R. Dux

Modelling of measured tungsten spectra from ASDEX Upgrade and predictions for ITER

Tungsten (W) has moved into the focus of fusion research being a main candidate for the plasma facing components (PFCs) of ITER and a future fusion reactor. A main ingredient for understanding the influence of W as a plasma impurity and its impact on the plasma is the spatially resolved spectroscopic diagnosis of W. The focus of the experimental investigations at ASDEX Upgrade is on the most intense emissions of W ions (about I-like W21+ to Mn-like W49+) in the VUV to the soft x-ray region covering the electron temperature range from about 0.5?5.0?keV. The relative shape of the fractional abundances of the ionization stages Se-like W40+ to Ni-like W46+ and of the bundle of ionization stages between Sn-like W24+ and Y-like W35+ was determined. Calculated fractional abundances using published ionization and recombination rates do not accurately describe the experimental temperature dependence. Adjustments to the recombination rates were calculated to reconcile with the measurements. The spectral features of W at 0.4?0.8?nm, around 5?nm, between 12 and 14?nm and between 10 and 30?nm have been recorded and compared with modelling results. The quality of agreement is best for highly charged ionization stages and short wavelengths and decreases for lower charged ionization stages and longer wavelengths. However, in the latter case the predictions manage to reproduce the total emissivity in each considered spectral range and also the rough distribution of emissions versus wavelengths within these spectral ranges. The modelling of the SXR range at 0.4?0.8?nm looks very similar to the measurement. Further observations of weaker spectral features between 0.6 and 0.7?nm, between 1.8 and 3.5?nm and at 8?nm could be attributed to certain ionization stages. The modelling of W spectra for ITER predicts emissions of Cr-like W50+ to about C-like W68+ at 0.1?0.15?nm, 1.8?4.0?nm and around 8?nm.

Tungsten: an option for divertor and main chamber plasma facing components in future fusion devices

The tungsten programme in ASDEX Upgrade is pursued towards a full high-Z device. The spectroscopic diagnostic of W has been extended and refined and the cooling factor of W has been re-evaluated. The W coated surfaces now represent a fraction of 65% of all plasma facing components (24.8 m(2)). The only two major components that are not yet coated are the strikepoint region of the lower divertor as well as the limiters at the low field side. While extending the W surfaces, the W concentration and the discharge behaviour have changed gradually pointing to critical issues when operating with a W wall: anomalous transport in the plasma centre should not be too low, otherwise neoclassical accumulation can occur. One very successful remedy is the addition of central RF heating at the 20-30% level. Regimes with low ELM activity show increased impurity concentration over the whole plasma radius. These discharges can be cured by increasing the ELM frequency through pellet ELM pacemaking or by higher heating power. Moderate gas puffing also mitigates the impurity influx and penetration, however, at the expense of lower confinement. The erosion yield at the low field side guard limiter can be as high as 10(-3) and fast particle losses from NBI were identified to contribute a significant part to the W sputtering. Discharges run in the upper W coated divertor do not show higher W concentrations than comparable discharges in the lower C based divertor. According to impurity transport calculations no strong high-Z accumulation is expected for the ITER standard scenario as long as the anomalous transport is at least as high as the neoclassical one.

Calculation and experimental test of the cooling factor of tungsten

The cooling factor of W is evaluated using state of the art data for line radiation and an ionization balance which has been benchmarked with experiment. For the calculation of line radiation, level-resolved calculations were performed with the Cowan code to obtain the electronic structure and excitation cross sections ( plane-wave Born approximation). The data were processed by a collisional radiative model to obtain electron density dependent emissions. These data were then combined with the radiative power derived from recombination rates and bremsstrahlung to obtain the total cooling factor. The effect of uncertainties in the recombination rates on the cooling factor was studied and was identified to be of secondary importance. The new cooling factor is benchmarked, by comparisons of the line radiation with spectral measurements as well as with a direct measurement of the cooling factor. Additionally, a less detailed calculation using a configuration averaged model was performed. It was used to benchmark the level-resolved calculations and to improve the prediction on radiation power from line radiation for ionization stages which are computationally challenging. The obtained values for the cooling factor validate older predictions from the literature. Its ingredients and the absolute value are consistent with the existing experimental results regarding the value itself, the spectral distribution of emissions and the ionization equilibrium. A table of the cooling factor versus electron temperature is provided. Finally, the cooling factor is used to investigate the operational window of a fusion reactor with W as intrinsic impurity. The minimum value of nT tau(E), for which a thermonuclear burn is possible, is increased by 20% for a W concentration of 3.0 x 10(-5) compared with a plasma without any impurities, except for the He ash which is considered in both cases.

Divertor power load feedback with nitrogen seeding in ASDEX Upgrade

Feedback control of the divertor power load by means of nitrogen seeding has been developed into a routine operational tool in the all-tungsten clad ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. For heating powers above about 12?MW, its use has become inevitable to protect the divertor tungsten coating under boronized conditions. The use of nitrogen seeding is accompanied by improved energy confinement due to higher core plasma temperatures, which more than compensates the negative effect of plasma dilution by nitrogen on the neutron rate. This paper describes the technical details of the feedback controller. A simple model for its underlying physics allows the prediction of its behaviour and the optimization of the feedback gain coefficients used. Storage and release of nitrogen in tungsten surfaces were found to have substantial impact on the behaviour of the seeded plasma, resulting in increased nitrogen consumption with unloaded walls and a latency of nitrogen release over several discharges after its injection. Nitrogen is released from tungsten plasma facing components with moderate surface temperature in a sputtering-like process; therefore no uncontrolled excursions of the nitrogen wall release are observed. Overall, very stable operation of the high-Z tokamak is possible with nitrogen seeding, where core radiative losses are avoided due to its low atomic charge Z and a high ELM frequency is maintained.

Impurity seeding for tokamak power exhaust: from present devices via ITER to DEMO

A future fusion reactor is expected to have all-metal plasma facing materials (PFMs) to ensure low erosion rates, low tritium retention and stability against high neutron fluences. As a consequence, intrinsic radiation losses in the plasma edge and divertor are low in comparison to devices with carbon PFMs. To avoid localized overheating in the divertor, intrinsic low-Z and medium-Z impurities have to be inserted into the plasma to convert a major part of the power flux into radiation and to facilitate partial divertor detachment. For burning plasma conditions in ITER, which operates not far above the L–H threshold power, a high divertor radiation level will be mandatory to avoid thermal overload of divertor components. Moreover, in a prototype reactor, DEMO, a high main plasma radiation level will be required in addition for dissipation of the much higher alpha heating power. For divertor plasma conditions in present day tokamaks and in ITER, nitrogen appears most suitable regarding its radiative characteristics. If elevated main chamber radiation is desired as well, argon is the best candidate for the simultaneous enhancement of core and divertor radiation, provided sufficient divertor compression can be obtained. The parameter Psep/R, the power flux through the separatrix normalized by the major radius, is suggested as a suitable scaling (for a given electron density) for the extrapolation of present day divertor conditions to larger devices. The scaling for main chamber radiation from small to large devices has a higher, more favourable dependence of about Prad,main/R2. Krypton provides the smallest fuel dilution for DEMO conditions, but has a more centrally peaked radiation profile compared to argon. For investigation of the different effects of main chamber and divertor radiation and for optimization of their distribution, a double radiative feedback system has been implemented in ASDEX Upgrade (AUG). About half the ITER/DEMO values of Psep/R have been achieved so far, and close to DEMO values of Prad,main/R2, albeit at lower Psep/R. Further increase of this parameter may be achieved by increasing the neutral pressure or improving the divertor geometry.

Plasma?surface interaction, scrape-off layer and divertor physics: implications for ITER

Recent research in scrape-off layer (SOL) and divertor physics is reviewed; new and existing data from a variety of experiments have been used to make cross-experiment comparisons with implications for further research and ITER. Studies of the region near the separatrix have addressed the relationship of profiles to turbulence as well as the scaling of the parallel power flow. Enhanced low-field side radial transport is implicated as driving parallel flows to the inboard side. The medium-n nature of edge localized modes (ELMs) has been elucidated and new measurements have determined that they carry ~10?20% of the ELM energy to the far SOL with implications for ITER limiters and the upper divertor. The predicted divertor power loads for ITER disruptions are reduced while those to main chamber plasma facing components (PFCs) increase. Disruption mitigation through massive gas puffing is successful at reducing PFC heat loads. New estimates of ITER tritium retention have shown tile sides to play a significant role; tritium cleanup may be necessary every few days to weeks. ITERs use of mixed materials gives rise to a reduction of surface melting temperatures and chemical sputtering. Advances in modelling of the ITER divertor and flows have enhanced the capability to match experimental data and predict ITER performance.

High β plasmoid formation, drift and striations during pellet ablation in ASDEX Upgrade

The ablated material of a frozen hydrogen isotope pellet which is injected into a hot tokamak plasma forms a high β plasmoid. This diamagnetic plasmoid is accelerated to the magnetic low field side of the torus. The high β plasmoid drift was directly observed by an optical diagnostic with high space and time resolution. Spectroscopic measurements of the emitted light allowed the density and temperature of the ablation cloud, and for the first time also of the drifting plasmoids, to be determined. The experiments give a new insight into the dynamics of the formation of striations during the pellet ablation; these striations cause the separation of the ablated material into a sequence of separated, drifting plasmoids. The influence of the drift on the mass deposition profile for high field side pellet injection is discussed. The plasmoid dynamics even influences the radial pellet motion, most probably owing to a rocket effect. The physical principles of the high β plasmoid drift are discussed and compared with the experimental observations.

Type-I ELM substructure on the divertor target plates in ASDEX Upgrade

In the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak, the power deposition structures on the divertor target plates during type-I edge localized modes (ELMs) have been investigated by infrared thermography. In addition to the axisymmetric strike line, several poloidally displaced stripes are resolved, identifying an ELM as a composite of several subevents. This pattern is interpreted as being a signature of the helical perturbations in the low field side edge during the non-linear ELM evolution. Based on this observation, the ELM related magnetic perturbation in the midplane can be derived from the target load pattern. In the start phase of an ELM collapse, average toroidal mode numbers around n ≈ 3–5 are found evolving to values of n ≈ 12–14 during the ELM power deposition maximum. Further information about the non-linear evolution of the ELM mode structure is obtained from statistical analyses of the spatial distribution, heat flux amplitudes and number of single stripes.

Assessment of compatibility of ICRF antenna operation with full W wall in ASDEX Upgrade

The compatibility of ICRF (ion cyclotron range of frequencies) antenna operation with high-Z plasma facing components is assessed in ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) with its tungsten (W) first wall.The mechanism of ICRF-related W sputtering was studied by various diagnostics including the local spectroscopic measurements of W sputtering yield YW on antenna limiters. Modification of one antenna with triangular shields, which cover the locations where long magnetic field lines pass only one out of two (0π)-phased antenna straps, did not influence the locally measured YW values markedly. In the experiments with antennas powered individually, poloidal profiles of YW on limiters of powered antennas show high YW close to the equatorial plane and at the very edge of the antenna top. The YW-profile on an unpowered antenna limiter peaks at the location projecting to the top of the powered antenna.An interpretation of the YW measurements is presented, assuming a direct link between the W sputtering and the sheath driving RF voltages deduced from parallel electric near-field (E||) calculations and this suggests a strong E|| at the antenna limiters. However, uncertainties are too large to describe the YW poloidal profiles.In order to reduce ICRF-related rise in W concentration CW, an operational approach and an approach based on calculations of parallel electric fields with new antenna designs are considered. In the operation, a noticeable reduction in YW and CW in the plasma during ICRF operation with W wall can be achieved by (a) increasing plasma–antenna clearance; (b) strong gas puffing; (c) decreasing the intrinsic light impurity content (mainly oxygen and carbon in AUG). In calculations, which take into account a realistic antenna geometry, the high E|| fields at the antenna limiters are reduced in several ways: (a) by extending the antenna box and the surrounding structures parallel to the magnetic field; (b) by increasing the average strap–box distance, e.g. by increasing the number of toroidally distributed straps; (c) by a better balance of (0π)-phased contributions to RF image currents.

Non-boronized compared with boronized operation of ASDEX Upgrade with full-tungsten plasma facing components

After completion of the tungsten coating of all plasma facing components, ASDEX Upgrade has been operated without boronization for 1 1/2 experimental campaigns. This has allowed the study of fuel retention under conditions of relatively low D co-deposition with low-Z impurities as well as the operational space of a full-tungsten device for the unfavourable condition of a relatively high intrinsic impurity level. Restrictions in operation were caused by the central accumulation of tungsten in combination with density peaking, resulting in H?L backtransitions induced by too low separatrix power flux. Most important control parameters have been found to be the central heating power, as delivered predominantly by ECRH, and the ELM frequency, most easily controlled by gas puffing. Generally, ELMs exhibit a positive impact, with the effect of impurity flushing out of the pedestal region overbalancing the ELM-induced W source. The restrictions of plasma operation in the unboronized W machine occurred predominantly under low or medium power conditions. Under medium-high power conditions, stable operation with virtually no difference between boronized and unboronized discharges was achieved. Due to the reduced intrinsic radiation with boronization and the limited power handling capability of VPS coated divertor tiles (?10?MW?m?2), boronized operation at high heating powers was possible only with radiative cooling. To enable this, a previously developed feedback system using (thermo-)electric current measurements as approximate sensor for the divertor power flux was introduced into the standard AUG operation. To avoid the problems with reduced ELM frequency due to core plasma radiation, nitrogen was selected as radiating species since its radiative characteristic peaks at lower electron temperatures in comparison with Ne and Ar, favouring SOL and divertor radiative losses. Nitrogen seeding resulted not only in the desired divertor power load reduction but also in improved energy confinement, as well as in smaller ELMs.