Design of the Transmission Lines for 140 GHz ECRH System on HL-2A

A new 140 GHz/2 MW/3 s electron cyclotron resonance heating （ECRH） system composed of two units is now being constructed on HL-2A. As a part of the system, two trans- mission lines marked No.7 ＆ 8 play the role of carrying microwave power from two gyrotrons to the tokamak port. Based on the oversized circular corrugated waveguide technology, an evacu~ ated transmission system with high power capability and high transmission efficiency is designed. Details are presented for the design of the corrugated waveguide, the layout of the proposed lines and the vacuum pumping system. Then mode conversion losses due to coupling, misalignment, bends and gaps are discussed to serve as a reference for analyzing the transmission efficiency and alignment. Finally, a dual-modes propagation case consisting of the HEll and LPn even modes is discussed.     

The anode power supply for the ECRH system on the J-TEXT tokamak

The electron cyclotron resonance heating(ECRH) system with a 60 GHz/200 k W/0.5 s gyrotron donated by the Culham Science Center is being developed on the J-TEXT tokamak for plasma heating, current drive and MHD studies. Simultaneously, an anode power supply(APS) has been rebuilt and tested for the output power control of the gyrotron, of which the input voltage is derived from an 80 k V negative cathode power supply. The control strategy by controlling the grid voltage of the tetrode TH5186 is applied to obtain an accurate anode climbing voltage, of which the output voltage can be obtained from 0-30 k V with respect to the cathode power supply. The characteristics of the APS, including control, protection, modulation, and output waveform, were tested with a100 k V/60 A negative cathode power supply, a dummy load and the ECRH control system. The results indicate that the APS can meet the requirements of the ECRH system on J-TEXT.     

Design and realization of the J-TEXT tokamak central control system

The Joint Texas Experimental Tokamak (J-TEXT), a medium-sized conventional tokamak, serves as a user experimental facility in the China-USA fusion research community. Development of a flexible and easy-to-use J-TEXT central control system (CCS) is of supreme importance for users to coordinate the experimental scenarios with full integration into the discharge operation. This paper describes in detail the structure and functions of the J-TEXT CCS system as well as the performance in practical implementation. Results obtained from both commissioning and routine operations show that the J-TEXT CCS system can offer a satisfactory and effective control that is reliable and stable. The J-TEXT tokamak achieved high-quality performance in its first-ever experimental campaign with this CCS system.     

Machine learning application to predict the electron temperature on the J-TEXT tokamak

The reliability of diagnostic systems in tokamak plasma is of great significance for physics researches or fusion reactor. When some diagnostics fail to detect information about the plasma status, such as electron temperature, they can also be obtained by another method: fitted by other diagnostic signals through machine learning. The paper herein is based on a machine learning method to predict electron temperature, in case the diagnostic systems fail to detect plasma temperature. The fully-connected neural network, utilizing back propagation with two hidden layers, is utilized to estimate plasma electron temperature approximately on the J-TEXT. The input parameters consist of soft x-ray emission intensity, electron density, plasma current, loop voltage, and toroidal magnetic field, while the targets are signals of electron temperature from electron cyclotron emission and x-ray imaging crystal spectrometer. Therefore, the temperature profile is reconstructed by other diagnostic signals, and the average errors are within 5%. In addition, generalized regression neural network can also achieve this function to estimate the temperature profile with similar accuracy. Predicting electron temperature by neural network reveals that machine learning can be used as backup means for plasma information so as to enhance the reliability of diagnostics.     

The timing system on the J-TEXT tokamak

This paper describes the timing system designed to control the operation time-sequence and to generate clocks for various sub-systems on J-TEXT tokamak. The J-TEXT timing system is organized as a distributed system which is connected by a tree-structured optical fiber network. It can generate delayed triggers and gate signals (0 μs–4000 s), while providing reference clocks for other sub-systems. Besides, it provides event handling and timestamping functions. It is integrated into the J-TEXT Control, Data Access and Communication (J-TEXT CODAC) system, and it can be monitored and configured by Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). The configuration of this system including tree-structured network is managed in XML files by dedicated management software. This system has already been deployed on J-TEXT tokamak and it is serving J-TEXT in daily experiments.     

Study of the fast electron behavior in electron cyclotron current driven plasma on J-TEXT

In J-TEXT tokamak, fast electron bremsstrahlung diagnostic with 9 chords equipped with multi-channel analyzer enables detailed studies of the generation and transport of fast electrons. The spatial profiles and energy spectrum of the fast electrons have been measured in two ECCD cases with either on-axis or off-axis injection, and the profiles processed by Abel-inversion are consistent with the calculated power deposition locations. Moreover, it is observed that the energy of fast electrons increases rapidly after turning off the ECCD, which may be attributed to the acceleration by the recovered loop voltage at low electron density.     

基于脉冲步进调制技术的ECRH全固态阳极高压电源控制系统设计

电子回旋共振管是产生高功率毫米微波的真空电子器件,在可控热核聚变研究、雷达等领域中有重要的应用。针对可控热核聚变研究中1 MW/105 GHz回旋管加热系统阳极电源幅度可调且调制的要求,使用高频开关电源技术和脉冲步进调制技术（PSM）研制了全固态阳极高压电源。重点阐述了阳极高压电源实现稳压、调制、前沿时间可调功能的软件控制算法,并通过实验对设计进行了验证。该阳极高压电源具有单脉冲、多脉冲调制和六电平预置波形等3种模式输出功能;输出参数达到35 kV/200 mA,波形前沿3 ms内可调,最大调制频率为1 kHz,调节精度在100 V以内。设计的控制方法也可应用于其他大功率微波源。     

Charging System of ECRH High-Voltage Power Supply and its Control System

High-voltage power supply (HVPS) of Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRI-I) for HT-7 and HT-TU is presently being constructed. The high voltage (100 kV) energy of HVPS is stored in the capacitor banks, and they can power one or two gyrotrous. All the operation of the chaxging system will be done by the control system, where the field signals are interfaced to programmable logic controller (PLC). The use of PLC not only simplifies the control system, but also enhances the reliability. The software written by using configuration software installed in the master computer allows for remote and multiple operator control~ and the status and data information is also remotely available.     

Magnetic diagnostics for magnetohydrodynamic instability research and the detection of locked modes in J-TEXT

Magnetohydrodynamic(MHD) instabilities are widely observed during tokamak plasma operation. Magnetic diagnostics provide important information which supports the understanding and control of MHD instabilities. This paper presents the current status of the magnetic diagnostics dedicated to measuring MHD instabilities at the J-TEXT tokamak; the diagnostics consist of five Mirnov probe arrays for measuring high-frequency magnetic perturbations and two saddle-loop arrays for low-frequency magnetic perturbations, such as the locked mode. In recent years, several changes have been made to these arrays. The structure of the probes in the poloidal Mirnov arrays has been optimized to improve their mechanical strength, and the number of in-vessel saddle loops has also been improved to support better spatial resolution. Due to the installation of high-field-side(HFS) divertor targets in early 2019,some of the probes were removed, but an HFS Mirnov array was designed and installed behind the targets. Owing to its excellent toroidal symmetry, the HFS Mirnov array has, for the first time at J-TEXT, provided valuable new information about the locked mode and the quasi-static mode(QSM) in the HFS. Besides, various groups of magnetic diagnostics at different poloidal locations have been systematically used to measure the QSM, which confirmed the poloidal mode number m and the helical structure of the QSM. By including the HFS information, the 2/1 resonant magnetic perturbation(RMP)-induced locked mode was measured to have a poloidal mode number m of ～2.     

Formation of ST Plasmas by ECH on LATE

Experiments on formation of spherical tokamak (ST) plasmas by electron cyclotron heating (ECH) alone without a central OH solenoid have been carried out on LATE (Low Aspect ratio Torus Experiments). By injecting a 2.45 GHz microwave pulse of 6.3 kW for 4 seconds, a plasma current is initiated and ramped up to IP ≌ 3 kA, and finally maintained for l second by adjusting the external vertical field. Magnetic measurements show that closed flux surfaces are formed and the last closed flux surface has an aspect ratio of A - 1.3 and an elongation of K - 1.3. The electron density measured by an interferometer is more than 1.5 × 1011 cm-3 which exceeds twice of the plasma cut-off density, suggesting that electron cyclotron heating by mode-converted electron Bernstein waves may take place.     

Estimation of magnetic island width by the fluctuations of electron cyclotron emission radiometer on J-TEXT

The width of a magnetic island is an important parameter for the quantitative analysis of magnetohydrodynamic-related physics. An electron cyclotron emission radiometer(ECE) is a powerful tool that can be used to obtain this width, which can usually be determined from the flat temperature distribution at the O-point phase or the maxima temperature perturbation. An improved method to estimate the width of a magnetic island is proposed in this paper, and it is independent of calibration. With this method and the existing 24-channel ECE system, the width of a rotation magnetic island can be estimated. Additionally, by filtering the fluctuation ECE signal, the evolution of the magnetic island can be obtained. The results of this method are consistent with those of the integrated magnetic probe signals, which represent the relative change of the magnetic island.     

Effect of edge magnetic island on carbon screening in the J-TEXT tokamak

The effect of externally applied resonant magnetic perturbation(RMP)on carbon impurity behavior is investigated in the J-TEXT tokamak.It is found that the m/n=3/1 islands have an impurity screening effect,which becomes obvious while the edge magnetic island is generated via RMP field penetration.The impurity screening effect shows a dependence on the RMP phase with the field penetration,which is strongest if the O point of the magnetic island is near the low-field-side(LFS)limiter plate.By combining a methane injection experimental study and STRAHL impurity transport analysis,we found that the variation of the impurity transport dominates the impurity screening effect.The impurity diffusion at the inner plasma region(r/a＜0.8)is enhanced with a significant increase in outward convection velocity at the edge region in the case of the magnetic island's O point near the LFS limiter plate.The impurity transport coefficient varies by a much lower level for the case with the magnetic island's X point near the LFS limiter plate.The interaction of the magnetic island and the LFS limiter plate is thought to contribute to the impurity transport variation with the dependence on the RMP phase.A possible reason is the interaction between the magnetic island and the LFS limiter.     

Development of the pellet injection system on the J-TEXT tokamak

Pellet injection is an attractive technology for core-fueling and magnetohydrodynamic study in magnetic-confinement fusion devices like tokamaks and stellarators. It can inject solid hydrogen/deuterium pellets into the plasma with deeper density deposition compared with other fueling methods, such as gas puffing. A three-barrel H₂ pellet injection system was installed on the J-TEXT tokamak and experiments were carried out. The pellets are formed in three barrels cooled by a cryocooler and compressor system at around 9 K, and are 0.8 mm/1 mm diameter and 0.8 mm length. The pellet is launched by helium propellant gas and injected from the low-field side of the plasma. The normal range of pellet speed is 210–310 m s⁻¹ for different propellant gas pressures. Due to the three-barrel structure, the number of injected pellets can be adjusted between one and three. Pellets can be launched sequentially with arbitrary time intervals, which enables flexible applications. The results of the experiments show that pellet fueling efficiency can reach 50%. The energy confinement time increased by about 7.5‒10 ms after pellet injection.     

Design status of the ITER ECRH upper launcher mm-wave system

The purpose of the ITER electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) upper launcher (UL), or antennae will be to provide localised current drive by accurately directing mm-wave beams up to 2MW, out of the four allocated upper port plugs, at chosen rational magnetic flux surfaces in order to stabilise neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs). This paper will present an overview of the UL, with emphasis on the mm-wave components. The mm-wave layout includes corrugated waveguide sections and a quasi-optical path with both focusing mirrors and plane steering mirrors. One of the essential components of the UL is the Steering Mechanism Assembly (SMA), providing variable poloidal injection angles fulfilling high deposition accuracy requirements at the plasma location. The Actuator principle and rotor bearings are frictionless and backlash free, avoiding tribological difficulties such as stickslip and seizure. The underlying working principle is the use of mechanically compliant structures. Validation and proof testing of the steering principle is achieved with an uncooled first prototype demonstrator. A second prototype is currently being manufactured, comprising the functionalities needed for the ITER compatible system such as water cooling and high power mm-wave compatibility. In order to perform the fatigue tests of the actuator bellows, a test facility has been built, under ITER-like vacuum and temperature working conditions. Results of the cyclic fatigue tests are compared to the various manufacturer standards and codes, combining stress and strain controlled material fatigue properties.     

Design of the Control System of Toroidal Field （TF） Power Supply for J-TEXT Tokamak

J-TEXT, formerly TEXT-U at the University of Texas at Austin in USA, is a medium-sized tokamak at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The toroidal field （TF） power supply of this tokamak should provide a current of 160 kA and a flat duration of 500 ms for the toroidal field coils to generate a maximum toroidal field of 3 T at the geometric center of the vaccum vessel. This paper presents a design of a new control system which takes the real-time feedback control option for the TF power supply operation. The system was tested successfully during the commissioning. In the first experimental campaign of J-TEXT, the system effectively controlled the power supply to provide a fiat current up to 92.5 kA and therein the TF produced reached 1.74 T, which enabled the machine to generate the first plasma successfully.     

Simulation of ECR Startup and Comparison with Experimental Observations in SUNIST

Transient process of ECR startup in SUNIST with a one-dimensional model is analyzed and simulated. Contributions from the generation, drift, diffusion and loss of electrons are taken into account in the model and estimated from experimental parameters, e.g., toroidal field, vertical field and gas filling pressure. Typical discharges are simulated with the conditions close to the experiomental ones. Both experimental and simulated results are comparable qualitatively in amplitudes and semi-quantitatively in time. From the results it is confirmed that the transient process of ECR startup in SUNIST is dominant, as preliminarily deduced from experimental observations, by a pair of exclusive factors, namely the absorption, due to gas ionization, and the reflection of microwave, caused by the shift of over dense plasmas due to outward E×B drift. In addition to these two factors, electron loss along the field line is also very important in determining the character of discharges.     

Investigation on the multi-hole directional coupler for power measurement of the J-TEXT ECRH system

Power measurement is necessary for an electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) system. The directional coupler method has been put forward to monitor high-power microwave from gyrotrons in real time. A multi-hole directional coupler has been designed and manufactured for the 105 GHz/500 kW ECRH system on the J-TEXT tokamak. During the design process, we established the relationships between hole parameters and coupling characteristics based on the multi-hole coupling method and small-hole coupling theory. High-power tests have been carried out. The results indicated the reasonability of the theoretical design and practicality of the fabricated directional coupler. Sources of test errors have been discussed in detail, and the influences of spurious modes on the directional couplers have been emphatically analyzed.     

800kV高压传输装置的电场数值计算

介绍了800kV高压传输装置的组成和结构安排；对在SF6绝缘气体环境中的电缆终端进行了电场数值计算，并对计算结果进行了分析；最后得出结论，电缆终端的场强设计是可靠的。     

Measurement of the Electron Bernstein Wave Emission with One of the Power Transmission Lines for ECH in LHD

Possibility of the measurement of radiated waves derived from the thermally emitted electron Bernstein wave （EBW） is numerically investigated based on the assum...     

Theory on dynamic matching with adjustable capacitors for the ICRF system of ASDEX Upgrade

The coupling of electromagnetic waves in the Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequencies (ICRF) is an important method to heat magnetically confined plasmas. Changing plasma conditions, which originate from processes like L-mode to H-mode transition or gas puffing, vary the load impedance of the ICRF antennas. To optimize the power transfer from the radio frequency (RF) generators to the antennas and consequently to the plasma, as well as to protect the RF sources against too high reflected power, a system that matches (i.e. transforms) the antenna input impedance to the impedance required by the generator is necessary. At ASDEX Upgrade this matching system consists of two stub tuners for each antenna, which match the antenna impedance for a value preset before the discharge. The length of the stubs cannot be changed fast enough to compensate plasma variations even on the moderate timescale of the confinement time in ASDEX Upgrade. The use of 3 dB-couplers allows operation even with varying load, at the cost of a reduced power to the plasma.When adjustable capacitors are applied in parallel to the stubs, dynamic matching becomes possible on the tens of ms timescale. The paper describes first the calculation of the required capacitance using transmission line theory. In a second model a minimum search algorithm finds, for a given antenna impedance, the length of the stubs needed for matching, now including the initial values of the capacitors. For the chosen pre-match point in the Smith chart, the range of impedances around this point is calculated for which the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) can be lowered below a minimum value by readjusting the capacitors within their maximum and minimum values. The matching range is thereby significantly larger than without the application of adjustable capacitors, at least with a frequency of 30 MHz and 36.5 MHz.