Current drive experiments in the helicity injected torus (HIT-II)

Abstract

The Helicity Injected Torus [HIT-II: T. Jarboe et al., Phys. Plasmas 5, 1807 (1998)] is a low-aspect-ratio tokamak capable of both inductive (ohmic) and Coaxial Helicity Injection (CHI) current drive. HIT-II is modest in size (major radius R=0.3 m, minor radius a=0.2 m, and on-axis toroidal field of up to 0.5 T), but has demonstrated 200 kA of toroidal plasma current, using either CHI or induction separately. The loop voltage, boundary flux, and plasma equilibrium are controlled by a real-time flux feedback system. HIT-II ohmic plasmas exhibit reconnection events during both the current ramp-up and decay, events that relax the current profile while conserving the magnetic helicity. A new operating regime for CHI plasmas, using a double-null divertor (DND) boundary flux, has been explored. DND CHI plasmas exhibit good shot-to-shot reproducibility, low impurity content, minimal shorting current in the absorber region, and EFIT-reconstructed equilibria consistent with significant closed-flux core regions [EFIT: L. Lao et al., Nucl. Fusion 25, 1611 (1985)]. HIT-II DND CHI discharges also exhibit a continuous n=1 mode at the outer midplane, a mode that has been correlated experimentally with current-profile relaxation. A detailed explanation of helicity injection current drive has been developed, which is consistent with experimental observations of HIT and HIT-II discharges. According to this mechanism, asymmetric distortion of the n=1 mode structure generates current drive in the core plasma by dynamo action, relaxing the CHI-driven current profile.