Overview of Recent Results on Heating and Current Drive in the JET tokamak
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Cited by 3 publications
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In JET, lower hybrid (LH) and ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) wave absorption in the scrape-off layer can lead to enhanced heat fluxes on some plasma facing components (PFCs). Experiments have been carried out to characterize these heat loads in order to: (i) prepare JET operation with the Be wall which has a reduced power handling capability as compared with the carbon wall and (ii) better understand the physics driving these wave absorption phenomena and propose solutions for next generation systems to reduce them. When using ICRF, hot spots are observed on the antenna structures and on limiters close to the powered antennas and are explained by acceleration of ions in RF-rectified sheath potentials. High temperatures up to 800 °C can be reached on locations where a deposit has built up on tile surfaces. Modelling which takes into account the fast thermal response of surface layers can reproduce well the surface temperature measurements via infrared (IR) imaging, and allow evaluation of the heat fluxes local to active ICRF antennas. The flux scales linearly with the density at the antenna radius and with the antenna voltage. Strap phasing corresponding to wave spectra with lower k ∥ values can lead to a significant increase in hot spot intensity in agreement with antenna modelling that predicts, in that case, an increase in RF sheath rectification. LH absorption in front of the antenna through electron Landau damping of the wave with high N ∥ components generates hot spots precisely located on PFCs magnetically connected to the launcher. Analysis of the LH hot spot surface temperature from IR measurements allows a quantification of the power flux along the field lines: in the worst case scenario it is in the range 15–30 MW m−2. The main driving parameter is the LH power density along the horizontal rows of the launcher, the heat fluxes scaling roughly with the square of the LH power density. The local electron density in front of the grill increases with the LH launched power; this also enhances the intensity of the LH hot spots.
In JET, lower hybrid (LH) and ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) wave absorption in the scrape-off layer can lead to enhanced heat fluxes on some plasma facing components (PFCs). Experiments have been carried out to characterize these heat loads in order to: (i) prepare JET operation with the Be wall which has a reduced power handling capability as compared with the carbon wall and (ii) better understand the physics driving these wave absorption phenomena and propose solutions for next generation systems to reduce them. When using ICRF, hot spots are observed on the antenna structures and on limiters close to the powered antennas and are explained by acceleration of ions in RF-rectified sheath potentials. High temperatures up to 800 °C can be reached on locations where a deposit has built up on tile surfaces. Modelling which takes into account the fast thermal response of surface layers can reproduce well the surface temperature measurements via infrared (IR) imaging, and allow evaluation of the heat fluxes local to active ICRF antennas. The flux scales linearly with the density at the antenna radius and with the antenna voltage. Strap phasing corresponding to wave spectra with lower k ∥ values can lead to a significant increase in hot spot intensity in agreement with antenna modelling that predicts, in that case, an increase in RF sheath rectification. LH absorption in front of the antenna through electron Landau damping of the wave with high N ∥ components generates hot spots precisely located on PFCs magnetically connected to the launcher. Analysis of the LH hot spot surface temperature from IR measurements allows a quantification of the power flux along the field lines: in the worst case scenario it is in the range 15–30 MW m−2. The main driving parameter is the LH power density along the horizontal rows of the launcher, the heat fluxes scaling roughly with the square of the LH power density. The local electron density in front of the grill increases with the LH launched power; this also enhances the intensity of the LH hot spots.
Design and operations of a load-tolerant external conjugate-T matching system for the A2 ICRH antennas at JET
A load-tolerant External Conjugate-T (ECT) impedance matching system for two A2 Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ICRH) antennas has been successfully put into operation at JET. The system allows continuous injection of the RF power into plasma in the presence of strong antenna loading perturbations caused by Edge Localized Modes (ELMs). Reliable ECT performance has been demonstrated under a variety of antenna loading conditions including H-mode plasmas with Radial Outer Gaps (ROG) in the range of 4-14 cm. The high resilience to ELMs predicted during the circuit simulations has been fully confirmed experimentally. Dedicated arc detection techniques and real-time matching algorithms have been developed as a part of the ECT project. The new Advanced Wave Amplitude Comparison System (AWACS) has proven highly efficient in detection of arcs both between and during ELMs. The ECT system has allowed the delivery of up to 4 MW of RF power without trips into plasmas with Type-I ELMs. Together with the 3dB system and the ITER-Like Antenna (ILA), the ECT has brought the total RF power coupled to ELMy plasma to over 8 MW, considerably enhancing JET research capabilities. This paper provides an overview of the key design features of the ECT system and summarizes the main experimental results achieved so far. PACS: 52.55.Fa, 52.50.Qt, 28.52.Cx It is noteworthy that the ICRH&CD phenomena and consequently the performance of the RF heating systems are quite sensitive to the parameters of both bulk and Scape-Off Layer (SOL) plasma. In this respect JET has an advantageous position among the existing tokamaks: large-scale plasmas with significant antenna-plasma distances, variety of operational regimes including H-mode and advanced scenarios, the all-metal first wall and the RF power capabilities comparable with ITER offer the best opportunities for the assessment of reactor-relevant aspects of the ICRH physics and technology [8][9][10][11].Since 1994 JET has been equipped with four identical A2 antennas each comprising an array of four straps [12]; new compact ITER-Like Antenna (ILA) was installed in the tokamak main port in 2008 [10]. The RF plant at JET has convenient modular design [13] capable of energizing the antennas at different frequencies with controllable strap phasing and launched power.The practical implementation of the ICRH technique in tokamaks faces significant challenges. Among other factors, the success of the method depends on efficient and reliable operation of the RF plant delivering multi-MW power levels to phased antenna straps in the presence of small and variable plasma load [14,15]. The main difficulty in meeting this requirement stems from the fact that only a fraction of the RF power reaching the ICRH antenna is radiated into plasma while the rest is reflected back to the RF plant. In order to prevent this power from damaging expensive generator tubes, dedicated tuneable elements are introduced in the transmission lines which make the returning power circulate in a resonant circuit outside the generator...
Determination of metal impurity density, ΔZeffand dilution on JET by VUV emission spectroscopy
The provision of measurements of metallic impurity densities, Z eff and dilution for a large number of discharges within a campaign facilitates the analysis of impurity trends. Such trends are of increasing importance as additional heating power and pulse length increase. This is particularly important for RF heating and therefore it is in particular relevant to the assessment of the ITER-like ICRF antenna (ILA) on JET. To this end, a method is presented for determining the metal impurity density, Z eff and dilution in steady-state JET plasmas using passive VUV emission. The method is based on the combination of absolutely calibrated VUV transition intensity measurements with Universal Transport Code (UTC) simulations. In the analysis the line-integrated measurements of transitions in Li-like Ni, Fe and Cu have been used for test discharges characterized by widely varied plasma profiles. The simulations use a wide class of transport coefficients for diffusion D(r) and convection V (r). For a given pair of D(r) and V (r), the simulated line intensity has been matched to the line intensity measured in the experiment. An approximately linear dependence of the derived metal densities, Z eff and dilution normalized to a Li-like line intensity on electron temperature has been obtained which is valid in a localized, mid-radius plasma region. These linear dependences are exploited to derive local metal densities for JET discharges.
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