Scrape-off layer reflectometer for Alcator C-Mod

A swept-frequency X-mode reflectometer is being built for Alcator C-Mod to measure the scrape-off layer density profiles at the top, middle, and bottom locations in front of both the new lower hybrid launcher and the new ion cyclotron range of frequencies antenna. The system is planned to operate between 100 and 146 GHz at sweep rates from 10?μs to 1 ms, and will cover a density range of approximately 10(16)-10(20)?m(-3) at B(0)=5-5.4?T. To minimize the effects of density fluctuations, both differential phase and full phase reflectometry will be employed. Design, test data, and calibration results of this electronics system will be discussed. To reduce attenuation losses, tallguide (TE(01)) will be used for most of the transmission line system. Simulations of high mode conversion in tallguide components, such as e-plane hyperbolic secant radius of curvature bends, tapers, and horn antennas will be shown. Experimental measurements of the total attenuation losses of these components in the lower hybrid waveguide run will also be presented.     

Divertor IR thermography on Alcator C-Mod

Alcator C-Mod is a particularly challenging environment for thermography. It presents issues that will similarly face ITER, including low-emissivity metal targets, low-Z surface films, and closed divertor geometry. In order to make measurements of the incident divertor heat flux using IR thermography, the C-Mod divertor has been modified and instrumented. A 6° toroidal sector has been given a 2° toroidal ramp in order to eliminate magnetic field-line shadowing by imperfectly aligned divertor tiles. This sector is viewed from above by a toroidally displaced IR camera and is instrumented with thermocouples and calorimeters. The camera provides time histories of surface temperatures that are used to compute incident heat-flux profiles. The camera sensitivity is calibrated in situ using the embedded thermocouples, thus correcting for changes and nonuniformities in surface emissivity due to surface coatings.     

Characterization of impurity confinement on Alcator C-Mod using a multi-pulse laser blow-off system

A new laser blow-off system for use in impurity transport studies on Alcator C-Mod was developed and installed for the 2009 run campaign. Its design included capabilities for multiple impurity injections during a single plasma pulse and remote manipulation of the ablated spot size. The system uses a 0.68 J, Nd:YAG laser operating at up to 10 Hz coupled with the fast beam steering via a 2D piezoelectric mirror mount able to move spot locations in the 100 ms between laser pulses and a remote controllable optical train that allow ablated spot sizes to vary from ～0.5 to 7 mm. The ability to ablate a wide range in target Z along with Alcator C-Mod's extensive diagnostic capabilities (soft x-ray, vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), charge exchange spectroscopy, etc.) allows for detailed studies of the impurity transport dependencies and mechanisms. This system has demonstrated the achievement of all its design goals including the ability for non-perturbative operation allowing for insight into underlying impurity transport processes. A detailed overview of the laser blow-off system and initial results of operation are presented. This includes an investigation into the characterization of impurity confinement in the I-mode confinement regime recently investigated on C-Mod.     

Vacuum ultraviolet impurity spectroscopy on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

Vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy is used on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak to study the physics of impurity transport and provide feedback on impurity levels to assist experimental operations. Sputtering from C-Mod's all metal (Mo+W) plasma facing components and ion cyclotron range of frequency antenna and vessel structures (sources for Ti, Fe, Cu, and Ni), the use of boronization for plasma surface conditioning and Ar, Ne, or N(2) gas seeding combine to provide a wealth of spectroscopic data from low-Z to high-Z. Recently, a laser blow-off impurity injector has been added, employing CaF(2) to study core and edge impurity transport. One of the primary tools used to monitor the impurities is a 2.2 m Rowland circle spectrometer utilizing a Reticon array fiber coupled to a microchannel plate. With a 600 lines/mm grating the 80<λ<1050?A? range can be scanned, although only 40-100 A? can be observed for a single discharge. Recently, a flat-field grating spectrometer was installed which utilizes a varied line spacing grating to image the spectrum to a soft x-ray sensitive Princeton Instruments charge-coupled device camera. Using a 2400 lines/mm grating, the 10<λ<70?A? range can be scanned with 5-6 nm observed for a single discharge. A variety of results from recent experiments are shown that highlight the capability to track a wide range of impurities.     

Energetic ion loss detector on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

A scintillator-based energetic ion loss detector has been successfully commissioned on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. This probe is located just below the outer midplane, where it captures ions of energies up to 2 MeV resulting from ion cyclotron resonance heating. After passing through a collimating aperture, ions impact different regions of the scintillator according to their gyroradius (energy) and pitch angle. The probe geometry and installation location are determined based on modeling of expected lost ions. The resulting probe is compact and resembles a standard plasma facing tile. Four separate fiber optic cables view different regions of the scintillator to provide phase space resolution. Evolving loss levels are measured during ion cyclotron resonance heating, including variation dependent upon individual antennae.     

Simulated plasma facing component measurements for an in situ surface diagnostic on Alcator C-Mod

The ideal in situ plasma facing component (PFC) diagnostic for magnetic fusion devices would perform surface element and isotope composition measurements on a shot-to-shot (～10?min) time scale with ～1?μm depth and ～1?cm spatial resolution over large areas of PFCs. To this end, the experimental adaptation of the customary laboratory surface diagnostic--nuclear scattering of MeV ions--to the Alcator C-Mod tokamak is being guided by ACRONYM, a Geant4 synthetic diagnostic. The diagnostic technique and ACRONYM are described, and synthetic measurements of film thickness for boron-coated PFCs are presented.     

Surface thermocouples for measurement of pulsed heat flux in the divertor of the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

A novel set of thermocouple sensors has been developed to measure heat fluxes arriving at divertor surfaces in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak, a magnetic confinement fusion experiment. These sensors operate in direct contact with the divertor plasma, which deposits heat fluxes in excess of ~10 MW/m(2) over an ~1 s pulse. Thermoelectric EMF signals are produced across a non-standard bimetallic junction: a 50 μm thick 74% tungsten-26% rhenium ribbon embedded in a 6.35 mm diameter molybdenum cylinder. The unique coaxial geometry of the sensor combined with its single-point electrical ground contact minimizes interference from the plasma/magnetic environment. Incident heat fluxes are inferred from surface temperature evolution via a 1D thermal heat transport model. For an incident heat flux of 10 MW/m(2), surface temperatures rise ~1000 °C/s, corresponding to a heat flux flowing along the local magnetic field of ~200 MW/m(2). Separate calorimeter sensors are used to independently confirm the derived heat fluxes by comparing total energies deposited during a plasma pulse. Langmuir probes in close proximity to the surface thermocouples are used to test plasma-sheath heat transmission theory and to identify potential sources of discrepancies among physical models.     

Direct measurement of density oscillation induced by a radio-frequency wave

An O-mode reflectometer at a frequency of 25.85 GHz was applied to plasmas heated by the high harmonic fast wave (21 MHz) in the TST-2 spherical tokamak. An oscillation in the phase of the reflected microwave in the rf range was observed directly for the first time. In TST-2, the rf (250 kW) induced density oscillation depends mainly on the poloidal rf electric field, which is estimated to be about 0.2 kV/m rms by the reflectometer measurement. Sideband peaks separated in frequency by ion cyclotron harmonics from 21 MHz, and peaks at ion cyclotron harmonics which are suggested to be quasimodes generated by parametric decay, were detected.     

钢轨踏面斜裂纹超声表面波B扫成像检测研究

由滚动接触疲劳引起的钢轨踏面斜裂纹已成为目前高速铁路在役钢轨无损检测中的重要问题,现有的铁路钢轨超声探伤车(仪)难以检测此类缺陷。采用低频超声表面波方法,沿钢轨长度方向对钢轨踏面斜裂纹进行B扫成像检测。由于钢轨轨头为带圆弧边的矩形截面,在钢轨表面激发和传播的低频表面波已不再是经典的Rayleigh波,而是一类导波,导波的多模式对表面波成像检测形成了干扰。为减小干扰,将空间平均技术应用于钢轨踏面斜裂纹的表面波B扫成像。对人工缺陷试块和钢轨试样的B扫成像实验结果表明,利用空间平均技术能有效的抑制此类干扰,提高信噪比,可对钢轨踏面斜裂纹作快速检测和定位。     

Detection of lower hybrid waves within a plasma by microwave scattering

The spatial distribution and intensity of electrostatic waves injected into a hot plasma may be inferred from the scattering of millimeter microwaves. We report measurements on the 30 degrees scattering of 8.6-mm microwaves by a 500-W, 2.45-GHz slow wave excited in a linear plasma by a phased array of two waveguides. From the magnitude of the scattered signal and auxiliary measurements with probes, we infer that a large fraction of the injected power penetrates to the center of the overdense test plasma.     

基于时变图像序列的脉搏信息提取

为获取全面客观的脉诊信息,本文提出一种全新的脉搏信息检测方法-脉搏触觉图像化法。本系统模拟中医脉诊实际,采用软性薄膜加压探头,由单一CCD摄像头采集得到脉搏动态时变图像序列。在算法实现上,从图像整体灰度变化入手,应用图像相关性和图像灰度重心变化分别提取脉搏波形图,并利用图像重心法分析得出不同人在不同取脉压力下的部分脉搏特征。研究结果表明,基于时变图像序列的方法能够有效提取脉搏波的幅度、形态和脉搏频率、节律等信息,为脉搏信息的检测和表征提供了新的手段和方法。     

Measurement of edge density profiles of Large Helical Device plasmas using an ultrashort-pulse reflectometer

We report here on the application of an ultrashort-pulse reflectometer (USPR) to Large Helical Device in National Institute for Fusion Science. An impulse with picosecond pulse width is used as a source in an USPR. Since the bandwidth of a source is inversely related to the pulse width, we can utilize the frequency range of microwave to millimeter-wave by using wide band transmission lines. The density profiles can be reconstructed by collecting time-of-flight signal of each frequency component of an impulse reflected from each cutoff layer. Remote control system using super science information network has been introduced to the present USPR system.     

Vibration control of a flexible structure using a hybrid mount

This paper presents vibration control of a flexible beam structure using a hybrid mount which consists of elastic rubber and piezoelectric stack actuator. After identifying stiffness and damping properties of the rubber and piezoelectric elements, a mechanical model of the hybrid mount is established. The mount model is then incorporated with the beam structure, and the governing equation of motion is obtained in a state space. A sliding mode controller is designed in order to actively attenuate the vibration of the beam structure subjected to high-frequency and small magnitude excitations. The controller is experimentally realized and measured control responses such as acceleration of the beam structure and force transmission through the hybrid mount are evaluated and presented in both frequency and time domains.     

Development of a parallel detection and processing system using a multidetector array for wave field restoration in scanning transmission electron microscopy

A parallel image detection and image processing system for scanning transmission electron microscopy was developed using a multidetector array consisting of a multianode photomultiplier tube arranged in an 8 x 8 square array. The system enables the taking of 64 images simultaneously from different scattered directions with a scanning time of 2.6 s. Using the 64 images, phase and amplitude contrast images of gold particles on an amorphous carbon thin film could be separately reconstructed by applying respective 8 shaped bandpass Fourier filters for each image and multiplying the phase and amplitude reconstructing factors.     

Direct simulation of inhalable particle motion and collision in a standing wave field

Motion of inhalable particles (PM₁₀) under the effect of acoustic standing wave was numerically studied, and the inter-particle collision rate was investigated based on the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. The results show that the particles convergence rapidly, generating two particle number concentration peaks in a wavelength range along the wave propagation direction. Considering the inter-particle collision, it is found that when the particle size and number concentration keep constant, the collision rate first increases and then decreases with the increase of the frequency. Hence there is an optimal frequency that corresponds to the highest collision rate. As the sound intensity level increases, the collision rate increases monotonically. In cases with the same acoustic wave, the collision rate increases with the particle number concentration. The particle size is also an important factor that strongly affects the collision rate. The large inhalable particles collide more intensively than the small ones.     

Ambulatory ECG wave detection for automated analysis: a review

Computerized ECG wave detection techniques have been evolving for the last three decades. Computerized ECG wave detection has been utilized in applications ranging from patient monitoring to computerized ambulatory arrhythmia detection. The most crucial part of any automatic ECG analysis is QRS detection. This review discusses adaptive and nonadaptive threshold techniques utilized in QRS detection. These techniques are suitable for software or hardware implementation. In addition, frequency domain and correlation methods for QRS detection are presented. In the summary a proposed QRS detection approach suitable for VLSI implementation is presented. This method has direct application to portable arrhythmia monitoring.     

Analysis of diesel spray structure using a hybrid model

This study proposes a hybrid model that consists of modified Taylor Analogy Breakup (TAB) model and a Discrete Vortex Method (DVM). In this study the simulation is divided into three steps. The first step is to analyze the breakup of the injected fuel droplets by using a modified TAB model. The second step is based on Siebers’ theory of liquid length, which is an analysis of spray evaporation. The liquid length analysis for injected fuel is used to connect both the modified TAB model and the DVM. The final step is to reproduce the ambient gas flow and the inner vortex flow of the injected fuel by using the DVM. In order to examine this hybrid model, we performed an experiment involving a free evaporating fuel spray at the early injection stage within an environment similar to that found inside of an engine cylinder. The numerical results were calculated by using the present hybrid model and compared to the experimental results. The calculated results of the gas jet flow that were determined through the DVM corresponded well with the experimental results for a downstream evaporative spray. It is also confirmed that an ambient gas flow occupies the downstream region of a diesel spray.     

基于混合图上随机游走的视觉注意显著目标检测模型

目前的视觉显著性检测算法,主要依赖像素间的对比,缺乏从全局角度对显著目标进行分析理解。根据生物视觉注意机制,显著目标通常是显眼、紧凑和完整的,提出一种基于混合图上随机游走的显著目标检测算法,将视觉显著性检测公式化为马尔科夫随机游走问题。首先将输入图像进行分块,利用颜色特征距离和方向的空间分布和方向熵对比分别确定无向图和有向图的边权重,进而得到混合图;然后通过全连通图搜索提取全局特性,突出全局较孤立的区域;同时通过k-regular图搜索提取局部特性,增强局部较均匀的区域;最后结合全局特性和局部特性得到输入图像的显著图,从而确定感兴趣区域位置。实验结果表明,相比于其他两种具有代表性的算法,所提算法检测结果更加准确、合理,证明该方法合理可行。     

Exit wave reconstruction using a conventional transmission electron microscope

Exit wave reconstruction of a focus series of Ge in [110] using the PAMMAL algorithm was performed on a conventional electron microscope. The simulated images using the reconstructed object wave match very well with those obtained experimentally. Amplitudes from the complex wave function were extracted by means of local Fourier transformation. Crystal thickness and tilt were determined locally by quantitative comparison of the reconstructed amplitudes with amplitudes from multislice calculations. Detailed analysis yields the quasicoherent imaging approach used in the PAMMAL algorithm to produce the largest error in the analysis. For the Ge crystal specimen parameters were quantified to spatial frequencies of 5 nm¹. In the case of an object producing strong diffracted beams, the reconstruction may fail because the quasicoherent approximation will not describe correctly the nonlinear image formation.