L-Mode and Inter-ELM Divertor Particle and Heat Flux Width Scaling on MAST
J. R. Harrison, G. M. Fishpool, A. Kirk
备注：
17 pages, 5 figures
发表信息：
Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol.438, Supplement, July 2013, p.S375-S378. Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Plasma-Surface Interactions in Controlled Fusion Devices
The distribution of particles and power to plasma-facing components is of key importance in the design of next-generation fusion devices. Power and particle decay lengths have been measured in a number of MAST L-mode and H-mode discharges in order to determine their parametric dependencies, by fitting power and particle flux profiles measured by divertor Langmuir probes, to a convolution of an exponential decay and a Gaussian function. In all discharges analysed, it is found that exponential decay lengths mapped to the midplane are mostly dependent on separatrix electron density and plasma current (or parallel connection length). The widths of the convolved Gaussian functions have been used to derive an approximate diffusion coefficient, which is found to vary from 1m2/s to 7m2/s, and is systematically lower in H-mode compared with L-mode.
Edge localised modes (ELMs) are a concern for future devices as they can limit the operational lifetime of the divertor. The mitigation of ELMs can be performed by the application of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) which act to degrade the pressure gradient in the edge of the plasma. Investigations of the effect of RMPs on MAST have been performed in a range of plasmas using perturbations with toroidal mode numbers of n=3, 4 and 6. It has been seen that the RMPs increase the ELM frequency, which gives rise to a corresponding decrease in the ELM energy. The reduced ELM energy decreases t…
Real-time feedback control of ELM frequency using divertor gas puffing and its effects on tungsten-induced radiation and plasma performance in KSTAR
Princeton University（普林斯顿大学）；Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE)（韩国聚能研究所）；Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory（普林斯顿等离子体物理实验室）；Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)（韩国科学技术院）
Resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) can mitigate the edge-localized modes (ELMs), i.e. cause a change of the ELM character towards smaller energy loss and higher frequency. During mitigation a change of the spatial structure of ELM loads on divertor was observed on DIII-D and MAST: the power is deposited predominantly in the footprint structures formed by the magnetic perturbation. In the present contribution we develop a theory explaining this effect, based on the idea that part of the ELM loss is caused by parallel transport in the homoclinic tangle formed by the magnetic perturbation of …
BOUT++ turbulence simulations are conducted for a 60s steady-state long pulse high \{beta}p EAST grassy ELM discharge. BOUT++ linear simulations show that the unstable mode spectrum covers a range of toroidal mode numbers from low-n (n=10~15) peeling-ballooning modes (P-B) to high-n (n=40~80) drift-Alfvén instabilities. Nonlinear simulations show that the ELM crash is trigged by low-n peeling modes and fluctuation is generated at the peak pressure gradient position and radially spread outward into the Scrape-Off-Layer (SOL), even though the drift-Alfvén instabilities dominate the linear growth…
In future nuclear fusion reactors high heat load events, such as edge-localised modes (ELMs), can potentially damage divertor materials and release impurities into the main plasma, limiting plasma performance. The most difficult to handle are type I ELMs since they carry the largest fraction of energy from the plasma and therefore deposit the largest heat flux at the target and on first wall materials. Knowing the temperature of the ions released from ELM events is important since it determines the potential sputtering they would cause from plasma facing materials. To make measurements of Ti b…
A global signature of the build-up to an intrinsic ELM is found in the phase of signals measured in full flux azimuthal loops in the divertor region of JET. Full flux loop signals provide a global measurement proportional to the voltage induced by changes in poloidal magnetic flux; they are electromagnetically induced by the dynamics of spatially integrated current density. We perform direct time-domain analysis of the high time-resolution full flux loop signals VLD2 and VLD3. We analyze plasmas where a steady H-mode is sustained over several seconds, during which all the observed ELMs are int…
Edge localised modes (ELMs) are a concern for future devices, such as ITER, due to the large transient heat loads they generate on the divertor surfaces which could limit the operational time of the device. This paper discusses the application of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) as a mechanism for ELM control on MAST. Experiments have been performed using an n=3 toroidal mode number perturbation and measurements of the strike point splitting performed. The measurements have been made using both infrared and visible imaging to measure the heat and particle flux to the divertor. The measur…
The power load to the divertor surfaces is a key concern for future devices such as ITER, due to the thermal limits on the material surface. One factor that characterizes the heat flux to the divertor is the fall off length in the scrape-off layer (SOL), which recent empirical scalings have shown could be as small as 1 mm. These predictions are based on a multi-machine scaling of the heat flux width fitted using an expression for the divertor heat flux profile which includes a term for the exponential decay in the SOL and diffusion about the last closed flux surface (LCFS) in the private flux …
Injecting frozen deuterium pellets into an ELMy H-mode plasma is a well established scheme for triggering edge localized modes (ELMs) before they naturally occur. Based on an ASDEX Upgrade H-mode plasma, this article presents a comparison of extended MHD simulations of spontaneous type-I ELMs and pellet-triggered ELMs allowing to study their non-linear dynamics in detail. In particular, pellet-triggered ELMs are simulated by injecting deuterium pellets into different time points during the pedestal build-up described in [A. Cathey et al. Nuclear Fusion 60, 124007 (2020)]. Realistic ExB and dia…
The free-streaming plus recycling model (FSRM) has recently been developed to understand and predict tungsten gross erosion rates from the divertor during edge localized modes (ELMs). In this work, the FSRM was tested against experimental measurements of W sputtering during ELMs, conducted via fast WI spectroscopy. Good agreement is observed using a variety of controlling techniques, including gas puffing, neutral beam heating, and plasma shaping to modify the pedestal stability boundary and thus the ELM behavior. ELM mitigation by pellet pacing was observed to strongly reduce W sputtering by …
A potentially important feature in a divertor design for a high-power tokamak is an extended and expanded divertor leg. The upgrade to MAST will allow a wide range of such divertor leg geometries to be produced, and hence will allow the roles of greatly increased connection length and flux expansion to be experimentally tested. This will include testing the potential of the Super-X configuration [1]. The design process for the upgrade has required analysis of producing and controlling the magnetic configurations, and has included consideration of the roles that divertor closure and increasing …
The application of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) produces splitting of the divertor strike point due to the interaction of the RMP field and the plasma field. The application of a rotating RMP field causes the strike point splitting to rotate, distributing the particle and heat flux evenly over the divertor. The RMP coils in MAST have been used to generate a rotating perturbation with a toroidal mode number n=3. The ELM frequency is doubled with the application of the RMP rotating field, whilst maintaining the H mode. During mitigation, the ELM peak heat flux is seen to be reduced by …
Using the orbit-following code ASCOT, we model alpha particle transport in ITER under the influence of ELM control coils (ECCs), toroidal field ripple, and test blanket modules, with emphasis on how the plasma response (PR) modifies the transport mechanisms and fast ion loads on the divertor. We found that while PR shields the plasma by healing broken flux surfaces, it also opens a new loss channel for marginally trapped particles: PR causes strong toroidal variation of the poloidal field near the X-point which leads to de-localisation of banana tips and collisionless transport. The reduction …
Knowledge of the ion temperature (Ti) is of key importance for determining heat fluxes to the divertor and plasma facing components, however data regarding this is limited compared to electron temperature (Te) data. Ti measurements at the divertor target, between edge-localised modes (inter-ELM) H-mode, have been made using a novel retarding field energy analyser (RFEA).
General formula describing both the divertor strike point splitting and width of magnetic islands created by resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) in a poloidally diverted tokamak equilibrium is derived. Under the assumption that the RMP is produced by coils at the low-field side such as those used to control edge localized modes (ELMs) it is demonstrated that the width of islands on different magnetic surfaces at the edge and the amount of divertor splitting are related to each other. Explanation is provided of aligned maxima of the perturbation spectra with the safety factor profile - an ef…
High flux expansion divertor studies have been carried out in the National Spherical Torus Experiment using steady-state X-point height variations from 22 to 5-6 cm. Small-ELM H-mode confinement was maintained at all X-point heights. Divertor flux expansions from 6 to 26-28 were obtained, with associated reduction in X-point connection length from 5-6 m to 2 m. Peak divertor heat flux was reduced from 7-8 MW/m$^2$ to 1-2 MW/m$^2$. In low X-point configuration, outer strike point became nearly detached. Among factors affecting deposition of parallel heat flux in the divertor, the flux expansion…
One of the first studies of MAST Upgrade divertor configurations with SOLPS5.0 are presented. We focus on understanding main prospects associated with the novel geometry of the Super-X divertor (SXD). This includes a discussion of the effect of magnetic flux expansion and volumetric power losses on the reduction of target power loads, the effect of divertor geometry on the divertor closure and distribution of neutral species and radiation in the divertor, the role of the connection length in broadening the target wetted area. A comparison in conditions typical for MAST inter-ELM H-mode plasmas…
Nitrogen seeded detachment has been achieved in the Tokamak a Configuration Variable (TCV) in advanced divertor configurations (ADCs), namely X-divertor and X-point target, with and without baffles in H-mode plasmas with high core confinement. Both ADCs show a remarkable reduction in the inter-ELM particle and heat fluxes to the target compared to the standard divertor configuration. 95-98% of the peak heat flux to the target is mitigated as a synergetic effect of ADCs, baffling, and nitrogen seeded detachment. The effect of divertor geometry and baffles on core-divertor compatibility is inves…
Initial observations in X-point target divertor discharges on MAST-U
University of York（约克大学）；Eindhoven University of Technology（埃因霍温理工大学）；Oak Ridge National Laboratory（橡树岭国家实验室）；University of Liverpool（利物浦大学）；DIFFER（荷兰等离子体物理研究所）；Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics（马克斯·普朗克等离子体物理研究所）；Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)（洛桑联邦理工学院）
We present the first analysis of the atomic and molecular processes at play during detachment in the MAST-U Super-X divertor using divertor spectroscopy data. Our analysis indicates detachment in the MAST-U Super-X divertor can be separated into four sequential phases: First, the ionisation region detaches from the target at detachment onset leaving a region of increased molecular densities downstream. The plasma interacts with these molecules, resulting in molecular ions ($D_2^+$ and/or $D_2^- \rightarrow D + D^-$) that further react with the plasma leading to Molecular Activated Recombinatio…
Using high speed imaging of the divertor volume, the region close to the X-point in MAST is shown to be quiescent. This is confirmed by three different analysis techniques and the quiescent X-point region (QXR) spans from the separatrix to the 1.02 flux surface. Local reductions to the atomic density and effects associated with the camera viewing geometry are ruled out as causes of the QXR, leaving quiescence in the local plasma conditions as being the most likely cause. The QXR is found to be ubiquitous across a significant operational space in MAST including L-mode and H-mode discharges acro…
Sustained ELM mitigation has been achieved using RMPs with a toroidal mode number of n=4 and n=6 in lower single null and with n=3 in connected double null plasmas on MAST. The ELM frequency increases by up to a factor of eight with a similar reduction in ELM energy loss. A threshold current for ELM mitigation is observed above which the ELM frequency increases approximately linearly with current in the coils. A comparison of the filament structures observed during the ELMs in the natural and mitigated stages shows that the mitigated ELMs have the characteristics of type I ELMs even though the…
Pedestal profiles that span the ELM cycle have been obtained and used to test the idea that the pedestal pressure gradient in MAST is limited by the onset of Kinetic Ballooning Modes (KBMs). During the inter-ELM period of a regularly type I ELM-ing discharge on MAST, the pressure pedestal height and width increase together while the pressure gradient increases by only 15 % during the ELM cycle. Stability analyses show that the pedestal region over which infinite-n ballooning modes are unstable also broadens during the ELM cycle. To test the relationship between the width of the region that is …
A 1D code modelling SOL transport parallel to the magnetic field (SOLF1D) is benchmarked with 2D simulations of MAST-U SOL performed via the SOLPS code for two different collisionalities. Based on this comparison, SOLF1D is then used to model the effects of divertor leg stretching in 1D, in support of the planned Super-X divertor on MAST. The aim is to separate magnetic flux expansion from volumetric power losses due to recycling neutrals by stretching the divertor leg either vertically or radially.
The application of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) with a toroidal mode number of n=3 to connected double null plasmas in the MAST tokamak produces up to a factor of 9 increase in Edge Localized Mode (ELM) frequency and reduction in plasma energy loss associated with type-I ELMs. A threshold current for ELM mitigation is observed above which the ELM frequency increases approximately linearly with current in the coils. The effect of the RMPs is found to be scenario dependent. In one scenario the mitigation is only due to a large density pump out event and if the density is recovered by g…
The application of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) with a toroidal mode number of n=4 or n=6 to lower single null plasmas in the MAST tokamak produces up to a factor of 5 increase in Edge Localized Mode (ELM) frequency and reduction in plasma energy loss associated with type-I ELMs. A threshold current for ELM mitigation is observed above which the ELM frequency increases approximately linearly with current in the coils. Despite a large scan of parameters, complete ELM suppression has not been achieved. The results have been compared to modelling performed using either the vacuum approx…
Shallow fuelling pellets are injected from the high field side into plasmas in which ELMs have been mitigated using external magnetic perturbation coils. The data are compared with ideal assumptions in the ITER fuelling model, namely that mitigated ELMs are not affected by fuelling pellets. Firstly it is shown that during the pellet evaporation an ELM is triggered, during which the amount particle loss could be larger (factor ~1.5) than the particle loss during an ELM which was not induced by pellet. Secondly, a favourable example is shown in which post-pellet particle losses due to mitigated …
Sustained ELM mitigation has been achieved on MAST and AUG using RMPs with a range of toroidal mode numbers over a wide region of low to medium collisionality discharges. The ELM energy loss and peak heat loads at the divertor targets have been reduced. The ELM mitigation phase is typically associated with a drop in plasma density and overall stored energy. In one particular scenario on MAST, by carefully adjusting the fuelling it has been possible to counteract the drop in density and to produce plasmas with mitigated ELMs, reduced peak divertor heat flux and with minimal degradation in pedes…
An electrostatic gyrokinetic-based model is applied to simulate parallel plasma transport in the scrape-off layer to a divertor plate. The authors focus on a test problem that has been studied previously, using parameters chosen to model a heat pulse driven by an edge-localized mode (ELM) in JET. Previous work has used direct particle-in-cell equations with full dynamics, or Vlasov or fluid equations with only parallel dynamics. With the use of the gyrokinetic quasineutrality equation and logical sheath boundary conditions, spatial and temporal resolution requirements are no longer set by the …
The fuelling of plasmas by shallow frozen pellets with simultaneous mitigation of edge localised modes (ELM) by external magnetic perturbation is demonstrated on the MAST tokamak. Post-pellet particle loss is dominated by ELMs and inter-ELM gas fuelling. It is shown that the size of post-pellet ELMs can be controlled by external magnetic perturbations. Post-pellet ELMs remove particles from the large part of pellet deposition zone including the area with positive density gradient. The mechanism explaining this peculiarity of particle loss is suggested.
All current estimations of the energy released by type I ELMs indicate that, in order to ensure an adequate lifetime of the divertor targets on ITER, a mechanism is required to decrease the amount of energy released by an ELM, or to eliminate ELMs altogether. One such amelioration mechanism relies on perturbing the magnetic field in the edge plasma region, either leading to more frequent, smaller ELMs (ELM mitigation) or ELM suppression. This technique of Resonant Magnetic Perturbations (RMPs) has been employed to suppress type I ELMs at high collisionality/density on DIII-D, ASDEX Upgrade, KS…
Ion energy measurements have been made in the scrape off layer of the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) using a midplane retarding field energy analyser (RFEA) in H-mode plasmas during the inter-edge localised mode (ELM) period and during type I and type III ELMs. During the inter-ELM period at distances of 3 to 8 cm from the last closed flux surface (LCFS), ion temperatures of 20 to 70 eV have been measured giving an ion to electron temperature ratio of 2 to 7 with a mean of 4. During type III ELMs, an ion temperature of 50 eV has been measured 3 to 6 cm from the LCFS which decreases to 30 eV…
Divertor strike point splitting induced by resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) has been observed on MAST for a variety of RMP configurations in a plasma scenario with Ip=750kA where those configurations all have similar resonant components. Complementary measurements have been obtained with divertor Langmuir probes and an infrared camera. Clear splitting consistently appears in this scenario only in the even configuration of the perturbation coils, similarly to the density pump-out. These results present a challenge for models of plasma response to RMPs.
BOUT++ turbulence simulations are conducted to capture the underlying physics of the small ELM characteristics achieved by increasing separatrix density via controlling strike points from vertical to horizontal divertor plates for three EAST discharges. BOUT ++ linear simulations show that the most unstable modes change from high-n ideal ballooning modes to the intermediate-n peeling-ballooning modes and eventually to peeling-ballooning stable plasmas in the pedestal. Nonlinear simulations show that the fluctuation is saturated at a high level for the lowest separatrix density. The elm size de…
Type-I Edge Localised Modes (ELMs) have been mitigated in MAST through the application of n = 3, 4 and 6 resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs). For each toroidal mode number of the non-axisymmetric applied fields, the frequency of the ELMs has been increased significantly, and the peak heat flux on the divertor plates reduced commensurately. This increase in ELM frequency occurs despite a significant drop in the edge pressure gradient, which would be expected to stabilise the peeling-ballooning modes thought to be responsible for type-I ELMs. Various mechanisms which could cause a destabilisa…
The peak pressure gradient in the pedestal (dPe/dψ) on MAST varies little between edge localized modes (ELMs), although it varies between discharges due factors such as gas fuelling and plasma current. The pressure pedestal width in flux space on the high-field side (HFS), both during the inter-ELM period and amongst different plasma discharges is consistent with a scaling of . In flux space very similar dPe/dψ and Δpe are observed on the HFS and low-field side (LFS) in single null configuration. This symmetry is broken by the application of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs). During ELM m…
The application of non-axisymmetric resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) with a toroidal mode number n=6 in the MAST tokamak produces a significant reduction in plasma energy loss associated with type-I Edge Localized Modes (ELMs), the first such observation with n>3. During the ELM mitigated stage clear lobe structures are observed in visible-light imaging of the X-point region. These lobes or manifold structures, that were predicted previously, have been observed for the first time in a range of discharges and their appearance is correlated with the effect of RMPs on the plasma i.e. they o…
Forecasting the first Edge Localized Mode (ELM) after LH-transition with a neural network trained on Doppler Backscattering data from DIII-D
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)（科学技术研究局）；Nanyang Technological University（南洋理工大学）；University of California, Los Angeles（加州大学洛杉矶分校）；Tohoku University（东北大学）
MAST-U has recently started operating with a Super-X divertor, designed to increase total flux expansion and neutral trapping, both predicted through simple analytic models and SOLPS calculations to reduce the plasma and impurity density detachment thresholds. In this study, utilising the SOLPS-ITER code, we are quantifying the possible gain allowed by the MAST-U Super-X and neutral baffling geometry, in terms of access to detachment. We show that a significant reduction of the upstream density detachment threshold (up to a factor 1.6) could be achieved in MAST-U, for the Super-X, as opposed t…
The I-mode confinement regime can feature small edge temperature drops that can lead to an increase in the energy deposited onto the divertor targets. In this work, we show that these events are associated with a relaxation of both electron temperature and density edge profiles, with the largest drop found at the pedestal top position. Stability analysis of edge profiles reveals that the operational points are far from the ideal peeling-ballooning boundary. Also, we show that these events appear close to the H-mode transition in the typical I-mode operational space in ASDEX Upgrade, and that n…
