Gong Xianzu

Equilibrium Reconstruction in EAST Tokamak

Reconstruction of experimental axisymmetric equilibria is an important part of tokamak data analysis. Fourier expansion is applied to reconstruct the vessel current distribution in EFIT code. Benchmarking and testing calculations are performed to evaluate and validate this algorithm. Two cases for circular and non-circular plasma discharges are presented. Fourier expansion used to fit the eddy current is a robust method and the real time EFIT can be introduced to the plasma control system in the coming campaign.

Optimization and Update of EAST In-Vessel Components in 2011

For safe operation with active water cooling plasma facing components (PFCs) to handle a large input power over a long pulse discharge, some design optimization, R&D and maintenance were accomplished to improve the in-vessel components. For the purpose of large plasma current (1 MA) operation, the previous separated top and bottom passive stabilizers in the low field were electrical connected to stabilize plasma in the case of vertical displace events (VDEs). The design and experiments are described in this paper

A Dip Structure in the Intrinsic Toroidal Rotation Near the Edge of the Ohmic Plasmas in EAST

Ions toroidal velocity, vt, in both the outermost 4 cm of the confined region and the scrap-off layer of Ohmic L-mode plasmas in EAST was measured using Mach probes. At about 1 cm inside the separatrix a local minimum in vt was observed, from which a cocurrent rotation increased both inwards and outwards. The radial width of the vt dip was 1 cm to 2 cm, and both the density and electron temperature profiles exhibited steep gradients at this dip position. It was observed in both divertor and limiter configurations. To find out its origin, the toroidal torques induced by neutral friction, neoclassical viscosity, collisional perpendicular shear viscosity, ion orbit loss and turbulent Reynolds stress were estimated using the measured parameters. Our results indicate that in this particular parameter regime the neutral friction was the dominant damping force. The calculated cocurrent toroidal torque by the neoclassical viscosity dominates over those from the collisional perpendicular shear viscosity, ion orbit loss and turbulent Reynolds stress. These results are potentially important for the understanding of boundary conditions for the intrinsic toroidal momentum in tokamak plasmas.

Spectroscopic Studies on Impurity Transport of Core and Edge Plasmas in LHD

Spectroscopic diagnostics have been extensively developed for studies of impurity and neutral particle transports at core and edge plasmas in LHD. Diagnostics of core plasmas are similar to a tokamak case, i.e., Zeff from visible bremsstrahlung, K-x-ray measurements from x-ray spectroscopy using Si(Li) detectors and a compact crystal spectrometer, and high-Z impurity diagnostics from VUV spectroscopy using a flat-field EUV spectrometer. A combination of impurity pellet injection and visible bremsstrahlung is an active tool for determination of the diffusion coefficient D and convective velocity V. Using this tool the spatial structures of D and V are obtained and discussed with a neoclassical effect. On the other hand, the spectroscopic method for edge diagnostics is considerably different from the tokamak case because of the existence of a thick ergodic layer in addition to the x-points necessarily included into the diagnostic chord view. In order to break this negative situation, Zeeman and polarization spectroscopy are adopted to LHD edge plasmas. As a result, 2-dimensional emission contours of HeI and Hα are successfully obtained. Laser absorption spectroscopy is tried to measure hydrogen neutrals directly. Radial profiles of edge impurities are also measured with a mirror-assembled 3 m VUV spectrometer. Recent results of and progress in LHD spectroscopy are briefly reviewed.

Removal of Particles by ICRF Cleaning in HT-7 Superconducting Tokamak

The ICRF (Ion Cyclotron Range Frequency) cleaning technique has been used as a routine wall cleaning method in the HT-7 superconducting tokamak. In a wide range of toroidal field, the removal rate of residual gas by ICRF cleaning was about twenty times higher than that of glow discharge cleaning (GDC). At different gas pressure and RF power levels, the ICRF cleaning is studied carefully. A good impurity cleaning effect and a very high hydrogen removal rate were obtained. The removal rate of hydrogen by 5 kW ICRF cleaning achieved was 1.6 × 10-5 Torr.l/s. And the relationships among pressure P, outgassing rate Q, atomic layers L absorbed on surface and the cleaning mode were discussed briefly.

Temperature Distribution and Heat Flux on the EAST Divertor Targets in H-Mode

An infrared camera (IR) has been put into operation in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), which is used to measure the temperature distribution on the surface of lower divertor target plates. With a finite difference method, the heat flux onto the divertor target plates is calculated from the surface temperature profile. The high confinement mode (H-mode) with type-III edge localized modes (ELMs) has been obtained with about 1 MW lower-hybrid wave power on the EAST in the autumn experiment in 2010. The analyzed H-mode discharges were lower single null X-point diverted discharges with a density range of (1 ~ 4) × 1019 m−3. The surface temperature of the inner target plate increases with heating power. The peak temperature on the surface of target plates is lower than 200°C with about 2.4 MW heating power. Comparison among the heat flux profiles occurring in different phases in the same discharge has been performed. It indicates that the heat flux profile obviously changes from the ohmic phase to the H-mode phase, and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the heat flux profile is the narrowest during the ELM-free H-phase. On the outer target plate, the peak heat flux exceeds 2 MW/m2 during the ELMy H-mode phase, whereas it is only about 0.8 MW/m2 during the ELM-free phase in the same discharge.

Self-Organized Criticality Properties of the Turbulence-Induced Particle Flux at the Plasma Edge of the HT-6M Tokamak

The power spectrum and the probability distribution function (PDF) of the turbulence-induced particle flux Γ in the velocity shear layer of the HT-6M edge region have been measured and analysed. Three regions of frequency dependence (f 0, f-1, f-4) have been observed in the spectrum of the flux. The PDF of the flux displays a Γ-1 scaling over one decade in Γ. Using the rescaled-range statistical technique, we find that the degree of the self-similarity (Hurst exponent) of the particle flux in the measured region ranges from 0.64 to 0.83. All of these results may mean that the plasma transport is in a state characterized by self-organized criticality.

Study of Divertor Heat Patterns Induced by LHCD L-Mode Plasmas Using an Infra-Red Camera System on EAST*

Divertor heat patterns induced by Lower Hybrid Current Drive (LHCD) L-mode plasmas are investigated using an infra-red (IR) camera system on an Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). A two-dimensional finite element analysis code DFlux is used to compute heat flux along the poloidal divertor target and corresponding quantities. Outside the Origin Strike Zone (OSZ), a Second Peak Heat Flux (SPHF) zone, where the heat flux is even stronger than that at the OSZ, appears on the lower-outer (LO) divertor plates with LHCD and disappears immediately after switching off the LHCD. The main heat-flux shifts from the SPHF zone towards the OSZ when the divertor configuration converts from double null to lower single null, indicating that the growth of the SPHF zone is apparently affected by a plasma magnetic configuration. The heat patterns on the LO divertor plates are observed to be different from that on the lower-inner (LI) targets as the SPHF zone appears only on the LO divertor target. It is also found that the heat flux at the SPHF zone was obviously enhanced after the Supersonic Molecule Beam Injection (SMBI) pulse.

A Signature of Self-Organized Criticality in the HT-6M Edge Plasma Turbulence

Power spectra of electron density and floating potential fluctuations in the velocity shear layer of the HT-6M edge region have been measured and analysed. All the spectra have three distinct frequency regions with the spectral decay indices typical of self-organized criticality systems (0, -1 and -4) when Doppler shift effects induced by the plasma E×B flow velocity have been taken into account. These results are consistent with the predictions of the self-organized criticality models, which may be an indication of edge plasma turbulence in the HT-6M tokamak evolving into a critical state independent of local plasma parameters.

Progress of LHCD and IBW Heating Experiments on HT-7 Tokamak

Experimental progress of lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) and ion Bernstein wave (IBW) heating was achieved significantly in HT-7. Long pulse plasmas, up to 400 s, were obtained by LHCD. High power lower hybrid wave (LHW), with PLHW of 800 kW at 2.45 GHz, was launched and the current drive efficiency was studied for different wave powers. Electron temperature and Zeff were measured in LHCD discharges. Heating experiment and recent results of high power ion Bernstein wave, with PIBW of 600 kW at 27 MHz, were summarized.