The research progress of an E//B neutral particle analyzer

An E//B neutral particle analyzer(NPA)has been designed and is under development at Sichuan University and Southwestern Institute of Physics.The main purpose of the E//B NPA is to measure the distribution function of fast ions in the HL-2A/3 tokamak.The E//B NPA contains three main units,i.e.the stripping unit,the analyzing unit and the detection unit.A gas stripping chamber was adopted as the stripping unit.The results of the simulations and beam tests for the stripping chamber are presented.Parallel electric and magnetic fields provided by a NdFeB permanent magnet and two parallel electric plates were designed and constructed for the analyzing unit.The calibration of the magnetic and electric fields was performed using a 50 kV electron cyclotron resonance ion source(ECRIS)platform.The detection unit consists of 32lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate(LYSO)detector modules arranged in two rows.The response functions ofα,hydrogen ions(H^(+),H_(2)^(+)and H_(3)^(+))andγfor a detector module were measured with^(241)Am,^(137)Cs and^(152)Eu sources together with the 50 kV ECRIS platform.The overall results indicate that the designed E//B NPA device is capable of measuring the intensity of neutral hydrogen and deuteron atoms with energy higher than 20 keV.

Integrated analysis of plasma rotation effect on HL-3 hybrid scenario

The hybrid scenario,which has good confinement and moderate MHD instabilities,is a proposed operation scenario for international thermonuclear experimental reactor(ITER).In this work,the effect of plasma rotation on the HL-3 hybrid scenario is analyzed with the integrated modeling framework OMFIT.The results show that toroidal rotation has no obvious effect on confinement with a high line averaged density of n_(bar)~(7)×10^(19)m^(-3).In this case,the ion temperature only changes from 4.7 keV to 4.4 keV with the rotation decreasing from 10^(5) rad/s to 10^(3) rad/s,which means that the turbulent heat transport is not dominant.While in the scenarios characterized by lower densities,such as n_(bar)~4×10^(19)m^(-3),turbulent transport becomes dominant in determining heat transport.The ion temperature rises from 3.8 keV to 6.1 keV in the core as the rotation velocity increases from 10^(3) rad/s to 10^(5) rad/s.Despite the ion temperature rising,the rotation velocity does not obviously affect electron temperature or density.Additionally,it is noteworthy that the variation in rotation velocity does not significantly affect the global confinement of plasma in scenarios with low density or with high density.

Geant4 simulation of fast-electron bremsstrahlung imaging at the HL-3 tokamak

To further research on high-parameter plasma,we plan to develop a two-dimensional hard X-ray(HXR)imaging system at the HL-3 tokamak to measure HXRs with energies ranging from 20 to 300 keV.The application of an array-structured detector ensures that this system can measure HXR-radiation spectra from the entire plasma cross section.Therefore,it is suitable for the study of fast-electron physics,such as radio-frequency wave current drives,fast electrons driving instabilities,and plasma disruptions in fusion research.In this study,we develop a simulation for calculating fast-electron bremsstrahlung in the HL-3 tokamak based on the Monte Carlo simulation code Geant4,in which the plasma geometry and forward scattering of fast-electron bremsstrahlung are considered.The preliminary calculation results indicate that the HXR energy deposi-tion on the detector is symmetrically distributed,even though the plasma distribution is asymmetric owing to the toroidal effect.These simulation results are helpful in constructing the relationship between the energy deposition on the detector and parameter distribution on the plasma cross section during HL-3 experiments.This is beneficial for the reconstruction of the fast-electron-distribution function and for optimizing the design of the HXR-imaging system.

Gyrokinetic simulation of magnetic-island-induced electric potential vortex mode

Ion temperature gradient(ITG)-driven turbulence with embedded static magnetic islands is simulated by utilizing a gyrokinetic theory-based global turbulence transport code(GKNET)in this work.Different from the traditional equilibrium circular magnetic-surface average(EMSA)method,an advanced algorithm that calculates the perturbed magnetic-surface average(PMSA)of the electric potential has been developed to precisely deal with the zonal flow component in a non-circular magnetic surface perturbed by magnetic islands.Simulations show that the electric potential vortex structure inside islands induced by the magnetic islands is usually of odd parity when using the EMSA method.It is found that the odd symmetry vortex can transfer into an even one after a steep zonal flow gradient,i.e.the flow shear has been built in the vicinity of the magnetic islands by adopting the PMSA algorithm.The phase of the potential vortex in the poloidal cross section is coupled with the zonal flow shear.Such an electric potential vortex mode may be of essential importance in wide topics,such as the turbulence spreading across magnetic islands,neoclassical tearing mode physics,and also the interaction dynamics between the micro-turbulence and MHD activities.

Gyro-Landau-fluid simulations of impurity effects on ion temperature gradient driven turbulence transport

The effects of impurities on ion temperature gradient(ITG)driven turbulence transport in tokamak core plasmas are investigated numerically via global simulations of microturbulence with carbon impurities and adiabatic electrons.The simulations use an extended fluid code(ExFC)based on a four-field gyro-Landau-fluid(GLF)model.The multispecies form of the normalized GLF equations is presented,which guarantees the self-consistent evolution of both bulk ions and impurities.With parametric profiles of the cyclone base case,well-benchmarked ExFC is employed to perform simulations focusing on different impurity density profiles.For a fixed temperature profile,it is found that the turbulent heat diffusivity of bulk ions in a quasi-steady state is usually lower than that without impurities,which is contrary to the linear and quasilinear predictions.The evolutions of the temperature gradient and heat diffusivity exhibit a fast relaxation process,indicating that the destabilization of the outwardly peaked impurity profile is a transient state response.Furthermore,the impurity effects from different profiles can obviously influence the nonlinear critical temperature gradient,which is likely to be dominated by linear effects.These results suggest that the improvement in plasma confinement could be attributed to the impurities,most likely through adjusting both heat diffusivity and the critical temperature gradient.

Design of a 3D-printed liquid lithium divertor target plate and its interaction with high-density plasma

A liquid Li divertor is a promising alternative for future fusion devices.In this work a new divertor model is proposed,which is processed by 3D-printing technology to accurately control the size of the internal capillary structure.At a steady-state heat load of 10 MW m^(-2),the thermal stress of the tungsten target is within the bearing range of tungsten by finite-element simulation.In order to evaluate the wicking ability of the capillary structure,the wicking process at 600℃ was simulated by FLUENT.The result was identical to that of the corresponding experiments.Within 1 s,liquid lithium was wicked to the target surface by the capillary structure of the target and quickly spread on the target surface.During the wicking process,the average wicking mass rate of lithium should reach 0.062 g s^(-1),which could even supplement the evaporation requirement of liquid lithium under an environment>950℃.Irradiation experiments under different plasma discharge currents were carried out in a linear plasma device(SCU-PSI),and the evolution of the vapor cloud during plasma irradiation was analyzed.It was found that the target temperature tends to plateau despite the gradually increased input current,indicating that the vapor shielding effect is gradually enhanced.The irradiation experiment also confirmed that the 3D-printed tungsten structure has better heat consumption performance than a tungsten mesh structure or multichannel structure.These results reveal the application potential and feasibility of a 3D-printed porous capillary structure in plasma-facing components and provide a reference for further liquid-solid combined target designs.

Simulation of tungsten impurity transport by DIVIMP under different divertor magnetic configurations on HL-3

Tungsten(W)accumulation in the core,depending on W generation and transport in the edge region,is a severe issue in fusion reactors.Compared to standard divertors(SDs),snowflake divertors(SFDs)can effectively suppress the heat flux,while the impact of magnetic configurations on W core accumulation remains unclear.In this study,the kinetic code DIVIMP combined with the SOLPS-ITER code is applied to investigate the effects of divertor magnetic configurations(SD versus SFD)on W accumulation during neon injection in HL-3.It is found that the W concentration in the core of the SFD is significantly higher than that of the SD with similar total W erosion flux.The reasons for this are:(1)W impurities in the core of the SFD mainly originate from the inner divertor,which has a short leg,and the source is close to the divertor entrance and upstream separatrix.Furthermore,the W ionization source(S_(W0))is much stronger,especially near the divertor entrance.(2)The region overlap of S_(W0)and F_(W,TOT)pointing upstream promote W accumulation in the core.Moreover,the influence of W source locations at the inner target on W transport in the SFD is investigated.Tungsten impurity in the core is mainly contributed by target erosion in the common flux region(CFR)away from the strike point.This is attributed to the fact that the W source at this location enhances the ionization source above the W ion stagnation point,which sequentially increases W penetration.Therefore,the suppression of far SOL inner target erosion can effectively prevent W impurities from accumulating in the core.

Wave field structure and power coupling features of blue-core helicon plasma driven by various antenna geometries and frequencies

This paper deals with wave propagation and power coupling in blue-core helicon plasma driven by various antennas and frequencies.It is found that compared to non-blue-core mode,for blue-core mode,the wave can propagate in the core region,and it decays sharply outside the core.The power absorption is lower and steeper in radius for blue-core mode.Regarding the effects of antenna geometry for blue-core mode,it shows that half helix antenna yields the strongest wave field and power absorption,while loop antenna yields the lowest.Moreover,near axis,for antennas with m=+1,the wave field increases with axial distance.In the core region,the wave number approaches to a saturation value at much lower frequency for non-blue-core mode compared to blue-core mode.The total loading resistance is much lower for blue-core mode.These findings are valuable to understanding the physics of blue-core helicon discharge and optimizing the experimental performance of blue-core helicon plasma sources for applications such as space propulsion and material treatment.

An improved TDE technique for derivation of 2D turbulence structures based on GPI data in toroidal plasma

This paper reports an improved time-delay estimation(TDE)technique for the derivation of turbulence structures based on gas-puff imaging data.The improved TDE technique,integrating an inverse timing search and hierarchical strategy,offers superior accuracy in calculating turbulent velocity field maps and analyzing blob dynamics,which has the power to obtain the radial profiles of equilibrium poloidal velocity,blob size and its radial velocity,even the fluctuation analysis,such as geodesic acoustic modes and quasi-coherent mode,etc.This improved technique could provide important 2D information for the study of edge turbulence and blob dynamics,advancing the understanding of edge turbulence physics in fusion plasmas.

Long radial coherence of electron temperature fluctuations in non-local transport in HL-2A plasmas

The dynamics of long-wavelength(kθ<1.4 cm^(-1)),broadband(20 kHz–200 kHz)electron temperature fluctuations(Te/Te)of plasmas in gas-puff experiments are observed for the first time in HL-2A tokamak.In a relatively low density(ne(0)■0.91×10^(19)m^(-3)–1.20×10^(19)m^(-3))scenario,after gas-puffing the core temperature increases and the edge temperature drops.On the contrary,temperature fluctuation drops at the core and increases at the edge.Analyses show the non-local emergence is accompanied with a long radial coherent length of turbulent fluctuations.While in a higher density(ne(0)?1.83×10^(19)m^(-3)–2.02×10^(19)m^(-3))scenario,the phenomena are not observed.Furthermore,compelling evidence indicates that E×B shear serves as a substantial contributor to this extensive radial interaction.This finding offers a direct explanatory link to the intriguing core-heating phenomenon witnessed within the realm of non-local transport.

Deep learning approaches to recover the plasma current density profile from the safety factor based on Grad–Shafranov solutions across multiple tokamaks

Many magnetohydrodynamic stability analyses require generation of a set of equilibria with a fixed safety factor q-profile while varying other plasma parameters.A neural network(NN)-based approach is investigated that facilitates such a process.Both multilayer perceptron(MLP)-based NN and convolutional neural network(CNN)models are trained to map the q-profile to the plasma current density J-profile,and vice versa,while satisfying the Grad–Shafranov radial force balance constraint.When the initial target models are trained,using a database of semianalytically constructed numerical equilibria,an initial CNN with one convolutional layer is found to perform better than an initial MLP model.In particular,a trained initial CNN model can also predict the q-or J-profile for experimental tokamak equilibria.The performance of both initial target models is further improved by fine-tuning the training database,i.e.by adding realistic experimental equilibria with Gaussian noise.The fine-tuned target models,referred to as fine-tuned MLP and fine-tuned CNN,well reproduce the target q-or J-profile across multiple tokamak devices.As an important application,these NN-based equilibrium profile convertors can be utilized to provide a good initial guess for iterative equilibrium solvers,where the desired input quantity is the safety factor instead of the plasma current density.

Progress of Lyman-alpha-based beam emission spectroscopy(Ly BES)diagnostic on the HL-2A tokamak

An edge Lyman-alpha-based beam emission spectroscopy(LyBES)diagnostic,using a heating NBI(neutral beam injection)system,is currently under development on the HL-2A tokamak.The 20-channel edge LyBES,which is intended to measure the density fluctuation in plasma edge(from R=1960 mm to R=2026 mm)with an improved spatial resolution of 3.3 mm,is a complement to the existing conventional beam emission spectroscopy(BES)diagnostic.In this article,we introduce the progress of LyBES diagnostic,including the collection optics,the monochromator,and the detector system.The reflectance of the collection mirrors is measured to be~82%at 122 nm,and the aberration geometrical radius of the collection optics is tested to be~150μm in the aimed area.The linear dispersion of the LyBES monochromator is designed to be~0.09 nm mm^(-1).The bandwidth of the detector system with the 5×10^(7)V A^(-1)preamplifier gain is measured to be~280 kHz,and the peak-to-peak noise of the detector system is tested to be~16 mV.The finalized design,components development and testing of the LyBES diagnostic have been completed at present,and an overall performance of the LyBES diagnostic is to be confirmed in the next HL-2A campaign.

FPGA implementation of 500-MHz high-count-rate high-time-resolution real-time digital neutron-gamma discrimination for fast liquid detectors

Fast neutron flux measurements with high count rates and high time resolution have important applications in equipment such as tokamaks.In this study,real-time neutron and gamma discrimination was implemented on a self-developed 500-Msps,12-bit digitizer,and the neutron and gamma spectra were calculated directly on an FPGA.A fast neutron flux measurement system with BC-501A and EJ-309 liquid scintillator detectors was developed and a fast neutron measurement experiment was successfully performed on the HL-2 M tokamak at the Southwestern Institute of Physics,China.The experimental results demonstrated that the system obtained the neutron and gamma spectra with a time accuracy of 1 ms.At count rates of up to 1 Mcps,the figure of merit was greater than 1.05 for energies between 50 keV and 2.8 MeV.

Electron density measurement by the three boundary channels of HCOOH laser interferometer on the HL-3 tokamak

Far-infrared(FIR)interferometer is widely used to measure the electron density in the magnetically confined fusion plasma devices.A new FIR laser interferometer with a total of 13 channels(8 horizontal channels and 5 oblique channels)is under development on the HL-3tokamak by using the formic-acid laser(HCOOH,f=694 GHz).In order to investigate the boundary electron density activity during the divertor discharge,three horizontal interferometry channels located at Z=-97,-76,76.5 cm have been successfully developed on HL-3 in 2023,and put into operation in recent experimental campaign,with a time resolution of<1.0μs and lineintegrated electron density resolution of~7.0×10^(16) m^(-2).This paper mainly focuses on the optical design of the three-channel interferometry system,as well as optical elements and recent experimental result on HL-3.

Effects of vacuum magnetic field region on the compact torus trajectory in a tokamak plasma

The trajectory of the compact torus(CT)within a tokamak discharge is crucial to fueling.In this study,we developed a penetration model with a vacuum magnetic field region to accurately determine CT trajectories in tokamak discharges.This model was used to calculate the trajectory and penetration parameters of CT injections by applying both perpendicular and tangential injection schemes in both HL-2A and ITER tokamaks.For perpendicular injection along the tokamak's major radius direction from the outboard,CTs with the same injection parameters exhibited a 0.08 reduction in relative penetration depth when injected into HL-2A and a 0.13reduction when injected into ITER geometry when considering the vacuum magnetic field region compared with cases where this region was not considered.In addition,we proposed an optimization method for determining the CT's initial injection velocity to accurately calculate the initial injection velocity of CTs for central fueling in tokamaks.Furthermore,this paper discusses schemes for the tangential injection of CT into tokamak discharges.The optimal injection angle and CT magnetic moment direction for injection into both HL-2A and ITER were determined through numerical simulations.Finally,the kinetic energy loss occurring when the CT penetrated the vacuum magnetic field region in ITER was reduced byΔEk=975.08 J by optimizing the injection angle for the CT injected into ITER.These results provide valuable insights for optimizing injection angles in fusion experiments.Our model closely represents actual experimental scenarios and can assist the design of CT parameters.

Summary of the 11th Conference on Magnetic Confined Fusion Theory and Simulation

This conference report summarizes recent progress in plasma theory and simulation that was presented in contributed papers and discussions at the 11th Conference on Magnetic Confined Fusion Theory and Simulation(CMCFTS)held in Chengdu,China,27–30 October,2023.Progress in various fields has been achieved.For example,results on zonal flow generation by mode coupling,simulations of the key physics of divertor detachment,energetic particle effects on magnetohydrodynamic(MHD)modes in addition to ion-and electron-scale turbulence,physics of edge coherent modes and edge-localized modes,and the optimization of ion heating schemes as well as confinement scenarios using advanced integrated modeling are presented at the conference.In this conference,the scientific research groups were organized into six categories:(a)edge and divertor physics;(b)impurity,heating,and current drive;(c)energetic particle physics;(d)turbulent transport;(e)MHD instability;and(f)integrated modeling and code development.A summary of the highlighted progress in these working groups is presented.

Loss of energetic particles due to feedback control of resistive wall mode in HL-3

Effects of three-dimensional(3D)magnetic field perturbations due to feedback control of an unstable n=1(n is toroidal mode number)resistive wall mode(RWM)on the energetic particle(EP)losses are systematically investigated for the HL-3 tokamak.The MARS-F(Liu et al 2000 Phys.Plasmas 73681)code,facilitated by the test particle guiding center tracing module REORBIT,is utilized for the study.The RWM is found to generally produce no EP loss for cocurrent particles in HL-3.Assuming the same perturbation level at the sensor location for the close-loop system,feedback produces nearly the same loss of counter-current EPs compared to the open-loop case.Assuming however that the sensor signal is ten times smaller in the close-loop system than the open-loop counter part(reflecting the fact that the RWM is more stable with feedback),the counter-current EP loss is found significantly reduced in the former.Most of EP losses occur only for particles launched close to the plasma edge,while particles launched further away from the plasma boundary experience much less loss.The strike points of lost EPs on the HL-3 limiting surface become more scattered for particles launched closer to the plasma boundary.Taking into account the full gyro-orbit of particles while approaching the limiting surface,REORBIT finds slightly enhanced loss fraction.

Optical design of a novel near-infrared phase contrast imaging(NI-PCI)diagnostic on the HL-2A tokamak

The optical design of near-infrared phase contrast imaging(NI-PCI)diagnosis on HL-2A is introduced in this paper.This scheme benefits from the great progress of near-infrared laser technology and is a broadening of traditional phase contrast technology.This diagnostic can work as a keen tool to measure plasma wavenumber spectra by inferring string-integrated plasma density fluctuations.Design of both the front optical path which is the path before the laser transmitting into the tokamak plasma and the rear optics which is the path after the laser passing through the plasma is detailed.The 1550 nm laser is chosen as the probe beam and highprecision optical components are designed to fit the laser beam,in which a phase plate with a 194-nm-deep silver groove is the key.Compared with the conventional 10.6μm laser-based PCI system on HL-2A,NI-PCI significantly overcomes the unwanted phase scintillation effect and promotes the measurement capability of high-wavenumber turbulence with an increased maximal measurable wavenumber from 15 cm^(-1)to 32.6 cm^(-1).

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.

Review of the experiments for energetic particle physics on HL-2A

This paper reviews the energetic particle（EP） experiments during electron cyclotron resonance heating（ECRH） and neutral beam injection in the HL-2 A tokamak.A number of important results are summarized,which relate to ITER physics,including the behavior of the multi-mode instability,the nonlinear interaction between wave-wave and wave-particles,the losses of EP induced by the instabilities,the effect of the EP instabilities on the thermal plasma confinement and the control of the EP instabilities by means of ECRH.Systematic experiments indicate that when the drive is great enough,the nonlinear effects and the multi-mode coexistence may play an important role,which affect the transport both of the EPs and the background plasma confinement,and these instabilities could be controlled.Some new phenomena about the EP induced instabilities discovered recently on the device,such as high frequency reversed shear Alfvén eigenmodes,Alfvénic ion temperature gradient modes,the geodesic acoustic mode induced by energetic electrons excited by interaction between tearing mode and beta induced Alfvén eigenmode and double e-fishbone in negative magnetic shear discharges etc,have also been presented in the paper.