Correlation analysis for energy losses, waiting times and durations of type I edge-localized modes in the Joint European Torus

Abstract

Several important ELM control techniques are in large part motivated by the empirically observed inverse relationship between average ELM energy loss and ELM frequency in a plasma. However, to ensure a reliable effect on the energy released by the ELMs, it is important that this relation is verified for individual ELM events. Therefore, in this work the relation between ELM energy loss and waiting time is investigated for individual ELMs in a set of ITER-like wall plasmas in JET. A comparison is made with the results from a set of carbon-wall and nitrogen-seeded ITER-like wall JET plasmas. It is found that the correlation between W ELM and for individual ELMs varies from strongly positive to zero. Furthermore, the effect of the extended collapse phase often accompanying ELMs from unseeded JET ILW plasmas and referred to as the slow transport event (STE) is studied on the distribution of ELM durations, and on the correlation between W ELM and . A high correlation between W ELM and , comparable to CW plasmas is only found in nitrogen-seeded ILW plasmas. Finally, a regression analysis is performed using plasma engineering parameters as predictors for determining the region of the plasma operational space with a high correlation between W ELM and .