High resolution detection and excitation of resonant magnetic perturbations in a wall-stabilized tokamak

Abstract

We report high-resolution detection of the 3D plasma magnetic response of wall-stabilized tokamak discharges in the High Beta Tokamak-Extended Pulse [T. H. Ivers et al., Phys. Plasmas 3, 1926 (1996)] device. A new adjustable conducting wall has been installed on HBT-EP made up of 20 independent, movable, wall segments instrumented with three distinct sets of 40 modular coils that can be independently driven to generate a wide variety of magnetic perturbations. High-resolution detection of the plasma response is made with 216 poloidal and radial magnetic sensors that have been located and calibrated with high-accuracy. Static and dynamic plasma responses to resonant and non-resonant magnetic perturbations are observed through measurement of the step-response following a rapid change in the toroidal phase of the applied perturbations. Biorthogonal decomposition of the full set of magnetic sensors clearly defines the structures of naturally occurring external kinks as being composed of independent m/n = 3/1 and 6/2 modes. Resonant magnetic perturbations were applied to discharges with pre-existing, saturated m/n = 3/1 external kink mode activity. This m/n = 3/1 kink mode was observed to lock to the applied perturbation field. During this kink mode locked period, the plasma resonant response is characterized by a linear, a saturated, and a disruptive plasma regime dependent on the magnitude of the applied field and value of the edge safety factor and plasma rotation.