Impurity and surface studies in ORMAK

The ORMAK tokamak has been in operation since 1971, and surface impurity problems have been pursued from the beginning. Surface studies of materials removed from ORMAK have revealed the presence of C, O, and Fe. These are also the principal impurities observed spectroscopically in plasma discharges, although numerous other elements are present in lesser amounts. Spectroscopy, x- ray measurements, plasma resistance, and fast ion scattering have been used in an effort to determine Z/sub eff/, the effective nuclear charge of plasma ions. All four measurements have practical difficulties leading to relatively large experimental error limits. Oxygen discharge pre-cleaning has allowed ORMAK discharges to reach higher currents and correspondingly higher ion and electron temperatures; spectroscopic studies reveal a lower level of contaminants, particularly C and N. Power measurements indicate that most of the input power strikes the walls, mostly as radiation. By varying operating parameters it is found that Z/sub eff/ approximately I/sub p//anti n/sub e/. (auth

Characteristics of low-q disruptions in PBX

The results of this study indicate that even within the relatively narrow low-q/sub /psi// operating space, there is a continuum in the characteristics of the low-q/sub /psi// disruptions with a primary dependence on the value of . While the ideal external kink instability may give rise to the growing oscillations that lead up to the ultimate disruption, the instabilities are weighted towards the edge only at the lowest-q/sub /psi// (less than or equal to 3) and highest . At even slightly higher q/sub /psi//, the oscillations are also seen, at the same frequency, in the interior of the plasma. The results further indicate that effects outside the scope of ideal MHD theory may play a significant role in low-q/sub /psi// disruptions. 34 refs., 19 figs