54th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics
Volume 57, Number 12
Monday–Friday, October 29–November 2 2012;
Providence, Rhode Island
Session VI3: Tokamak Operations, Control, Scenarios, and RF Heating
3:00 PM–5:00 PM,
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Room: Ballroom BC
Chair: Steve Scott, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Abstract ID: BAPS.2012.DPP.VI3.4
Abstract: VI3.00004 : Field-Aligned ICRF Antenna Characterization and Performance in Alcator C-Mod*
4:30 PM–5:00 PM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Stephen Wukitch
(MIT PSFC)
Impurity contamination associated with ion cyclotron range of frequency
(ICRF) heating remains a major challenge to ICRF utilization in magnetic
confinement devices, particularly with metallic plasma facing components.
Here, we report results on an experimental investigation of a high power,
magnetic field-aligned (FA) antenna, designed to reduce parallel electric
(E$\vert \vert )$ field through symmetry and thereby reduce RF related
impurity contamination. Using the standard non-field aligned antennas (ST)
as a reference, the impurity contamination and sources on the antenna are
significantly lower for the FA-antenna than the ST antennas. In addition,
the radiated power is reduced for given injected power for the FA-antenna
compared to the ST-antennas in L and H-mode discharges. The improved
performance is consistent with simulations indicating that the FA-antenna
has reduced integrated E$\vert \vert $ relative to the non-aligned
antennas. However, the simulation also predicts that so-called monopole
phasing, where antenna strap current has [0,0,0,0] phase, should have the
lowest integrated E$\vert \vert $. The initial results suggest that
monopole phasing has a stronger impact on the plasma potential and higher
core impurity contamination and sources at the antenna. Utilizing gas puff
imaging, the radial electric field profile in the scrape-off-layer (SOL) is
readily measured. For the ST and FA-antennas, fine structure (variations of
order $\sim $0.5 cm) in the radial electric field is observed and radial
penetration of the rectified potential structures is $\sim $10 times greater
than the skin depth. This anomalous penetration appears to be consistent
with including cross-field RF polarization currents in the sheath model.
Further comparisons of the FA- and ST-antennas are being carried out with an
extensive array of boundary plasma diagnostics to characterize the impurity
behavior and impact on the SOL transport and SOL density profiles; the
latest results will be presented.
*Work supported by US DOE award DE-FC02-99ER54512.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2012.DPP.VI3.4