Experiment and simulation of tearing mode evolution with electron cyclotron current drive in KSTAR

Abstract

The tearing mode (TM) plasma instability was observed in low confinement (L-mode) plasmas when non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbation (MP) was applied using external coils during 2011 campaign of KSTAR. Based on the collected information of the magnetic island location in a plasma, a discharge was designed for suppression of a (2,1) TM mode by adjusting electron cyclotron (EC) launcher angles to the estimated island position. Here, the (m,n) notation describes the poloidal mode number and the toroidal mode number of the TM, respectively. The discharge is analysed with experimental observations and numerical simulations. Mirnov coil (MC) arrays and electron cyclotron emission (ECE) are used for analysis of the island width and the location as well as the mode number. The EC deposition and its alignment with the island are estimated by X-ray imaging crystal spectroscopy (XICS) and ECE measurements. An integrated numerical system is employed for modelling of this discharge to analyse a temporal evolution of the mode activity by integrating plasma equilibrium, transport, heating and current drive, and the magnetic island evolution, in a self-consistent way. The effect of EC current drive is discussed by comparing with another TM discharge but without ECCD. Some possibilities for classifying this mode to neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) and stabilisation effect of ECCD are suggested based on the experimental observation and the simulation results.