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In the tokamaks ECRH system is used for pre-ionization, start up, heating, current drive and suppression of NTMs (Neo Classical Tearing Modes). A Standard ECRH system consists of high power microwave source Gyrotron, circular corrugated waveguide based transmission line and launcher. The Focused ECH power is launched into plasma through launcher. The microwave beam emerges out from circular corrugated waveguide and propagates freely in air with finite divergence. So focusing and plane mirror combination is used to launch focused beam in plasma. Thus an ECRH launcher consists of metallic profiled and plane mirror, UHV compatible vacuum barrier window and a UHV gate valve. One 42 GHz gyrotron capable of delivering 500 kW of power for 500 ms and other 82 GHz gyrotron capable of delivering 200 kW of power for 1000s are used for SST-1 ECRH system. The launcher design consists of mirror design, design of supports and design of steering mechanism to provide suitable movements with minimum backless error. The whole assembly is UHV compatible. The launcher is capable of steering the beams by ±20° in both toroidal and poloidal directions. Mirrors are given motion by means of one rotary and one linear feedthrough. For 82 GHz launcher active cooling is provided, whereas for 42 GHz launcher no active cooling is provided. A detailed analysis is carried out for the mirrors of the high power launcher. The heat load for the 82 GHz launcher is 2 kW (~1% absorption) and for 42 GHz launcher it is 5 kW. For 82 GHz launcher, the maximum steady state surface temperatures of focusing and reflecting mirrors are 315K and 323K and von-mises stresses are within 10 MPa. Similarly for 42 GHz launcher maximum temperatures observed during 500 ms pulse are 301K and 303K for focusing and reflecting mirrors respectively. This paper explains the mechanical and thermal design and analysis of the launcher for the ECRH system.

The Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) system is an important heating system for the reliable start-up of tokamak. The 42GHz and 82.6GHz Gyrotron based ECRH systems are used in tokomaks SST-1 and Aditya to carry out ECRH related experiments. The Gyrotrons are high power microwave tubes used as a source for ECRH systems. The Gyrotrons need to be handled with optimum care right from the installation to its Full parameter control operation. The Gyrotrons are associated with the subsystems like: High voltage power supplies (Beam voltage and anode voltage), dedicated crowbar system, magnet, filament and ion pump power supplies and cooling system. The other subsystems are transmission line, launcher and dummy load. A dedicated VME based data acquisition & control (DAC) system is developed to operate and control the Gyrotron and its associated sub system. For the safe operation of Gyrotron, two level interlocks with fail-safe logic are developed. Slow signals that are operated in scale of millisecond range are programmed through software and hardware interlock in scale of microsecond range are designed and developed indigenously. Water-cooling and the associated interlock are monitored and control by data logger with independent human machine interface.

In SST-1, 42GHz ECRH system has been commissioned to carry out breakdown and heating experiments at 0.75T and 1.5T operating toroidal magnetic fields. The 42GHz ECRH system consists of high power microwave source Gyrotron capable to deliver 500kW microwave power for 500ms duration, approximately 20 meter long transmission line and a mirror based launcher. The ECRH power in fundamental O-mode & second harmonic X-mode is launched from low field side (radial port) of the tokamak. At 0.75T operation, approximately 300 kW ECH power is launched in second harmonic X-mode and successful ECRH assisted breakdown is achieved at low loop_voltage ~ 3V. The ECRH power is launched around 45ms prior to loop voltage. The hydrogen pressure in tokamak is maintained ~ 1×10-5mbar and the pre-ionized density is ~ 4×1012/cc. At 1.5T operating toroidal magnetic field, the ECH power is launched in fundamental O-mode. The ECH power at fundamental harmonic is varied from 100 kW to 250 kW and successful breakdown is achieved in all ECRH shots. In fundamental harmonic there is no delay in breakdown while at second harmonic ~ 40ms delay is observed, which is normal in case of second harmonic ECRH assisted breakdown.