Abstract By employing Bayesian inference techniques, the full electron density profile from the plasma core to the edge of Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is inferred solely from neutral hydrogen beam and ...halo Balmer- α (H α ) emission data. The halo is a cloud of neutrals forming in the vicinity of the injected neutral beam due to multiple charge exchange reactions. W7-X is equipped with several neutral hydrogen beam heating sources and an H α spectroscopy system that views these sources from different angles and penetration depths in the plasma. As the beam and halo emission form complex spectra for each spatial point that are non-linearly dependent on the plasma density profile and other parameters, a complete model from the neutral beam injection and halo formation through to the spectroscopic measurements is required. The model is used here to infer electron density profiles for a range of common W7-X plasma scenarios. The inferred profiles show good agreement with profiles determined by the Thomson scattering and interferometry diagnostics across a broad range of absolute densities without any changes to the input or fitting parameters. The time evolution of the density profile in a discharge with continuous core density peaking is successfully reconstructed, demonstrating sufficient spatial resolution to infer strongly shaped profiles. Furthermore, it is shown as a proof of concept that the model is also able to infer the main ion temperature profile using the same data set.
Abstract In this work, the Coherence Imaging Spectroscopy technique is exploited for active charge exchange radiation measurements to infer high spatial resolution 2D ion temperature ( T i ) maps in ...the core region of Wendelstein 7-X plasmas. A synthetic model of the diagnostic is developed and used for the optimization of the hardware components for the expected ion temperatures ( T i ∼ 2 keV) prioritizing T i measurements while also considering the ion velocity flow resolution. The experimental set-up is shown and the diagnostic calibration procedure for T i measurements is introduced. A combination of both simulations and experimental calibrations enable high fidelity system group delay ( ∂ ϕ ∂ λ ) characterization in the whole visible spectral range. Finally, the signal processing techniques applied to the diagnostic signal are introduced and first measurements of 2D T i maps are presented and validated against standard Charge eXchange Recombination Spectroscopy T i profiles, finding excellent agreement.
FIDASIM is a code that models signals produced by charge-exchange reactions between neutrals and ions (both fast and thermal) in magnetically confined plasmas. With the ion distribution function as ...input, the code predicts the efflux to a neutral particle analyzer diagnostic and the photon radiance of Balmer-alpha light to a fast-ion D α diagnostic, in addition to many other related quantities. A new, parallelized version of the Monte Carlo code FIDASIM has been developed in Fortran90 that is substantially faster than the original interactive data language version. Modified algorithms include more accurate treatments of the time dependent collisional-radiative equations that describe neutral energy levels, of the cloud of 'halo' neutrals that surround the injected neutral beam, and of finite Larmor radius effects. Enhanced physics capabilities include modelling 'passive' signals from cold edge neutrals, the ability to treat general three-dimensional magnetic confinement configurations, and calculations of diagnostic-specific weight functions that enable tomographic reconstructions of the fast-ion distribution function. Neutral beam attenuation, beam emission, and fast-ion birth profiles are also modelled. The new algorithms have been successfully validated against experimental data and new features have been tested through benchmarks between two independently developed versions of the code.
Abstract
Absolute radial impurity density profiles in the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator (W7-X) are derived from charge exchange recombination spectroscopy using modelling of the neutral beam. The ...approach is validated via cross comparisons of the neutral beam attenuation, the radial localization of ion temperature measurements, as well as a comparison of the effective plasma charge determined by other diagnostics. The latter implies the validity of the obtained absolute density levels. The simulation based approach novel to W7-X allows to assess the neutral beam halo population, introducing corrections to the shape and amplitude of determined impurity density profiles. To illustrate the capabilities of the derived impurity density profiles, the particle transport properties in a W7-X discharge heated by electron cyclotron resonance heating were assessed. Density profiles for various impurities are found to be flat, consistent with dominant anomalous diffusion in the range 0.1–5.0 m
2
s
−1
. This range of the anomalous transport in such plasmas is in line with other impurity diagnostics at W7-X.
The present paper describes the effect of magnetic pick-up coil transfer functions on mode number analysis in magnetically confined fusion plasmas. Magnetic probes mounted inside the vacuum chamber ...are widely used to characterize the mode structure of magnetohydrodynamic modes, as, due to their relative simplicity and compact nature, several coils can be distributed over the vessel. Phase differences between the transfer functions of different magnetic pick-up coils lead to systematic errors in time- and frequency resolved mode number analysis. This paper presents the first in situ, end-to-end calibration of a magnetic pick-up coil system which was carried out by using an in-vessel driving coil on ASDEX Upgrade. The effect of the phase differences in the pick-up coil transfer functions is most significant in the 50-250 kHz frequency range, where the relative phase shift between the different probes can be up to 1 radian ( 60°). By applying a correction based on the transfer functions we found smaller residuals of mode number fitting in the considered discharges. In most cases an order of magnitude improvement was observed in the residuals of the mode number fits, which could open the way to investigate weaker electromagnetic oscillations with even high mode numbers.
Abstract
Measurements using a recently installed edge fast-ion D-alpha (FIDA) diagnostic at the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak show a clear effect of edge localised modes (ELMs) on the passive FIDA signals. ...While a reduction in the passive FIDA emission is observed in the scrape-off layer (SOL) region, measurements close to the last closed flux surface show an increase in signals shortly after ELMs, followed by a decrease. The decrease provides a clear sign of fast-ion losses in the SOL, while the increase can be explained by an enhanced neutral density during ELMs inside the plasma. In addition, small ELMs are observed, which barely change the neutral density and plasma position but still cause significant changes in the passive FIDA signals. A comparison of the measurements with forward modelling shows that 60% to 80% of the fast ions are lost by ELMs outside the last closed flux surface. In addition, a 20% decrease of the fast-ion density in a range up to 4 cm within the last closed flux surface can be inferred. This range agrees well with the latest modelling results of ELMs using the non-linear MHD code JOREK and shows that less than 0.3% of all fast ions are lost by ELMs.
Abstract
The initial operation of neutral beams in Wendelstein 7-X enabled the first measurements of carbon (C
6+
) temperature and rotation with a multi-chord charge exchange recombination ...spectroscopy system. In this article we analyse the velocity measurements obtained with this system to infer the profiles of radial electric field,
E
r
, and net parallel velocity of fully stripped carbon ions,
V
‖
. We include a general treatment of the flow geometry and the velocity corrections due to the energy dependence of the charge exchange cross section. The inverted profiles are compared with neoclassical calculations for various plasma conditions and two magnetic configurations. It is found that both the
E
r
and
V
‖
experimental profiles agree in sign and order of magnitude with the neoclassical expectations and reproduce the expected dependencies on plasma parameters and magnetic configuration, within the reduced dataset presented. However, quantitative differences with respect to the neoclassical profiles are observed above the estimated errors in various conditions.
The first fast ion experiments in Wendelstein 7-X were performed in 2018. They are one of the first steps in demonstrating the optimised fast ion confinement of the stellarator. The fast ions were ...produced with a neutral beam injection (NBI) system and detected with infrared cameras (IR), a fast ion loss detector (FILD), fast ion charge exchange spectroscopy (FIDA), and post-mortem analysis of plasma facing components. The fast ion distribution function in the plasma and at the wall is being modelled with the ASCOT suite of codes. They calculate the ionisation of the injected neutrals and the consecutive slowing down process of the fast ions. The primary output of the code is the multidimensional fast ion distribution function within the plasma and the distribution of particle hit locations and velocities on the wall. Synthetic measurements based on ASCOT output are compared to experimental results to assess the validity of the modelling. This contribution presents an overview of the various fast ion measurements in 2018 and the current modelling status. The validation and data-analysis is on-going, but the wall load IR modelling already yield results that match with the experiments.
The first fast ion experiments in Wendelstein 7-X were performed in 2018. They are one of the first steps in demonstrating the optimised fast ion confinement of the stellarator. The fast ions were ...produced with a neutral beam injection (NBI) system and detected with infrared cameras (IR), a fast ion loss detector (FILD), fast ion charge exchange spectroscopy (FIDA), and post-mortem analysis of plasma facing components. The fast ion distribution function in the plasma and at the wall is being modelled with the ASCOT suite of codes. They calculate the ionisation of the injected neutrals and the consecutive slowing down process of the fast ions. The primary output of the code is the multidimensional fast ion distribution function within the plasma and the distribution of particle hit locations and velocities on the wall. Synthetic measurements based on ASCOT output are compared to experimental results to assess the validity of the modelling. This contribution presents an overview of the various fast ion measurements in 2018 and the current modelling status. The validation and data-analysis is on-going, but the wall load IR modelling already yield results that match with the experiments.
The present paper describes the effect of magnetic pick-up coil transfer functions on mode number analysis in magnetically confined fusion plasmas. Magnetic probes mounted inside the vacuum chamber ...are widely used to characterize the mode structure of magnetohydrodynamic modes, as, due to their relative simplicity and compact nature, several coils can be distributed over the vessel. Phase differences between the transfer functions of different magnetic pick-up coils lead to systematic errors in time- and frequency resolved mode number analysis. This paper presents the first in-situ, end-to-end calibration of a magnetic pick-up coil system which was carried out by using an in-vessel driving coil on ASDEX Upgrade. The effect of the phase differences in the pick-up coil transfer functions is most significant in the 50-250 kHz frequency range, where the relative phase shift between the different probes can be up to 1 radian (~60{\deg}). By applying a correction based on the transfer functions we found smaller residuals of mode number fitting in the considered discharges. In most cases an order of magnitude improvement was observed in the residuals of the mode number fits, which could open the way to investigate weaker electromagnetic oscillations with even high mode numbers.