High Resolution Thomson Scattering Research Articles

Comparison of the scrape‐off layer two‐point model for deuterium and helium plasmas in JET ITER‐like wall low‐confinement plasma conditions

AbstractThe hydrogenic two‐point model (H‐2PM), an analytical model for the scrape‐off layer that predicts a common electron and ion temperature and density along a flux tube from a target temperature and density, is adapted to a single‐species helium (He) model, preserving the 2PM assumptions and analytical nature. Across a range of densities and heating powers, the predicted is within of upstream measurements by high‐resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) for low‐confinement He plasmas performed in JET ITER‐like wall (JET‐ILW). For high‐recycling conditions, He‐2PM predictions of were within 10% of the Li‐beam diagnostic measurements, excluding the near‐SOL, when assuming , suggesting the divertor SOL was not fully ionised in the JET‐ILW He plasmas.

Investigation of the dependency of JET midplane separatrix density as a function of engineering parameters

AbstractMidplane separatrix density is a crucial parameter in tokamaks since it strongly impacts divertor conditions. Scaling midplane separatrix density, ne, SEP, and pedestal density, ne, PED, as function of engineering parameters such as auxiliary heating Pinjected, toroidal magnetic field BT, and plasma poloidal current Ip are relevant to observe the effect of tuning these parameters on, for example, quality of confinement and divertor regime governed by ne, PED and ne, SEP, respectively. Thus, a dataset of JET H‐mode pulses performed with Iter like wall (ILW) has been analysed. Midplane density data are collected from an HRTS (high‐resolution Thomson scattering) diagnostic and ne, SEP is determined using the power balance method. Parallel heat flux model is chosen using transport code SOLEDGE2D (S2D) applying power balance method over a simulated ne, SEP and Te, SEP profiles to obtain separatrix positions. The parameters are averaged over time windows with order of (85–185 ms) and the magnetic configuration has been fixed to avoid divertor geometrical effect on ne, SEP determination, configuration chosen is corner–corner. A ratio between separatrix density and pedestal density at outer midplane ranges between 0.3 and 0.7 on the data set. A scaling law of ne, SEP/ne, PED is obtained as function of Pinjected, BT, and IP.

Bayesian modelling of Thomson scattering and multichannel interferometer diagnostics using Gaussian processes

Electron temperature and density profiles consistent with JET high resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) and far infrared (FIR) interferometer data are inferred by a Bayesian joint model using Gaussian processes. Forward models predicting diagnostic data including instrument effects such as optics and electronics are developed independently for both diagnostic systems in the Minerva framework, and combined as one joint model. The full joint posterior distribution of the electron temperature and density profiles, the hyperparameters of the Gaussian processes and calibration factor is explored by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. The posterior distribution of the electron density (temperature) profile is obtained by marginalising all the possible combinations of the electron temperature (density) profile, the hyperparameters and calibration factor. Therefore, the method removes profile dependency on the hyperparameters completely in addition to eliminating often-used avoidable constraints such as monotonicity and parametrisation on the profiles. The posterior distribution of the calibration factor is also calculated explaining both the HRTS and the FIR interferometer data simultaneously. Thus, absolute electron density can be obtained from the HRTS without additional experiments measuring the calibration factor.

Multiple Laser System for High-Resolution Thomson Scattering Diagnostics on the EAST Tokamak

A multiple laser system for high-resolution Thomson scattering diagnostics has been developed in ASIPP. The system includes laser controller, high-energy lasers, transfer optics, focusing lens, and beam alignment system. Each Nd:YAG laser can be fired for measuring the electron temperature and density profiles periodically at 10 Hz, and consequently, four lasers can be fired alternately for an average measurement frequency of 40 Hz. In order to measure transient events, they will be fired in rapid succession, and produce a burst of pulses. After about one month trial running on the superconducting EAST tokamak, the system was proven to be capable of working well with improved time resolution. The system setup and analysis are described in detail, as well as the measurement capability, spatial and temporal resolutions ~7 mm and tens kilohertz, respectively. So as to monitor and adjust the laser beam, two beam position sensitive detectors are installed in the 40-m beam path. Finally, the experimental results are presented.

Edge profile analysis of Joint European Torus (JET) Thomson scattering data: Quantifying the systematic error due to edge localised mode synchronisation.

The Joint European Torus (JET) high resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) system measures radial electron temperature and density profiles. One of the key capabilities of this diagnostic is measuring the steep pressure gradient, termed the pedestal, at the edge of JET plasmas. The pedestal is susceptible to limiting instabilities, such as Edge Localised Modes (ELMs), characterised by a periodic collapse of the steep gradient region. A common method to extract the pedestal width, gradient, and height, used on numerous machines, is by performing a modified hyperbolic tangent (mtanh) fit to overlaid profiles selected from the same region of the ELM cycle. This process of overlaying profiles, termed ELM synchronisation, maximises the number of data points defining the pedestal region for a given phase of the ELM cycle. When fitting to HRTS profiles, it is necessary to incorporate the diagnostic radial instrument function, particularly important when considering the pedestal width. A deconvolved fit is determined by a forward convolution method requiring knowledge of only the instrument function and profiles. The systematic error due to the deconvolution technique incorporated into the JET pedestal fitting tool has been documented by Frassinetti et al. [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 013506 (2012)]. This paper seeks to understand and quantify the systematic error introduced to the pedestal width due to ELM synchronisation. Synthetic profiles, generated with error bars and point-to-point variation characteristic of real HRTS profiles, are used to evaluate the deviation from the underlying pedestal width. We find on JET that the ELM synchronisation systematic error is negligible in comparison to the statistical error when assuming ten overlaid profiles (typical for a pre-ELM fit to HRTS profiles). This confirms that fitting a mtanh to ELM synchronised profiles is a robust and practical technique for extracting the pedestal structure.

Comparative analysis of core heat transport of JET high density H-mode plasmas in carbon wall and ITER-like wall

A consistent deterioration of global confinement in H-mode experiments has been observed in JET [] following the replacement of all carbon plasma facing components (PFCs) with an all metal (‘ITER-like’) wall (ILW). This has been correlated to the observed degradation of the pedestal confinement, as lower electron temperature (Te) values are routinely measured at the top of the edge barrier region. A comparative investigation of core heat transport in JET-ILW and JET-CW (carbon wall) discharges has been performed, to assess whether core confinement has also been affected by the wall change.The results presented here have been obtained by analysing a set of discharges consisting of high density JET-ILW H-mode plasmas and comparing them against their counterpart discharges in JET-CW having similar global operational parameters. The set contains 10 baseline () discharge-pairs with 2.7 T toroidal magnetic field, 2.5 MA plasma current, and 14 to 17 MW of neutral beam injection (NBI) heating.Based on a Te profile analysis using high resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) data, the Te profile peaking (i.e. core Te (ρ = 0.3) / edge Te (ρ = 0.7)) is found to be similar, and weakly dependent on edge Te, for both JET-ILW and JET-CW discharges. When ILW discharges are seeded with N2, core and edge Te both increase to maintain a similar peaking factor.The change in core confinement is addressed with interpretative TRANSP simulations. It is found that JET-ILW H-mode plasmas have higher NBI power deposition to electrons and lower NBI power deposition to ions as compared to the JET-CW counterparts. This is an effect of the lower electron temperature at the top of the pedestal. As a result, the core electron energy confinement time is reduced in JET-ILW discharges, but the core ion energy confinement time is not decreased. Overall, the core energy confinement is found to be the same in the JET-ILW discharges compared to the JET-CW counterparts.

Impact of W events and dust on JET-ILW operation

The occurrence of transient impurity events (TIE) leading to intense radiation spikes in JET plasma discharges has been studied since the installation of the ITER-like wall (ILW). To generate the observed average increase in radiated power of 1.5MW, a spherical particle of solid W of radius >90μm would be required. The drop in plasma energy caused by W-TIEs is fully recovered in 90% of all cases, only 1% inducing a longer term loss in plasma energy which sometimes leads to the shut-down of plasma operation. TIEs are correlated with disruptions and with measurements of the dust mobilized by disruptions using the high resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) diagnostic. The dust characteristics giving rise to TIEs have been studied using the dust transport code DTOKS and the 1D impurity transport code STRAHL.

Status of the JET LIDAR Thomson scattering diagnostic

The LIDAR Thomson scattering concept was proposed in 1983and then implemented for the first time on the JET tokamak in 1987. A numberof modifications were performed and published in 1995, but since then nomajor changes were made for almost 15 years. In 2010 a refurbishment of thediagnostic was started, with as main goals to improve its performance and totest the potential of new detectors which are considered as candidates forITER. During the subsequent years a wide range of activities was performedaimed at increasing the diagnostic's light throughput, improvement of signalto noise ratio and amendment of the calibration procedures. Previously usedMA-2 detectors were replaced by fast GaAsP detectors with much higheraverage QE. After all the changes were implemented, a significantimprovement of the measured data was achieved. Statistical errors ofmeasured temperature and density were reduced by a factor of 2 or more,depending on plasma conditions, and comfortably surpassed the valuesrequested for ITER Core Thomson Scattering (10% for Te and 5% forne). Excellent agreement with other diagnostics (conventional HighResolution Thomson Scattering, ECE, Reflectometer) was achieved over a widerange of plasma conditions. It was demonstrated that together with long termreliability and modest access port requirements, LIDAR can providemeasurements of a quality similar to a conventional imaging ThomsonScattering instrument.

Correction of the spectral calibration of the Joint European Torus core light detecting and ranging Thomson scattering diagnostic using ray tracing

This work isolated the cause of the observed discrepancy between the electron temperature (T(e)) measurements before and after the JET Core LIDAR Thomson Scattering (TS) diagnostic was upgraded. In the upgrade process, stray light filters positioned just before the detectors were removed from the system. Modelling showed that the shift imposed on the stray light filters transmission functions due to the variations in the incidence angles of the collected photons impacted plasma measurements. To correct for this identified source of error, correction factors were developed using ray tracing models for the calibration and operational states of the diagnostic. The application of these correction factors resulted in an increase in the observed T(e), resulting in the partial if not complete removal of the observed discrepancy in the measured T(e) between the JET core LIDAR TS diagnostic, High Resolution Thomson Scattering, and the Electron Cyclotron Emission diagnostics.

Pedestal study across a deuterium fuelling scan for high δ ELMy H-mode plasmas on JET with the carbon wall

We present the results from a new fuelling scan database consisting of 14 high triangularity (δ ∼ 0.41), type I ELMy H-mode JET plasmas. As the fuelling level is increased from low, (ΓD ∼ 0.2 × 1022 el s−1, ne,ped/nGW = 0.7), to high dosing (ΓD ∼ 2.6 × 1022 el s−1, ne,ped/nGW = 1.0) the variation in ELM behaviour is consistent with a transition from ‘pure type I’ to ‘mixed type I/II’ ELMs (Saibene et al 2002 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 44 1769). However, the pulses in this new database are better diagnosed in comparison to previous studies and most notable have pedestal measurements provided by the JET high resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) system. We continue by presenting, for the first time, the role of pedestal structure, as quantified by a least squares mtanh fit to the HRTS profiles, on the performance across the fuelling scan. A key result is that the pedestal width narrows and peak pressure gradient increases during the ELM cycle for low fuelling plasmas, whereas at high fuelling the pedestal width and peak pressure gradient saturates towards the latter half of the ELM cycle. An ideal MHD stability analysis shows that both low and high fuelling plasmas move from stable to unstable approaching the ideal ballooning limit of the finite peeling–ballooning stability boundary. Comparison to EPED predictions show on average good agreement with experimental measurements for both pedestal height and width however when presented as a function of pedestal density, experiment and model show opposing trends. The measured pre-ELM pressure pedestal height increases by ∼20% whereas EPED predicts a decrease of 25% from low to high fuelling. Similarly the measured pressure pedestal width widens by ∼55%, in poloidal flux space, whereas EPED predicts a decrease of 20% from low to high fuelling. We give two possible explanations for the disagreement. First, it may be that EPED under predicts the critical density, which marks the transition from kink-peeling to ballooning-limited plasmas. Second, the stronger broadening of the experimental pedestal width than predicted by EPED is an indication that other transport related processes contribute to defining the pedestal width such as enhanced inter-ELM transport as observed at high fuelling, for mixed type I/II ELMy pulses.

Spatial resolution of the JET Thomson scattering system

The instrument function of the high resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) diagnostic in the Joint European Torus (JET) has been calculated for use in improved pedestal profile analysis. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the spatial instrument response is (22 ± 1) mm for the original HRTS system configuration and depends on the particular magnetic topology of the JET plasmas. An improvement to the optical design of the laser input system is presented. The spatial smearing across magnetic flux surfaces is reduced in this design. The new input system has been implemented (from JPN 78742, July 2009) and the HRTS instrument function corresponding to the new configuration has been improved to approximately FWHM = (9.8 ± 0.8) mm. The reconstructed instrument kernels are used in combination with an ad hoc forward deconvolution procedure for pedestal analysis. This procedure produces good results for both the old and new setups, but the reliability of the deconvolved profiles is greatly reduced when the pedestal width is of the same order as, or less than the FWHM of the instrument kernel.

Edge Te and ne profiles during type-I ELM mitigation experiments with perturbation fields on JET

Edge localized mode (ELM) mitigation experiments have been carried out at JET in type-I ELMy H-mode plasmas. ELM mitigation was achieved through a stochastic edge induced by the ex-vessel error field correction coils system and was found to be independent of the distance of the plasma edge to the JET wall. In all cases the detrimental effect of the ELM on pedestal confinement was considerably reduced during the stochastization phase. The new high resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) diagnostic, which has recently become operational at JET, is used to study the behaviour of electron temperature, density and pressure pedestal profiles during the mitigation phase. The pedestal properties are monitored in a consistent way by applying a hyperbolic tangent fit to the HRTS measurements. Stability modelling with the ELITE code using the fits to the spatially resolved pedestal profile measurements suggests that the observed ELM mitigation can be understood in terms of the peeling–ballooning model. The mitigation correlates with a reduction of the edge pressure gradient (due to both a reduced height and an increased width of the edge pressure transport barrier) which is consistent with the linear ELM stability theory. It is observed that in the case of an n = 1 external field, the barrier position and height are correlated with the toroidal direction of the applied perturbation. Agreement is found between the barrier position measured by HRTS and obtained from plasma equilibrium reconstruction. The external perturbation induces a deformation of the plasma column that is primarily toroidally symmetric with a secondary component that is toroidally asymmetric

Revision of TV Thomson scattering data analysis and detection of profile structure

The determination of electron temperature and density profiles with high resolution Thomson Scattering is reconsidered, focusing on the correct treatment of the statistics and error estimation. Based on this, methods are proposed to decide whether spatial structures observed in the measured profiles are significant. A detailed statistical analysis of the detection process is given. It is shown that a maximum likelihood method must be used to fit the theoretical scattering spectra to the data, in order to obtain electron temperature and density. Furthermore, an existing calibration procedure for the detector, based exclusively on the statistics of the detected scattering image, is perfected. This self-consistent analysis leads to a precise definition of the confidence limits. Based on these, statistical tests are designed to determine whether structures seen on the Thomson scattering profiles are significant or not. To test the statistical method, some TEXTOR discharges were analyzed.