Alcator C-Mod Run 1001219 Information

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Miniproposals
Miniproposal:231
Date Filed:12/29/1998
Title:Test Critical Gradient Models with Modulated Heating
First Author:Martin Greenwald
Session Leader:Martin Greenwald (shots 1-15)

Operators
Session leader(s):Martin Greenwald
Physics operator(s):Joseph Snipes
Engineering operator(s): Unknown

Engineering Operator Run Comment
MP #231 Critical Gradients. Greenwald/Snipes/Cochran.

Session Leader Plans

Physics Operators Plans

Session Leader Summaries
Entered: Jul 7 2004 03:49:26:070PM
Author: To Be Determined
Run Summary for 1001219
MP231 - modulated heating

Session Leader - M. Greenwald
Phys Op - J. Snipes


Background and Plan:

The idea is to investigate temperature profile stiffness via
modulated heating. The amplitude and phase response can be used to
get an incremental chi which is usually much higher than the chi
computed from power balance. The difference might be attributed to
very strong transport that turns on when the normalized temperature
gradient is above a threshold. ITG theory, for example, predicts a
big increase in transport when R/L_T goes above a R/L_Tcritical -
forcing the plasma to marginal stability. These experiments would
give us a quantitative measurement of how sharp the transport
turn-on is - that is - how strongly the marginal stability condition
is enforced.

To do help with the data analysis, we will try to synchronize the
sawteeth to the modulation of the central heating (at 80 MHz). This
would sharpen up the fourier spectrum of the sawteeth.

The steps we will follow will be:

1. get a standard EDA H-mode with 80 MHz heating from D and E.
(5.4 T, 0.8 MA)

2. Modulate the power from one of these antennas to a frequency
slightly higher than the sawtooth frequency. We will want to vary
the degree of modulation from 100% to the minimum necessary to
achieve synchronization.

3. With the 80 MHz system at the lowest modulation consistent with
sawtooth synchronization, turn on the J-Port system (70 MHz). This
system will be 100% modulated.

4. If successful, we will vary the net D and E power from the
maximum to the minimum consistent with staying in H-mode.

5. If time permits, we would repeat these conditions in L-mode using
an upper null configuration. We should be able to run over a larger
power range.

==============================

Results:

Only moderate success. There were just 15 shots today - Time
between shots was longer than average - we also had a slightly late
start due to some diagnostic problems and experienced a longer
delay when the computers scanning the magnet thermocouples decided
to go on strike.

We were able to synchronize the sawteeth to the ICRF modulation on
shots 13,14 and 15. These shots had an ELMfree period followed by
an brief H/L transition and a return to EDA H-mode. The sawteeth
were synched during the EDA. We ran out of time before we could get
the J port modulation going.

The sawtooth heat pulses were easy to see on all three ECE systems.
Clear, progressive phase delays could be seen on the outer channels
which means we should have good data for calculation of the
incremental chi. The amplitude was increased with the addition of
modulated RF and the phase delay decreased.

================================

Shots suitable for further analysis include:

1001219007
1001219013
1001219014
1001219015

Physics Operator Summaries
Entered: Jul 7 2004 04:37:12:897PM
Author: To Be Determined
Engineering setup and run plan for Thursday 07 Dec 2000.

MP #231 Critical Gradients

Session leader: Greenwald
Physics operator: Snipes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Engineering setup:

ECDC in D2 for 2 hours before the run.

Power systems as on 1001205001.

Gas setup:
fill B-top with 6 psi of D2 Hybrid enabled
fill B-side lower with 1 psi of Ar Hybrid DISABLED
fill B-side upper with 35 psi of D2 Hybrid DISABLED, for ECDC
fill C-side with 30 psi of D2 Hybrid enabled
leave J-bot as is Hybrid DISABLED

Enable the following gate valves: ECE, VUV, Beast, DNB

Run starts at 09:00 and ends at 17:00.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RF Setup:

XMTRs 1,2, and 3 should be made ready by 8:00 (run-on).
XMTR 4 should be made ready by 6:30 (run-on).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run Plan:

Will start with standard 0.8 MA, 5.4 T, nl04 = 1 x 10^20 m^-2 plasmas with ICRF
from D and E to get into H-mode. We will then modulate one of the two antennas
by at most 50% to attempt to synchronize the sawtooth period with the
modulation. Then, we will add 100% modulation of the J-port antenna at 70 MHz
to provide off-axis heat pulses to investigate heat transport. If time
permits, a power scan will be tried as well and we may go to upper null plasmas
(e.g., 1001204018) to have a larger range of power in the same confinement
regime (L-mode).

Summary:
The machine ran very well today. We had no fizzles and no duds and all plasmas
went well into flattop. There was a long delay of nearly 2 hours due to a bit
being set that inhibited measurements of the magnet temperatures. Bosco
tracked it down in the PLC ladder and reset the bit and we started again. We
ran on Z meter density feedback control though the TCI did work reliably in the
end. We ran a couple of shots with upper null, but they both disrupted shortly
after the ICRF reached full power (2.5 MW) apparently due to overheating of the
top of the vessel where there are no protection tiles. A third upper null shot
(shot 10) ran through O.K. at P_RF = 1.5 MW though there was a large increase
in radiated power during the RF. So, it is probably not advisable to run upper
null plasmas with more than 1.5 - 2 MW of RF. Attempts were made to
synchronize the sawteeth with modulated ICRF at 80 MHz and they all failed even
with 1 MW modulation on top of 2 MW background RF. So, the experiment was
unsuccessful at determining heat pulse propagation between sawteeth. The 70
MHz RF was not successfully coupled.

Shot,Duration(s),Ipmax(MA) Shot,Duration(s),Ipmax
1 0.981 0.784 2 1.782 0.787
3 1.410 0.792 4 1.862 0.797
5 1.883 0.795 6 1.955 0.800
7 1.956 0.800 8 0.740 0.828
9 0.783 0.826 10 1.944 0.792
11 1.952 0.989 12 1.948 0.992
13 1.962 0.992 14 1.961 0.989
15 1.961 0.989
Finished summary for 1001219 Total of 15 shots.
15 shots. 15 plasmas. 0 fizzles. 0 duds.

Shot 1: Copied shot 1001205001 and set NL_ZMETER to 0.75, which should
correspond to nl04 = 1.0 x 10^20 m^-2 and increased the TF current to
152 kA to reach 5.4 T. Disrupted at 0.97 s. Prad increased just
after 0.94 s, probably a brick fell in.
Shot 2: Increased RCUR offset to 6500 from 5500 at Wolfe's suggestion since
the startup did not look very good. Good shot. Big injection visible
on Prad at 0.77 s. Got 1.1 MW out of D and E.
Shot 3: Decreased NL_ZMETER to 0.7. Disrupted at 1.4 s. Prad increased at
1.37 s during the RF. Right gap decreases to 0.5 cm during the shot.
Shot 4: Put in a 3 mm inward ramp in RCUR from 0.5 s to 1.4 s to try to keep
the outer gap constant at 1 cm. Good shot. Started 0.5 MW modulation
of 80 MHz RF to attempt to synchronize the sawteeth about 2.3 MW
background. Outer gap now steady at 1 cm.
Shot 5: Increased Br0 offset from 1.5 mT to 2 mT since the startup is
beginning to deteriorate. Long delay due to computer problems with
the magnet thermocouple measurements. Good shot. 1 MW modulation of
the 80 MHz RF on a background of 2.4 MW, but still no synchronization
of the sawteeth. Nice long EDA H-mode.
Shot 6: Dropped NL_ZMETER to 0.35 to bring the density down to nl04 = 7 x 10^19
m^-2. Good shot. RF tripped. Stayed in H-mode with hysteresis for
several hundred ms after the RF. No synchronization of the sawteeth
with the 80 MHz modulation.
Shot 7: Repeat. Good shot. Sawteeth still not synchronized with 1 MW
modulation of 80 MHz RF on 2 MW background. Nice long EDA H-mode into
current rampdown.
Shot 8: Change to segment 3 upper null equilibrium. Set TF current in segment
3 to 152 kA. NL_ZMETER was already set to 0.35. Disrupted at 0.73 s.
Prad increased from 0.72 s. Rice said it was a moly flake. Density
only reached nl04 = 6 x 10^19 m^-2 whereas the equivalent lower null
reached 7.5 x 10^19 m^-2.
Shot 9: Increased NL_ZMETER to 0.48 to try to make up for the lower density in
upper null plasmas. Disrupted at 0.77s. Perhaps the RF is overheating
the upper part of the vessel where there are no divertor tiles.
Shot 10: Try reducing the RF power to 1.5 MW and moving it to start at 0.8 s.
Good shot. Prad increases around 0.85 s looking like it would disrupt
with more power. So, it seems that the RF is overheating the top of
the vessel. With nearly 1 MW of 80 MHz modulation on top of 1.5 MW
background, there is still no synchronization of the sawteeth with
the RF.
Shot 11: Reloaded shot 7 and reduced Br0 offset from 2 mT to 1.5 mT to tweak
the breakdown. Increased Ip to 1 MA. Good shot. 80 MHz modulation
is close in frequency to the sawtooth, but the phase does not match, so
they are not synchronized.
Shot 12: Repeat. Good shot. ELM-free then EDA H-mode. Breakdown nearly didn't
make it.
Shot 13: Try changing EF4 current from -1300 A to -1290 A to move the plasma
inward a bit. Good shot. Breakdown is a bit better.
Shot 15: Repeat. Good shot. Obtained near synchronous sawteeth with the RF
modulation in the second H-mode. Then, we ran out of time.


Session Leader Comments
Dec 19 2000 09:05:22:560AMMartin GreenwaldPlan:

The idea is to investigate temperature profile stiffness via
modulated heating. The amplitude and phase response can be used to
get an incremental chi which is usually much higher than the chi
computed from power balance. The difference might be attributed to
very strong transport that turns on when the normalized temperature
gradient is above a threshold. ITG theory, for example, predicts a
big increase in transport when R/L_T goes above a R/L_Tcritical -
forcing the plasma to marginal stability. These experiments would
give us a quantitative measurement of how sharp the transport
turn-on is - that is - how strongly the marginal stability condition
is enforced.

To do help with the data analysis, we will try to synchronize the
sawteeth to the modulation of the central heating (at 80 MHz). This
would sharpen up the fourier spectrum of the sawteeth.

The steps we will follow will be:

1. get a standard EDA H-mode with 80 MHz heating from D and E.
(5.4 T, 0.8 MA)

2. Modulate the power from one of these antennas to a frequency
slightly higher than the sawtooth frequency. We will want to vary
the degree of modulation from 100% to the minimum necessary to
achieve synchronization.

3. With the 80 MHz system at the lowest modulation consistent with
sawtooth synchronization, turn on the J-Port system (70 MHz). This
system will be 100% modulated.

4. If successful, we will vary the net D and E power from the
maximum to the minimum consistent with staying in H-mode.

5. If time permits, we would repeat these conditions in L-mode using
an upper null configuration. We should be able to run over a larger
power range.

We also want to take this opportunity to look for the quasi-coherent
mode with the heterodyne ECE system. This might require raising the
field to 5.4 or 5.5 T to allow this system to see all the way to the
edge. A fast digitization window during the EDA phase would be
required.

Dec 19 2000 05:21:45:793PMMartin GreenwaldResults:

Only moderate success. There were just 15 shots today - Time
between shots was longer than average - we also had a slightly late
start due to some diagnostic problems and experienced a longer
delay when the computers scanning the magnet thermocouples decided
to go on strike.

We were able to synchronize the sawteeth to the ICRF modulation on
shots 13,14 and 15. These shots had an ELMfree period followed by
an brief H/L transition and a return to EDA H-mode. The sawteeth
were synched during the EDA. We ran out of time before we could get
the J port modulation going.

The sawtooth heat pulses were easy to see on all three ECE systems.
Clear, progressive phase delays could be seen on the outer channels
which means we should have good data for calculation of the
incremental chi. The amplitude was increased with the addition of
modulated RF and the phase delay decreased.

================================

Shots suitable for further analysis include:

1001219007
1001219013
1001219014
1001219015
Dec 19 2000 09:45:25:310AM1001219001Martin Greenwalddisrupts at 1 second
.6 MW no H-mode
Dec 19 2000 10:13:49:357AM1001219002Martin GreenwaldBetter shot, RF power still low so no H-mode
Dec 19 2000 10:49:33:327AM1001219003Martin GreenwaldH-mode - but not a very good one
Dec 19 2000 11:03:55:530AM1001219004Martin GreenwaldStart RF modulation

sawteeth not synched
at 1 second
st period = 6.89 msec
rf period = 6.21 msec
Dec 19 2000 12:56:25:717PM1001219005Martin GreenwaldSimilar to shot 5
still no sync
Dec 19 2000 01:18:14:607PM1001219006Martin GreenwaldLower density
problems with RF tune
Dec 19 2000 01:35:15:670PM1001219007Martin GreenwaldDecent H-mode
RF stays on for whole pulse
but no sync
sawteeth at fairly constant freq though and we get good
phase shifts on all gpc channels

try L-mode with upper null for next shot
Dec 19 2000 01:48:30:890PM1001219008Martin GreenwaldFirst try with upper null - L-mode
disrupts early
Dec 19 2000 02:22:08:437PM1001219009Martin Greenwalddisrupts early
Dec 19 2000 03:21:22:123PM1001219011Martin Greenwaldback to H-mode at 1 MA
sawteeth and rf close to same frequency but not quite in sync
~ 100 Hz
Dec 19 2000 04:37:32:047PM1001219013Martin GreenwaldELMfree phase followed by EDA

Seems to be successfully synched from 1.15 to 1.35
which is during EDA

Dec 19 2000 04:38:36:810PM1001219014Martin GreenwaldSimilar to previous shot
sync less obvious

tried to include modulated J port but didn't get any power
Dec 19 2000 05:03:06:157PM1001219015Martin GreenwaldNothing out of J port again

synched from maybe 1.25 to 1.35

Physics Operator Comments
Dec 19 2000 08:58:02:090AMJoseph SnipesEngineering setup and run plan for Thursday 07 Dec 2000.

MP #231 Critical Gradients

Session leader: Greenwald
Physics operator: Snipes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Engineering setup:

ECDC in D2 for 2 hours before the run.

Power systems as on 1001205001.

Gas setup:
fill B-top with 6 psi of D2 Hybrid enabled
fill B-side lower with 1 psi of Ar Hybrid DISABLED
fill B-side upper with 35 psi of D2 Hybrid DISABLED, for ECDC
fill C-side with 30 psi of D2 Hybrid enabled
leave J-bot as is Hybrid DISABLED

Enable the following gate valves: ECE, VUV, Beast, DNB

Run starts at 09:00 and ends at 17:00.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RF Setup:

XMTRs 1,2, and 3 should be made ready by 8:00 (run-on).
XMTR 4 should be made ready by 6:30 (run-on).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run Plan:

Will start with standard 0.8 MA, 5.4 T, nl04 = 1 x 10^20 m^-2 plasmas with ICRF
from D and E to get into H-mode. We will then modulate one of the two antennas
by at most 50% to attempt to synchronize the sawtooth period with the
modulation. Then, we will add 100% modulation of the J-port antenna at 70 MHz
to provide off-axis heat pulses to investigate heat transport. If time
permits, a power scan will be tried as well and we may go to upper null plasmas
(e.g., 1001204018) to have a larger range of power in the same confinement
regime (L-mode).
Dec 19 2000 09:49:45:983AM1001219001Joseph SnipesShot 1: Copied shot 1001205001 and set NL_ZMETER to 0.75, which should
correspond to nl04 = 1.0 x 10^20 m^-2 and increased the TF current to
152 kA to reach 5.4 T. Disrupted at 0.97 s. Prad increased just
after 0.94 s, probably a brick fell in.
Dec 19 2000 10:11:42:043AM1001219002Joseph SnipesShot 2: Increased RCUR offset to 6500 from 5500 at Wolfe's suggestion since
the startup did not look very good. Good shot. Big injection visible
on Prad at 0.77 s. Got 1.1 MW out of D and E.
Dec 19 2000 10:39:18:420AM1001219003Joseph SnipesShot 3: Decreased NL_ZMETER to 0.7. Disrupted at 1.4 s. Prad increased at
1.37 s during the RF. Right gap decreases to 0.5 cm during the shot.
Dec 19 2000 11:12:38:340AM1001219004Joseph SnipesShot 4: Put in a 3 mm inward ramp in RCUR from 0.5 s to 1.4 s to try to keep
the outer gap constant at 1 cm. Good shot. Started 0.5 MW modulation
of 80 MHz RF to attempt to synchronize the sawteeth about 2.3 MW
background. Outer gap now steady at 1 cm.
Dec 19 2000 12:33:55:497PM1001219004Joseph SnipesShot 5: Increased Br0 offset from 1.5 mT to 2 mT since the startup is
beginning to deteriorate. Long delay due to computer problems with
the magnet thermocouple measurements. Good shot. 1 MW modulation of
the 80 MHz RF on a background of 2.4 MW, but still no synchronization
of the sawteeth. Nice long EDA H-mode.
Dec 19 2000 01:22:14:577PM1001219007Joseph SnipesShot 6: Dropped NL_ZMETER to 0.35 to bring the density down to nl04 = 7 x 10^19
m^-2. Good shot. RF tripped. Stayed in H-mode with hysteresis for
several hundred ms after the RF. No synchronization of the sawteeth
with the 80 MHz modulation.
Dec 19 2000 01:32:08:263PM1001219007Joseph SnipesShot 7: Repeat. Good shot. Sawteeth still not synchronized with 1 MW
modulation of 80 MHz RF on 2 MW background. Nice long EDA H-mode into
current rampdown.
Dec 19 2000 01:59:36:793PM1001219008Joseph SnipesShot 8: Change to segment 3 upper null equilibrium. Set TF current in segment
3 to 152 kA. NL_ZMETER was already set to 0.35. Disrupted at 0.73 s.
Prad increased from 0.72 s. Rice said it was a moly flake. Density
only reached nl04 = 6 x 10^19 m^-2 whereas the equivalent lower null
reached 7.5 x 10^19 m^-2.
Dec 19 2000 02:22:06:780PM1001219009Joseph SnipesShot 9: Increased NL_ZMETER to 0.48 to try to make up for the lower density in
upper null plasmas. Disrupted at 0.77s. Perhaps the RF is overheating
the upper part of the vessel where there are no divertor tiles.
Dec 19 2000 02:47:30:157PM1001219010Joseph SnipesShot 10: Try reducing the RF power to 1.5 MW and moving it to start at 0.8 s.
Good shot. Prad increases around 0.85 s looking like it would disrupt
with more power. So, it seems that the RF is overheating the top of
the vessel. With nearly 1 MW of 80 MHz modulation on top of 1.5 MW
background, there is still no synchronization of the sawteeth with
the RF.
Dec 19 2000 03:18:21:327PM1001219011Joseph SnipesShot 11: Reloaded shot 7 and reduced Br0 offset from 2 mT to 1.5 mT to tweak
the breakdown. Increased Ip to 1 MA. Good shot. 80 MHz modulation
is close in frequency to the sawtooth, but the phase does not match, so
they are not synchronized.

Dec 19 2000 03:44:26:483PM1001219012Joseph SnipesShot 12: Repeat. Good shot. ELM-free then EDA H-mode. Breakdown nearly didn't
make it.
Dec 19 2000 04:47:27:483PM1001219013Joseph SnipesShot 13: Try changing EF4 current from -1300 A to -1290 A to move the plasma
inward a bit. Good shot. Breakdown is a bit better.
Dec 19 2000 04:49:24:920PM1001219014Joseph SnipesShot 14: Increased NL_ZMETER from 0.35 to 0.39 to try to avoid the ELM-free
H-mode phase. Good shot.
Dec 19 2000 05:38:10:280PM1001219015Joseph SnipesShot 15: Repeat. Good shot. Obtained near synchronous sawteeth with the RF
modulation in the second H-mode. Then, we ran out of time.
Dec 19 2000 05:40:08:187PM1001219015Joseph SnipesSummary:
Shot,Duration(s),Ipmax(MA) Shot,Duration(s),Ipmax
1 0.981 0.784 2 1.782 0.787
3 1.410 0.792 4 1.862 0.797
5 1.883 0.795 6 1.955 0.800
7 1.956 0.800 8 0.740 0.828
9 0.783 0.826 10 1.944 0.792
11 1.952 0.989 12 1.948 0.992
13 1.962 0.992 14 1.961 0.989
15 1.961 0.989
Finished summary for 1001219 Total of 15 shots.
15 shots. 15 plasmas. 0 fizzles. 0 duds.
Dec 19 2000 05:51:11:873PM1001219015Joseph SnipesSummary:
The machine ran very well today. We had no fizzles and no duds and all plasmas
went well into flattop. There was a long delay of nearly 2 hours due to a bit
being set that inhibited measurements of the magnet temperatures. Bosco
tracked it down in the PLC ladder and reset the bit and we started again. We
ran on Z meter density feedback control though the TCI did work reliably in the
end. We ran a couple of shots with upper null, but they both disrupted shortly
after the ICRF reached full power (2.5 MW) apparently due to overheating of the
top of the vessel where there are no protection tiles. A third upper null shot
(shot 10) ran through O.K. at P_RF = 1.5 MW though there was a large increase
in radiated power during the RF. So, it is probably not advisable to run upper
null plasmas with more than 1.5 - 2 MW of RF. Attempts were made to
synchronize the sawteeth with modulated ICRF at 80 MHz and they all failed even
with 1 MW modulation on top of 2 MW background RF. So, the experiment was
unsuccessful at determining heat pulse propagation between sawteeth. The 70
MHz RF was not successfully coupled.

Engineering Operator Comments
ShotTimeTypeStatusComment
109:40:13:513AMPlasmaOk
210:02:42:280AMPlasmaOk
310:23:13:340AMPlasmaOk
410:45:03:623AMPlasmaOk
512:24:31:483PMPlasmaOk
612:51:21:717PMPlasmaOk
701:21:13:513PMPlasmaOk
801:45:48:577PMPlasmaOk
902:11:35:047PMPlasmaOk
1002:37:15:077PMPlasmaOk
1103:04:18:840PMPlasmaOk
1203:31:58:140PMPlasmaOk
1303:59:09:513PMPlasmaOk
1404:26:30:327PMPlasmaOk
1504:54:41:450PMPlasmaOk