Search

Results are presented from the JET Trace Tritium Experimental (TTE) campaign using minority tritium (T) plasmas (n(T)/n(D) 2 MA) and monotonic q-profiles. In CH discharges the gamma-ray emission decay times are much lower than classical (tau(Ts) + tau(alpha s)), indicating alpha confinement degradation, due to the orbit losses and particle orbit drift predicted by a 3-D Fokker-Planck numerical code and modelled using TRANSP.

We have investigated the effect of different ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) heating schemes, of error field modes, of the plasma shape and edge magnetic shear, and of the ion delB drift direction on the stability of Alfven eigenmodes (AEs). The use of multi-frequency or 2nd harmonic minority ICRF heating at high plasma density gives rise to a lower fast ion pressure gradient in the plasma core and to a reduced mode activity in the Alfven frequency range. Externally excited low-amplitude error fields lead to a much larger AE instability threshold, which we attribute to a moderate radial redistribution of the fast ions. The edge plasma shape has a clear stabilizing effect on high-n, radially localized AEs. The damping rate of n = 1 toroidal AEs is a factor 3 higher when the ion VB drift is directed towards the divertor. These results represent a useful step towards the extrapolation of current scenarios to the inclusion of fusion-born alpha particles in ITER, with possible application for feedback control schemes for the various ITER operating regimes.

Mode rotation studies in a resistive shell reversed-field pinch, EXTRAP T2R [P. R. Brunsell et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 43, 1 (2001)] are presented. The phase relations and nonlinear coupling of the resonant modes are characterized and compared with that expected from modeling based on the hypothesis that mode dynamics can be described by a quasi stationary force balance including electromagnetic and viscous forces. Both m=0 and m=1 resonant modes are studied. The m=1 modes have rotation velocities corresponding to the plasma flow velocity (20–60 km/s) in the core region. The rotation velocity decreases towards the end of the discharge, although the plasma flow velocity does not decrease. A rotating phase locked m=1 structure is observed with a velocity of about 60 km/s. The m=0 modes accelerate throughout the discharges and reach velocities as high as 150–250 km/s. The observed m=0 phase locking is consistent with theory for certain conditions, but there are several conditions when the dynamics are not described. This is not unexpected because the assumption of quasi stationarity for the mode spectra is not fulfilled for many conditions. Localized m=0 perturbations are formed in correlation with highly transient discrete dynamo events. These perturbations form at the location of the m=1 phase locked structure, but rotate with a different velocity as they spread out in the toroidal direction.

Since in ITER the radiation field will be much more demanding than that of present day devices, research programmes at JET are aimed at developing radiation hard diagnostics and related components. Initially, significant efforts are devoted to determining the radiation field of both the plasma and in the immediate environment with better accuracy. New developments in MCNP calculations and dedicated measurements provide useful information about the radiation field in the Torus Hall, even during non-operational periods. The effect of using Beryllium in the near future for JET first wall, is being assessed. New materials for activation samples are under consideration and will be tested to improve the calibration accuracy of JET neutron diagnostics. The long-term goal of this work is to obtain spectrometric information from an appropriate combination of different materials. Several studies are under way to modify the radiation field at the detectors by using LiH or pure water as neutron filters, to alleviate the problem of the background in γ-ray measurements. A suite of radiation hard detectors for neutrons, magnetic field and charged particles are being developed. Super-heated fluid neutron detectors, used for yield and imaging, are being upgraded, in order to provide a broad-band spectrometric capability. Chemical vapour deposited diamond diodes are being qualified as counters and as spectrometers. Prototypes of Hall probes made of InSb have been installed on the machine and have provided some preliminary results. Si-on-insulator detectors are under development for use in neutral particle analysers and are currently being bench-tested. Some attention is being devoted to optical components, fibres and mirrors, and to investigating radiation hard electronics using reconfigurable Field Programmable Gate Arrays.

Real-time simultaneous control of several radially distributed magnetic and kinetic plasma parameters is being investigated on JET, in view of developing integrated control of advanced tokamak scenarios. This paper describes the new model-based profile controller which has been implemented during the 2006–2007 experimental campaigns. The controller aims to use the combination of heating and current drive (H&CD) systems—and optionally the poloidal field (PF) system—in an optimal way to regulate the evolution of plasma parameter profiles such as the safety factor, q(x), and gyro-normalized temperature gradient, . In the first part of the paper, a technique for the experimental identification of a minimal dynamic plasma model is described, taking into account the physical structure and couplings of the transport equations, but making no quantitative assumptions on the transport coefficients or on their dependences. To cope with the high dimensionality of the state space and the large ratio between the time scales involved, the model identification procedure and the controller design both make use of the theory of singularly perturbed systems by means of a two-time-scale approximation. The second part of the paper provides the theoretical basis for the controller design. The profile controller is articulated around two composite feedback loops operating on the magnetic and kinetic time scales, respectively, and supplemented by a feedforward compensation of density variations. For any chosen set of target profiles, the closest self-consistent state achievable with the available actuators is uniquely defined. It is reached, with no steady state offset, through a near-optimal proportional-integral control algorithm. Conventional optimal control is recovered in the limiting case where the ratio of the plasma confinement time to the resistive diffusion time tends to zero. Closed-loop simulations of the controller response have been performed in preparation for experiments, and typical results are shown. Finally, in the last section of the paper, the first experimental results using this dynamic-model approach to control the plasma current and the safety factor profile on JET, either with the three H&CD systems or also with the PF system as an additional actuator, are presented and discussed.

Simultaneous control of the plasma shape, the magnetic and kinetic plasma profiles (such as the safety factor, q(x), and gyro‐normalized temperature gradient, ρTe*;(x), respectively) and the boundary flux is being investigated on JET, and has potential applications in the operation of ITER steady state advanced tokamak discharges. The control of radially distributed parameters was achieved for the first time on JET in 2004 [1–4]. The controller was based on the static plasma response only. The approach newly implemented on JET aims to use a dynamical plasma model, all the available heating and current drive (H&CD) systems, and the poloidal field (PF) system in an optimal way to achieve a set of requested magnetic and kinetic profiles. This paper describes the new model‐based optimal profile controller which has been tested during the last 2007 experimental campaign. The controller aims to use the combination of heating and current drive systems ‐ and optionally the PF system. First experimental results of...

An extensive series of experiments in the Extrap mode has been carried out on Extrap T1-U in an attempt to obtain hot, collisionless discharges. Using no external axial magnetic field, performance has been limited to low temperatures and low currents at high loop voltages kV, leading to energy confinement times of only a few s or Alfven times. The discharge length is typically of the order of greater than 100 Alfven times. Imposing a weak axial field at peak current) the temperature could be increased to at toroidal currents . Energy confinement times up to 15 Alfven times were then obtained. The poor confinement is attributed to the weak axial magnetic field, generating strong instability-induced fluctuations and related radial transport in the core plasma. A turbulence core plasma transport model is suggested, based on theoretical evidence of linear instability in the kinetic regime. Self-generation of axial magnetic field is observed when the magnetic X-points, generated by the plasma current and an external octupole field, approach or pass beyond the wall. Edge transport appears to be dominated by line radiation and heat conduction to the wall along open field lines.

The effects of plasma collisionality on power balance and magnetic fluctuations have been studied on the Extrap T1 reversed-field pinch. A characteristic minimum in loop voltage is observed as the plasma collisionality decreases. The minimum is caused by an increase in the anomalous input power and coincides with a change of scaling of the magnetic fluctuations and a rapid increase of the electron mean free path. However, the increase of anomalous input power in the low collisional regime appears to have little influence on the total amount of energy stored in the plasma.

During the start-up phase of a reversed field pinch discharge (RFP), the configuration undergoes relaxation which is the dynamic process by which the configuration evolves to states near the minimum magnetic energy. Experiments in the Extrap T1 device show that the MHD activity varies during start-up apparently dependent on current profile effects at the time when the reversal surface is produced at the plasma edge. Under unfavourable conditions characterized by a pinch parameter, Θ = Bθ(a)/B, less than about 1.5 at the time of reversal, m = 0 mode activity is large and the loop voltage increases substantially resulting in a suppressed plasma current level. The increased loop voltage is believed to be the result of m = 0 tearing modes resonant at the reversal surface and driven by a large parallel current gradient at the edge which become particularly pathological when Θ is comparatively low.

Measurements of the radiative power loss are performed on the Extrap‐T1 reversed‐field pinch [Phys. Scr. 44, 358 (1991)] using an absolutely calibrated vacuum ultraviolet spectrometer in the wavelength range between 100 and 1700 A. The contributions to the radiative power loss from deuterium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and chlorine are measured. These partial radiative power losses are further divided into contributions from different ionization stages of these impurities. The additional contribution to the cooling rate due to ionization processes is estimated. Impurities are found to be a main contributor to the power loss in the initial phase of the discharge. Toward the end of the discharge, radiative power loss amounts to less than 10% of the input power, due to the decrease of the electron density. Because of the short particle confinement time and high recycling of impurities, specifically oxygen, the rate coefficient for radiative power loss per ion is only slightly reduced by the increase of the temperature beyond the temperature of maximum radiative power loss per ion.

The effect of a toroidal field (TF) ripple on the formation and performance of internal transport barriers (ITBs) has been studied in JET. It was found that the TF ripple had a profound effect on the toroidal plasma rotation. An increased TF ripple up to δ = 1% led to a lower rotation and reduced the rotational shear in the region where the ITBs were formed. ITB triggering events were observed in all cases and it is thought that the rotational shear may be less important for this process than, for example, the q-profile. However, the increase in the pressure gradient following the ITB trigger was reduced in discharges with a larger TF ripple and consequently a lower rotational shear. This suggests that toroidal rotation and its shear play a role in the growth of the ITB once it has been triggered.

The JET scientific programme is directed towards the development of ITER relevant scenarios. In support of this, significant effort has been made to develop diagnostics to better characterise the power deposition on the plasma facing components, to investigate in more detail the radiation losses particularly in the divertor region and to better detect Magneto Hydrodynamic Modes (MHD) instabilities and their effects on fast ion confinement. A new wide-angle infrared camera provides for the first time the opportunity to perform infrared thermography in the JET main chamber, even during fast events like ELMs and disruptions. A completely new bolometric system, with better spatial resolution particularly in the divertor, is now used to investigate the total radiation losses and their influence on the ELM behaviour. A new set of microwave waveguides has improved by 20 dB the signal to noise ratio of the JET X-mode reflectometers, that are now routinely used to detect MHD instabilities and in particular to localise the location of Alfven Eigenmodes. This improved diagnostic capability to monitor MHD instabilities is complemented by two new diagnostics to detect lost fast particles. Both the new scintillator probe and a poloidal array of Faraday cups have already shown clear correlations between MHD activity and ion losses at the edge.

ELMy H-mode experiments at JET in 2000/mid-2002 have focused on discharges with normalized parameters for plasma density, energy confinement and beta similar to those of the ITER Q(DT) = 10 reference regime (n/n(GW) similar to 0.85, H-98(y,H-2) similar to 1, beta(N) similar to 1.8). ELMy H-mode plasmas have been realized reaching or even exceeding those parameters in steady-state conditions (up to similar to5 s or 12tau(epsilon)) in a reproducible way and only limited by the duration of the additional heating phase. These results have been obtained (a) in highly triangular plasmas, by increasing the average triangularity delta towards the ITER reference value (delta similar to 0.5), and (b) in plasmas at low triangularity (delta similar to 0.2) by seeding of Ar and placing the X-point of the plasma on the top of the septum. Pellet injection from the high field side is a third method yielding high density and high confinement, albeit not yet under steady-state conditions. In highly triangular plasmas the influence of input power, plasma triangularity and impurity seeding with noble gases has been studied. Density profile peaking at high densities has been obtained in (a) impurity seeded low triangularity discharges, (b) ELMy H-modes with low levels of input power and (c) discharges fuelled with pellet injection from the high field side. New ELM behaviour has been observed in high triangularity discharges at high density, opening a possible route to ELM heat load mitigation, which can be further amplified by Ar impurity seeding. Current extrapolations of the ELM heat load to ITER show possibly a window for Type I ELM operation. Confinement scaling studies indicate an increase in confinement with triangularity and density peaking, and a decrease in confinement with the Greenwald number. In addition, experiments in H isotope and He indicate tau(E) proportional to M(0.19)Z(-0.59). The threshold power for the L-H transition in He plasmas shows the same parametric dependence as in D plasmas, but with a 50% higher absolute value.

Low collisionality, low particle source. ELMy H-modes (type-III) with sawteeth are produced in JET in order to address the question of density profile evolution in the reference q(95) = 3 ITER scenario. The paper focuses on particle transport in the core zone around the mid-radius. The pedestal region including ELMs and the region affected by sawteeth are not considered. By replacing a significant part of the neutral beam heating by RF power the beam particle flux at mid-radius has been reduced to Gamma(Beam)/n(e) = 0.07 m s(-1). The additional flux due to wall neutrals is estimated as Gamma(Wall)/n(e) = 0.12 m s(-1). Density profiles are found to be modestly peaked under these conditions with a relative density difference of Deltan/(n) = 0.23 across the zone not affected by sawteeth and ELMs. In a region around the mid-radius the ratio of effective particle diffusivity to electron thermal diffusivity is found to be D-e,D-eff/chi(e) approximate to 0.2, which might indicate an anomalous pinch provided the particle diffusivity D-e is sufficiently lame. The measured values of D-e,D-eff/chi(e) are at the lower end of the range used in ITER models.

Edge electrostatic fluctuations, in the Extrap T1 reversed‐field pinch [Nucl. Fusion 34, 427 (1994)], are observed to be correlated to internal tearing mode activity. Bispectral analysis of the edge electrostatic fluctuations shows the occurrence of nonlinear coupling between the low frequency internal tearing‐mode‐related activity and the high frequency, external, electrostatic fluctuations. In addition, the fluctuation levels of both the edge electrostatic fluctuations and the internal tearing modes have comparable scaling with plasma current. These results suggest that suppression of the internal tearing mode activity may decrease the edge electrostatic fluctuations and the related particle loss in the reversed‐field pinch configuration.

Enhancements to the JET poloidally scanning spectrometers are presented, which will aid the exploitation of the recently installed ITER-like wall in JET. They include the installation of visible filter∕photomultiplier tube assemblies and spectrometers and the replacement of large rotating mirrors in the JET vacuum with small oscillating mirrors outside. The upgrade has resulted in a more robust and reliable diagnostic than before, which is described. Drifts in the mirror angle reconstructed from quadrature encoder signals are found, a reference signal being required. The use of the small scanning mirrors necessitated the inclusion of focusing mirrors to maintain throughput into the vacuum ultraviolet spectrometers. The mirror design has taken account of the extreme sensitivity of the focusing to the grazing angle of incidence, an aspect of importance in the design of grazing incidence focusing components on future machines, such as ITER. The visible system has been absolutely calibrated using an in-vessel light source.

Confinement studies have been performed on the high-aspect-ratio, high-current-density Extrap-T1 reversed-field pinch. Experimental evidence is presented that the scaling of the particle confinement time is not dominated by the dynamo activity. This results in an anticorrelation between particle confinement time and energy confinement time, which becomes apparent in this experiment, as the ratio of Spitzer to total input power is varied over the wide range 0.4--0.8.

The European Fusion Development Agreement's mission for JET is the development of ITER scenarios exploiting the specific properties of the device. This task requires significant improvements in the measuring techniques. The most innovative diagnostic upgrades are in the fields of edge measurements, detection of fast magnetohydrodynamics modes and "burning plasma" diagnostics. The importance of plasma-wall interactions, and, in particular, the issue of tritium inventory promoted the development of the quartz microbalance, a detector with improved time resolution to measure material redeposition in the remote areas of the inner divertor. Measurement of Alfven cascades with unprecedented spectral resolution, reaching a toroidal n number of up to 16, was obtained using an O-mode microwave reflectometer as an interferometer. For the diagnosis of the fusion products, a new approach is being developed to measure the He ash based on double charge exchange between thermalized particles and neutrals from JET beams. There have been several upgrades of the neutron diagnostic systems, one of which, the new time of flight neutron spectrometer designed for high counting rates is described. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Radiative lifetimes of the A 2Σ+, B 2Π, B' 2Δ, C 2Π, D 2Σ+ and F 2Δ electronic states in NO have been measured at high spectral resolution using the High Frequency Deflection technique. Particular attention has been paid to levels in the vicinity of or above the first dissociation limit in order to search for predissociation effects. The well-known effect in the C state is confirmed, while new predissociations of the A and D states and their rates are established. An anomaly in the lifetime series (B', v = 0-5) at v = 4 is explained in terms of the B'(v = 4) ∼ F(v = 1) configuration interaction. The variation in the A-X transition moment has been measured and found to be substantially different from earlier estimates.

The lifetimes of 108 different rotational levels of the OH A state (υ = 0-2) have been measured at high spectral resolution using the High Frequency Deflection technique. From these lifetimes the variation of the electronic transition moment is deduced as well as the predissociation rates for levels above the dissociation limit and the formation rate of OH through inverse predissociation.

Lifetimes of various J-levels of low lying resonance levels in Fe I and Fe II have been measured at high spectral resolution using the High Frequency Deflection technique. The results are compared with earlier results and recommended multiplet f-values are given for astrophysical abundance determinations.

Lifetimes of ten different bands belonging to the recently discovered 2 A 1 - 2 B 1 system in H 2 O + have been directly measured using the high frequency deflection technique. The measured lifetimes are all consistent with a value around 800 ns.

Numerous spectra and lifetimes in atoms and molecules such as H, He, N, Ne, O, Xe, C2, CH, CO2, H2O, N2, NH, NO, O2 and OH have been measured by HF sweeping of energetic electrons from a high power gun and fast coincidence technique. Applications of this universal technique are discussed.

Use of the high-frequency deflection technique to measure radiative lifetimes for the 4p and 5p upper states in Na I, along with relative populations of a number of ns and nd states. These data have been used to obtain f-values for the corresponding resonance transitions in Na I, which proved to be in reasonable agreement with previous oscillator strengths. From the theoretical curve of growth for pure Doppler broadening, revised line ratios for D1/3303 are given and are compared with observations of Na I in zeta Oph.