Explore the vast range of titles available.

The ECRH system formerly used in Tore Supra is being upgraded to start on WEST in 2023, at a power level of 1MW and frequency of 105 GHz. Its ultimate 3MW/1000s capability is expected to enlarge the WEST operational domain by increasing margins with respect to H-mode access, and by providing additional flexibility in terms of achievable scenarios using impurity and/or MHD control. This flexibility is made possible using an antenna based on three steerable mirrors for controlled power injection. In order to determine an appropriate range of EC wave injection angles for WEST scenarios, the fast and reliable ray-tracing code REMA has been interfaced with the WEST IMAS database. This allows the EC power damping rate to be quickly assessed, as well as deposition profiles to be predicted in realistic plasma conditions. Based on a typical WEST discharge at central magnetic field B 0 ~3.6 T, central line-averaged electron density n l ~4 × 10 19 m −3 and central electron temperature T e0 ~3keV, ray-tracing calculations have been performed. Comprehensive poloidal and toroidal angle scans, as well as variations of B t , nl and T e0 with respect to the reference parameters have allowed an adequate range of injection angles to be determined for efficient use of ECRH and/or ECCD in typical WEST scenarios, and compared with the mechanical limits set by the antenna mechanical characteristics. In order to further characterize the effect of this new power source in WEST scenarios, EC wave deposition and current profiles from ray-tracing calculations have been included in integrated simulation codes. It has been shown that this additional power source could allow central electron heating to be achieved, potentially alleviating the issue of radiative collapse caused by impurities observed in some situations.

Recent experiments performed in JET at high level of plasma heating, in preparation of, and during the DT campaign have shown significant discrepancies between electron temperature measurements by Thomson Scattering (TS) and Electron Cyclotron Emission (ECE). In order to perform a systematic analysis of this phenomenon, a simple model of bipolar distortion of the electron distribution function has been developed, allowing analytic calculation of the EC emission and absorption coefficients. Extensive comparisons of the modelled ECE spectra (at both the 2 nd and the 3 rd harmonic extraordinary mode) with experimental measurements display good agreement when bulk electron distribution distortions around 1-2 times the electron thermal velocity are used and prove useful for a first level of analysis of this effect.

For high-temperature JET and TFTR discharges, electron cyclotron emission (ECE) measurements of central electron temperature were systematically found to be up to 20% higher than those taken with Thomson scattering. In recent high-performance JET discharges, central Te measurements, performed with LIDAR Thomson scattering and the X-mode ECE interferometer, have been studied in a large database, including deuterium (DD), and deuterium-tritium plasmas (DT). Discrepancies between Te measurements have been observed outside of the experimental uncertainties. ECE measurements, at high Te, have been found to be higher or lower than those of LIDAR, depending on the specific plasma scenario. In addition, discrepancies between the peaks of the second and third harmonic ranges of the ECE spectrum have been interpreted as evidence for the presence of non-Maxwellian features in the electron distribution function. These comparisons seem to suggest that such features can be found in most of the high-performance scenarios selected in this JET database.

Mitigation of Edge localized mode(ELM) has been achieved with different external actuators such as lower hybrid wave (LHW), mixture supersonic molecular beam injection(SMBI), and laser blow-off(LBO) impurity seeding on HL-2A. During these experiments, the pedestal turbulence enhancement is commonly observed, which is found closely related to ELM mitigation. The turbulence enhancement is caused by the externally driven the velocity shear rate without change of the turbulence correlation length, but correlated to its radial wavenumber spectral shift. A common plausible mechanism for the ELM mitigation with different external source input seems to be involved. A modified theoretical model based on the turbulence radial wavenumber spectral shift is used and successfully interprets the experimental observations. The simulation suggests that a critical growth rate of the most unstable mode, also identified by the experimental results, survives in the competition of the velocity shear rate, enhancing the turbulence intensity. An example of the LHW case is used and good agreements have been found between the experimental results and simulation results.

For high-temperature JET and TFTR discharges, electron cyclotron emission (ECE) measurements of central electron temperature were systematically found to be up to 20% higher than those taken with Thomson scattering. In recent high-performance JET discharges, central T e measurements, performed with LIDAR Thomson scattering and the X-mode ECE interferometer, have been studied in a large database, including deuterium (DD), and deuterium-tritium plasmas (DT). Discrepancies between T e measurements have been observed outside of the experimental uncertainties. ECE measurements, at high T e , have been found to be higher or lower than those of LIDAR, depending on the specific plasma scenario. In addition, discrepancies between the peaks of the second and third harmonic ranges of the ECE spectrum have been interpreted as evidence for the presence of non-Maxwellian features in the electron distribution function. These comparisons seem to suggest that such features can be found in most of the high-performance scenarios selected in this JET database.

An ECRH (Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating) system capable of delivering 2.4 MW CW is presently under construction at CEA (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique) Cadarache, for the Tore Supra experiment to provide plasma heating and current drive by Electron Cyclotron Resonance interaction. Due to some limitations observed on the first series tube which achieved 300 kW output power for 110 s, a new study carried out in a collaboration between TED (Thales Electron Devices), the Association Euratom-CEA and the Association Euratom-Confédération Suisse has led to the construction of a new modified gyrotron. The new gyrotron, with a new launcher profile and a better cooling system is now installed in this test bed. A clear improvement in the time required to condition the tube has been observed. On the other hand poor mode purity in the output beam has resulted in the need to implement a cooling system for the waveguides transmitting the power to the dummy load. The gyrotron tests have been temporarily suspended while a new system for the automatic filling of the cryostats with liquid nitrogen and helium is being installed. The experience gained from tests operations including some of the problems related both to auxiliary equipment and to the control of the gyrotrons will be presented with a special focus on long pulse related issues.

A theoretical study of the improvement of the Electron Cyclotron Current Drive (ECCD) efficiency in regimes where most of the current is driven by Lower Hybrid (LH) waves is presented. A perturbation technique is employed to solve the adjoint equation and derive the response function including both collisional and LH effects in the limit where the former dominate. An alternative treatment of the problem, involving a numerical solution of the Langevin equations is proposed to gain insight into the current drive mechanism and confirm the obtained results. The existence of a cross-effect between the two waves is demonstrated and the conditions for the synergy, i.e. significant enhancement of the ECCD efficiency in the presence of LH power, are identified.

Electron temperature fluctuation studies can help to understand the nature of the turbulent transport in to-kamak plasmas. At Tore Supra, a 32-channel heterodyne ECE radiometer has been upgraded with two chan-nels of 100 MHz bandwidth and tunable central frequencies allowing the shift of the plasma sample volume in the radial direction. With the sufficiently large video bandwidth and the long sampling time, it is possible to reduce significantly the thermal noise and to identify \"true\" high frequency components up to 200 kHz from the cross-correlation between these channels. First results of temperature fluctuation measurements on Tore Supra are reported in this paper.

Regular oscillations of the central electron temperature have been observed by means of ECE and SXR diagnostics during non-inductively driven discharges on Tore Supra. These oscillations are sustained by LHCD, do not have a helical structure and, therefore, cannot be ascribed as MHD phenomena. The most probable explanation of this oscillating regime (O-regime) is the assumption that the plasma current density (and, thus, the q-profile) and the electron temperature evolve as a non-linearly coupled predator-pray system. The integrated modelling code CRONOS has been used to demonstrate that the coupled heat transport and resistive diffusion equations admit solutions for the electron temperature and the current density which have a cyclic behaviour. Recent experimental results in which the O-regime co-exists with MHD modes will be presented. Because both phenomena are linked to details of the q-profile, some interplay between MHD and oscillations may occur. The localisation of magnetic islands allows to obtain an accurate picture of the q-profile in the plasma core. In some case, MHD-driven reconnection helps in maintaining a weakly inverted q-profile that is found to be, in the CRONOS simulations, a necessary condition to trigger the oscillations.