M. Otte

Plans for the first plasma operation of Wendelstein 7-X

Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is currently under commissioning in preparation for its initial plasma operation phase, operation phase 1.1 (OP1.1). This first phase serves primarily to provide an integral commissioning of all major systems needed for plasma operation, as well as systems, such as diagnostics, that need plasma operation to verify their foreseen functions. In OP1.1, W7-X will have a reduced set of in-vessel components. In particular, five graphite limiter stripes replace the later foreseen divertor. This paper describes the expected machine capabilities in OP1.1, as well as a selection of physics topics that can be addressed in OP1.1, despite the simplified configuration and the reduced machine capabilities. Physics topics include the verification and adjustment of the magnetic topology, the testing of the foreseen plasma start-up scenarios and the feed-forward control of plasma density and temperature evolution, as well as more advanced topics such as scrape-off layer (SOL) studies at short connection lengths and transport studies. Plasma operation in OP1.1 will primarily be performed in helium, with a hydrogen plasma phase at the end.

Transition From Construction to Operation Phase of the Wendelstein 7-X Stellarator

Assembly of the superconducting stellarator Wendelstein 7-X is well advanced, and commissioning of the device is being prepared. A first draft of the commissioning tasks has been developed and will be discussed in this paper.

Performance and properties of the first plasmas of Wendelstein 7-X

The optimized, superconducting stellarator Wendelstein 7-X went into operation and delivered first measurement data after 15 years of construction and one year commissioning. Errors in the magnet assembly were confirmend to be small. Plasma operation was started with 5 MW electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) power and five inboard limiters. Core plasma values of keV, keV at line-integrated densities were achieved, exceeding the original expectations by about a factor of two. Indications for a core-electron-root were found. The energy confinement times are in line with the international stellarator scaling, despite unfavourable wall conditions, i.e. large areas of metal surfaces and particle sources from the limiter close to the plasma volume. Well controlled shorter hydrogen discharges at higher power (4 MW ECRH power for 1 s) and longer discharges at lower power (0.7 MW ECRH power for 6 s) could be routinely established after proper wall conditioning. The fairly large set of diagnostic systems running in the end of the 10 weeks operation campaign provided first insights into expected and unexpected physics of optimized stellarators.

Aspects of steady-state operation of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator

The objective of Wendelstein 7-X is to demonstrate steady-state operation at β -values of up to 5%, at ion temperatures of several keV and plasma densities of up to 2 × 1020 m−3. The second operational phase foresees a fully steady-state high heat flux (HHF) divertor. Preparations are underway to cope with residual bootstrap currents, either by electron cyclotron current drive or by HHF protection elements. The main steady-state heating system is an electron cyclotron resonance heating facility. Various technical improvements of the gyrotrons have been implemented recently. They enable a reliable operation at the 1 MW power level. Some of the technical issues preparing plasma diagnostics for steady-state operation are exemplified. This includes the protection against non-absorbed microwave radiation.

Setup and initial results from the magnetic flux surface diagnostics at Wendelstein 7-X

Wendelstein 7-X is an optimized stellarator with superconducting magnetic field coils that just started plasma operation at the Max-Planck-Institut fur Plasmaphysik (IPP) Greifswald. Utilizing the electron beam technique the first vacuum flux surface measurements were performed during the commissioning of the magnet system. For the magnetic configurations investigated so far the existence of closed and nested flux surfaces has been validated. All features of the configuration designed for the initial plasma operation phase, including a predicted island chain, were confirmed. No evidence on significant magnetic field errors was found. Furthermore, the effect of the elastic deformation of the non-planar coils was confirmed by the measurements.

The WEGA Stellarator: Results and Prospects

In this article an overview is given on results from magnetic flux surface measurements, applied ECR heating scenarios for 2.45 GHz and 28 GHz, fluctuation and transport studies and plasma edge biasing experiments performed in the WEGA stellarator. Examples for the development of new diagnostics and the machine control system are given that will be used at Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, which is currently under construction in Greifswald.

Time resolved coherence-imaging spectrometer on WEGA stellarator

Imaging sensor technologies such as charge coupled devices and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor have made remarkable progress in recent years. Fast imaging systems based on these new technologies are now being routinely employed for advanced fusion diagnostics. Since two-dimensional imaging considerably improves the investigation of three-dimensional structural physics, we have installed and operated the first high-speed two-dimensional coherence imaging camera system for the study of ion temperatures and flow velocities in the WEGA stellarator based on the Doppler broadening of 468.6 nm He II line emission. The coherence imaging camera was able to image the complete plasma poloidal cross-section over a toroidal region spanning 10°. The camera was used for basic plasma studies, including electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) power step experiments. The ion temperature of helium plasmas in WEGA is found to be 1.5–2.0 eV at maximum (26 kW) ECRH power. The plasma rotates in the E × B direction with speeds between 500 and 1000 m s−1, increasing at higher ECRH power. It was confirmed that the flow direction reverses with the direction of the magnetic field. The observed ion temperatures and flows were cross checked against a multi-channel Echelle spectrometer and satisfactory agreement obtained.

Three-dimensional photogrammetric measurement of magnetic field lines in the WEGA stellarator

The magnetic confinement of plasmas in fusion experiments can significantly degrade due to perturbations of the magnetic field. A precise analysis of the magnetic field in a stellarator-type experiment utilizes electrons as test particles following the magnetic field line. The usual fluorescent detector for this electron beam limits the provided information to two-dimensional cut views at certain toroidal positions. However, the technique described in this article allows measuring the three-dimensional structure of the magnetic field by means of close-range photogrammetry. After testing and optimizing the main diagnostic components, measurements of the magnetic field lines were accomplished with a spatial resolution of 5 mm. The results agree with numeric calculations, qualifying this technique as an additional tool to investigate magnetic field configurations in a stellarator. For a possible future application, ways are indicated on how to reduce experimental error sources.

Investigations of the electron temperature profiles at the WEGA stellarator

This paper presents a study of the hollow bulk electron temperature profiles measured in the low-temperature (2?15?eV) plasmas of the WEGA stellarator. For this the global power balance equation was solved for the bulk electrons. The observed hollow temperature profiles could be reproduced satisfactorily assuming that the bulk electrons are heated through energy transfer from fast electrons and that the parallel heat conduction in the scrape-off layer is determined by the potential drop in the sheath in the vicinity of the wall. These results imply that the cause of the hollow shape of bulk electron temperature profiles is the heating of them through collisions with fast electrons produced by the heating method.

Methods for measuring 1/1 error field in Wendelstein 7-X stellarator

Wendelstein 7-X is an optimized helical axis stellarator that came into operation at the end of 2015. A m/n = 5/5 island chain is used in most of its configurations to form a divertor. This island chain at is sensitive to symmetry-breaking error fields, with the resonant 1/1 field being of particular concern because of its influence on the divertor heat flux distribution. Measurement and compensation of the 1/1 mode is therefore necessary. Experimentally, vacuum error fields in W7-X will be studied with a flux surface mapping diagnostic. In this paper numerical simulations for planning and analysing such measurements are presented. Two methods for determining the 1/1 mode are considered: measurement of the island width and measurement of a helical shift of the magnetic axis. Measurement of the resonant island width is a sensitive technique, but the island structure is also affected by other co-resonant components. A complementary method is to measure a helical shift of the magnetic axis in a configuration close to the resonance. This method has a simple interpretation and isolates the 1/1 error field from higher order resonant modes.