H-mode dithering phase studies on ST40

Yasmin Andrew, James Bland, Peter Buxton, Alexei Dnestrovski, Mikhail Gryaznevich, Eun-jin Kim, Michele Romanelli, Marco Sertoli, Paul Thomas, Jari Varje

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Abstract

The dithering H-mode phase, characterized by oscillations, is generally observed at input power values close to the L-H transition power threshold and low plasma collisionalities (low electron density and/or high plasma temperature). Measurements to characterize the dithering phase are presented for the low aspect ratio, high magnetic field tokamak, ST40. The dithering phase oscillation frequency is observed between 400 and 800 Hz and demonstrates an inverse relationship with core plasma density. Dithering phase H-modes are documented across a nonlinear, low-density power threshold operational space, with signature low- and high-density branches. The minimum power threshold for dithering H-mode access is measured at a core, line average electron density of 4.7(±0.5) × 1019 m−3, close to a predicted value of 4.1(±0.4) × 1019 m−3 from multi-machine studies. ASTRA calculated values of power coupled to the ion species, at the dithering H-mode transition, exhibit a similar nonlinear dependence on density. This analysis points to the important contribution of the ion thermal channel to the L-H phase transition. The low-frequency plasma density and D-alpha dithers appear to be accompanied by sudden bursts of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity. A simple model is tested to demonstrate a possible scenario of self-regulation among turbulence, zonal flows, pressure (density) gradient and MHD activities.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages13
JournalPhilosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Volume381
Issue number2242
Early online date2 Jan 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Feb 2023

Bibliographical note

Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.

Keywords

  • H-mode
  • L-H transition
  • edge plasma
  • fusion
  • pedestal
  • plasma physics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mathematics(all)
  • Engineering(all)
  • Physics and Astronomy(all)

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