Disruptive neoclassical tearing mode seeding in DIII-D with implications for ITER
Abstract
New studies identify the critical parameters and physics governing disruptive neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) onset. An m/n = 2/1 mode in DIII-D that begins to grow robustly after a seeding event (edge localized mode ELM or sawtooth precursor and crash) causes the mode rotation to drop close to the plasma's Er = 0 rest frame; this condition opens the stabilizing ion-polarization current 'gate' and destabilizes an otherwise marginally stable NTM. Our new experimental and theoretical insights and novel toroidal theory-based modeling are benchmarked and scalable to ITER and other future experiments. Here, the nominal ITER rotation at q = 2 is found to be stabilizing ('gate closed') except for MHD-induced transients that could 'open the gate'. Extrapolating from the DIII-D ITER baseline scenario (IBS) discharges, MHD transients are much more likely to destabilize problematic robustly growing 2/1 NTMs in ITER; this makes predictions of seeding and control of both ELMs and sawteeth imperative for more than just minimizing divertor pulsed-heat loading.
- Authors:
-
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
- Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
- Tech-X Corporation, Boulder, CO (United States)
- Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1863244
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1869072
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FC02-04ER54698; AC05-00OR22725
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nuclear Fusion
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 62; Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 0029-5515
- Publisher:
- IOP Science
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; tearing; stability; tokamak
Citation Formats
La Haye, R. J., Chrystal, C., Strait, E. J., Callen, J. D., Hegna, C. C., Howell, E. C., Okabayashi, M., and Wilcox, R. S. Disruptive neoclassical tearing mode seeding in DIII-D with implications for ITER. United States: N. p., 2022.
Web. doi:10.1088/1741-4326/ac351f.
La Haye, R. J., Chrystal, C., Strait, E. J., Callen, J. D., Hegna, C. C., Howell, E. C., Okabayashi, M., & Wilcox, R. S. Disruptive neoclassical tearing mode seeding in DIII-D with implications for ITER. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac351f
La Haye, R. J., Chrystal, C., Strait, E. J., Callen, J. D., Hegna, C. C., Howell, E. C., Okabayashi, M., and Wilcox, R. S. Wed .
"Disruptive neoclassical tearing mode seeding in DIII-D with implications for ITER". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac351f. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1863244.
@article{osti_1863244,
title = {Disruptive neoclassical tearing mode seeding in DIII-D with implications for ITER},
author = {La Haye, R. J. and Chrystal, C. and Strait, E. J. and Callen, J. D. and Hegna, C. C. and Howell, E. C. and Okabayashi, M. and Wilcox, R. S.},
abstractNote = {New studies identify the critical parameters and physics governing disruptive neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) onset. An m/n = 2/1 mode in DIII-D that begins to grow robustly after a seeding event (edge localized mode ELM or sawtooth precursor and crash) causes the mode rotation to drop close to the plasma's Er = 0 rest frame; this condition opens the stabilizing ion-polarization current 'gate' and destabilizes an otherwise marginally stable NTM. Our new experimental and theoretical insights and novel toroidal theory-based modeling are benchmarked and scalable to ITER and other future experiments. Here, the nominal ITER rotation at q = 2 is found to be stabilizing ('gate closed') except for MHD-induced transients that could 'open the gate'. Extrapolating from the DIII-D ITER baseline scenario (IBS) discharges, MHD transients are much more likely to destabilize problematic robustly growing 2/1 NTMs in ITER; this makes predictions of seeding and control of both ELMs and sawteeth imperative for more than just minimizing divertor pulsed-heat loading.},
doi = {10.1088/1741-4326/ac351f},
journal = {Nuclear Fusion},
number = 5,
volume = 62,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Mar 30 00:00:00 EDT 2022},
month = {Wed Mar 30 00:00:00 EDT 2022}
}
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