Hybrid device with the addition of sufficient external rotational transform. Presently, the operational space of this current carrying stellarator extends down to q(a)=1.2 without significant n = 1 kink mode activity after the initial plasma current rise phase of the discharge. The disruption dynamics of these low edge safety factor plasmas depend upon the fraction of helical field rotational transform from external stellarator coils to that generated by the plasma current. We observe that with approximately 10% of the total rotational transform supplied by the stellarator coils, low edge q disruptions are passively suppressed and avoided even though q(a) < 2. When the plasma does disrupt, the instability precursors measured and implicated as the cause are internal tearing modes with poloidal, m, and toroidal, n, helical mode numbers of m/n=3/2 and 4/3 observed on external magnetic sensors and...