Current profile control and optimization under dominant electron heating in HL-2A

• Published in: Nuclear fusion Vol. 47; no. 9; pp. 1318 - 1325
• Main Authors: Gao, Q.D, Budny, R.V, Jiao, Y.M, Indireshkumar, K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 01.09.2007; Institute of Physics
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Current drive; helicity injection; Electronic tubes, masers; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Magnetic confinement and equilibrium; Physics; Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges; Physics of plasmas and electric discharges; Wave absorption; Electron cyclotron wave; Theoretical study; Microwave amplifiers; Microwave generation; Electron heating; Optimization; Current drive; Microwave generator; Microwave technology; Gyrotrons; Microwave devices; Microwave oscillators; Microwave resonator; Non linear effect; Plasma heating; Microwave emission; Magnetic shear
• ISSN: 0029-5515; 1741-4326
• DOI: 10.1088/0029-5515/47/9/032

The establishment of the current profile as in the hybrid scenario is studied under the condition of dominant electron heating in HL-2A. The scenarios with injecting lower hybrid (LH) and electron cyclotron (EC) waves are under numerical study. Carefully adjusting the position of non-inductive current driven by two groups of gyrotron, an optimized q -profile was obtained with q a = 3.78 and a weak shear region extending to ρ ∼ 0.45 (where ρ is the square-root of toroidal flux normalized to its value at the plasma boundary) in low-density discharges of . When 0.5 MW LH power in the current drive mode and 0.95 MW EC power mainly for plasma heating are used to control the current profile, a hybrid discharge scenario with a weak magnetic shear region extended to ρ = 0.6 and q a = 3.21 is established by controlling the EC absorption position. The mechanism of the LH wave absorption in the HL-2A plasma causes interplay of the distribution of the LH driven current with the modification of the plasma configuration, which constitutes non-linearity in the LH wave deposition. Due to the non-linearity the LH wave deposition position changes spontaneously or oscillates. The oscillatory behaviour caused by the non-linear effect of the LH wave deposition is analysed.