Alcator C-Mod Run 1021106 Information

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Miniproposals
Miniproposal:327
Date Filed:10/11/2002
Title:Developing low ne EDA H-mode targets for LHCD
First Author:Amanda Hubbard
Session Leader:Amanda Hubbard (shots 1-24)

Operators
Session leader(s):Amanda Hubbard
Physics operator(s):Ron Parker
Engineering operator(s):Bill Cochran

Engineering Operator Run Comment
MP #327 Developing Low ne EDA H-Mode Targets for LHCD. Hubbard/Parker/C

Session Leader Plans

Physics Operators Plans

Session Leader Summaries
Entered: Jul 7 2004 03:49:31:850PM
Author: To Be Determined
Run Summary for 1021106 MP 327 Low ne EDA H-mode targets for LHCD

Physics Operator: Ron Parker
Session Leader: Amanda Hubbard

A good run in which we accomplished most of the Part A of MP 327
(the part requiring ~ 2 MW ICRF). This consisted of a current and
density scan, towards lower than usual values. The aim was to find out how low
in density we could make a steady EDA H-mode, for use in future LHCD scenarios.

We started at 800 kA (Shots
1-4), confirming that, as in past runs, a moderately high target density
nel=8e19 m-2, shot 1) gives an EDA H-mode with steady density and radiation.
Reducing density leads progressively to increasing radiation, edge cooling,
ELMs (likely Type III) and transient conditions. The reference shot
(1021106001) had nebar=2.6e20 m-3.

Shots 5-16 were at 700 kA. Here the same type of phenomena applied. We were
able to get to somewhat lower densities, but as target density was lowered
increasing radiation and cooling edge became a problem. The early part of some
of these H-modes was quite promising, with nebar~2.2e20 and neped ~1.7e20 m-3.
(Shot 12 is perhaps the best example). A reference higher density, steady EDA
shot was 16.

Shots 18-24 were at 580 kA. Here we were able to get significantly lower
H-mode densities while keeping radiation low and constant. The RF seemed to
like this condition as well (after a few tuning shots). Shots 21 - 23 were
good examples, with 1.9-2.1 MW RF, nebar ~ 2.4e20 m-3 and neped ~1.7-1.8 e20
m-3. These will be good shots to try as inputs for ACCOME and other LHCD
codes, to see what driven current would be expected.

The DNB was firing into most shots in the afternoon, so we should also have
data on beam penetration and diagnostic s/n in these AT-relevant discharges.
Initial assessment was "Pretty good, beam went further than expected". Edge TS
also got good pedestal data in this new parameter regime (except for a few
shots following its window seal freeze-up ~ shot 10-11!). Unfortunately PCI
was not working so we did not get QC-mode data from it; hopefully the
reflectometer will say something.

The main thing NOT accomplished was part B of the MP, which called for taking a
few of the best targets and increasing RF power to 3.5-4 MW, to increase Te for
better off-axis LH absorption. This will have to await the next campaign, and
could be accomplished in 1/2 run day. In the meantime, we will simulate
changing power with TRANSP, based on the lower power data.

See the logbook for shot-by shot session leader comments.

Physics Operator Summaries
Entered: Jul 7 2004 04:37:16:940PM
Author: To Be Determined

RUN SUMMARY

The purpose of the run was to establish low-density H-Modes that
would be suitable as targets for Lower Hybrid experiments. The run closely
followed the run plan (see below) and was moderately successful. H-Modes
with steady densities of about 2.1e14 were produced at currents of 600 kA.
H-Mode (EDA) densities tended to increase somewhat with current. Interestingly,
the radiation level that approached 100% at 800 kA dropped as the current was
decreased, improving discharge quality.

The machine ran extremely well for this run with good shots having no disruption
produced in 22 out of 23 shots (plus one shot to test the gas valve) The only
non-performing shot was a dud that was due to an air leak caused by a problem
with the LN2 sump. This caused a delay of about 1.5 hours, which accounts
for the lower than normal number of shots.

Engineering Setup and Run Plan for Wednesday, November 6, 2002

MP 327 Developing Low ne EDA H-Mode Targets for LHCD

SL: Hubbard
PO: Parker


Overnight Bake @ 60 C, ECDC Overnight in D2 @ 2e-4 Torr until 07:00

Run Begins at 09:00 and ends at 17:00

Power systems setup the same as for Shot 1021022025

Gas setup:

B-Top 6 psi D2 Hybrid Enabled (PG4)
B-side lower 1 psi Ar Hybrid Enabled (PG1)
B-side upper 10 psi D2 Hybrid DISABLED (PG2, for ECDC)
C-Side 30 psi D2 Hybrid Enabled (PG3)
J-Bottom leave as is, Hybrid DISABLED

Enable the following gate valves, assuming no vacuum problems:

ECE, VUV, DNB

RF Setup: Transmitters 1,2&3 in Run On by 07:00

RUN PLAN:
Start with standard 800 kA discharges and lower the target density to
re-establish the low density limit. Lower the current to 700 and then
600 kA and repeat the density scan. There will be limited power scans
at different densities to vary the parameters that might affect the
EDA/ELM-free boundary.


Session Leader Comments
Nov 6 2002 09:17:42:110AM1021106001Amanda HubbardGot what we wanted - nice steady EDA, 5.35T, 800 kA nel 0.9 (target) 1.6 (H)

Now start dropping nel 0.1 per shot, see how long we can keep it.
Nov 6 2002 09:30:13:407AM1021106002Amanda HubbardLower target. Ne rising slightly during H-mode. ELMs come in late, once edge has cooled.
Nice clean RF at 2 MW.

Repeat, with slightly higher RF
Nov 6 2002 09:47:29:737AM1021106003Amanda HubbardSimilar, slightly higher RF.

Prad is still rising rather fast, cooling the edge (and reducing WMHD) until 0.98 secs when ELMs start.

Probably the EDA/QC mode is getting less effective.
Go down further in density, may get ELM-free.
Nov 6 2002 10:09:28:700AM1021106004Amanda HubbardDrop target density. Got nel 7e19 at L-H.

2 H-modes, first is rather transient, ne, Prad rising fast.

2nd is more like shots 2-3, EDAish until ELMs start.

Nov 6 2002 10:11:08:127AM1021106005Amanda HubbardReduce Ip to 700 kA (as per run plan)

Target 8e18m-2.

Got Fairly steady H-mode with nel 1.4 x10^20, 2.45, but some ELMs, cooling.

Repeat for more RF power.
Nov 6 2002 10:25:11:880AM1021106006Amanda HubbardRather similar. E-port still tripping, Prad still rising to 1.7 MW. (Why so high, post-boron?)

Repeat. without argon.
Nov 6 2002 10:43:26:643AM1021106007Amanda HubbardUnusual H-mode, Prad jumping up and down, Tedge responding.

Some periods are steady, with lower density (neped~2e20, nebar~2.3e20)

Repeat, reducing RF late to see if this helps or hinders EDA.
Nov 6 2002 10:59:06:637AM1021106008Amanda HubbardBetter, no injections.

Nice low ne EDA early, neped~2.0, nebar~ 2.3, But, Prad still rising, get into ELMy period. ne then rises.

Later, with lower RF, long ELMy period with nebar~2.4, but low Te0(1.6 keV) and W 43 kJ.

Reduce target ne for next shot.
Nov 6 2002 11:20:21:747AM1021106009Amanda HubbardTarget 7e19. Quite similar shot.

Nice low ne EDA early, neped~2.0, nebar~ 2.3, Lasts a bit longer.
But Prad still rising, get into ELMy period.
Later, with lower RF, long ELMy period

Try for more power on next shot.
Nov 6 2002 12:43:19:920PM1021106012Amanda HubbardPretty good shot. EDA first, then ELMy bursts once Prad rises. Maybe some early high P ELMs.

RF up to 2.5 MW. However, Prad also goes up to 2.5 MW, eventually. nel~ 1.3e20 m-2 in best period.
neped~1.7e20 m-3 , lowest to date!

If we could keep Prad lower, this would be great!
Nov 6 2002 12:46:04:583PM1021106013Amanda HubbardLowered target density to 6e19 (although RF outgassing raises it to 7.7e19 by L-H).

Too low - first H-mode looks ELM-free, get multiple H-modes with progressively lower WMHD.

Next shot (if and when we get it) : raise target to 9e19 to confirm that we get steadier EDA, lower Prad.
Nov 6 2002 01:55:46:110PM1021106014Amanda HubbardRaised target density to 9e19. Brief, decent EDA, then ELMs. Many RF trips. Repeat.
Nov 6 2002 02:22:46:560PM1021106015Amanda HubbardSimilar. 1.8 MW, some trips,

Steady nel, but Prad still increasing. Not clear why! Try raising nel target some more.
Nov 6 2002 02:36:13:207PM1021106016Amanda HubbardWith higher nel, get back to steady radiation. Nel 1.09-1.58 e20 m-2
neped 2.3e20 m-3. But, RF still trips, goes ELMy later.

Next shot: go to 600 kA. We will then step down in current.
Nov 6 2002 03:01:45:807PM1021106017Amanda Hubbard
600 kA, target nel 10^20. RF didn't like this. L-mode. Retune and repeat.
Nov 6 2002 03:49:15:100PM1021106018Amanda Hubbard
600 kA, target nel 10^20. L-mode.
Nov 6 2002 03:55:40:090PM1021106019Amanda Hubbard600 kA H-Mode, steady density. low, steady Prad. 1.5 MW RF.

nped ~ 1.7e20 m-3, nel 1.4e20.

Nov 6 2002 03:58:38:707PM1021106020Amanda Hubbard600 kA H-Mode, steady density. low, steady Prad. 1.9 MW RF.

nped ~ 1.8e20 m-3, nel 1.5e20. Not a bad LH target.

DNB firing ~ 0.8 secs 'getting way in!'

Nov 6 2002 04:13:08:820PM1021106021Amanda Hubbard600 kA H-Mode, steady density. low, steady Prad. 1.8 MW RF, nice and clean.
Target nel 0.8 e20 m-2, H-mode 1.35e20.

nped ~ 1.8e20 m-3, nebar 2.4e20,

Good shot! Try for more RF next time.

Nov 6 2002 05:00:09:473PM1021106022Amanda HubbardSimilar, slightly more RF (1.9 MW)
nebar ~ 2.25, nel 1.3.

neped 1.8e20 m-3. Still quite steady EDA, getting ELMy later.
Steady Prad 1.2 MW.
Nov 6 2002 05:10:35:270PM1021106023Amanda HubbardLower nel target 0.75. 2.1 MW RF.

Still pretty steady H-mode, nel 1.27e20 m-3. Prad rising, 1.7 MW
Probably close to the lower limit for ne.




Nov 6 2002 05:22:50:367PM1021106024Amanda HubbardLower nel target 067e20. 2.5 MW RF, nice and clean!

Getting higher Prad (up to 2.5 MW), less steady H-mode (not unexpected).

But, some fairly steady periods at nel~1.2e20 m-2, nebar 2.2-2.3 e20 m-3, ne,ped~1.56e20

This is significantly lower than our usual pedestal density.



Physics Operator Comments
Nov 6 2002 09:16:43:907AM1021106001Ron ParkerThe first shot loaded was 1021105007. It ran perfectly with just
under 2 MW of RF. The programmed density will be lowered by 0.1e14 for
shot 2
Nov 6 2002 09:22:04:890AM1021106002Ron ParkerShot 002 ran well, but without the desired lower density.


Nov 6 2002 09:47:31:140AM1021106003Ron Parker
Shot 3 ran well, a little more power. EDA mode getting less stable.

For shot 4 the starting density will be lowered again by 0.1e14.
Nov 6 2002 09:59:35:423AM1021106004Ron ParkerShot 4 again ran well, lower inital density, but little or even
negative effect on density during H-mode.

Now we'll lower current to 700 kA, returning the inital density to 0.8e14
Nov 6 2002 10:07:36:260AM1021106005Ron ParkerShot 5 ran well, but RF tripped. We'll run again after retuning.

The H-mode density decreased slightly.
Nov 6 2002 10:21:39:640AM1021106006Ron Parker
Shot 6 ran well, but RF still breaking up. Radiated power seems high --

too much Argon? To check, no Argon on next shot. Otherwise the same as shot 6.
Nov 6 2002 10:42:25:157AM1021106007Ron Parker
Shot 7 again ran well, RF still somewhat intermittent. Radiated power
looks essentially unchanged without Argon. For next shot, RF power
will be stepped down at 1.2 s to check power scaling.
Nov 6 2002 10:56:56:447AM1021106008Ron Parker
Shot 8 ran well, density was lower during EDA, but the EDA period did not
last long. For next shot, inital density will be lowered by 0.1e14.
Nov 6 2002 11:12:41:690AM1021106009Ron Parker
Shot 9 ran well, still intermittent EDA. For next shot, the RF power will
be increased.
Nov 6 2002 12:12:17:700PM1021106010Ron ParkerOK, shot 10 was a dud, but what was interesting is that the fill pressure
rose to 0.5 mT at -4 s! After a cycle test, no pathology was found, so the next shot
will run wthout changes.
Nov 6 2002 12:13:16:313PM1021106011Ron Parker
Shot 11 was a test of the pulse gas valve. It was normal.
Nov 6 2002 11:57:54:273AM1021106012Ron Parker
Shot 12 ran well, even after the unexplained gas excursion on shot 11.
Actually, it was a good shot in that there were extended periods of EDA
with reasonable density. For next shot, the inital density will be lowered
by 0.1e14.
Nov 6 2002 12:15:31:707PM1021106013Ron Parker
Shot 13 ran well. For next shot, inital density will be increased to
0.9e14.
Nov 6 2002 01:57:11:987PM1021106014Ron ParkerA break in the action: The leak that occurred on shot 10 has become
stationary and can be diagnosed.

It turned out to be the lower Thomson window, caused by a
problem with the N2 sump.

Operation will resume when leak is repaired.

The repair took ~ 1.5 hours. After fixing the leak, shot 14 was run.
The shot ran well but the RF broke up several times. The shot
will be repeated on the next shot.
Nov 6 2002 02:21:08:837PM1021106015Ron Parker
Shot 15 ran well, again with somewhat intermittent RF.

For next shot, the initial density will be raised to 1e14.
Nov 6 2002 02:34:58:360PM1021106016Ron ParkerShot 16 was a nice shot, with an EDA transitioning to something that
looks ELMy. The radiation fraction may have come down somewhat.

For the next shot, the current will be lowered to 600 kA.
Nov 6 2002 03:26:15:030PM1021106017Ron ParkerShot 17 ran well, but no H-Mode. Try again next shot.
Nov 6 2002 03:24:17:577PM1021106018Ron ParkerShot 18 ran well, but not much of an H-Mode.

Next shot, lower the inital density to 0.9e14
Nov 6 2002 03:43:20:230PM1021106019Ron ParkerLowering the density seemed to help trigger an H-Mode.

RF not quite there yet. WE'll repeat.
Nov 6 2002 03:59:47:833PM1021106020Ron ParkerShot 20 succeeded in producing a good H-Mode and at reasonably low
density ~ 2e14, still at 600 kA. For next shot we'll lower the initial
density to 0.8e14.
Nov 6 2002 04:10:49:227PM1021106021Ron ParkerShot 21 ran well, again with a steady H-Mode @ 600 kA
and neo ~ 2.2e14.

For next shot, we'll raise the power.
Nov 6 2002 04:36:13:450PM1021106022Ron Parker
Shot 22 ran well, EDA mode transitioning to some ELMier regime.

Density in H-Mode held steady at ~ 2.1e14.

For next shot, the initial density will be reduced to 0.7e14.
Nov 6 2002 05:14:41:073PM1021106023Ron ParkerShot 23 ran well, similar to 22. For next shot, initial density
will be reduced to 0.6e16 and RF power raised to ~2.5 MW.
Nov 6 2002 05:11:52:820PM1021106024Ron Parker
Shot 24 ran well with the RF power at ~2.5 MW. H-Mode seems to
transition between EDA's and ELMy phases.

Engineering Operator Comments
ShotTimeTypeStatusComment
108:59:32:550AMPlasmaOk
209:16:18:220AMPlasmaOk
309:29:41:470AMPlasmaOk
409:45:05:983AMPlasmaOk
509:58:37:720AMPlasmaOk
610:11:47:517AMPlasmaOk
710:26:04:493AMPlasmaOk
810:44:18:583AMPlasmaOk
910:57:50:667AMPlasmaOk
1011:16:30:240AMPlasmaOk
1111:33:29:970AMTestOkGAs test
1211:44:35:207AMPlasmaOk
1312:00:24:043PMPlasmaOk
1401:36:04:567PMPlasmaOk
1501:54:05:343PMPlasmaOk
1602:21:10:820PMPlasmaOk
1702:46:43:110PMPlasmaOk
1803:09:44:723PMPlasmaOk
1903:30:49:460PMPlasmaOk
2003:45:02:293PMPlasmaOk
2104:02:18:150PMPlasmaOk
2204:22:49:510PMPlasmaOk
2304:41:16:660PMPlasmaOk
2404:59:11:347PMPlasmaOk