Alcator C-Mod Run 1040319 Information

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Miniproposals
Miniproposal:367a
Date Filed:11/25/2003
Title:Interplay between confinement, turbulence and magnetic topology
First Author:Nils Basse
Session Leader:Nils Basse (shots 1-23)

Operators
Session leader(s):Nils Basse
Physics operator(s):Bill Rowan
Engineering operator(s):Bill Cochran,Bill Byford,Bill Parkin

Engineering Operator Run Comment
MP 366 TAE/MP 367A q-ranps SL:Snipes/Basse PO:Rowan EO:Cochran/Byford/Pa

Session Leader Plans

Physics Operators Plans

Session Leader Summaries
Entered: Jul 7 2004 03:49:03:740PM
Author: Nils Basse
Session Leader Summary for Friday, March 19, 2004 (1040319)

Purpose: MP 367A: Interplay between confinement, turbulence and magnetic
topology

Physics operator : Rowan
Session leader : Basse

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

See the Physop Summary for technical details.

Tough run. These plasmas seem to be very hard to sustain (as was also found for
the first attempt December 3, 2003). Apart from plasma trouble
we had additional hardware issues to battle: Breaker, CAMAC, computer and ICRF problems.

First plasma was made on shot 5 (first 4 were cycle, engineering tests and a no
power shot). Last plasma was shot 21.

Good data was taken with both reflectometry and PCI throughout the day, and in
spite of our various problems we did get some shots with good current ramps.

Main problem was to keep density and ICRF steady while simultaneously ramping
the current.

The conclusion on whether we see a slow confinement transition with the
fluctuation diagnostics remains fuzzy; in some cases (e.g. shot 21) a
rather clear spin down in frequency is observed on PCI as q_a is lowered.
This looks very much like the behaviour of stellarator high-k turbulence
observations. In other cases, no clear indication of changes is observed.

For early shots the density was high and uncontrolled due to the inner wall
limited discharges. In later shots we managed to control the density but had
a few disruptions when we tried to increase the density too rapidly.

D transmitter fell out in shot 7 and never recovered. So we only had E left.

Some data (including reflectometry) was lost around shots 11-13.

Physics Operator Summaries
Entered: Jul 7 2004 04:36:49:567PM
Author: Bill Rowan
Physop Summary for March 19, 2004. Run 1040319.

Purpose: MP# 367A: Interplay between confinement, turbulence and magnetic
topology

Session Leader: N. Basse
Physics Operator: W. Rowan

Summary---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Discharge
The discharge requested for this run is 1031203019. This is an inner wall
limited discharge with a current ramp that is intended to reduce q-95 to
approximately 2.6 by the end of the discharge. The discharge 1031203019 is
adequate for this experiment but post mortem for run 1031203 indicated that
improvements might include changes in the engineering limits for OH1, OH2_L,
and OH2_U and some up/down symetrization of the configuration. Those were
both implemented during this run.
Segment 1 was taken from 1040317031 and the prefill, PG4, was reduced by 2 ms
to 15 ms.
The run ended due to a fault in a breaker which could not be corrected before
5pm. Significant time was lost due to this breaker fault and due to attempts
to diagnose the failure of an RF transmitter (see below).

Configuration
The configuration was symmetrized by making RXU and RXL waveforms the same and
by making ZXL the negative of ZXU. The gains on RXU and RXL were made the same
and the gains on the ZXL and ZXU were made the same.
An example of the result of this is shot 011.

Density control
The density on the early shots exceeded the demand of nl_04 = 1.0e+20 by more
than a factor of 2. During the increase, the gas valve indicated closed.
This inner wall limited plasma is strongly fueled by the wall. The
density dropped over a few shots to the point that it could be controlled.
The density rise must occur slowly in this discharge. Attempts to program a
density of 1.5e+20 earlier than approximately 1.0 s led to disruptions (see
shots 016 through 018.

RF
One of the two remaining transmitters was lost during the run. This was due
to failure of a drive shaft linkage for a motor driven variac.



Score Card----------------------------------------------------------------------
Plasmas 12 005,006,007,008,009,010,
011,012,013,015,018,021
Cycle and engineering tests 3 001,002,003
Early disruptions 3 016,017,020
Fizzles 1 019
No power shots 2 004,014 (computer problems)
Total 21

Details-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Engineering setup for Friday, March 19, 2004

MP# 367A (basse) q-ranps


Session leader: N. Basse
Physics operator: W. Rowan

ECDC overnight in D2 at 2e-4 Torr, stopping by 07:00.
Bake at 60 C overnight as well.

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

Power systems the same as 1031203019

A-coils should be enabled in the standard configuration.

Gas setup:
fill B-Top with 6 psi D2 Hybrid enabled (PG4)
fill B-side lower with 1 psi Ar Hybrid enabled (PG1)
leave B-side upper as is Hybrid DISABLED (PG2)
fill C-side with 30 psi D2 Hybrid enabled (PG3)

Disable NINJA

Enable the following gate valves, assuming no vacuum problems:
ECE, VUV, DNB


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RF Setup: Available transmitters in run-on by 8 am

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


Load 1031203019
Loaded segment 1 from 1040317031 and reduced the prefill PG4 from
17 ms to 15 ms


001. Cycle test

002. Cycle test

003. Engineering test

004. No power shot. Computer problems during init
A-coils are enabled for this shot and until noted otherwise.

005. Plasma
Disruption at 1.4s
Density is high. Gas valve is off. This is an uncontrolled ne rise.
Suspect wall fueling.
nl_04 = 2.5 at 1.2 s

Next shot.
OH1 lower limit changed to -30
OH2_L lower limit changed to -30
OH2_U lower limit changed to -30

006. Plasma
density still too high. has come done to 1.8 from 2.5 on the previous shot

Next shot
Add 1 ms to prefill. PG4 changed from 15 to 16 ms
Changed the demand for ZXU to 0.04 m from 0.09 m

007. Plasma
density still too high. ne approximately 1.8.

next shot.
changed the oh2_l limit from -30 to -35: [-35,30]
changed the oh2_u limit from -30 to -35: [-35,30]
copied rxu to rxl
Reduced RF for the next shot. Problem with the controller
for one of the two transmitters that we are using. Will continue
with E


008. Plasma
nl_04 = 1.2 at 1.2 s
Vertical position oscillating before 1.5 s. Scrubbing the inner wall.

Next shot.
Add 1 ms to the prefill. PG4 changed from 16 to 17 ms.
The prefill did not rise as much as I expected after the
last change.
Made the gains the same and equal to the lower on shot 007 for ZXU and ZXL
Made the gains the same and equal to the lower on shot 007 for RXU and RXL

009. Plasma
nl_04 = 1.4 at 1.2s
Data acquisition on F-side pressure

Next shot.
Copied ZXU to ZXL then flipped ZXL

010. Plasma
Disruption at 1.29 s
F-side pressure = 0.042 mT
nl_04 = 1.35e+20 at 1.1 s

Next shot.
No PCS changes.

011. Plasma
ne = 1.0e+20 at 1.2 s
Disruption at 1.7 s -- during rampdown

Next shot.
Decrease the outer gap by 1 cm from 2.5 to 1.5


012. Plasma
ne = 1.5 e+20 at 1.4 s

Power supply fault after the shot.
Next shot. No PCS changes.

013. Plasma
ne = 1.25e+20 at 1.3 s

Next shot. No PCS changes

014. No power shot.
Problems with camac.
Spurious i_square_t fault
No power shot.

Next shot. No PCS changes

015. Plasma
Power supply fault after the shot.

Next shot.
Increased nl_04 demand to 1.5e+20


016. Plasma.
Disruption at 0.7 s

Next shot.
No PCS changes

017. Plasma
Disruption at 0.7 s again.

Next shot.
Reduced nl_04 demand to 1,0e+20

018. Plasma
Disruption at 1.5 s

Next shot
Increased nl_04 demand to 1.5e+20 at 1s

019. Fizzle

Next shot.
Reduced BR_0 by 0.5 mT

020. Plasma
Disruption at 0.5 s
Once again, it appears that I am bringing the density up too rapidly.

Next shot.
Reduced the nl_04 demand to 1.0 until 0.5s. then started the ramp to 1.5

021. Plasma
Disrupted in ramp down.
nl_04 is not pretty but is higher after 1 s. Overshoots the demand
of 1.5

Next shot.
Increase nl_04 demand to 2.0e+20
rxl and rxu flat top at 2 cm extended beyond 1 s

Last plasma attempt
PF3 breaker will not close

Session Leader Comments
Mar 19 2004 09:02:19:790AMNils BasseWe'll begin by re-doing shot 1031203019, but with max available ICRF power (about 2.5 MW).

Once a good discharge is established, we'll do scans of density, flattop current and ICRF power.
Mar 19 2004 09:30:31:420AM1040319004Nils BasseNo power shot.
Mar 19 2004 09:48:11:213AM1040319005Nils BasseFirst plasma, disrupts at 1.34 s. RF not happy, density rises up
to 2.5 m-2 (programmed to 1).
Mar 19 2004 10:16:18:267AM1040319006Nils BassePlasma into rampdown. Density down from 2.5 to 1.8.
Mar 19 2004 10:34:07:200AM1040319007Nils BassePlasma, disrupts at 1.4 s. Density still ends up at 1.8 m-2. Plasma
shaping better and some RF for this shot. No clear indications
in turbulence of a clear confinement transition yet, although
q at the limiter reaches 2.7.
Mar 19 2004 11:16:35:457AM1040319008Nils BasseDensity closer to the desired value, but
rises at the end, probably due to vertical
positioning problems. RF tuning becoming better,
1.2 MW from 0.5 to 0.88 s.

Full length plasma, current reaches 1.3 MA
as planned, minimum q_a 2.64.
Mar 19 2004 11:38:22:870AM1040319009Nils BassePlasma, disrupts late. Good current, RF.
Density continually rises up to 1.8 m-2.
Some signs of transition in refl. measurements,
no clear indications on PCI.
Mar 19 2004 11:52:43:590AM1040319010Nils BasseGood shot until disruption at 1.3 s. Density
lower but still not controlled.
Mar 19 2004 12:26:38:613PM1040319011Nils BassePlasma into rampdown, density at requested level.
RF trips once at 0.9 s and drops out
at 1.4 s. Only change for next shot is to decrease the
outer gap by 1 cm.
Mar 19 2004 12:57:23:360PM1040319012Nils BassePlasma into rampdown. No RF, current and
q_a not reaching a low level.
Mar 19 2004 01:04:13:070PM1040319013Nils BasseGood shot, but RF drops out at 1 s and
density remains non-controlled. If we can get a full
RF pulse for this type of shot that's our baseline
for parameter scans.
Mar 19 2004 02:29:57:447PM1040319014Nils BasseNo power shot.
Mar 19 2004 02:37:57:333PM1040319015Nils BassePlasma, all OK except RF which didn't start at
0.8 s as expected due to software problems. Also tripped
at 1.15 s. For next shot begin a density scan by requesting
1.5 m-2.
Mar 19 2004 02:50:44:847PM1040319016Nils BasseDisruption at 0.7 s. Density does seem to flatten
at 1.5 m-2 as programmed.
Mar 19 2004 03:00:29:630PM1040319017Nils BasseDisruption at 0.7 s as for shot 16. We'll pull back density
to 1.0 m-2 for the next shot.
Mar 19 2004 03:41:05:270PM1040319018Nils BasseGood shot.
Try to increase density to 1.5 m-2 more slowly
next shot.
Mar 19 2004 03:46:44:133PM1040319019Nils BasseFizzle.
Mar 19 2004 03:53:41:767PM1040319020Nils BasseDisruption at 0.55 s. Will try to bring up
density more slowly for the next shot.
Mar 19 2004 04:23:46:583PM1040319021Nils BasseGood plasma at 1.5 m-2, although minimum q_a is
only 2.79 due to changes in current and triangularities.
Next shot we'll increase density to 2.0 m-2 and try to
fix q_a.
Mar 19 2004 04:56:32:023PM1040319022Nils BasseNo power test. End of run.

Physics Operator Comments
Mar 19 2004 07:25:23:590AMBill RowanEngineering setup for Friday, March 19, 2004

MP# 367A (basse) q-ranps


Session leader: N. Basse
Physics operator: W. Rowan

ECDC overnight in D2 at 2e-4 Torr, stopping by 07:00.
Bake at 60 C overnight as well.

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

Power systems the same as 1031203019

A-coils should be enabled in the standard configuration.

Gas setup:
fill B-Top with 6 psi D2 Hybrid enabled (PG4)
fill B-side lower with 1 psi Ar Hybrid enabled (PG1)
leave B-side upper as is Hybrid DISABLED (PG2)
fill C-side with 30 psi D2 Hybrid enabled (PG3)

Disable NINJA

Enable the following gate valves, assuming no vacuum problems:
ECE, VUV, DNB


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RF Setup: Available transmitters in run-on by 8 am

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mar 19 2004 08:21:08:960AMBill RowanLoad 1031203019
Loaded segment 1 from 1040317031 and reduced the prefill PG4 from
17 ms to 15 ms
Mar 19 2004 07:49:56:323AM1040319001Bill Rowan001. Cycle test
Mar 19 2004 09:13:42:550AM1040319002Bill Rowan002. Cycle test
Mar 19 2004 09:13:21:187AM1040319003Bill Rowan003. Engineering test
Mar 19 2004 09:30:02:543AM1040319003Bill Rowan004. No power shot. Computer problems during init
A-coils are enabled for this shot and until noted otherwise.
Mar 19 2004 10:34:34:953AM1040319005Bill Rowan005. Plasma
Disruption at 1.4s
Density is high. Gas valve is off. This is an uncontrolled ne rise.
Suspect wall fueling.

Next shot.
OH1 lower limit changed to -30
OH2_L lower limit changed to -30: [-35,30]
OH2_U lower limit changed to -30: [-35,30]
Mar 19 2004 10:09:45:163AM1040319006Bill Rowan006. Plasma


Next shot
Add 1 ms to prefill. PG4 changed from 15 to 16 ms
Changed the demand for ZXU to 0.04 m from 0.09 m
Mar 19 2004 10:27:52:900AM1040319007Bill Rowan007. Plasma
density still too high. ne approximately 1.8.

next shot.
changed the oh2_l limit from -30 to -35
changed the oh2_u limit from -30 to -35
copied rxu to rxl
Mar 19 2004 11:01:03:840AM1040319007Bill RowanReduced RF for the next shot. Problem with the controller
for one of the two transmitters that we are using. Will continue
with E
Mar 19 2004 11:12:47:413AM1040319008Bill Rowan008. Plasma
nl_04 = 1.2 at 1.2 s

Next shot.
Add 1 ms to the prefill. PG4 changed from 16 to 17 ms.
The prefill did not rise as much as I expected after the
last change.
Mar 19 2004 11:19:47:400AM1040319008Bill RowanMade the gains the same and equal to the lower on shot 007 for ZXU and ZXL
Made the gains the same and equal to the lower on shot 007 for RXU and RXL

Mar 19 2004 11:38:42:697AM1040319009Bill Rowan009. Plasma
nl_04 = 1.4 at 1.2s
Data acquisition failure on F-side pressure

Next shot.
Copied ZXU to ZXL then flipped ZXL

Mar 19 2004 11:58:34:080AM1040319010Bill Rowan010. Plasma
Disruption at 1.29 s
F-side pressure = 0.042 mT
nl_04 = 1.35e+20 at 1.1 s

Next shot.
No PCS changes.
Mar 19 2004 12:23:24:773PM1040319011Bill Rowan011. Plasma
ne = 1.0e+20 at 1.2 s
Disruption at 1.7 s -- during rampdown

Next shot.
Decrease the outer gap by 1 cm from 2.5 to 1.5
Mar 19 2004 12:46:24:103PM1040319012Bill Rowan012. Plasma
ne = 1.5 e+20 at 1.4 s

Power supply fault after the shot.
Next shot. No PCS changes.
Mar 19 2004 12:57:55:470PM1040319013Bill Rowan013. Plasma
ne = 1.25e+20 at 1.3 s

Next shot. No PCS changes
Mar 19 2004 02:22:49:530PM1040319014Bill Rowan014. No power shot. Problems with camac.
No power shot.

Next shot. No PCS changes
Mar 19 2004 02:36:34:797PM1040319015Bill Rowan015. Plasma
Power supply fault after the shot.

Next shot.
Increased nl_04 demand to 1.5e+20
Mar 19 2004 02:48:59:997PM1040319016Bill Rowan016. Plasma.
Disruption at 0.7 s

Next shot.
No PCS changes
Mar 19 2004 03:03:21:140PM1040319017Bill Rowan017. Plasma
Disruption at 0.7 s again.

Next shot.
Reduced nl_04 demand to 1,0e+20
Mar 19 2004 03:19:57:603PM1040319018Bill Rowan018. Plasma
Disruption at 1.5 s

Next shot
Increased nl_04 demand to 1.5e+20 at 1s
Mar 19 2004 03:59:35:657PM1040319020Bill Rowan020. Plasma
Disruption at 0.5 s
Once again, it appears that density is rising too rapidly

Next shot.
Reduced the nl_04 demand to 1.0 until 0.5s. then started the ramp to 1.5
Mar 19 2004 04:10:55:647PM1040319021Bill Rowan021. Plasma
Disrupted in ramp down.
nl_04 is not pretty but is higher after 1 s. Overshoots the demand
of 1.5

Next shot.
Increase nl_04 demand to 2.0e+20
Mar 19 2004 04:24:00:960PM1040319021Bill Rowanrxl and rxu flat top at 2 cm extended beyond 1 s
Mar 19 2004 05:00:51:540PM1040319022Bill Rowan
Last plasma attempt
PF3 breaker will not close

Engineering Operator Comments
ShotTimeTypeStatusComment
107:41:56:840AMTestOk
208:26:56:753AMTestOk
309:10:25:850AMTestOk
509:40:13:140AMPlasmaOk
609:57:11:823AMPlasmaOk
710:13:37:020AMPlasmaOk
811:04:15:413AMPlasmaOk
911:21:07:933AMPlasmaOk
1011:41:11:550AMPlasmaOk
1112:14:15:710PMPlasmaOk
1212:30:51:957PMPlasmaOk
1312:48:52:190PMPlasmaOk
1402:19:04:190PMPlasmaOk
1502:28:29:223PMPlasmaOk
1602:43:16:930PMPlasmaOk
1702:56:18:210PMPlasmaOk
1803:09:49:147PMPlasmaOk
1903:26:36:970PMPlasmaOk
2003:47:20:290PMPlasmaOkOH1 self power circuit fired during disruption
2104:05:24:520PMPlasmaBadIOC OH2U pulled breaked, killed shot at 1.75 sec
2204:55:27:723PMTestOk
2305:09:31:807PMTestOk