Understanding core heavy impurity transport in a hybrid discharge on EAST

Abstract

The behavior of heavy/high-Z impurity tungsten (W) in the core of hybrid (high normalized beta β N plasmas) scenario on EAST with international thermonuclear experimental reactor-like divertor is analyzed. W accumulation is often observed and seriously degrades the plasma performance (Gao et al 2017 Nucl. Fusion 57 056021). The dynamics of the W accumulation process of a hybrid discharge are examined considering the concurrent evolution of the background plasma parameters. It is found that the toroidal rotation and density peaking of the bulk plasma are usually large in the central region, which is particularly prone to the W accumulation. A time slice during the W accumulation phase is modeled, accounting for both neoclassical and turbulent transport components of W, through NEO with poloidal asymmetry effects induced by toroidal rotation, and TGLF, respectively. This modeling reproduces the experimental observations of W accumulation and identifies the neoclassical inward convection/pinch velocity of W due to the large density peaking of the bulk plasma and toroidal rotation in the central region as one of the main reasons for the W accumulation. In addition, the NEO + TGLF + STRAHL modeling can not only predict the core W density profile but also closely reconstruct the radiated information mainly produced by W in the experiment.