Active core profile and transport modification by application of Ion Bernstein Wave power in PBX-M

Technical Report · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1995

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10111028· OSTI ID:10111028

LeBlanc, B; Bell, R ^[1]; Batha, S ^[2]

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1. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Plasma Physics Lab.
2. Fusion Physics and Technology, Torrance, CA (United States); and others

Application of Ion Bernstein Wave Heating (IBWH) into the Princeton Beta Experiment-Modification (PBX-M) tokamak stabilizes sawtooth oscillations and generates peaked density profiles. A transport barrier, spatially correlated with the IBWH power deposition profile, is observed in the core of IBWH assisted neutral beam injection (NBI) discharges. A precursor to the fully developed barrier is seen in the soft x-ray data during edge localized mode (ELM) activity. Sustained IBWH operation is conducive to a regime where the barrier supports large {triangledown}n{sub e}, {triangledown}T{sub e}, {triangledown}v{sub phi}, and {triangledown}T{sub i}, delimiting the confinement zone. This regime is reminiscent of the H(high)-mode but with a confinement zone moved inwards. The core region has better than H-mode confinement while the peripheral region is L(low)-mode-like. The peaked profile enhanced NBI core deposition and increases nuclear reactivity. An increase in central T{sub i} results from {chi}{sub i} reduction (compared to H-mode) and better beam penetration. Bootstrap current fractions of up to 0.32--0.35 locally and 0.28 overall were obtained when an additional NBI burst is applied to this plasma.

• Research Organization: Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Plasma Physics Lab.
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH03073
• OSTI ID: 10111028
• Report Number(s): PPPL--2999; ON: DE95006238
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700350
BEAM INJECTION HEATING
BERNSTEIN MODE
CHARGED-PARTICLE TRANSPORT
ENERGY DEPOSITION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
HIGH-FREQUENCY HEATING
IONIC COMPOSITION
MODE CONVERSION
PBX DEVICES
PERFORMANCE
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMA HEATING
PLASMA PRODUCTION, HEATING, CURRENT DRIVE, AND INTERACTIONS