Alcator C-MOD Weekly Highlights April 23, 1996 Frederick Hawthorne and Rachel Watson of UCLA have completed a preliminary analysis of the boron deposits found on the outer divertor cover plates. Using NMR techniques, they have found mostly salt-like compounds, some boric oxides, and small amounts of boric acid. Analysis continues on wipes made of the first wall tiles and outer vessel wall. The camera fixture attached to the inner wall has now been used to document in-vessel hardware including the upper and lower inner divertor, the outer divertor, diagnostics, ports, and the outer vessel wall. This information will be used to help plan diagnostic relocations and additions as we add new major upgrades such as the RF antenna, diagnostic neutral beam, and divertor cryopump. We are now carefully documenting the outer divertor before it is removed. Changes will be made to the outer divertor support structure in preparation for higher plasma current operation during the summer run. Work on several engineering systems continued this week in preparation for both the next run period and longer term goals. The flywheel bearings are now back in-house and are being installed. Re-assembly of the alternator and associated systems continues. Cold gas tests of the TF cooling are being conducted in preparation for installation of the new TF cooling control valves. TORVAC control racks are being readied for relocation to the new west diagnostic stand extension. In addition, cabling for several diagnostic racks is also being measured for extension or replacement in preparation for relocation. These changes will provide room for the LN2 and LHe dewers needed for the prototype cryopump, as well as space for the RF components needed to feed the new RF antenna. The 110/208 VAC control power has been supplied to the RF switchgear and testing of the breaker is set to begin this week. Requests for quotes have been issued for installation of the 13.8 KVAC and high voltage DC stress cones needed to supply power to the new RF transmitters. Layout of the control cabinet has been completed, and wiring between the FMIT drivers and the control cabinet is being planned. Analysis of data from the last run campaign continues. As part of work being carried out by Francesca Bombarda, Stefano Migliuolo, and Bruno Coppi, aimed at the characterization of C-MOD sawteeth as a function of plasma parameters, some preliminary results have been obtained. For example, the sawtooth period is observed to be independent of density. In ohmic plasmas, at 5.3 T and 0.8 MA, the sawtooth period is about 5 ms, over a density range of 0.7 to 4.5X10^20/m^3. The sawtooth period increases with power, as can be clearly observed when RF heating is applied, and also scales linearly with stored energy. This correlation is observed over a wide range of stored energy (20-200 KJ), and includes low and high current L-mode, pre- and post-boronization, ohmic and RF, and H-modes discharges. Joe Snipes attended the 4th ITER Confinement Database and Modelling Expert Group Workshop held in Moscow. He presented talks on 1) the C-MOD results on the H-mode threshold, 2) the proposed joint experiment at fixed density and toroidal field with JET, JT-60U, and ASDEX-Upgrade to determine the size scaling of the H-mode threshold, and 3) the C-MOD H-mode confinement results. The meeting was intended as an update of the analysis of the ITER confinement and H-mode threshold databases as well as the profile database that is being used to test models of both H and L-mode confinement. It was attended by about 20 physicists from most of the major tokamaks around the world (Alcator C-MOD, ASDEX-Upgrade, DIII-D, JET, JFT-2M, JT-60U, PBX-M, T-10, TCV, and TFTR) as well as a number of modellers. The Alcator C-MOD data were particularly well received by the group because C-MOD operates in a quite different size and toroidal field range than the other tokamaks. Inclusion of C-MOD data increases the range of the experimental measurements, and provides a good test of the extrapolation of the existing scalings. In particular, the C-MOD threshold data challenges the empirical scaling with toroidal field and size. Similarly, the C-MOD H-mode confinement data lies significantly above the published scalings, and appears to indicate a weaker size dependence (or stronger field scaling) than previously expected. Bob Granetz is in Japan attending the 4th ITER Physics Expert Group Meeting on Disruptions, Plasma Control, and MHD. He is presenting talks on C-MOD halo current and killer pellet results.