W As Team

Major results from the stellarator Wendelstein 7-AS (Review Article)

Wendelstein 7-AS was the first modular stellarator device to test some basic elements of stellarator optimization: a reduced Shafranov shift and improved stability properties resulted in β-values up to 3.4% (at 0.9 T). This operational limit was determined by power balance and impurity radiation without noticeable degradation of stability or a violent collapse. The partial reduction of neoclassical transport could be verified in agreement with calculations indicating the feasibility of the concept of drift optimization. A full neoclassical optimization, in particular a minimization of the bootstrap current was beyond the scope of this project. A variety of non-ohmic heating and current drive scenarios by ICRH, NBI and in particular, ECRH were tested and compared successfully with their theoretical predictions. Besides, new heating schemes of overdense plasmas were developed such as RF mode conversion heating—Ordinary mode, Extraordinary mode, Bernstein-wave (OXB) heating—or 2nd harmonic O-mode (O2) heating. The energy confinement was about a factor of 2 above ISS95 without degradation near operational boundaries. A number of improved confinement regimes such as core electron-root confinement with central Te ≤ 7 keV and regimes with strongly sheared radial electric field at the plasma edge resulting in Ti ≤ 1.7 keV were obtained. As the first non-tokamak device, W7-AS achieved the H-mode and moreover developed a high density H-mode regime (HDH) with strongly reduced impurity confinement that allowed quasi-steady-state operation (τ ≈ 65 · τE) at densities (at 2.5 T). The first island divertor was tested successfully and operated with stable partial detachment in agreement with numerical simulations. With these results W7-AS laid the physics background for operation of an optimized low-shear steady-state stellarator.

The neoclassical “Electron Root” feature in the Wendelstein-7-AS stellarator

The neoclassical prediction of the “electron root,” i.e., a strongly positive radial electric field, Er (being the solution of the ambipolarity condition of the particle fluxes), is analyzed for low-density discharges in Wendelstein-7-AS [G. Grieger, W. Lotz, P. Merkel, et al., Phys. Fluids B 4, 2081 (1992)]. In these electron cyclotron resonance heated (ECRH) discharges with highly localized central power deposition, peaked Te profiles [with Te(0) up to 6 keV and with Ti≪Te] and strongly positive Er in the central region are measured. It is shown that this “electron root” feature at W7-AS is driven by ripple-trapped suprathermal electrons generated by the ECRH. The fraction of ripple-trapped particles in the ECRH launching plane, which can be varied at W7-AS, is found to be the most important. After switching off the heating the “electron root” feature disappears nearly immediately, i.e., two different time scales for the electron temperature decay in the central region are observed. Monte Carlo simulati...

Survey of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in the advanced stellarator Wendelstein 7-AS

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities in the Wendelstein 7-AS stellarator (W7-AS) [G. Grieger et al., Phys. Fluids B 4, 2081 (1992)] are characterized experimentally in various plasma parameter regimes and heating scenarios. The observations are compared with theoretical predictions for particular cases. In the high-β range (〈β〉⩽2%) no clear evidence of a stability β-limit could be found yet. In the lower β regime fast particle driven global Alfven modes are the most important instabilities during neutral beam injection (NBI). Besides of coherent modes with almost no effect on the plasma performance additional Alfven modes appear at higher frequencies up to 400 kHz, which show nonlinear phenomena-like bursting, frequency chirping, and MHD induced energy and fast particle losses. The activity of edge localized modes (ELMs) is investigated in NBI heated discharges. The issue of current driven instabilities and their potential stabilization by a stellarator field has been investigated with regard to the de...

Experiments close to the beta-limit in W7-AS

A major objective of the experimental program in the last phase of the W7-AS stellarator was to explore and demonstrate the high-β performance of advanced stellarators. MHD-quiescent discharges at low impurity radiation levels with volume averaged β-values of up to β = 3.4% have been achieved. A very important prerequisite was the attainment of the high density H-Mode (HDH) regime. This was made possible by the installation of extensive graphite plasma facing components designed for island divertor operation. The co-directed neutral beam injection provided increased absorbed heating power of up to 3.2 MW in high-β plasmas with B ≤ 1.25 T. The anticipated improved features concerning equilibrium and stability at high plasma β could be verified experimentally by the comparison of x-ray data with free boundary equilibrium calculations. The maximum β found in configurations with a rotational transform around is determined by the available heating power. No evidence of a stability limit has been found in the accessible configuration space, and the discharges are remarkably quiescent at maximum β, most likely due the increase of the magnetic well depth. An increase in low m/n MHD activity is typically observed during the transition towards high β. The beneficial stability properties of net-current-free configurations could be demonstrated by comparison with configurations where a significant inductive current drive was involved. Current driven instabilities such as tearing modes and soft disruptions can prevent access to β-values as high as in the currentless case. The experimental results indicate that optimized stellarators such as W7-X can be considered as a viable option for an attractive stellarator fusion reactor.

BXO mode-converted electron Bernstein emission diagnostic (invited)

Electron temperature profiles at densities above the electron cyclotron emission (ECE) cutoff are measured at the W7-AS stellarator by a novel diagnostic based on black body emission and Bernstein-extraordinary-ordinary mode conversion of electron Bernstein waves (EBWs). The radiation is collected along a special oblique line of sight by an antenna with gaussian optics. This was optimized for maximal conversion efficiency and minimal Doppler broadening by means of EBW ray tracing calculations in full stellarator geometry. The elliptical O-mode polarization detected along the oblique line of sight is changed into a linear polarization by a broadband quarter wave shifter, namely an elliptical waveguide. The signal is spectrum analyzed by an heterodyne radiometer and temperature profiles are derived from spectra by means of ray tracing. The diagnostic was applied to measurements of edge-localized modes to illustrate its advantages in terms of spatial and temporal resolution. Moreover, for the first time, the heat wave propagation method for the determination of local heat transport coefficients was extended beyond the ECE cutoff density by combining EBW emission measurements at the first harmonic (f=66–78 GHz) with modulated EBW heating at the second harmonic (140 GHz).

Physics of the Density Limit in the W7-AS Stellarator

Density-limit discharges in the W7-AS stellarator, with constant line-integrated density and a duration of up to 2 s, were studied at three values of the toroidal magnetic field (B = 0.8, 1.25 and 2.5 T). The central factor governing the physics of the density limit in stellarators was demonstrated to be the decreasing net power to the plasma when the centrally peaked radiated power density profile exceeds that of the deposited power density. The process was further accelerated by the peaking of electron density under these conditions. In discharges with B = 2.5 T, simulations of the centrally peaked radiation power density profiles could be shown to be due to peaked impurity density profiles. Laser blow off measurements clearly inferred an inward pinch of the injected aluminium. These discharges had the electron density profile form found in the improved confinement H-NBI mode on W7-AS. The aim of producing steady-state discharges at the highest possible density in stellarators is naturally of special interest for reactor operation. Such a scenario has been best achieved in H-mode discharges, in which ELMs restricted the impurity influx to the plasma and an equilibrium in the plasma parameters with suitably low radiation power levels was possible. A density scan in ECRH discharges highlights the need to control impurity sources and choose electron densities well below the density limit in order that steady-state operation can be attempted in discharges without ELMs. A simple model of bulk radiation predicted that the limiting density should depend on the square root of heating power and this was experimentally confirmed. The magnetic field scaling of the limiting density found experimentally in this simple model will partly depend on the term concerning the radial profile of the impurity density, which in turn is a function of the diffusion coefficient and inward pinch of the impurity ions. Theoretical studies have shown that an assumption about the B dependence of the thermal conductivity leads to density limit scaling laws with an explicit B dependence.

Fast ion losses in the W7-AS stellarator

A new probe for the detection of fast escaping ions has been installed and operated at the W7-AS stellarator. Fast ions generated from neutral beam injection or ion cyclotron heating were used to study the fast ion confinement properties of the partially drift-optimized magnetic field structure as well as losses induced by magnetohydrodynamic perturbations. The design of the probe is based on the α-particle detectors of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor using scintillator plates and allows the detection of co-and countergoing ions simultaneously in a wide range of gyroradii and pitch angles.

Measurement and calculation of the radial electric field in the stellarator W7-AS

At the advanced stellarator W7-AS, active charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (CXRS) is used to measure the toroidal and poloidal impurity rotation velocity. The radial electric field is determined experimentally from the radial force balance equation. In parallel, is calculated by means of the neoclassical drift kinetic equation solver (DKES) transport code. Neoclassical calculation and measurement are, in general, in good agreement. A selection of discharges is presented in this paper which shows typical properties of at W7-AS, and which highlights the mutual relationship between and transport.

Fast transport changes and power degradation in the W7-AS stellarator

The turbulent heat transport in high-temperature fusion plasmas is not understood. It increases with heating power. The physical mechanism of this process is investigated in the W7-AS stellarator. The fundamental question addressed here is whether transport is governed by local plasma parameters or by a global quantity. Three different types of experiments with critical sensitivity are carried out. They can consistently be described on the basis of a non-local dependence of the transport coefficient on the global heating power.

Analysis of Large-Scale Fluctuation Structures in the Scrape-off Layer of the Wendelstein 7-AS Stellarator

Floating potential and ion saturation current fluctuations in the scrape-off layer of the Wendelstein 7-AS stellarator are investigated by using conditional averaging. If floating potential fluctuations are taken as the reference signal for the conditional averaging procedure, large-scale single-vortex structures are predominately found. If ion saturation current fluctuations are taken as the reference signal, double-vortex structures are detected. The phase shift between the two different structures is π/2. The double-vortices are interpreted as a superposition of counter rotating single-vortex potential structures. Both lead to ion saturation current fluctuations of the same sign due to E×B convection of plasma in parallel to the background plasma pressure gradient. The conditional averaging approach is directly compared to cross-correlation analysis. Both methods lead to similar physical conclusions. Lifetime and extent of structures are systematically overestimated by correlation analysis. It is demonstrated that only fluctuations with amplitudes larger than 0.5σ contribute to the detected large-scale structures.