Numerical study of plasmas start-up by electron cyclotron waves in NCST spherical tokamak and CN-H1 stellarator

According to the physics of tokamak start-up,this study constructs a zero-dimensional(0D)model applicable to electron cyclotron(EC)wave assisted start-up in NCST spherical torus(spherical tokamak)and CN-H1 stellarators.Using the constructed 0D model,the results obtained in this study under the same conditions are compared and validated against reference results for pure hydrogen plasma start-up in tokamak.The results are in good agreement,especially regarding electron temperature,ion temperature and plasma current.In the presence of finite Ohmic electric field in the spherical tokamak,a study on the EC wave assisted start-up of the NCST plasma at frequency of 28 GHz is conducted.The impact of the vertical magnetic field B_(v)on EC wave assisted start-up,the relationship between EC wave injection power P_(inj),Ohmic electric field E,and initial hydrogen atom density n_(H0)are explored separately.It is found that under conditions of Ohmic electric field lower than ITER(~0.3 V m^(-1)),EC wave can expand the operational space to achieve better plasma parameters.Simulating the process of28 GHz EC wave start-up in the CN-H1 stellarator plasma,the plasma current in the zerodimensional model is replaced with the current in the poloidal coil of the stellarator.Plasma startup can be successfully achieved at injection powers in the hundreds of kilowatts range,resulting in electron densities on the order of 10^(17)-10^(18)m^(-3).

Effects of counter-current driven by electron cyclotron waves on neoclassical tearing mode suppression

Through theoretical analysis,we construct a physical model that includes the influence of counter-external driven current opposite to the plasma current direction in the neoclassical tearing mode(NTM).The equation is used with this model to obtain the modified Rutherford equation with co-current and counter-current contributions.Consistent with the reported experimental results,numerical simulations have shown that the localized counter external current can only partially suppress NTM when it is far from the resonant magnetic surface.Under some circumstances,the Ohkawa mechanism dominated current drive(OKCD)by electron cyclotron waves can concurrently create both co-current and counter-current.In this instance,the minimal electron cyclotron wave power that suppresses a particular NTM was calculated by the Rutherford equation.The result is marginally less than when taking co-current alone into consideration.As a result,to suppress NTM using OKCD,one only needs to align the co-current with a greater OKCD peak well with the resonant magnetic surface.The effect of its lower counter-current does not need to be considered because the location of the counter-current deviates greatly from the resonant magnetic surface.

Ion heat transport in electron cyclotron resonance heated L-mode plasma on the T-10 tokamak

Anomalous ion heat transport is analyzed in the T-10 tokamak plasma heated with electron cyclotron resonance heating(ECRH) in second-harmonic extra-ordinary mode. Predictive modeling with empirical scaling for Ohmical heat conductivity shows that in ECRH plasmas the calculated ion temperature could be overestimated, so an increase of anomalous ion heat transport is required. To study this effect two scans are presented: over the EC resonance position and over the ECRH power. The EC resonance position varies from the high-field side to the low-field side by variation of the toroidal magnetic field. The scan over the heating power is presented with on-axis and mixed ECRH regimes. Discharges with high anomalous ion heat transport are obtained in all considered regimes. In these discharges the power balance ion heat conductivity exceeds the neoclassical level by up to 10 times. The high ion heat transport regimes are distinguished by three parameters: the ratio Te/Ti, the normalized electron density gradient R/■, and the ion–ion collisionality νii~*. The combination of high Te/Ti, high νii~*, and R/■=6-10 results in values of normalized anomalous ion heat fluxes up to 10 times higher than in the low transport scenario.

Design of the electron cyclotron emission diagnostic on EXL-50 spherical torus

The electron cyclotron emission(ECE)diagnostic system has been developed on the ENN spherical torus(EXL-50).The ECE system is designed to detect radiation emitted by energetic electrons,rather than conventional 1D electron temperature profile measurement,in the frequency range of 4-40 GHz.The system is composed of five subsystems,each covering a different frequency band,including the C-band(4-8 GHz),X-band(8-12 GHz),Ku-band(12-18 GHz),K-band(18-26.5 GHz)and Kα-band(26.4-40 GHz).The system uses heterodyne detection to analyze the received signals.The K-band and Kα-band subsystems are located horizontally in the equatorial plane of the EXL-50,while the C-band,X-band and Ku-band subsystems are located under the vacuum vessel of the EXL-50.To direct the microwaves from the plasma to the antennas for the horizontal detection subsystems,a quasi-optical system has been developed.For the vertical detection subsystems,the antennas are directly attached to the port located beneath the torus at R=700 mm,which is also the magnetic axis of the torus.The system integration,bench testing and initial experimental results will be thoroughly discussed,providing a comprehensive understanding of the ECE system s performance and capabilities.

Suppression of the m/n=2/1 tearing mode by electron cyclotron resonance heating on J-TEXT

Stabilization of tearing modes and neoclassical tearing modes is of great importance for tokamak operation.Electron cyclotron waves(ECWs)have been extensively used to stabilize the tearing modes with the virtue of highly localized power deposition.Complete suppression of the m/n=2/1 tearing mode(TM)by electron cyclotron resonance heating(ECRH)has been achieved successfully on the J-TEXT tokamak.The effects of ECW deposition location and power amplitude on the 2/1 TM suppression have been investigated.It is found that the suppression is more effective when the ECW power is deposited closer to the rational surface.As the ECW power increases to approximately 230 k W,the 2/1 TM can be completely suppressed.The island rotation frequency is increased when the island width is reduced.The experimental results show that the local heating inside the magnetic island and the resulting temperature perturbation increase at the O-point of the island play dominant roles in TM suppression.As the ECW power increases,the 2/1 island is suppressed to smaller island width,and the flow shear also plays a stabilizing effect on small magnetic islands.With the stabilizing contribution of heating and flow shear,the 2/1 TM can be completely suppressed.

Initial testing of ohmic heating through double flux swing during electron cyclotron start-up in the QUEST spherical tokamak

A power-supply system was developed for Ohmic heating(OH)to double×10^(18)the amount of change magnetic flux in the primary central solenoid(CS)on the QUEST spherical tokamak.Two power supplies are connected with stacks of insulated-gate bipolar transistors,and sequentially operated to generate positive and negative CS currents.This bipolar power-supply system is controlled via a field-programmable gate array,which guarantees the safety of the entire system operation.The new OH system,assisted by electron cyclotron heating,enables the stable generation of plasma currents exceeding 100 k A.Moreover,the achieved electron density over the wide range in the major radial direction exceeds the cut-off density for one of the highpower microwave sources in QUEST.This strategy yields target plasmas for future experiments with the electron Bernstein wave.

Electron Cyclotron Emission Imaging on the EAST Tokamak

An upgraded electron cyclotron emission imaging （ECEI） system consisting of new optics lenses with necessary electronics for receiving and processing signals for two dimension （2D） ECEI diagnostics was installed on EAST. Hyperboloid lens were adopted in the new system to optimize the spatial resolutions. The mixers array of sixteen elements measured the plasma electron cyclotron emission at eight frequencies simultaneously, and the profiles of the electron temperature and its fluctuation in an area of 20 cm （vertical） × 6 cm （horizontal） could then be analyzed. Evolution of sawtooth precursor and crash in EAST was observed.

Study of runaway electron behaviour during electron cyclotron resonance heating in the HL-2A Tokamak

During the current flat-top phase of electron cyclotron resonance heating discharges in the HL-2A Tokamak, the behaviour of runaway electrons has been studied by means of hard x-ray detectors and neutron diagnostics. During electron cyclotron resonance heating, it can be found that both hard x-ray radiation intensity and neutron emission flux fall rapidly to a very low level, which suggests that runaway electrons have been suppressed by electron cyclotron resonance heating. From the set of discharges studied in the present experiments, it has also been observed that the efficiency of runaway suppression by electron cyclotron resonance heating was apparently affected by two factors： electroh cyclotron resonance heating power and duration. These results have been analysed by using a test particle model. The decrease of the toroidal electric field due to electron cyclotron resonance heating results in a rapid fall in the runaway electron energy that may lead to a suppression of runaway electrons. During electron cyclotron resonance heating with different powers and durations, the runaway electrons will experience different slowing down processes. These different decay processes are the major cause for influencing the efficiency of runaway suppression. This result is related to the safe operation of the Tokamak and may bring an effective control of runaway electrons.

Optimized calculation of the synergy conditions between electron cyclotron current drive and lower hybrid current drive on EAST

The optimized synergy conditions between electron cyclotron current drive （ECCD） and lower hybrid current drive （LHCD） with normal parameters of the EAST tokamak are studied by using the C3PO/LUKE code based on the under- standing of the synergy mechanisms so as to obtain a higher synergistic current and provide theoretical reference for the synergistic effect in the EAST experiment. The dependences of the synergistic effect on the parameters of two waves （lower hybrid wave （LHW） and electron cyclotron wave （ECW））, including the radial position of the power deposition, the power value of the LH and EC waves, and the parallel refractive indices of the LHW （Nr） are oresented and discussed.

Mechanical Analysis and Measurements of a Multicomponent NbTi/Cu Superconducting Magnets Structure for the Fully Superconducting Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source

A fully superconducting electron cyclotron resonance （ECR） ion source （SECRAL ID is currently being built in the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its key components are three superconducting solenoids （Nb-Ti/Cu） and six superconducting sextupoles （Nb-Ti/Cu）. Different from the conventional supercon- ducting ECR magnetic structure, the SEC17AL Ⅱ includes three superconducting solenoid coils＇ that are located inside the superconducting sextupoles. The SECRAL Ⅱ can significantly reduce the interaction forces between the sextupole and the solenoids, and the magnets can also be more compact in size. For this multi-component SECRAL Ⅱ generating its self field of -8 T and being often exposed to the high self field, the mechanical analysis has become the main issue to keep their stress at 〈200 MPa on coils. The analytical and experimental results in mechanics are presented in the SECRAL Ⅱ structure. To improve the accuracy and efficiency of analysis, according to the composite rule of micromechanics, the equivalent uniform windings are used to simulate the epoxy-impregnated Nb-Ti/Cu coils. In addition, using low temperature strain gauges and a wireless fast strain acquisition system, a fundamental experiment on the based on our analysis, the stresses and deformations optimized. strains developments of a sextupole is reported. Finally, for its assembly of each SECRAL Ⅱ coil will be further

A Polarizer with Sinusoidal Grooves in the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating System of the HL-2A Tokamak

Theoretical calculation and experimental results for a polarizer with sinusoidal grooves used in the electron cyclotron resonance heating （ECRH） system of the HL-2A tokamak are presented. The calculation is based on an integral method developed in the vector theory of diffraction gratings, and the polarization characteristics obtained with a low-power test are in good agreement with the numerical calculated results. With the polarizer assembled in a miter bend in the ECRH transmission line, pure ordinary mode （O-mode） and extraordinary mode （X-mode） polarized waves are also expected in the high-power experiment, depending on the polarizer rotation angle and the toroidal injection angle of the electron cyclotron （EC） wave beam. Second-harmonic X-mode experiments were successfully explored in HL-2A. Experimental result revealed that the electron temperature increased from 0.8 keV （Ohmic heating phase） to 1.5 keV （second X-mode heating phase）.

The Single Particle Theory of Backward-Wave Amplifications Based on Electron Cyclotron Maser with a Rectilinear Beam

The theory of slow backward-wave amplifications is developed based on electron cyclotron maser （ECM） mechanism employing an initially rectilinear beam, A nonlinear evolution equation is derived to describe the electron energy. Numerical calculations show that the saturated interaction efficiency in this system may exceed 20~, and the saturated interaction length spans 3-6 centimeters. The distinctive interaction mechanism is promising for the design of compact backward microwave amplification devices, Numerical studies are also presented for the slow-wave ECM efficiency with inclusion of Gaussian beam electron velocity spread. It is shown that the velocity spread reduces the interaction e^ciency.

Present Status of the Electron Cyclotron Emission Measurements on HT-7 and EAST

Present status of the diagnostics for electron cyclotron emission measurements on both HT-7 and EAST is reported. A 16-channel heterodyne radiometer system and a 20-channel grating polychromator, have been installed on HT-7 and EAST. A 32-channel heterodyne radiometer system, with a wider frequency coverage and better spatial resolution, is being built. In order to provide a reliable electron temperature profile, an in-situ absolute calibration system is currently being built. With the ECE measurements, study on the electron heat transport and the anomalous Doppler resonance is conducted.

Numerical simulation of electron cyclotron current drive characteristics on EAST

Electron cyclotron current drive （ECCD） will be applied in the EAST tokamak during its the new campaign. In order to provide theoretical predictions for relevant physical experiments, some numerical simulations of ECCD with the parameters of EAST have been can＇ied out by using TORAY-GA code based on the understanding of ECCD mechanisms. ECCD efficiencies achieved in different plasma and electron cyclotron （EC） wave parameters are given. The dependences of ECCD characteristics on EC wave injection angle, toroidal magnetic field, plasma density, and temperature are presented and discussed.

Electron temperature fluctuation in the HT-7 tokamak plasma observed by electron cyclotron emission imaging

The fluctuation of the electron temperature has been measured by using the electron cyclotron emission imaging in the Hefei Tokamak-7 （HT-7） plasma. The electron temperature fluctuation with a broadband spectrum shows that it propagates in the electron diamagnetic drift direction, and the mean poloidal wave-number kθ is calculated to be about 1.58cm^-1, or k^-θρs ≈ 0.34. It indicates that the fluctuation should come from the electron drift wave turbulence. The linear global scaling of the electron temperature fluctuation with the gradient of electron temperature is consistent with the mixing length scale qualitatively. Evolution of spectrum of the fluctuation during the sawtooth oscillation phases is investigated, and the fluctuation is found to increase with the gradient of electron temperature increasing during most phases of the sawtooth oscillation. The results indicate that the electron temperature gradient is probably the driver of the fluctuation enhancement. The steady heat flux driven by electron temperature fluctuation is estimated and compared with the results from power balance estimation.

Electron Cyclotron Harmonic Wave Heating in Tokamak Plasmas with Different Polarization Modes

Electron cyclotron heating on HL-2A has been simulated by TORAY-GA with a second harmonic extraordinary wave and a fundamental ordinary wave. The results show that the wave absorption of the second harmonic extraordinary wave is better than that of the fundamental ordinary wave. In order to understand the interaction mechanism between electrons and the two different polarization modes, the energy exchange between electrons and the two modes are theoretically analyzed, and it is found that the coupling intensity described by the Bessel function and different polarizations of the two modes are the main reasons leading to the above phenomenon. The theoretical results of this study fit well with the simulated and numerical results.

One-Dimensional Vertical Electron Cyclotron Emission Imaging Diagnostic for HT-7 Tokamak

At the first stage of the electron cyclotron emission imaging （ECEI） diagnostic project on HT-7, a 16-channel vertical-resolved ECEI diagnostic has been developed and installed on HT-7 tokamak to measure electron cyclotron emission with a temporal resolution of 0.5 usec. The system works at a fixed frequency of 97.5 GHz. The sample volumes of the system are aligned vertically with a vertical channel spacing of 11 mm, and can be shifted across the plasma cross-section by varying the toroidal magnetic field. The high spatial resolution of the system is achieved by utilizing a low-cost linear mixer/receiver array and an optical imaging system. The focus location may be shifted horizontally when translating one of the optical imaging elements. The details of the system design and laboratory testing of the ECEI optics are presented together with the preliminary experimental results.

Neoclassical tearing mode stabilization by electron cyclotron current drive for HL-2M tokamak

Investigation of neoclassical tearing mode and its suppression by electron cyclotron current drive(ECCD)has been carried out in HL-2 M tokamak.The current driving capability of the electron cyclotron wave is evaluated.It is found that the deposition location can be effectively controlled by changing the poloidal angle.The validation of electron cyclotron wave heating and current driving has been demonstrated for the upper launcher port.We show that 3.0 MW and2.5 MW modulated ECCD can completely stabilize(2,1)and(3,2)NTMs,respectively.The non-modulated ECCD,radial misalignment as well as current profile broadening have deleterious effect on the NTM stabilization.The time required for suppression of(3,2)mode is shorter than that required for the suppression of(2,1)mode.Moreover,the time needed for complete stabilization at different initial island width has been quantitatively presented and analyzed.

Forward-wave enhanced radiation in the terahertz electron cyclotron maser

Based on the principle of electron cyclotron maser(ECM),gyrotrons are among the most promising devices to generate powerful coherent terahertz(THz)radiation and play a vital role in numerous advanced THz applications.Unfortunately,THz ECM systems using a conventional high-Q cavity were theoretically and experimentally demonstrated to suffer from strong ohmic losses,and,accordingly,the wave output efficiency was significantly reduced.A scheme to alleviate such a challenging problem is systematically investigated in this paper.The traveling-wave operation concept is employed in a 1-THz third harmonic gyrotron oscillator,which strengthens electron-wave interaction efficiency and reduces the ohmic dissipation,simultaneously.A lossy belt is added in the interaction circuit to stably constitute the traveling-wave interaction,and a down-tapered magnetic field is employed to further amplify the forward-wave(FW)component.The results demonstrate that the proportion of ohmic losses is nearly halved,and output efficiency is nearly doubled,which is promising for further advancement of high-power continuous-wave operation of the ECM-based devices.

Study of the fast electron behavior in electron cyclotron current driven plasma on J-TEXT

In J-TEXT tokamak,fast electron bremsstrahlung diagnostic with 9 chords equipped with multichannel analyzer enables detailed studies of the generation and transport of fast electrons.The spatial profiles and energy spectrum of the fast electrons have been measured in two ECCD cases with either on-axis or off-axis injection,and the profiles processed by Abel-inversion are consistent with the calculated power deposition locations.Moreover,it is observed that the energy of fast electrons increases rapidly after turning off the ECCD,which may be attributed to the acceleration by the recovered loop voltage at low electron density.