Experimental Study on LHCD Efficiency in HT-7 Tokamak

Lower Hybrid Current Drive (LHCD) experiments on HT-7 Tokamak have been carried out by scanning the following two parameters: central line averaged electron density (0.5～2.0)×10~(19)cm~(-3) and toroidal magnetic field (B_t=1.62～2.0T). The dependence of current drive efficiency on these parameters has been studied and the     

Electron Heating in Tokamak LHCD Experiment

1.IntroductionThemainpurposeoflowerhybridcurrentdrive(LHCD)istodrivetoroidalcurrentformaintaininglongpulsedischarge.However,thepowerlevelrequiredforthispurposeiscomparablewiththatusedforplasmaheatingbothinexperimentaldevicesorinreactors.ThepowerbalanceduringLHCDisthenaproblemneedfultobeidentified.OtherthantheLandaudampingwhichisthemainmechanismfordrivingtoroidalcurrent,thecollisionalheatingthroughelectroncollisionwiththebackgroundionsorimpuritiesisafundamentalprocesstodissipatethewavepower…     

On Electron Heating in Tokamak LHCD Experiment

LHCD is one of the most important item for steady state Tokamak operation. In our country, the two backbone Tokamaks, the HL-1M and the HT-7 have worked in this area for years, other two large Tokamaks now in building, the HL-2A and the HT-7U will also work on this subject. Though the main object of LHCD is to drive current, the power balance during LHCD is a critical issue, the wave power should be absorbed by electrons     

Electron Heating of LHCD Plasma in HT-7 Tokamak

Electron heating via lower hybrid current drive （LHCD） has been investigated in HT-7 superconducting tokamak. Experiments show that the central electron temperature Te0, the volume averaged electron temperature 〈 Te 〉 and the peaking factor of the electron temperature QTe = Teo/〈 Te 〉 increase with the lower hybrid wave （LHW） power. Simultaneously the electron heating efficiency and the electron temperature as the function of the central line-averaged electron density （ne） and the plasma current （Ip） have also been investigated. The experimental results are in a good agreement with those of the classical collision theory and the LHW power deposition theory.     

Recent Results of LHCD Experiments in EAST

Lower hybrid wave (LHW)-plasma coupling and lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) experiments in divertor, including single-null and double-null, and limiter configurations were conducted systematically in EAST. A maximum power for launched LHW is 1.4 MW and the plasma current with LHCD is about 1 MA. It is indicated that the coupling is best in limiter configuration, then in single-null one, while worst in double-null one. Study in current drive efficiency by a least squares fit shows that there is no obvious difference in drive efficiency between the double-null and the single-null cases, whereas the efficiency is a slightly lower in the limiter case. The effect of plasma density on the current drive efficiency is due to the influence of density on impurity concentration.     

Study of LHCD in HL-2A Non-Circular Cross Section Tokamak

Using the Grad-Shafranov equation, the magnetic configuration is obtained. With this configuration, Brambilla＇s ray tracing theory has been used to study the propagation of LH waves. The qualitative study of the feasibility of LHCD in the non-circular cross section tokamak HL-2A is made. The optimized current drive method is discussed.     

Modelling of First Discharge in EAST Tokamak

An 1.5D equilibrium evolution code was used to model the time evolution of the first ohmic discharges in the EAST experiment. Good agreement between the simulation and the experimental results was obtained in the plasma current, major radius, electron temperature, loop voltage and poloidal field （PF） current for the entire duration of the discharge, which indicates that the code is highly reliable and will allow to further study the EAST discharge. At the same time, the code also simulates some important plasma parameters without experimental measured data yet, such as the plasma minor radius, central and edge safety factors, elongation and triangilarity, which are important in the analysis of EAST data.     

Modification of Boundary Parameters and Fluctuations by IBW and LHCD in the HT-7 Tokamak

Measurements of boundary parameters and their fluctuations have been performed in ohmic (OH) plasma and Ion Bernstein Wave (IBW) and Lower Hybrid Current Drive (LHCD) enhanced confinement plasma using a pneumatically driven Langmuir probe array on HT-7 toka-maX. In the enhanced confinement plasma~ the gradients of electron density and temperature become higher and a transport barrier comes into being in the vicinity of the limiter. The boundary potential shows a clear modification in the same region. The fluctuation levels are significantly depressed and the coherences between fluctuations are reduced evidently in the enhanced plasma.Meanwhile, we obtained the spectral features and the poloidal phase velocity of fluctuations us-ing a two-point correlation technique and found obvious modifications of the turbulence and the poloidal flow. The results suggest that the improved confinement in the IBW and LHCD enhanced plasma is at least partially due to the modification of the boundary parameters and the suppression of the boundary fluctuations and fluctuation induced fluxes.     

The Procedure for Assembling the EAST Tokamak

Due to the complicated constitution and high precision requirements of the EAST superconducting tokamak, a meticulous assembling procedure and measurement scheme must be established. The big size and mass of the EAST machine＇s components and complicated configuration with tight installation tolerances call for a highly careful assembling procedure. The assembling procedure consists of three main sub-procedures for the assembling of the base, of the tori of the VV, the vacuum vessel TS and the TF, and of the peripheral parts respectively. Before the assembly, a reference framework has been set up by means of an industrial measurement system with reference fiducial targets fixed on the wall of the test hall. In this paper, the assembling procedure is described in detail, the survey control system of the assembly is discussed, and progress in the assembly work is also reported.     

Application of MDSplus on EAST Tokamak

EAST is a fully superconducting Tokamak in China used for controlled fusion research. MDSplus, a special software package for fusion research, has been used successfully as a central repository for analysed data and PCS （Plasma Control System） data since the debugging experiment in the spring of 2006 [1]. In this paper, the reasons for choosing MDSplus as the analysis database and the way to use it are presented in detail, along with the solution to the problem that part of the MDSplus library does not work in the multithread mode. The experiment showed that the data system based on MDSplus operated stably and it could provide a better performance especially for remote users.     

First Engineering Commissioning of EAST Tokamak

Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak （EAST） is the first fully superconducting tokamak. The first commissioning started on Feb. 1st of 2006 and finished on March 30TM of 2006 at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It consists of leakage testing at both room temperature and low temperature, pumping down, cooling down all coils, current leads, bus bar and the thermal shielding, exciting all the coils, measuring magnetic configuration and warming up the magnets. The electromagnetic, thermal hydraulic and mechanical performance of EAST Toroidal Field （TF） and Poloidal Field （PF） magnets have also been tested. All sub-systems, including pumping system, cryogenic system, PF＆ TF power supply systems, magnet instrumentation system, quench detection and protection system, water cooling system, data acquisition system, main control system, plasma control system （PCS）, interlock and safety system have been successfully tested.     

Design and application of GDC on EAST Tokamak

On EAST Tokamak, DC glow discharge (GDC) is developed to clean the first wall of plasma. It can effectively control the recycling of H, C, O impurities and improve the wall conditions. There are four GDCs which distribute equally on the EAST Tokamak vacuum vessel wall. Each GDC is equipped with an anode, a stainless steel cover and four support legs. The anode is insulated from cover with Al₂O₃ ceramics. After a round of experiment, the value of insulation resistance of GDC decreases remarkably due to metallization. To protect the insulation parts and heighten the reliability, ceramic protection covers are used on the GDCs. The other measures which can heighten insulation grades are also taken. After upgrade, the insulation resistance of each GDC between anode and ground is raised highly. When the pressure reaches 4 Pa, H₂-GDC and He-GDC is strarted. Boronation and siliconization are also applied to the device wall conditioning. After GDC cleaning, the impurities and partial pressure of remainder gases in vacuum vessel (VV) is decreased greatly and vacuum degree of VV can reach high easily.     

Reciprocating Probe Measurements of L-H Transition in LHCD H-Mode on EAST

As the power available in the initial phase of the ITER operation will be limited, accessing the high confinement mode (H-mode) with low heating power will be a critical issue. In the recent experiment on EAST, the H-mode was obtained for the first time with lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) wave only. Reciprocating Langmuir probe measurements at the outer midplane showed that the electron density n e and electron temperature T e in the scrape-off layer (SOL) were significantly reduced in the ELM-free phase, resulting in the increase of lower-hybrid wave (LHW) reflection. It was found that the power loss P loss was comparable during the L-H transition, by comparing the adjacent L-mode and H-mode discharge. The Dα emission, T e and n e decreased rapidly in the time scale of about 1 ms, and the radial electric field E r turned positive in this process near the last closed flux surface. Multiple L-H-L transitions were observed during a single shot when the applied LHW power was marginal to the threshold. The floating potential (Vf ) had negative spikes corresponding with the Dα signal, and E r oscillation evolved into several intermittent negative spikes just before the L-H transition. In some shots, dithering was observed just before the L-H transition.     

Design and Analysis of the Thermal Shield of EAST Tokamak

EAST （Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak） is a tokamak with su- perconducting toroidal and poloidal magnets operated at 4.5 K. In order to reduce the thermal load applied on the surfaces of all cryogenically cooled components and keep the heat load of the cryogenic system at a minimum, a continuous radiation shield system located between the magnet system and warm components is adopted. The main loads to which the thermal shield system is subjected are gravity, seismic, electromagnetic and thermal gradients. This study employed NASTRAN and ANSYS finite element codes to analyze the stress under a spectrum of loading conditions and combinations, providing a theoretical basis for an optimization design of the structure.     

Experimental Results of MHD Suppression with Modulated LHCD on the HT-7 Tokamak

Modulation of lower hybrid current drive was used successfully to suppress MHD activity. This was achieved in discharges with MHD m = 2 tearing modes during the discharge conditions Ip = 110 kA, Bt = 1.75 T, ne0 - 1.1 ×1013 cm-3. The delivering time of LHCD pulse is less then 30 μs. The amplitude, interval and the period of LHCD modulation pulse can be adjusted very conveniently. The modulation LHCD can be delivered very fast at any time during the discharge. The modulation LHCD period was always much shorter than the plasma resistive time (Tη≈100 ms). So the profile of plasma current is changed much faster than the plasma resistive time. The different forms of LHCD modulating can be proved.     

HCN Laser Interferometer on the EAST Superconducting Tokamak

A single-channel far-infrared （FIR） laser interferometer was developed to measure the line averaged electron density on the EAST tokamak. The structure of the single-channel FIR laser interferometer is described in detail. The evolution of density sawtooth oscillation was measured by means the FIR laser interferometer, and was identified by electron cyclotron emission （ECE） signals and soft X-ray intensity. The discharges with and without sawtooth were compared with each other in the Hugill diagram.     

Electron Cyclotron Emission Imaging on the EAST Tokamak

An upgraded electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) system consisting of new optics lenses with necessary electronics for receiving and processing signals for two dimension (2D) ECEI diagnostics was installed on EAST. Hyperboloid lens were adopted in the new system to optimize the spatial resolutions. The mixers array of sixteen elements measured the plasma electron cyclotron emission at eight frequencies simultaneously, and the profiles of the electron temperature and its fluctuation in an area of 20 cm (vertical) × 6 cm (horizontal) could then be analyzed. Eevolution of sawtooth precursor and crash in EAST was observed.     

Photon Temperatures of Hard X-Ray Emission of LHCD Plasmas in HT-7 Tokamak

A detailed study of photon temperatures （Tph） of hard X-ray emission in lower hybrid current drive （LHCD） plasmas is presented. The photon temperature increases with the increase in plasma current and decreases with the increase in plasma density. In lower hybrid power and phase scanning experiments; there is no appreciable change in the photon temperature. The numerical results based on ray-tracing calculation and Fokker-Planck solver gives reasonable explanation for the experimental observation. Both experimental and numerical results reveal that the photon temperature depends mainly on global effects of the fast electron population, synergy between the fast electron and the loop voltage and the Coulomb slowing down.     

Design of a TE10 Taper Used in the LHCD Launcher for EAST

Calculations of the TE10 tapered waveguide, which will be used in the 4.6 GHz lower hybrid current drive （LHCD） launcher on the EAST, are presented. The calculations are performed in two ways, namely by directly solving the classical coupling wave equations, and by using the simulation code of the high frequency structure simulator （HFSS）. According to the calculations, the voltage standing wave ratio （VSWR） of the designed tapered waveguide can be less than 1.01 within a bandwidth of ±100 MHz.