J.L. de Pablos

Impact of different confinement regimes on the two-dimensional structure of edge turbulence

This paper reports the impact of different confinement regimes on the 2D structure of edge turbulence. An image analysis method based on two-dimensional continuous wavelet transformation is used to localize structures (blobs) in the images and to extract their geometrical characteristics (position, scale, orientation angle and aspect ratio). We study the impact of edge shear-layers on these geometrical aspects of blobs. Results show a reduction in the angular dispersion of blobs as the shear layer is established in the boundary, as well as an increase in the elongation of these structures. Similar behaviour is found in NSTX image sequences when going from L to H mode plasmas. During improved confinement regimes the number of detected blobs decreases. Some indications are found suggesting that the turbulence reduction could be scale-selective in the biasing-induced improved confinement regime of TJ-II stellarator. Perpendicular flow reversal is visualized with the cameras and the time scales for flow reversal are found to be less than 50 µs. Radially propagating structures are found in the SOL with velocities in the range ~1000 m/s and with a poloidally asymmetric spatial distribution.

A protection system for the JET ITER-like wall based on imaging diagnostics

The new JET ITER-like wall (made of beryllium and tungsten) is more fragile than the former carbon fiber composite wall and requires active protection to prevent excessive heat loads on the plasma facing components (PFC). Analog CCD cameras operating in the near infrared wavelength are used to measure surface temperature of the PFCs. Region of interest (ROI) analysis is performed in real time and the maximum temperature measured in each ROI is sent to the vessel thermal map. The protection of the ITER-like wall system started in October 2011 and has already successfully led to a safe landing of the plasma when hot spots were observed on the Be main chamber PFCs. Divertor protection is more of a challenge due to dust deposits that often generate false hot spots. In this contribution we describe the camera, data capture and real time processing systems. We discuss the calibration strategy for the temperature measurements with cross validation with thermal IR cameras and bi-color pyrometers. Most importantly, we demonstrate that a protection system based on CCD cameras can work and show examples of hot spot detections that stop the plasma pulse. The limits of such a design and the associated constraints on the operations are also presented.

Plasma potential and turbulence dynamics in toroidal devices (survey of T-10 and TJ-II experiments)

A direct comparison of the electric potential and its fluctuations in the T-10 tokamak and the TJ-II stellarator is presented for similar plasma conditions in the two machines, using the heavy ion beam probe diagnostic. We observed the following similarities: (i) plasma potentials of several hundred volts, resulting in a radial electric field Er of several tens of V?cm?1; (ii) a negative sign for the plasma potential at central line-averaged electron densities larger than 1\times 10^{19}\,{\rm m}^{-3} SRC=http://ej.iop.org/images/0029-5515/51/8/083043/nf381326in001.gif/>, with comparable values in both machines, even when using different heating methods; (iii) with increasing electron density ne or energy confinement time ?E, the potential evolves in the negative direction; (iv) with electron cyclotron resonance heating and associated increase in the electron temperature Te, ?E degrades and the plasma potential evolves in the positive direction. We generally find that the more negative potential and Er values correspond to higher values of ?E. Modelling indicates that basic neoclassical mechanisms contribute significantly to the formation of the electric potential in the core. Broadband turbulence is suppressed at spontaneous and biased transitions to improved confinement regimes and is always accompanied by characteristic changes in plasma potential profiles. Various types of quasi-coherent potential oscillations are observed, among them geodesic acoustic modes in T-10 and Alfv?n eigenmodes in TJ-II.

Internal measurements of Alfvén eigenmodes with heavy ion beam probing in toroidal plasmas

Energetic ion driven Alfven eigenmodes (AEs) are believed to be an important element disturbing the transport in a future fusion reactor. The studies of the AE properties in modern toroidal devices have made crucial contributions to the reactor relevant physics. AEs are conventionally studied by magnetic probes (MPs), which provide the poloidal m and toroidal n mode numbers and their spectral characteristics. Heavy ion beam probing (HIBP) has become a new tool to study AEs with high spatial and frequency resolution. HIBP in the TJ-II heliac observes locally (~1 cm) resolved AEs over the whole radial interval. The set of low-m (m < 8) modes, detected with the high-frequency resolution (<5 kHz), present different types of AEs. AEs are pronounced in the local density, electric potential and poloidal magnetic field oscillations, detected simultaneously by HIBP in the frequency range 50 kHz < fAE < 300 kHz. Various AE modes are visible in the neutral beam injector (NBI)-heated plasma for co-NBI (<450 kW), counter- (<450 kW) and balanced NBI (<900 kW) from the plasma centre to the edge. A high coherence between MP and HIBP data was found for specific AEs. When the density rises, AE frequency decreases, , and the cross-phase between the plasma density, poloidal magnetic field and potential remains constant. The amplitude of the AE potential oscillations δAE ~ 10 V was estimated. Poloidally resolved density and potential measurements may provide information about the AE poloidal wavelength and the AE contribution to the poloidal electric field Epol and the turbulent particle flux ΓE×B. The typical range of Epol oscillations for AEs is . Depending on the δne and δEpol amplitudes and cross-phase, AEs may make a small or a significant contribution to the turbulent particle flux ΓE×B for the observed wavenumbers kθ < 3 cm−1.

Spatially resolved Hα-emission simulation with EIRENE in TJ-II to study hydrogen atomic and molecular physics in low density, high temperature fusion edge plasmas

This paper is a continuation of previous studies (de la Cal et al 2007 J. Nucl. Mater. 363–365 764, de la Cal et al 2007 Proc. 34th EPS Conf. (Poland, Warsaw) P 2.029), where hydrogen recycling under ionizing plasma conditions was analysed by spatially resolved Hα-emission spectroscopy with a tangentially viewing camera looking at a poloidal limiter of the TJ-II stellarator operated with a low density, high temperature plasma edge (ne = (1–10) × 1012 cm−3 and Te = 40–400 eV). In this study, the first objective is to validate for hydrogen the recently implemented EIRENE code* by comparing simulated Hα-emission chords with that obtained experimentally. The second objective is to analyse the atom and molecular neutral distributions in front of the limiter and at other plasma and chamber locations. The third one is to study the atomic and molecular reactions involved in the dissociation, ionization and excitation reactions, as calculated from the EIRENE code, in order to study hydrogen atomic and molecular physics in a low density, high temperature fusion plasma edge, with special focus on interpretation of Hα-emission. The contribution of the different reactions to the emission is analysed as a function of plasma radius. A relevant result obtained from EIRENE under this item is that the main precursor of the molecular Hα-emission is not H2 as proposed in many previous studies, but .

Fast visible camera installation and operation in JET

This article is a summary of the measurements of the recently installed wide‐view fast visible camera in the Joint European Tokamak JET. Here we limit ourselves to a description of the different phenomena and leave for forthcoming articles a more extensive analysis of every phenomenon.

Sheared flows and turbulence in fusion plasmas

The universality of the observed characteristics of sheared flows points to a general ingredient to explain the damping/driving mechanisms responsible for the development of these flows in the plasma boundary region of fusion devices. Experiments in the TJ-II stellarator showing that the generation of spontaneous sheared flows at the plasma edge requires a minimum plasma density or density gradient, open a unique possibility to characterize the dynamics of sheared flow development in fusion plasmas.The effective viscosity at the plasma edge can be deduced by means of the decay rate of the perpendicular flow measurement once the driving force has been removed. Changes in the plasma rotation and turbulence have been studied when an electric field is externally applied at the plasma edge. The relaxation of flows and radial electric fields has been compared in the edge plasma region of TJ-II stellarator and CASTOR tokamak showing a striking similarity. The findings can help to test neoclassical and anomalous damping mechanisms in fusion plasmas.Finally, the emergence of the plasma edge sheared flow as a function of plasma density can be explained using a simple second-order phase transition model that reproduces many of the features of the TJ-II experimental data while capturing the qualitative features of the transition near the critical point.

Electron internal transport barriers, rationals and quasi-coherent oscillations in the stellarator TJ-II

The evolution of core quasi-coherent modes has been investigated during the formation of electron internal transport barriers (e-ITB) in the TJ-II stellarator. These modes have been characterized using heavy ion beam probe and electron cyclotron emission diagnostics. The quasi-coherent mode evolves during formation/annihilation of the e-ITB and vanishes as the transport barrier is fully developed. These observations can be interpreted in terms of the influence of sheared flows in the stability of quasi-coherent modes.

Physics of sheared flow development in the boundary of fusion plasmas

The link between edge sheared flows and turbulence is investigated in the plasma edge region of the TJ-II stellarator and the results are compared with results in other devices like JET tokamak. In the TJ-II stellarator there is a threshold density to trigger the development of edge shear flows. During sheared flow development the degree of turbulence anisotropy ((v ∥ v r )) is modified. The fact that different quadratic terms in fluctuating velocities ((v ∥ v r ) and (v ⊥ v r )) change during edge sheared flow generation means that shear flow physics involves 3D physics phenomena in which both perpendicular and parallel dynamics are involved. A new strategy has been recently applied to plasma physics to quantify the local energy transfer between flows and turbulence by computing the production term. Experimental results show that turbulence can act as an energy sink and energy source for the mean flow near the shear layer. Measurements of the turbulence production show the importance of 3D effects on the energy transfer between flows and turbulence.

The dynamics of the formation of the edge particle transport barrier at TJ-II

A large set of discharges with both spontaneous and forced confinement transitions at low electron density is studied at the stellarator TJ-II in different magnetic configurations. By means of a Bayesian technique, using reflectometry and interferometry, electron density profiles are reconstructed in the outer half of the plasma. A scanning heavy ion beam probe delivers information on the global evolution of the plasma potential. Langmuir probes are used to measure long-range correlations. Together, a comprehensive picture is obtained of the evolution of various key global plasma profiles and parameters across forward and backward transitions associated with the formation of an edge sheared flow layer. The impact of low-order rationals on the transition is elucidated.