V F Andreev

The ballistic jump of the total heat flux after ECRH switching on in the T-10 tokamak

Analysis of experiments with electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) requires a good knowledge of the ECRH power profile. This profile is reconstructed by analysis of the transient process after on-axis ECRH switching on in special experiments with suppressed sawtooth oscillations in the T-10 tokamak. The calculations show that the absorbed ECRH power, , determined by the change in time derivative of the electron temperature at the region of ECRH power input, and the absorbed ECRH power, , determined by the magnetic measurements, are several times different. Depending on the plasma density and plasma current, their relation, , changes from 0.2 to 0.4. Analysis of different explanations for this effect shows that adequate description of the transient process demands introduction of a ballistic jump in the total heat flux just after on-axis ECRH switching on. The effective heat diffusivity increases up to values of 10?15?m2?s?1 in the first 100?200??s and decreases down to values of 1.5?2.0?m2?s?1 during the following 1?2?ms. Note that such a non-monotone dependence of the effective heat diffusivity cannot be described by the modern critical gradient models. It seems that plasma reacts directly to the deposited power but not to the corresponding consequences (the increase in temperature or gradients). Different physical mechanisms could be proposed for this process (partial destruction of magnetic surfaces, fast transition of information through the turbulent cell connections), but each of them needs further confirmation.

Recent results of the T-10 tokamak

Poloidal asymmetry and radial correlation lengths of turbulence were investigated in T-10 at low field side and high field side by correlation reflectometry. Correlation of plasma confinement with the turbulence type was observed. Improvements in heavy ion beam probe diagnostic enabled us to measure the plasma potential during electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) in a wide range of radial positions and operational regimes. The turbulence appeared to rotate close to E × B velocity. The concept of electron internal transport barrier (e-ITB) formation at low-order rational surfaces under conditions of low density of the rational surfaces was proved by the observation of e-ITB formation near the q = 1.5 surface in discharges with non-central ECRH and current ramp-up. The kinetic phenomena were investigated by means of electron cyclotron emission (ECE) under the strong on-axis ECRH. Lithium gettering of the limiter and the wall allowed us to significantly reduce the impurity level and obtain a recycling coefficient as low as 0.3. The rates of carbon film deposition were measured in the working and cleaning discharges. Second harmonic EC assisted start-up was investigated. ECRH allowed us to control the generation of runaway electrons and the current decay rate after the energy quench at the density limit disruption. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

Link between self-consistent pressure profiles and electron internal transport barriers in tokamaks

Tokamak plasmas have a tendency to self-organization: the plasma pressure profiles obtained in different operational regimes and even in various tokamaks may be represented by a single typical curve, called the self-consistent pressure profile. About a decade ago local zones with enhanced confinement were discovered in tokamak plasmas. These zones are referred to as internal transport barriers (ITBs) and they can act on the electron and/or ion fluid. Here the pressure gradients can largely exceed the gradients dictated by profile consistency. So the existence of ITBs seems to be in contradiction with the self-consistent pressure profiles (this is also often referred to as profile resilience or profile stiffness). In this paper we will discuss the interplay between profile consistency and ITBs. A summary of the cumulative information obtained from T-10, RTP and TEXTOR is given, and a coherent explanation of the main features of the observed phenomena is suggested. Both phenomena, the self-consistent profile and ITB, are connected with the density of rational magnetic surfaces, where the turbulent cells are situated. The distance between these cells determines the level of their interaction, and therefore the level of the turbulent transport. This process regulates the plasma pressure profile. If the distance is wide, the turbulent flux may be diminished and the ITB may be formed. In regions with rarefied surfaces the steeper pressure gradients are possible without instantaneously inducing pressure driven instabilities, which force the profiles back to their self-consistent shapes. Also it can be expected that the ITB region is wider for lower dq/dρ (more rarefied surfaces).

Reduced core transport in T-10 and TEXTOR discharges at rational surfaces with low magnetic shear

It has been observed in the T-10 tokamak that immediately after off-axis electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) switch-off, the core electron temperature stays constant for some time, which can be as long as several tens of milliseconds, i.e. several energy confinement times (τE), before it starts to decrease. Whether or not the effect is observed depends critically on the local magnetic shear in the vicinity of the q = 1 rational surface, which should be close to zero. It is hypothesized that a small shear can induce the formation of an internal transport barrier. Measurements of density fluctuations in the transport barrier with a correlation reflectometer show immediately after the ECRH switch-off a clear reduction in the fluctuation level, corroborating the above results. The delayed temperature decrease has also been observed in similar discharges in the TEXTOR tokamak; however, the delay is restricted to ~ 1 × τE.

High-resolution multiwire proportional soft x-ray diagnostic measurements on TCV

A multiwire proportional x-ray (MPX) detector is used on the TCV tokamak (Tokamak à configuration variable) as a high spatial and temporal resolution soft x-ray emissivity imaging diagnostic. The MPX system consists of 64 vertically viewing channels and has been designed to complement the existing TCV soft x-ray tomography system by enhancing the spatial resolution. The MPX detector is suitable for the measurement of fast and localized phenomena and can be used, for instance, for the observation of magnetohydrodynamic activity, for the characterization of transport barriers or for an improved determination of the electron cyclotron heating power deposition profile. The MPX detector operates in continuous-current mode and measures the plasma soft x-ray emission in the 3-30 keV range with a radial resolution of about 5 mm-1% of plasma diameter--and a frequency bandwidth of 50 kHz. A detailed description of the MPX detector construction and the principle of its operation are given. The properties of the detector in photon-counting and continuous-current operation modes are studied. The implementation of the system on TCV and experimental results illustrating the potential of the diagnostic are also presented.

The main features of self-consistent pressure profile formation

The self-organization of a tokamak plasma is a fundamental turbulent plasma phenomenon, which leads to the formation of a self-consistent pressure profile. This phenomenon has been investigated in the T-10 tokamak in different experiments, excluding profiles with pronounced transport barriers. It will be shown that the normalized pressure profile can be expressed by the equation pN(r) = p(r, t)/p(0, t), over a wide range of plasma densities. It will also be shown that pN(r) is independent of the heating power and the deposition profile of electron cyclotron resonance heating. Experiments show that pN(r) depends only on the value of q at the plasma edge. During rapid current ramp-ups it has been demonstrated that the conservation of pN(r) is established during a time tc < 0.1τE, with τE the energy confinement time. It can be concluded that the self-consistent pressure profile pN(r) in tokamaks is linked to the equilibrium of a turbulent plasma.

Self-consistency of pressure profiles in tokamaks

Plasma pressure profiles from various tokamaks are analysed. It is shown that in the gradient zone the pressure profiles are conserved under variation of the plasma density and deposited power. Usually these profiles are close to the canonical ones. Conservation of pressure profiles means that the density and temperature profiles are consistently correlated under different external actions on the plasma. A simple transport model for the plasma density based on the self-consistency of the pressure profiles is proposed.

Tokamak plasma self-organization—synergetics of magnetic trap plasmas

Analysis of a wide range of experimental results in plasma magnetic confinement investigations shows that in most cases, plasmas are self-organized. In the tokamak case, it is realized in the self-consistent pressure profile, which permits the tokamak plasma to be macroscopically MHD stable. Existing experimental data permit suggesting a hypothesis about the mechanism of pressure profile regulation and to give an explanation of such unusual phenomena as a nonlocal character of transport coefficients, enhanced speed of heat/cold pulse propagation and many modes of tokamak operation.

Tokamak plasma self-organization and the possibility to have the peaked density profile in ITER

The self-organization of a tokamak plasma is a fundamental turbulent plasma phenomenon, which leads to the formation of a self-consistent pressure profile. This phenomenon has been investigated in several tokamaks with different methods of heating. It is shown that the normalized pressure profile has a universal shape for a wide class of tokamaks and regimes, if the normalized radius ρ = r/(IpR/κB)1/2 is used. The consequences of this phenomenon for low aspect ratio tokamaks, the optimal deposition of additional heating, fast velocity of heat/cold pulse propagation and the possibility of obtaining a peaked density profile in ITER are discussed.

Duplex multiwire proportional x-ray detector for multichord time-resolved soft x-ray and electron temperature measurements on T-10 tokamak.

Compact 64-channel multiwire proportional chamber is successfully used on T-10 and TCV tokamaks as a continuous-current soft x-ray detectors. The duplex multiwire proportional x-ray detector is a new generation of these detectors. It has been designed for simultaneous multichord measurement of plasma soft x-ray emissivity in a two spectral ranges and determination of the electron temperature by the two-absorber method. The detector consists of two identical multiwire proportional chambers filled by 90%Kr+10%CH(4) gas mixture at atmospheric pressure. The first multiwire chamber has 64 channels. The second multiwire chamber (installed behind the first one) has 32 channels. Both chambers view the plasma through the one helium-filled slot-hole camera. Thus, the first multiwire chamber serves as an absorber filter for the second one. Such construction of the detector allows us in addition to soft x-ray measurements to provide measurement of the plasma core electron temperature with spatial resolution of about 2 cm and a time resolution of less than 50 mus. The construction of the detector and experimental results illustrating the potential of the diagnostic are presented.