A database of DIII-D plasmas without ELMs compares the operating space and plasma performance of stationary no-ELM regimes: RMP-ELM suppression, QH-mode, I-mode, EDA H-mode, L-mode, and negative triangularity L-mode (Neg-D). Operational space is documented in terms of engineering and physics parameters, revealing divergent constraints. Some operational space discriminants (such as pedestal collisionality) are well known, while others, such as low torque & safety factor, or high power & density, are less commonly emphasized. Normalized performance (confinement quality and normalized pressure) also discriminate the no-ELM regimes and favor the regimes tolerant to power in DIII-D: RMP, QH, and Neg-D. Absolute performance (triple product $\langle p\rangleτ$) also discriminates no-ELM regimes and is found to rise linearly with IaB and also benefits from tolerance to power. The highest normalized performance using the metric $\langle p\rangleτ$/IaB is found in QH and RMP regimes. Though comparable QH and RMP performance is found, the pedestal pressure (p_ped) is very different. p_ped in RMP plasmas is relatively low, and the best performance is found with a high core $\langle p\rangle$ fraction alongside high core rotation, consistent with an ExB shear confinement enhancement. p_ped of QH plasmas is significantly higher than RMP, and QH performance does not correlate with core rotation. However, the highest QH p_ped are found with high carbon fraction. While normalized performance of Neg-D plasmas is comparable to QH and RMP plasmas, the absolute confinement of Neg-D is lower, owing to low elongation and low p_ped achieved thus far. Only the EDA-H, Neg-D, and L-mode scenarios have approached divertor-compatible high separatrix density conditions, with Neg-D preserving the highest performance owing to its compatibility with both high power and density.
Using Convolutional Neural Networks to detect Edge Localized Modes in DIII-D from Doppler Backscattering measurements
Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)(高性能计算研究所,科学与技术研究局);School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University(南洋理工大学物理与数学科学学院);Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles(加州大学洛杉矶分校物理与天文学系);AIP, RIKEN(理化学研究所应用物理部);Department of Physics, University of Oxford(牛津大学物理系)
It is well known that externally generated resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) can form islands in the plasma edge. In turn, large overlapping islands generate stochastic fields, which are believed to play a role in the avoidance and suppression of edge localized modes (ELMs) at DIII-D. However, large coalescing islands can also generate, in the middle of these stochastic regions, KAM surfaces effectively acting as "barriers" against field-line dispersion and, indirectly, particle diffusion. It was predicted in [H. Ali and A. Punjabi, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 49 (2007), 1565-1582] that …
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)
The plasma response to an externally generated, static, n=2, resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) in the pedestal region of DIII-D discharge #158115 is investigated. In this particular discharge, the resonant amplitudes of the RMP are modulated in a cycloidal manner at a frequency of 1 Hz. Adopting the plausible hypothesis that mode penetration at the top of the pedestal is a necessary and sufficient condition for the RMP-induced suppression of edge localized modes (ELMs), recent cylindrical, nonlinear, reduced-magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations performed by Hu, Nazikian, et al., (2019) c…
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 …
We report the observation of a quasi-coherent density fluctuation (QCF) by the Doppler backscattering system in the scrape-off layer (SOL) region of the DIII-D tokamak. This QCF is observed in high-power, high-performance hybrid plasmas with near double-null divertor (DND) shape during the electron cyclotron heating period. This mode is correlated with a steepened SOL density profile and leads to significantly elevated particle and heat fluxes between ELMs. The SOL QCF is a long-wavelength ion-scale fluctuation and propagates in the ion diamagnetic direction in the plasma frame. Its radial exp…
Edge-Localized-Mode (ELM) suppression by resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) generally occurs over very narrow ranges of the plasma current (or magnetic safety factor q95) in the DIII-D tokamak. However, wide q95 ranges of ELM suppression are needed for the safety and operational flexibility of ITER and future reactors. In DIII-D ITER Similar Shape (ISS) plasmas with n=3 RMPs, the range of q95 for ELM suppression is found to increase with decreasing electron density. Nonlinear two-fluid MHD simulations reproduce the observed q95 windows of ELM suppression and the dependence on plasma densit…
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…
Recent advances in the integrated modeling of ELMy H-mode plasmas are presented. A model for the H-mode pedestal and for the triggering of ELMs predicts the height, width, and shape of the H-mode pedestal and the frequency and width of ELMs. Formation of the pedestal and the L-H transition is the direct result of ExB flow shear suppression of anomalous transport. The periodic ELM crashes are triggered by either the ballooning or peeling MHD instabilities. The BALOO, DCON, and ELITE ideal MHD stability codes are used to derive a new parametric expression for the peeling-ballooning threshold. Th…
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…
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 …
Alfven Eigenmodes and magneto-hydrodynamic modes are destabilized in DIII-D reverse magnetic shear configurations and may limit the performance of the device. We use the reduced MHD equations in a full 3D system, coupled with equations of density and parallel velocity moments for the energetic particles (with gyro-fluid closures) as well as the geodesic acoustic wave dynamics. The aim of the study consists in finding ways to avoid or minimize MHD and AE activity for different magnetic field configurations and neutral beam injection operational regimes. The simulations show at the beginning of …
An analytic theory of edge localized mode (ELM) suppression in an H-mode tokamak plasma via the application of a static, externally generated, resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) is presented. This theory is based on the plausible hypothesis that mode penetration at the top of the pedestal is a necessary and sufficient condition for the RMP-induced suppression of ELMs. The theory also makes use of a number of key insights gained in a recent publication (Fitzpatrick R 2019). The first insight is that the response of the plasma to a particular helical component of the RMP, in the immediate vici…
Tokamak operational regimes with small edge localized modes (ELMs) could be a solution to the problem of large transient heat loads in future fusion reactors because they provide quasi-continuous exhaust while keeping a good plasma confinement. A ballooning mode mechanism near the last closed flux surface (LCFS) governed by an interplay of the pressure gradient and the magnetic shear there has been proposed for small ELMs in high density ASDEX Upgrade and TCV discharges. In this manuscript we explore different factors relevant for plasma edge stability in a wide range of edge safety factors by…
The physics of ELM-free regimes in EUROfusion tokamaks
Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics(马普等离子体物理研究所);Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne(洛桑联邦理工学院);University of Seville(塞维利亚大学);United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority(英国原子能管理局);Massachusetts Institute of Technology(麻省理工学院);Laboratory for Plasma Physics LPP-ERM/KMS(等离子体物理实验室 LPP-ERM/KMS);CIEMAT(西班牙能源、环境和技术中心)
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 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…