Magnetohydrodynamic Activity Research Articles

Effect of external resonant fields and limiter biasing on hard X-ray intensity and mirnov oscillations in IR-T1 Tokamak

Runaway electrons in tokamaks can cause serious damage to the first wall of the reactor and decrease its life time. Also, hard x-ray emission generated from high energy runaway electrons lead to the plasma energy loss. Therefore, suggesting methods to minimize runaway electron in tokamaks are very important. Applying external resonant field is one of the methods for controlling the Magneto Hydrodynamic (MHD) activity. Relation between the MHD activity and runaway electrons has already been studied (Jaspers et al. 1994; Ghanbari et al. 2012) Jaspers, R., et al. 1994 Phys. Rev. Lett.72, 4093; Ghanbari, M. R., et al. 2012a Phys. Scr.83, 055501. Present study attempts to investigate the effects of limiter biasing and Resonant Helical magnetic Field (RHF) on the generation of runaway electrons. For this purpose, plasma parameters such as plasma current, MHD oscillation, loop voltage, emitted hard x-ray intensity, Halpha impurity, safety factor in the presence and absence of external fields, were measured. Frequency activity was investigated with FFT analysis. The results show that applying resonant fields can control the MHD activity, and then hard x-ray emitted from the runaway electrons.

Multi-megawatt, gigajoule plasma operation in Tore Supra

Integrating several important technological elements required for long pulse operation in magnetic fusion devices, the Tore Supra tokamak routinely addresses the physics and technology issues related to this endeavor and, as a result, contributes essential information on critical issues for ITER. During the last experimental campaign, components of the radiofrequency system including an ITER relevant launcher (passive active multijunction (PAM)) and continuous wave/3.7 GHz klystrons, have been extensively qualified, and then used to develop steady state scenarios in which the lower hybrid (LH), ion cyclotron (IC) and electron cyclotron (EC) systems have been combined in fully stationary shots (duration ∼150 s, injected power up to ∼8 MW, injected/extracted energy up to ∼1 GJ). Injection of LH power in the 5.0–6.0 MW range has extended the domain of accessible plasma parameters to higher densities and non-inductive currents. These discharges exhibit steady electron internal transport barriers (ITBs). We report here on various issues relevant to the steady state operation of future devices, ranging from operational aspects and limitations related to the achievement of long pulses in a fully actively cooled fusion device (e.g. overheating due to fast particle losses), to more fundamental plasma physics topics. The latter include a beneficial influence of IC resonance heating on the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability in these discharges, which has been studied in detail. Another interesting observation is the appearance of oscillations of the central temperature with typical periods of the order of one to several seconds, caused by a nonlinear interplay between LH deposition, MHD activity and bootstrap current in the presence of an ITB.

NBI fast ion confinement in the helical core of MAST hybrid-like plasmas

Energetic ions are found to be transported strongly from the core of MAST hybrid-like plasmas during long-lived mode (LLM) magnetohydrodynamic activity. The resulting impact on the neutral beam ion deposition and concurrent current drive is modelled using the guiding-centre approximation in the internal kinked magnetic topology. General coordinate guiding-centre equations are extended for this purpose. It is found that the kinked core spirals around the position of strongest ionization, which remains geometrically centred, so that a large fraction of the population is deposited in the high shear external region where the plasma is almost axisymmetric. Those particles ionized in the low shear region exhibit exotic drift motion due to the strongly non-axisymmetric equilibrium, periodically passing near the magnetic axis and then reflected by the boundary of the kinked equilibrium, which in this respect acts as a confining pinch. Broad agreement is found against experimental measurement of fast ion particle confinement degradation as the MAST LLM amplitude varies.

Analysis of the electron temperature measurement in TCABR tokamak by Electron Cyclotron Emission and Infrared Thomson scattering diagnostics

This work presents the experimental analysis of the central electron temperature measured by the electron cyclotron emission (ECE) radiometer and the infrared Thomson Scattering (ITS) diagnostic. The detection of the ECE radiation is done by a heterodyne scanning radiometer that works at the second harmonic extraordinary mode, in frequency range from 50 to 85GHz, which allows measurement of the radial profile of electron temperature with good spatial and temporal resolutions. The ITS diagnostic uses a Neodymium Glass laser (wavelength 1.054 μm). This ITS diagnostic measures the electron temperature in the center of plasma column one time during plasma shot. Results also show a discrepancy between the two diagnostics in the electron temperature measurement in the presence of Magnetohydrodynamics activity that gives an explanation for this apparent inconsistency.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Plasma Stability Evaluation Based on MHD Activity and Hard X-Ray Emission in the IR-T1 Tokamak

Determinations of the poloidal beta, internal inductance, plasma energy, plasma pressure, plasma temperature, plasma resistance, plasma effective atomic number, magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) activity, Runaway electrons energy and energy confinement time are essential for tokamak experiments and optimized operation. Also some of the plasma information can be deduced from these parameters, such as plasma toroidal current profile, and MHD instabilities. In this contribution we investigated about measurements of some plasma parameters as well as MHD activity and Runaway electrons energy. For this purpose we used the magnetic diagnostics and a hard X-ray spectroscopy in IR-T1 tokamak. A hard X-ray emission is produced by collision of the Runaway electrons with the plasma particles or limiters. The mean energy was calculated from the slope of the energy spectrum of hard X-ray photons. In this paper in order to measure energy of the Runaway electrons, we obtained hard X-ray energy in every 5 ms intervals, from the beginning to the end of plasma. Results indicated mean energy of Runaway electrons is maximum during the 0–5 ms interval.

X-ray irradiation analysis based on wavelet transform in tokamak plasma.

Hard x-ray emission from the Runaway electrons is an important issue in tokamaks. Suggesting methods to reduce the Runaway electrons and therefore the emitted hard x-ray is important for tokamak plasma operation. In this manuscript, we have investigated the effects of external fields on hard x-ray intensity and Magneto-Hydro-Dynamic (MHD) activity. In other words, we have presented the effects of positive biased limiter and Resonant Helical Field (RHF) on the MHD fluctuations and hard x-ray emission from the Runaway electrons. MHD activity and hard x-ray intensity were analyzed using Wavelet transform in the presence of external fields and without them. The results show that the MHD activity and therefore the hard x-ray intensity can be controlled by the external electric and magnetic fields.

Plasma Response to Supersonic Molecular Beam Injection in J-TEXT

Recently, hydrogen fueling experiments with supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) system have been performed in the J-TEXT tokamak. To evaluate the effects of the injection amount of SMBI on plasma behaviors, moderate and intensive SMBs have been separately injected and compared with each other in Ohmic discharges. With moderate SMBs, electron density increases about twice as before, the size of magnetic island slightly decreases, and the edge toroidal rotation speed in a counter-current direction, measured by a high resolution spectrometer (Carbon V ion, 227.09 nm, r/a = 0.7–0.8), is accelerated from 8 km/s to 12 km/s. The state of higher electron density with moderate SMBI can be maintained for a long period, which indicates that plasma confinement is improved. However, with intensive SMBs, the accompanied magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activities are triggered, and the electron density increases moderately. The edge toroidal velocity is decreased, in certain cases even reversed in the co-current direction. The statistical result of experimental data for moderate and intensive SMBs suggests a preferred fueling amount (less than 3.2×1019) to improve the SMBI fueling efficiency in experiments.

The MDF technique for the analysis of tokamak edge plasma fluctuations

Tokamak edge plasma was analyzed by applying the multifractal detrend fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) technique. This method has found wide application in the analysis of correlations and characterization of scaling behavior of the time-series data in physiology, finance, and natural sciences. The time evolution of the ion saturation current (Is), the floating potential fluctuation (Vf), the poloidal electric field (Ep), and the radial particle flux (Γr) has been measured by using a set of Langmuir probes consisting of four tips on the probe head. The generalized Hurst exponents (h(q)), local fluctuation function (Fq(s)), the Rényi exponents (τ(q)) as well as the multifractal spectrum f(αh) have been calculated by applying the MF-DFA method to Is, Vf, and the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fluctuation signal. Furthermore, we perform the shuffling and the phase randomization techniques to detect the sources of multifractality. The nonlinearity shape of τ(q) reveals a multifractal behavior of the time-series data. The results show that in the presence of biasing, Is, Vf, Ep, and Γr reduce about 25%, 90%, 70%, and 50%, respectively, compared with the situation with no biasing. Also, they reduce about 15%, 90%, 35%, and 25%, respectively, after resonant helical magnetic field (RHF) application. In the presence of biasing or RHF, the amplitude of the power spectrum of Is, Vf, Γr, and MHD activity reduce remarkably in all the ranges of frequency, while their h(q) increase. The values of h(q) have been restricted between 0.6 and 0.68. These results are evidence of the existence of long-range correlations in the plasma edge turbulence. They also show the self-similar nature of the plasma edge fluctuations. Biasing or RHF reduces the amount of Fq(s). The multifractal spectrum width of Is, Vf, and MHD fluctuation amplitude reduce about 60%, 70%, and 42%, respectively, by applying biasing. In the presence of RHF, their width reduces about 60%, 85%, and 75%, respectively. It means that biasing and RHF reduce the degree of multifractality.

Overview of Runaway Electron Control and Mitigation Experiments on Tore Supra and Lessons Learned in View of ITER

Runaway electrons (REs) generated during disruption are identified as a major issue for ITER and reactor-size tokamaks. Such electrons are produced when a large toroidal electric field is generated in the plasma. This field continuously accelerates low-collisional electrons up to relativistic energy. Such a large electric field occurs both in the plasma core at thermal quench of the disruption when the current profile flattens due to high magnetohydrodynamic activity, and during the current quench (CQ) of a disruption. These REs may initiate secondary RE generation during CQ due to the avalanching process, leading to a multiplication of these relativistic electrons. The impact of REs on the first wall is well localized due to their very small pitch angle. The energy deposition may be huge, and plasma-facing component damages are often reported.Mitigation techniques are thus mandatory to suppress RE formation or/and reduce their heat loads. Two ways are explored on Tore Supra: (a) suppressing the RE beam formation and avalanche amplification by multiple gas jet injections at CQ and (b) controlling the RE beam when it is formed and increasing the collisionality to slow down the relativistic electrons.

Formation of an internal transport barrier and magnetohydrodynamic activity in experiments with the controlled density of rational magnetic surfaces in the T-10 Tokamak

Results are presented from experiments on the formation of an internal electron transport barrier near the q = 1.5 rational surface in the T-10 tokamak. The experiments were carried out in the regime with off-axis electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) heating followed by a fast plasma current ramp-up. After suppressing sawtooth oscillations by off-axis ECR heating, an internal transport barrier began to form near the q = 1.5 rational surface. In the phase of the current ramp-up, the quality of the transport barrier improved; as a result, the plasma energy confinement time increased 2–2.5 times. The intentionally produced flattening of the profile of the safety factor q(r) insignificantly affected magnetohydrodynamic activity in the plasma column in spite of the theoretical possibility of formation of substantial m/n = 3/2 and 2/1 magnetic islands. Conditions are discussed under which the flattening of the profile of the safety factor q near low-order rational surfaces leads to the formation of either an internal transport barrier or the development of an island magnetic structure induced by tearing modes.

Rapid shutdown experiments with one and two gas jets on Alcator C-Mod

Massive gas injection rapid shutdown experiments have been conducted on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak using two toroidally separated gas injectors, in order to investigate the effect of multiple gas injection locations on the toroidal asymmetry in the radiated power. Toroidal radiation asymmetry is diagnosed by an array of six single-channel photodiodes mounted on the vessel wall. The presence of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity is diagnosed using an array of magnetic pickup (Mirnov) coils, mounted on stalks on the vessel wall. Scans were conducted of the relative timing between the two jets, of the 95th percentile safety factor, and of the plasma elongation. It is observed that firing the two gas jets so that the injected impurities arrive at the plasma at nearly the same time produced an increase in the toroidal radiation asymmetry. In addition, the radiation asymmetry in the thermal quench phase correlates with the growth rate of low toroidal mode number MHD modes, indicating that these mode(s) are playing a role in setting the radiation asymmetry.

Kalman filter methods for real-time frequency and mode number estimation of MHD activity in tokamak plasmas

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity in magnetically confined fusion experiments is often associated with detrimental effects such as increased radial transport and consequent loss of confinement. In particular, the (2,1) neoclassical tearing mode (NTM), when proceeding to mode-locking, is a potentially disruptive instability hence with the potential to compromise the mechanical integrity of the machine. It is therefore quite significant to be able to characterize in real-time the most virulent and performance limiting instabilities such that adequate mitigation or complete stabilization using feedback control methods are employed during the plasma discharge. This work proposes a Kalman filter (KF) based mechanism for providing, in real-time, the amplitude and phase evolution of instabilities within a predefined set of mode numbers. The method relies on two KF implementations: a non-linear KF isolating the non-stationary dominant signal component of a sensor measurement and subsequently a linear KF which projects the former, for a collection of sensors, onto a predefined set of mode numbers. A basic overview of algorithms commonly used for real-time mode number analysis is also presented along with applications of the proposed algorithm to recently recorded data of the Joint European Torus (JET) tokamak.

Electron-scale turbulence spectra and plasma thermal transport responding to continuous E × B shear ramp-up in a spherical tokamak

Microturbulence is considered to be a major candidate in driving anomalous transport in fusion plasmas, and the equilibrium E × B shear generated by externally driven flow can be a powerful tool to control microturbulence in future fusion devices such as FNSF and ITER. Here we present the first observation of the change in electron-scale turbulence wavenumber spectrum (measured by a high-k scattering system) and thermal transport responding to continuous E × B shear ramp-up in an NSTX centre-stack limited and neutral beam injection-heated L-mode plasma. It is found that while linear stability analysis shows that the maximum electron temperature gradient mode linear growth rate far exceeds the observed E × B shearing rate in the measurement region of the high-k scattering system, the unstable ion temperature gradient (ITG) modes are susceptible to E × B shear stabilization. We observed that as the E × B shearing rate is continuously ramped up in the high-k measurement region, the ratio between the E × B shearing rate and maximum ITG mode growth rate continuously increases (from about 0.2 to 0.7) and the maximum power of the measured electron-scale turbulence wavenumber spectra decreases. Meanwhile, electron and ion thermal transport is also reduced in the outer half of the plasmas as long as magnetohydrodynamic activities are not important and the L-mode plasmas eventually reach H-mode-like confinement. Linear and nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations are presented to address the experimental observations.

Density limit experiments on FTU

One of the main problems in tokamak fusion devices concerns the capability to operate at a high plasma density, which is observed to be limited by the appearance of catastrophic events causing loss of plasma confinement. The commonly used empirical scaling law for the density limit is the Greenwald limit, predicting that the maximum achievable line-averaged density along a central chord depends only on the average plasma current density. However, the Greenwald density limit has been exceeded in tokamak experiments in the case of peaked density profiles, indicating that the edge density is the real parameter responsible for the density limit. Recently, it has been shown on the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU) that the Greenwald density limit is exceeded in gas-fuelled discharges with a high value of the edge safety factor. In order to understand this behaviour, dedicated density limit experiments were performed on FTU, in which the high density domain was explored in a wide range of values of plasma current (Ip = 500–900 kA) and toroidal magnetic field (BT = 4–8 T). These experiments confirm the edge nature of the density limit, as a Greenwald-like scaling holds for the maximum achievable line-averaged density along a peripheral chord passing at r/a ≃ 4/5. On the other hand, the maximum achievable line-averaged density along a central chord does not depend on the average plasma current density and essentially depends on the toroidal magnetic field only. This behaviour is explained in terms of density profile peaking in the high density domain, with a peaking factor at the disruption depending on the edge safety factor. The possibility that the MARFE (multifaced asymmetric radiation from the edge) phenomenon is the cause of the peaking has been considered, with the MARFE believed to form a channel for the penetration of the neutral particles into deeper layers of the plasma. Finally, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) analysis has shown that also the central line-averaged density at the onset of the MHD activity depends only on the toroidal magnetic field.

Time–frequency analysis of nonstationary complex magneto-hydro-dynamics in fusion plasma signals using the Choi–Williams distribution

The Choi–Williams distribution is applied to the time–frequency analysis of signals describing rapid magneto-hydro-dynamic (MHD) modes and events in tokamak plasmas. A comparison is made with Soft X-ray (SXR) signals as well as Mirnov signal that shows the advantages of the Choi–Williams distribution over both continuous wavelets transform scalogram and the short-time Fourier transform spectrogram. Examples of MHD activities in HT-7 and EAST tokamak are shown, namely the onset of coupling tearing modes, high frequency precursors of sawtooth, and low frequency MHD instabilities in edge localized mode (ELM) free in H mode discharge.

Low MHD activity using resonant helical field and limiter biasing in IR-T1 tokamak

AbstractIn this paper, the effect of resonant helical magnetic field (RHF) and cold biased local limiter on plasma current, loop voltage, confinement time energy, poloidal beta, line emission intensity Hα, and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) behavior based on Mirnov oscillations in the IR-T1 tokamak has been investigated. The experiments have been done in different regimes as cold biased local limiter, magnetic perturbation application, and both of these. At first the effect of the positive and negative bias voltage on plasma parameters and magnetic fluctuations detected by Mirnov coils has been investigated. Also, the effects of RHF on plasma parameters have been investigated in the edge region. Then the effects of applied biasing and RHF at the same time are analyzed. The bias voltage has been restricted to (−320 ≤ Vbias ≤ +320) and it has been applied with the limiter biasing that is fixed at r = 11.25 cm. These parameters have been measured using a diamagnetic loop, spectrometer, which is a visible light spectrometer for H-alpha, and Mirnov coils. The time-resolved frequency component analysis has been performed using short-time Fourier transforms. Fourier-based techniques and auto-correlation have been employed to analyze the frequency of MHD fluctuations. The results show that applied radial electric field at the plasma edge could control electromagnetic instabilities in the tokamak. In the positive biased regime, the amplitude of low-frequency Mirnov oscillations (<30 kHz) decreases after the application of biasing. Confinement time increases and line emission intensity decreases in all situations. The results are reversed when negative biasing has been applied. When RHF and biasing are applied to the plasma at the same time, the plasma parameters do not change any more compared to corresponding discharges with only RHF (L = 3). In other words, the amplitude of MHD activity can be totally controlled when a convenient biasing is applied to the limiter in the phases of current flat-top.

Effect of Resonant Helical Field (RHF) on Runaway Electrons in Tokamaks

The high energy current of runaway electrons during a major disruption in tokamak reactors can cause serious damage to the first wall of the reactor and reduce its life time. Therefore, finding a method to minimize runaway electron is much needed. Resonant helical field (RHF) is one of the methods for controlling the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity. This paper attempts to examine the effect of RHF on the generation of runaway electrons. Main parameters such as plasma current, loop voltage, emitted hard X-ray intensity, MHD oscillation, Hα radiation and MHD activity modes, in the presence and absence of RHF (L = 2 and L = 3), were measured. The results show that applying this system can change runaway electrons generation.

Investigation of runaway electrons in the current ramp-up by a fully non-inductive lower hybrid current drive on the EAST tokamak

The possibility of using a lower hybrid wave (LHW) to ramp up the plasma current (Ip) from a low level to a high enough level required for fusion burn in the EAST (experimental advanced superconducting tokamak) tokamak is examined experimentally. The focus in this paper is on investigating how the relevant plasma parameters evolve during the current ramp-up (CRU) phase driving by a lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) with poloidal field (PF) coil cut-off, especially the behaviors of runaway electrons generated during the CRU phase. It is found that the intensity of runaway electron emission increases first, and then decreases gradually as the discharge goes on under conditions of PF coil cut-off before LHW was launched into plasma, PF coil cut-off at the same time as LHW was launched into plasma, as well as PF coil cut-off after LHW was launched into plasma. The relevant plasma parameters, including Hα line emission (Ha), impurity line emission (UV), soft x-ray emission and electron density , increase to a high level. The loop voltage decreases from positive to negative, and then becomes zero because of the cut-off of PF coils. Also, the magnetohydrodynamic activity takes place during the CRU driving by LHCD.

A description of the full-particle-orbit-following SPIRAL code for simulating fast-ion experiments in tokamaks

The numerical methods used in the full particle-orbit following SPIRAL code are described and a number of physics studies performed with the code are presented to illustrate its capabilities. The SPIRAL code is a test-particle code and is a powerful numerical tool to interpret and plan fast-ion experiments in tokamaks. Gyro-orbit effects are important for fast ions in low-field machines such as NSTX and to a lesser extent in DIII-D. A number of physics studies are interlaced between the description of the code to illustrate its capabilities. Results on heat loads generated by a localized error-field on the DIII-D wall are compared with measurements. The enhanced Triton losses caused by the same localized error-field are calculated and compared with measured neutron signals. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity such as tearing modes and toroidicity-induced Alfvén eigenmodes (TAEs) have a profound effect on the fast-ion content of tokamak plasmas and SPIRAL can calculate the effects of MHD activity on the confined and lost fast-ion population as illustrated for a burst of TAE activity in NSTX. The interaction between ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) heating and fast ions depends solely on the gyro-motion of the fast ions and is captured exactly in the SPIRAL code. A calculation of ICRF absorption on beam ions in ITER is presented. The effects of high harmonic fast wave heating on the beam-ion slowing-down distribution in NSTX is also studied.

Design and fabrication of emissive biased limiter and its effect on tokamak plasma

In this paper, an emissive-biased limiter (EBL) was designed and fabricated then the magneto hydrodynamic activity was investigated based on Mirnov oscillations and hard X-ray spectroscopy through the tokamak plasma biasing. The EBL is positioned at r/a=0.92, and the biased voltage, which is varied from−250 to 250 V, applied between the head of the emissive limiter and vacuum chamber. Furthermore, the effects of the biased limiter for both negative and positive applied voltages are measured, and the results are compared with cold-biased limiter. As the results of IR-T1 tokamak suggest, in emissive negative polarity, the duration of plasma current is increased, compared with no bias, cold positive and emissive positive polarities. The amplitude of Mirnov fluctuations in emissive negative polarity is larger and more regular, compared with emissive positive polarity. The amplitude of the hard X-ray fluctuation in emissive negative polarity is very low compared with cold negative, cold positive and emissive positive polarities which leads to minimum energy loss.