Two-dimensional imaging of edge-localized modes in KSTAR plasmas unperturbed and perturbed by n=1 external magnetic fields

The temporal evolution of edge-localized modes (ELMs) has been studied using a 2-D electron cyclotron emission imaging system in the KSTAR tokamak. The ELMs are observed to evolve in three distinctive stages: the initial linear growth of multiple filamentary structures having a net poloidal rotation, the interim state of regularly spaced saturated filaments, and the final crash through a short transient phase characterized by abrupt changes in the relative amplitudes and distance among filaments. The crash phase, typically consisted of multiple bursts of a single filament, involves a complex dynamics, poloidal elongation of the bursting filament, development of a fingerlike bulge, and fast localized burst through the finger. Substantial alterations of the ELM dynamics, such as mode number, poloidal rotation, and crash time scale, have been observed under external magnetic perturbations with the toroidal mode number n = 1. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3694842]X1125sciescopu

Appearance and Dynamics of Helical Flux Tubes under Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating in the Core of KSTAR Plasmas

Dual (or sometimes multiple) flux tubes (DFTs) have been observed in the core of sawtoothing KSTAR tokamak plasmas with electron cyclotron resonance heating. The time evolution of the flux tubes visualized by a 2D electron cyclotron emission imaging diagnostic typically consists of four distinctive phases: (1) growth of one flux tube out of multiple small flux tubes during the initial buildup period following a sawtooth crash, resulting in a single dominant flux tube along the m/n = 1/1 helical magnetic field lines, (2) sudden rapid growth of another flux tube via a fast heat transfer from the first one, resulting in approximately identical DFTs, (3) coalescence of the two flux tubes into a single m/n = 1/1 flux tube resembling the internal kink mode in the normal sawteeth, which is explained by a model of two currentcarrying wires confined on a flux surface, and (4) fast localized crash of the merged flux tube similar to the standard sawtooth crash. The dynamics of the DFTs implies that the internal kink mode is not a unique prerequisite to the sawtooth crash, providing a new insight on the control of the sawtooth.X112217Ysciescopu

Risk Mitigation for ITER by a Prolonged and Joint International Operation of JET

Prolonged operation of the Joint European Torus (JET) in a set-up involving all ITER partners will be beneficial for ITER. Experiments at JET with its ITER-like wall and using a D–T plasma mixture will help to mitigate risks in the ITER research plan. Training of the ITER operators, technicians and engineers at JET will safe valuable time when ITER comes into operation. Moreover, the way in which the future ITER experiments will be organized can already be experienced at JET, by imposing a similar organisational structure. This paper will present arguments in favour of an extension of JET and additionally briefly discuss a number of enhancements that will make experiments on JET even more relevant for ITER

LABORATORY CHARACTERIZATION OF AN IMAGING REFLECTOMETER SYSTEM

While microwave reflectometry has proven to be a sensitive tool for measuring electron density fluctuations in many circumstances, it has also been shown to have limited viability for core measurements and/or conditions of strong turbulence. To this end, a new instrument based on two-dimensional imaging reflectometry has been developed to measure density fluctuations over an extended plasma region in the TEXTOR tokamak. Laboratory characterization of this instrument has been performed using corrugated reflecting targets as an approximation to plasma reflections including two-dimensional turbulent fluctuations of various magnitude and poloidal wavenumber. Within this approximation, the imaging reflectometer can recover the spectral and spatial characteristics of the reflection layer lost to or otherwise inaccessible to conventional techniques.X1128sciescopu

OBSERVATION OF HIGH-FIELD-SIDE CRASH AND HEAT TRANSFER DURING SAWTOOTH OSCILLATION IN MAGNETICALLY CONFINED PLASMAS

High resolution (temporal and spatial), two-dimensional images of electron temperature fluctuations during sawtooth oscillations were employed to study the crash process and heat transfer in magnetically confined toroidal plasmas. The combination of kink and local pressure driven instabilities leads to a small poloidally localized puncture in the magnetic surface at both the low and the high field sides of the poloidal plane. This observation closely resembles the "fingering event" of the ballooning mode model with the high-m mode only predicted at the low field side.open1180Nsciescopu

Sawtooth Precursor Oscillations on DIII-D

The sawtooth oscillation, observed in tokamak plasmas with a central safety factor of less than unity, is a periodic disruptive instability characterized by a slow ramping of central plasma density and temperature, followed by a fast relaxation resulting in flattening of both profiles. Elongated neutral-beam-heated discharges on the DIII-D tokamak exhibit multiple precursor oscillations with mode number m/n = 1/1. The dominant m/n = 1/1 mode oscillates at the plasma rotation frequency. A downshifted mode also appears early in the sawtooth ramp. A normalization of electron cyclotron emission imaging data that removes the contribution of slow electron temperature profile evolution reveals that both modes are consistent with an underlying quasi-interchange plasma displacement.X1132sciescopu

COMPARISON STUDY OF 2D IMAGES OF TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS DURING SAWTOOTH OSCILLATION WITH THEORETICAL MODELS

High temporal and spatial resolution two-dimensional (2D) images of electron temperature fluctuations were employed to study the sawtooth oscillation in the Toroidal Experiment for Technically Oriented Research tokamak plasmas. The 2D images are directly compared with the expected 2D patterns of the plasma pressure (or electron temperature) from various theoretical models. The observed experimental 2D images are only partially in agreement with the expected patterns from each model: The image of the initial reconnection process is similar to that of the ballooning mode model. The intermediate and final stages of the reconnection process resemble those of the full reconnection model. The time evolution of the images of the hot spot or island is partially consistent to those from the full reconnection model but is not consistent with those from the quasi-interchange model.open1159Nsciescopu

Electron cyclotron emission imaging in tokamak plasmas

We discuss the recent history and latest developments of the electron cyclotron emission imaging diagnostic technique, wherein electron temperature is measured in magnetically confined plasmas with two-dimensional spatial resolution. The key enabling technologies for this technique are the large-aperture optical systems and the linear detector arrays sensitive to millimeter-wavelength radiation. We present the status and recent progress on existing instruments as well as new systems under development for future experiments. We also discuss data analysis techniques relevant to plasma imaging diagnostics and present recent temperature fluctuation results from the tokamak experiment for technology oriented research (TEXTOR). (C) 2010 Optical Society of AmericaX1123sciescopu