Search

The effect of the presence of a magnetic island structure on the am bipolar radial electric field is studied in the context of the belt island model. It is shown that the sheared radial electric field region exists on the island position. Depending on the model parameters, the single (ion root) or multiple (one ion and two electron roots) solutions for the radial electric field are obtained at different radial positions. The radially non-local treatment is developed proposing the steady-state plasma conditions. The numerical calculations show that the diffusion of the radial electric field is significant only near the island boundaries. As a result the discontinuities in the am bipolar electric field profile are smoothed.

Neoclassical transport simulation using the δ f Monte-Carlo method is carried out to investigate the finite-orbitwidth (FOW) effect on the transport near the magnetic axis. The time evolution of the radial electric field to maintain the ambipolarity of the flux is calculated simultaneously. It is found that, in the near-axis region, the ion heat flux decreases from the value predicted by the standard neoclassical theory both in the banana and plateau regimes. Though the radial transport shows a strong dependence on the FOW effect, the ambipolar electric field profile at the steady state is similar to that calculated in the small-orbit-width limit approximation.

Effects of low-n magnetohydrodynamic instabilities on plasma performance have been assessed in the regime where an achieved beta value is limited by instabilities. The unstable regime of an ideal interchange mode is characterized by enhanced magnetic hill and reduced magnetic shear. Experiments have clarified that (i) low-n modes are significantly destabilized in the ideal-unstable configurations and lead to degradation of central beta by at most 60%, and (ii) the degree of their damages strongly depends on the mode rotation velocity. The occurrence of the minor collapse is independent of an existence of an error field.