New experiments have been conducted at DIII-D to improve the physics understanding of plasma initiation assisted by Electron Cyclotron (EC) wave injection, allowing better extrapolation to ITER. This has been achieved by applying an EC pulse prior to start of the inductive plasma initiation (i.e. the generation of a loop voltage). A pre-plasma was formed during the EC pulse that was characterized in terms of the maximum density and temperature. Parametric scans were performed to study the influence of the EC injected power, EC injection angle, and pre-fill gas pressure on the pre-plasma creation process. These experiments showed that pre-ionized plasma of good quality can have a significant effect on the subsequent Vloop induced plasma initiation process, i.e. a high density pre-plasma, increases the plasma current rise and speed at which ionization is achieved when the Vloop is applied. A good quality pre-plasma is one that achieved a significant degree of ionization, mainly obtained by providing sufficient ECH power in DIII-D of the order of 1 MW. It was found that a minimum EC power of 0.5 MW was required in DIII-D to create ionization, and this would scale to a minimum power of roughly 6.5 MW for ITER.
DIII-D physics research addresses critical challenges for the operation of ITER and the next generation of fusion energy devices. This is done through a focus on innovations to provide solutions for high performance long pulse operation, coupled with fundamental plasma physics understanding and model validation, to drive scenario development by integrating high performance core and boundary plasmas. Substantial increases in off-axis current drive efficiency from an innovative top launch system for EC power, and in pressure broadening for Alfven eigenmode control from a co-/counter-I p steerable off-axis neutral beam, all improve the prospects for optimization of future long pulse/steady state high performance tokamak operation. Fundamental studies into the modes that drive the evolution of the pedestal pressure profile and electron vs ion heat flux validate predictive models of pedestal recovery after ELMs. Understanding the physics mechanisms of ELM control and density pumpout by 3D magnetic perturbation fields leads to confident predictions for ITER and future devices. Validated modeling of high-Z shattered pellet injection for disruption mitigation, runaway electron dissipation, and techniques for disruption prediction and avoidance including machine learning, give confidence in handling disruptivity for future devices. For the non-nuclear phase of ITER, two actuators are identified to lower the L–H threshold power in hydrogen plasmas. With this physics understanding and suite of capabilities, a high poloidal beta optimized-core scenario with an internal transport barrier that projects nearly to Q = 10 in ITER at ∼8 MA was coupled to a detached divertor, and a near super H-mode optimized-pedestal scenario with co-I p beam injection was coupled to a radiative divertor. The hybrid core scenario was achieved directly, without the need for anomalous current diffusion, using off-axis current drive actuators. Also, a controller to assess proximity to stability limits and regulate β N in the ITER baseline scenario, based on plasma response to probing 3D fields, was demonstrated. Finally, innovative tokamak operation using a negative triangularity shape showed many attractive features for future pilot plant operation.
In tokamak operations, breakdown of plasma is the first step of the plasma build-up. In this paper, we present a combinative investigation of radio frequency (RF)-induced breakdown experiments in QUEST (Q-shu University Experiment with Steady-State Spherical Tokamak) and a one-point model of hydrogen ionization. Experimental results with two different frequencies of 2.45 GHz and 8.2 GHz showed that the clear threshold on connection length, L, existed for breakdown with a negative n-index configuration n=−(R/Bv)·(∂Bv/∂R), where R is the major radius and Bv the is vertical magnetic field. In contrast, breakdown was always obtained with positive n-index when changing L. It indicates that a lifetime of an incubated electron plays a significant role in the plasma breakdown. According to one-point model calculation, the experimental threshold of L is well predicted by the lifetime of the incubated electron estimated by employing the loss term along with L. The model calculation also describes the requirement of the minimum electron temperature Te for RF-induced breakdown to realize an avalanche of electrons in the tokamak magnetic structure.
The energy shortage in near future has been a hot topic. Many countries and companies have introduced clean energy technologies such as solar, wind and water. In general, a large part of electricity comes from fire power plant. It is almost impossible to replace all of the fire plants into clean energy power plants since they cannot provide electricity stably. Nuclear fusion power has been considered as an ultimate solution for energy crisis and has been developed since the 1950s. Now it has come to the phase of practical power generation. A large construction of fusion reactor is in progress in France as an international cooperation. In this paper, we investigate Japan's R & D trend of nuclear fusion especially in tokamak reactor by making comparison with other countries to show future contribution to fusion society.
Noninductive plasma current start-up using 2nd harmonic electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) with oblique radio frequency (RF) injection is demonstrated in a Q-shu University experiment with steady-state spherical tokamak. A strong transition was observed in the heating and plasma current ramp-up. The initial bulk electron heating regime exhibits T ebulk ∼ 140 eV and no hard x-ray (HXR) emission with a low I p of ∼15 kA; it abruptly transitions to a regime that exhibits a low T ebulk of ∼10 eV and a strong HXR emission with a high I p of ∼50 kA. This behavior is distinctly different from that observed in previous fundamental ECRH experiments. The mechanism of the heating and current drive transition are investigated considering wave power absorption and plasma power balance. The results indicate that the transition is caused by the favorable heating of tail electrons where the RF power absorption at the 2nd harmonic increases nearly linearly with T etail , while the power transfer from the tail electrons to the bulk electrons decreases with 1/T etail 0.5 . This causes a rapid transition to a state with high T etail while reducing T ebulk towards colder ion temperature. The understanding of the transition mechanism helps to consider plasma current start-up using 2nd harmonic ECRH for tokamak reactors such as JT-60 SA and ITER.
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