Charge exchange measurements of MHD activity during neutral beam injection in the Princeton Large Torus and the Poloidal Divertor Experiment

Abstract

The horizontally scanning, multi-angle charge exchange analysers on the Princeton Large Torus (PLT) and the Poloidal Divertor Experiment (PDX) were used to study the effects of MHD activity on the background ion distribution function and on the beam ion slowing-down process during high power neutral injection. Sawtooth oscillations were observed in the fast ion flux on PLT and PDX, and measurements with neutral beams providing local neutral density enhancement indicated that the ions were transported radially when these events occurred. With nearperpendicular injection in PDX, at the lower toroidal fields necessary to maximize the plasma beta, repetitive bursts of greatly enhanced charge exchange flux were observed. These were associated with the ‘fishbone’ MHD instability, and a substantial depletion of the perpendicular slowing-down spectrum below the injection energy was seen. A simple phenomenological model for this loss mechanism was developed, and its use in simulation codes has been successful in providing good agreement with the experimental data. The behaviour and characteristics of this model are well matched by direct theoretical calculations.