Overview of JT-60U results towards the resolution of key physics and engineering issues in ITER and JT-60SA

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of recent results from JT-60U. Topics we particularly focus on are (1) the mechanism determining the rotation profile and the effect of rotation on/from transport and stability, (2) the edge localized mode (ELM) physics and active ELM control and (3) plasma–wall interactions. An analysis of the momentum transport showed that rotation with a high pressure gradient can be reproduced by introducing a residual stress term proportional to the momentum diffusivity and the pressure gradient. Also, the momentum diffusivity in an internal transport barrier (ITB) region was reduced to an order similar to that of the ion thermal diffusivity. A comparison of the edge pedestal characteristics between JT-60U and JET with matched shape and operational parameters showed that the edge pressure did not change with increasing toroidal field (TF) ripple up to 1%, whereas a linear shift of the rotation velocity to the counter-direction was observed with increasing TF ripple. The absolute evaluation of tungsten accumulation in the core plasma by a spectroscopic method clarified that tungsten accumulation increased with increasing toroidal rotation in the counter-direction while an H-mode was sustained even at a tungsten density of 10−3 times the electron density. Active control of neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) islands by the electron cyclotron current drive showed that the growth of NTM islands decelerated the plasma rotation. A transition to a low-rotation frequency state occurred for larger NTM islands. A statistical analysis of the precursor of type I ELM showed a small growth rate of γ/ωA ∼ 10−3 (where γ and ωA are the growth rate and Alfvén angular frequency, respectively). The measurement of the precursor at different toroidal locations showed that the toroidal mode number was 8–10 or 14–16. Energetic-particle-driven wall modes (EWMs) were found to trigger ELMs and decrease the ELM amplitude to half of that without EWMs. Enhancement of the ELM frequency by electron cyclotron heating in the edge region of the high-field side was observed, and the frequency increase was four times than that of neutral beam injection cases having the same absorption power. Laser scattering measurement of carbon dust generation showed that the dust distribution had a peak in the far scrape-off layer and penetration into the core plasma was not significant. Depth profile measurements of deuterium and carbon in tungsten-coated tiles (tungsten thickness: 50 µm) determined that the ratio of deuterium to carbon was 0.06 ± 0.02 over a 20 µm depth, suggesting deuterium trapping by carbon in the tungsten layer. Furthermore, new records for both the beam energy of negative-ion-based neutral beams (507 keV) and the output power of 110 GHz electron cyclotron waves (1.5 MW for 4 s from one gyrotron) were achieved, which confirmed and extended the heating and current drive capabilities of ITER and JT-60SA.