Alcator C-Mod Weekly Highlights February 8, 2002 The annual meeting of the Alcator C-Mod Program Advisory Committee was held on February 6 and 7. Reassembly continued on Alcator C-Mod, and a great deal of progress was made on the LH MIE Project. Preparations for the new RFX beam, and work on ICRF systems also continued. Program Advisory Committee Meeting ---------------------------------- The Alcator C-Mod Program Advisory Committee meeting was held February 6 and 7 at MIT. Michael Mauel, Columbia University, chaired the committee, with the other members consisting of Ed Synakowski, PPPL, Dick Majeski, PPPL, Tony Leonard, GA, and Vincent Chan, also of GA. John Willis and Rostom Dagazian, DoE OFES, also attended. Two members of the PAC, Ray Fonck, U. of Wisc, and Claude Gormezano, Frascati, were unable to attend. After a welcome by Miklos Porkolab, and an introduction and charge by Ian Hutchinson, Earl Marmar gave an overview of the C-Mod Program and plans. Other talks given were: Feb 6: Advanced Tokamak Thrust - Amanda Hubbard Burning Plasma Support Thrust - Steve Wolfe Ideas Forum and Run Planning - Jim Terry Transport - Martin Greenwald Divertor Physics - Brian LaBombard RF Physics - Steve Wukitch MHD - Steve Wolfe Lower Hybrid - Ron Parker DNB - Bob Granetz Feb 7: Facilities - Jim Irby PPPL collaborations - Gerd Schilling (PPPL) U. Texas Collaborations - Rowan (U Texas) These talks will soon be available on the WEB. Following an executive session of the committee, feedback was given to the Alcator Group regarding our previous work, and our near and long term plans. Operations and Power Systems ---------------------------- Preparations for machining the cylinder were completed this week, with the actual machining now scheduled to begin next Monday. This process was slowed somewhat by installation of the new Cell air handler just a few feet away from the cylinder. The new air handler is now installed and expected to double the cooling capacity of the Cell air conditioning system. The OH1 and OH2U coaxes have been hi-potted successfully and are ready for installation. The springplate hydraulic installation tool is operational. We expect to have all lower springplates installed by late next week. Bus Varistor power cabling is nearly complete. Some connections will be left unconnected until a bus inspection and required replating can be done. The construction of the Rogowski panel board is also nearly complete. Work will begin on the Alternator varistor inspection and refurbishing soon. The isolation amplifiers for the new TF scanner circuits in the PEI have been tested. Work continues on the new much faster TC and TF resistance measurement systems. The RS232 fiber optic transceivers have been specified, and the TC box to interconnect panel wiring is well underway. Lower Hybrid MIE Project ------------------------ All three klystron carts required for Phase I operation of the LH current drive experiments are now installed in the C-Mod Cell. Eight of the twelve klystrons are also installed, and connections to the water cooling system have begun. All but one of the protection and control cabinets have been installed. The remaining cabinet is being used in the HVPS tests that also began this week. The HVPS has driven a 250 Ohm water load to nearly full current and voltage. The supply which is rated at 50 kV, 208 Amps was brought up to 40 kV at 160 Amps. A possible control or fault system problem did not allow the full 208 Amp level to be reached this week. Testing will resume on Monday, at which point this issue will be addressed. Two engineers from the vendor are on-site for this commissioning effort. A successful test of the 200 HP water cooling pump was made on Friday. The 75 HP pump re-installation is expected soon. ICRF Systems ------------ We continued in-house machining of the D and E-Port Faraday screens, and the J-Port current straps. Work also continued on phase detection and fault electronics. An order has been placed for four more demodulator boards incorporating what we hope are final design changes. Testing of the in house modified boards was highly successful. DNB and Related Diagnostics --------------------------- The F-Port flange is being machined at an outside company with delivery expected next week. Wiring of the PLC rack for the DNB vacuum system is finished and tested for wiring errors. Final testing will await completion of the PLC software. The fueling system design has begun. Preparation of an area for staging of the RFX beam was completed. The Budker installation and commissioning team is scheduled to arrive at MIT on February 17. The RFX beam was shipped from the Budker Institute (Novisibirsk) and arrived in New York this week. After clearing customs in NY, we expect delivery to MIT this Saturday. Travel and Visits ----------------- Ned Sauthoff and Joel Hosea attended the C-Mod PAC meeting from PPPL. Paul Bonoli attended the US-Japan Workshop on RF Physics, Profile Control, and Steady State Operation using RF. The workshop was held at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan from Feb. 2-5, 2002. Paul gave a talk at the workshop titled, "ICRF Heated Internal Transport Barrier Modes in Alcator C-Mod". Howard Yuh travelled to PPPL from 1/29 - 2/2 to perform the optical alignment and to dry fit the new lens holders. Both were done successfully after some minor touch-up machining. All MSE parts were brought back to MIT-PSFC for cleaning, final assembly/alignment, and a throughput test. Howard is working with Russ Feder, PPPL, and Ron Bravenec, UT-FRC, on this project.