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Title: Edge-localized-modes in tokamaks

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4894742· OSTI ID:22303604
 [1]
  1. General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-5608 (United States)

Edge-localized-modes (ELMs) are a ubiquitous feature of H-mode in tokamaks. When gradients in the H-mode transport barrier grow to exceed the MHD stability limit the ELM instability grows explosively, rapidly transporting energy and particles onto open field lines and material surfaces. Though ELMs provide additional particle and impurity transport through the H-mode transport barrier, enabling steady operation, the resulting heat flux transients to plasma facing surfaces project to large amplitude in future low collisionality burning plasma tokamaks. Measurements of the ELM heat flux deposition onto material surfaces in the divertor and main chamber indicate significant broadening compared to inter-ELM heat flux, with a timescale for energy deposition that is consistent with sonic ion flow and numerical simulation. Comprehensive ELM simulation is highlighting the important physics processes of ELM transport including parallel transport due to magnetic reconnection and turbulence resulting from collapse of the H-mode transport barrier. Encouraging prospects for ELM control and/or suppression in future tokamaks include intrinsic modes of ELM free operation, ELM triggering with frequent small pellet injection and the application of 3D magnetic fields.

OSTI ID:
22303604
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 21, Issue 9; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Characterization of low-frequency inter-ELM modes of H-mode discharges at ASDEX Upgrade journal October 2018
E  ×  B flow shear mitigates ballooning-driven edge-localized modes at high collisionality: experiment and simulation journal December 2018
Long-lived coupled peeling ballooning modes preceding ELMs on JET journal March 2019
Impact of n   =  1 field on the non-axisymmetric magnetic perturbations associated with the edge localized mode crashes in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak journal March 2019
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