Electron Bernstein waves emission in the TJ-II Stellarator

Taking advantage of the electron Bernstein waves heating (EBWH) system of the TJ-II stellarator, an electron Bernstein emission (EBE) diagnostic was installed. Its purpose is to investigate the B-X-O radiation properties in the zone where optimum theoretical EBW coupling is predicted. An internal movable mirror shared by both systems allows us to collect the EBE radiation along the same line of sight that is used for EBW heating. The theoretical EBE has been calculated for different orientations of the internal mirror using the TRUBA code as ray tracer. A comparison with experimental data obtained in NBI discharges is carried out. The results provide a valuable information regarding the experimental O-X mode conversion window expected in the EBW heating experiments. Furthermore, the characterization of the radiation polarization shows evidence of the underlying B-X-O conversion process.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figure

Te (R,t) Measurements using Electron Bernstein Wave Thermal Emission on NSTX

The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) routinely studies overdense plasmas with ne of (1–5) X 1019 m-3 and total magnetic field of <0.6 T, so that the first several electron cyclotron harmonics are overdense. The electrostatic electron Bernstein wave (EBW) can propagate in overdense plasmas, exhibits strong absorption, and is thermally emitted at electron cyclotron harmonics. These properties allow thermal EBW emission to be used for local Te measurement. A significant upgrade to the previous NSTX EBW emission diagnostic to measure thermal EBW emission via the oblique B-X-O mode conversion process has been completed. The new EBW diagnostic consists of two remotely steerable, quad-ridged horn antennas, each of which is coupled to a dual channel radiometer. Fundamental (8–18 GHz) and second and third harmonic (18–40 GHz) thermal EBW emission and polarization measurements can be obtained simultaneously

Towards a new image processing system at Wendelstein 7-X: From spatial calibration to characterization of thermal events

Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is the most advanced fusion experiment in the stellarator line and is aimed at proving that the stellarator concept is suitable for a fusion reactor. One of the most important issues for fusion reactors is the monitoring of plasma facing components when exposed to very high heat loads, through the use of visible and infrared (IR) cameras. In this paper, a new image processing system for the analysis of the strike lines on the inboard limiters from the first W7-X experimental campaign is presented. This system builds a model of the IR cameras through the use of spatial calibration techniques, helping to characterize the strike lines by using the information given by real spatial coordinates of each pixel. The characterization of the strike lines is made in terms of position, size, and shape, after projecting the camera image in a 2D grid which tries to preserve the curvilinear surface distances between points. The description of the strike-line shape is made by means of the Fourier Descriptors

Forward modeling of collective Thomson scattering for Wendelstein 7-X plasmas: Electrostatic approximation

In this paper, we present a method for numerical computation of collective Thomson scattering (CTS). We developed a forward model, eCTS, in the electrostatic approximation and benchmarked it against a full electromagnetic model. Differences between the electrostatic and the electromagnetic models are discussed. The sensitivity of the results to the ion temperature and the plasma composition is demonstrated. We integrated the model into the Bayesian data analysis framework Minerva and used it for the analysis of noisy synthetic data sets produced by a full electromagnetic model. It is shown that eCTS can be used for the inference of the bulk ion temperature. The model has been used to infer the bulk ion temperature from the first CTS measurements on Wendelstein 7-X

Assessment on the capability of quasi-optical grill to launch lower hybrid waves in iter plasma

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7 Rome / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal