Investigation of the effect of electron cyclotron heating on runaway generation in the KSTAR tokamak

Wave enhanced runaway generation is expected to play an important role in the conversion of plasma current into runaway current during major disruptions. The fast electrons created by electron cyclotron heating (ECH) were used to study this issue in KSTAR. It is found that the fast electrons driven by ECH can enhance runaway production in the flat top phase with high loop voltage. The runaway current in disruptions was not enhanced by the ECH produced fast electron population due to the strong magnetic fluctuations which inhibited the generation of runaway electrons. It is found that a complete loss of existing REs during thermal quench has occurred in KSTAR limiter configuration discharges.     

HL－1M低混杂波电流驱动中的径向扩散效应

本文利用低混杂波电流驱动的准线性理论模型，研究了由于磁场的随机涨落而引起的快电子的反常输运对驱动电流分布和驱动效率的影响。结果表明，高能电子径向扩散将使驱动电流分布变平和展宽，同时驱动电流减小。     

托卡马克等离子体电流爬升阶段逃逸电子行为

 分析了电流爬升阶段等离子体密度和电流爬升率对逃逸电子行为的影响,研究了低杂波辅助电流驱动条件下的逃逸电子辐射行为。结果发现：电流爬升阶段等离子体密度的大小严重影响了电流爬升阶段甚至电流平顶阶段逃逸电子的行为,较低的等离子体密度将会导致放电过程中比较强的逃逸电子辐射;低能逃逸电子辐射随着电流爬升率的增大而增强;低杂波辅助电流爬升可以有效地节约装置的伏秒数;降低放电过程中的环电压,可有效抑制逃逸电子的产生。     

Role of bremsstrahlung radiation in limiting the energy of runaway electrons in tokamaks

Bremsstrahlung radiation of runaway electrons is found to be an energy limit for runaway electrons in tokamaks. The minimum and maximum energy of runaway electron beams is shown to be limited by collisions and bremsstrahlung radiation, respectively. It is also found that a massive injection of a high-Z gas such as xenon can terminate a disruption-generated runaway current before the runaway electrons hit the walls.     

HT-7托卡马克slide-away放电充气对等离子体行为的影响

本文研究了slide-away放电条件下的等离子体约束性能;分析了充气对等离子体约束性能以及反常多普勒共振不稳定性的影响.研究了等离子体密度的提升对slide-away放电过程中逃逸电子辐射行为的影响.研究结果发现:slide-away放电充气可以抑制逃逸电子反常多普勒不稳定性,但是使得等离子体约束状态变差,逃逸电子辐射增强.     

Observation of Runaway Electron Behaviour During Disruptions in LHCD Discharges in the HT‐7 Tokamak

Production of runaway electrons during disruptions has been observed in the HT‐7 Tokamak. The runaway current plateaus, which can carry part of the pre‐disruptive current, are observed in lower‐hybrid current drive (LHCD) limiter discharges. It is found that the runaway current can mitigate the disruptions effectively. We can use gas puffing to increase the line‐averaged density to restrain the runaway electrons and rebuild the plasmas after the disruptions. Detailed observations are presented on the runaway electrons generated following disruptions in the HT‐7 tokamak discharges. The results indicate that the magnetic oscillations play a significant role in the loss of runaway electrons in disruptions. There are two important preconditions to rebuild plasmas by runaway electrons after the disruptions. One of them are weak magnetic oscillations; another one are LHWs (lower‐hybrid waves) (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Runaway Electron Measurements in the EAST Tokamak

An experimental study of runaway electrons in the EAST tokamak has been performed by a recently developed multi‐channel hard x‐ray diagnostics based on NaI(TL) scintillator detectors. It is found that in the current quench phase, the inductive loop voltage plays an important role in the generation of runaway electrons. And the avalanche mechanism was the main mechanism for runaway electrons after the disruptions. The distribution and transportation of runaway electrons were also investigated by multi‐channel hard x‐ray diagnostics. It is also found that the intensity of runaway electrons emission in the core plasma was much higher than those in the downside of the cross‐section, while the emission intensity of runaway electrons in the core plasma was almost the same. Calculated shrinking coefficient of runaway electrons emission after the plasma disruption was about 26 m/s according to the experimental data (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Runaway electron generation decrease during a major disruption by limiter biasing in tokamaks

The high-energy current of runaway electrons during a major disruption in tokamak reactors can cause serious damage to the first wall of the reactors and reduce their life time. Therefore, finding a method to minimize runaway electron generation during a major disruption is much needed. Tokamak limiter biasing is one of the methods that can be used for controlling the radial electric field and can induce a transition to an improved confinement state. This paper attempts to examine the effect of limiter biasing on the generation of runaway electrons during a major disruption. To do so, a horizontal biased limiter placed on the tokamak was used. Main parameters such as plasma current, loop voltage, emitted hard X-ray intensity, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) oscillation and H_α radiation and spectrum of hard X-rays, in the presence and absence of negative and positive limiter biasing, were measured. The results show that the application of limiter biasing during a major disruption can reduce runaway electron generation.     

The Diffusion Coefficient Using Sawtooth Oscillation in IR-T1 Tokamak

The investigation of runaway electrons is expanded by different methods. The aim of this study is to show sawtooth oscillations of hard x-ray emission and with the help of sawtooth oscillations to obtain radial diffusion coefficient and magnetic fluctuations. In the same way, the hard x-ray spectral evaluation is compared in several time intervals and it is shown that during discharge,the energy of the runaway electrons is less than 200 keV. Also,for typical plasmas, population of runaway electrons is measured at seven time intervals of 5 ms and temporal evaluation of runaway electron mean energy. The sawtooth-like shape is observed in the hard x-ray range(10-1000 keV). By the sawtooth oscillation method, the RE diffusion coefficient in radial transport in the IR-T1 plasma is D_r~0.5 m~2 s~(-1). The magnetic field fluctuation due to magnetic diffusion D_m is given as br/Br~10~(-4).     

基于三维Fokker-Planck方程的电子回旋波加热与电流驱动模拟

利用反弹平均的三维Fokker-Planck方程,对电子回旋波加热和电流驱动进行数值模拟.考虑超热电子径向扩散对电流驱动的影响,在方程中加入径向扩散输运项,采用九点格式的中心差分对方程进行数值离散得到系数矩阵,采用不完全LU分解对系数矩阵进行预处理,利用双共轭梯度稳定法求解得到分布函数.在不考虑电子径向扩散输运条件下,得到电子回旋波驱动电流密度与功率沉积密度的分布;考虑径向扩散输运的计算结果与BANDIT3D进行比较,驱动电流分布的趋势基本一致.     

Experimental observation of interaction of runaway electrons with lower hybrid waves in slide-away regime in the HT-7 tokamak

The characters of slide-away regime in the HT-7 tokamak have been investigated, and evidences that lower hybrid waves (LHW) are excited in slide-away regime are presented based on local fast electron bremsstrahlung (FEB) emission profile and FEB emission spectrum. The interaction of high energy runaway electrons with those excited LHW via anomalous Doppler resonance is analyzed and the resonance energy is derived with which the behavior of those relevant signals in the experiment can be explained very well. It is shown that this interaction can provide an effective way to reduce the damage to the machine caused by runaway electrons.     

AC operation and runaway electron behaviour in HT-7 tokamak

Operation of HT-7 tokamak in a multicycle alternating square wave plasma current regime is reported. A set of AC operation experiments, including LHW heating to enhance plasma ionization during the current transition and current sustainment, is described. The behaviour of runaway electrons is analysed by four HXR detectors tangentially viewing the plasma in the equatorial plane, within energy ranges 0.3--1.2~MeV and 0.3--7~MeV, separately. High energy runaway electrons (\sim MeV) are found to circulate predominantly in the opposite direction to the plasma current, while the number of low energy runaway electrons (\sim tens to hundreds of keV) circulating along the plasma current is comparable to that in the direction opposite to the plasma current. AC operation with lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) is observed to have an additional benefit of suppressing the runaway electrons if the drop of the loop voltage is large enough.     

Electron flux spatial distribution in an ultrashort avalanche electron beam generated at atmospheric air pressure

The results of experimental study on generation of ultrashort avalanche electron beams (UAEB) in gas-filled diodes are considered. The spatial distribution of the flux of runaway electrons and X-rays generated in the gas diode fed by nanosecond high-voltage pulses was studied. It was shown that the UAEB in the gas-filled diode (at an air pressure of 1 atm) with sharply nonuniform electric field is generated from the interelectrode region into a solid angle exceeding 2π sr. Narrowing of the cathode-anode gap results in a decrease in the current amplitude of the beam generated to side walls of the gas diode and an increase in the beam current pulse duration in both axial and radial directions. Current pulses of the beam initiated from the side surface of the tubular cathode were detected.     

On the influence of the voltage pulse rise time and cathode geometry on the generation of a supershort avalanche electron beam

The influence of the voltage pulse rise time on the amplitude of a runaway electron beam and X-ray generation in air and nitrogen under atmospheric pressure is studied experimentally and theoretically. Generalization of the whistle criterion for the case of a nonuniform field is suggested. It is shown that the maximal energy of beam electrons and the beam current amplitude grow when the voltage pulse rise time decreases. It is found that the amplitude of the runaway electron current reaches a maximum at a certain curvature of the cathode. The maximal energy of electrons increases when the radius of curvature of the cathode exceeds the value at which the beam current amplitude is the highest. If the field is nonuniform, its critical value at which many electrons run away is more than an order of magnitude lower than in the uniform field.     

Synchrotron radiation intensity and energy of runaway electrons in EAST tokamak

A detailed analysis of the synchrotron radiation intensity and energy of runaway electrons is presented for the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak(EAST). In order to make the energy of the calculated runaway electrons more accurate, we take the Shafranov shift into account. The results of the analysis show that the synchrotron radiation intensity and energy of runaway electrons did not reach the maximum at the same time. The energy of the runaway electrons reached the maximum first, and then the synchrotron radiation intensity of the runaway electrons reached the maximum.We also analyze the runaway electrons density, and find that the density of runaway electrons continuously increased. For this reason, although the energy of the runaway electrons dropped but the synchrotron radiation intensity of the runaway electrons would continue rising for a while.     

HT-7托卡马克等离子体密度调制实验中的逃逸电子行为

在HT-7托卡马克的等离子体密度调制实验中,通过对欧姆和低杂波电流驱动两种放电条件下等离子体逃逸电子辐射行为的研究,验证了非准稳态等离子体中逃逸电子的产生机制,研究了欧姆和低杂波电流驱动两种放电条件下的大量充气对等离子体整体约束性能的影响。研究结果发现:放电过程中额外的大量工作气体的充入使等离子体偏离了准稳态,逃逸电子初级产生机制和次级产生机制准稳态的假设条件被打破,这时候需要利用非准稳态条件下修正后的逃逸电子归一化阈值速度来解释逃逸电子的辐射行为; 同时也发现放电过程中额外的大量工作气体的充入将使等离子体的整体约束性能变差。     

低杂波电流驱动下HT-7超导托卡马克逃逸电子行为

 HT-7托卡马克的逃逸电子诊断系统由CdTe,BGO,Na三种探测器组成,可以用来观测逃逸电子撞击托卡马克第一壁材料产生的硬X射线轫致辐射,它的能量响应范围是0.3~1.5 MeV。结合电子回旋辐射、中子等诊断手段,研究了HT-7超导托卡马克在低杂波电流驱动下的逃逸电子行为。实验结果显示：高功率低杂波的关断和低功率低杂波的投入都会增强逃逸电子的产生,但是如果低杂波可以将等离子体环电压降低到逃逸的阈值电场以下,低杂波的投入就可以抑制电子的逃逸。逃逸电子的产生还和低杂波功率有着密切的关系,可以通过控制低杂波的投入和关断的时刻以及改变低杂波功率来抑制逃逸电子的产生。     

HT-7托卡马克等离子体slide-away放电研究

在HT-7托卡马克上,只在等离子体放电击穿阶段充气,击穿后关闭充气阀门,让装置内真空室器壁的出气维持放电的进行,通过密度衰减实现了slide-away放电.实验分析了不同等离子体电流平台下的slide-away放电模式的密度阈值,以及相同充气量的条件下放电等离子体电流对实现slide-away放电的影响.研究了slide-away放电模式下密度提升对等离子体放电状态的影响.结果发现,slide-away放电模式下的密度提升使得H_a线辐射强度增强,等离子体中超热电子的约束性能变差,等离子体芯部的超热电子减少,高能逃逸电子厚靶轫致辐射增加. 关键词： slide-away放电 托卡马克 等离子体 逃逸电子     

等离子体中充入工作气体抑制电子逃逸行为分析

利用NaI闪烁体探测器组成的伽马射线探测系统和BF3 正比计数管、3He正比计数管和ZnS闪烁体探测器组成的中子探测系统,研究了欧姆放电平稳阶段充入工作气体后对逃逸电子产生过程的影响。实验结果表明：在欧姆放电平稳阶段充入工作气体严重影响了逃逸电子行为,充入的工作气体能有效抑制逃逸电子的产生。     

Positron creation and annihilation in tokamak plasmas with runaway electrons

It is shown that electron-positron pair production is expected to occur in post-disruption plasmas in large tokamaks, including JET and JT-60U, where up to about 10(14) positrons may be created in collisions between multi-MeV runaway electrons and thermal particles. If the loop voltage is large enough, they are accelerated and form a beam of long-lived runaway positrons in the direction opposite to that of the electrons; if the loop voltage is smaller, the positrons have a lifetime of a few hundred ms, in which they are slowed down to energies comparable to that of the cool ( less, similar 10 eV) background plasma before being annihilated.