Alcator C-Mod Run 1060309 Information

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Miniproposals
Miniproposal:404a
Date Filed: 1/31/2005
Title:Parametric Dependence of Moderate n Alfvén Eigenmode Damping Rates
First Author:Joseph Snipes
Session Leader:Joseph Snipes (shots 1-24)

Operators
Session leader(s):Joseph Snipes
Physics operator(s):Robert Granetz
Engineering operator(s):Gary Dekow

Engineering Operator Run Comment
MP404a - AE damping

Session Leader Plans
Entered: Mar 8 2006 01:17:34:623PM
Author: Joseph Snipes
MP404a - AE damping
Standard gas setup and ECDC in deuterium before the run.
ICRF will be allowed to condition near the end of the discharge from say
1.3 to 1.5 s to see if good heating can be obtained for later use toward
the end of the run.

Run Plan: Begin with segment 2 from shot 1050615011 a near double null
inner wall limited plasma with Ip = 0.8 MA
except change the TF to be constant at 5.4 T out to 1.5 s. The first 10
shots will be a density scan starting at
nl04 = 1 x 10^20 m^-2 and then increase the density to 1.2 x 10^20 m^-2,
then 1.4 x 10^20 m^-2. If successful,
we may go on to 1.6 x 10^20 m^-2. Then, we will program 0.5 x 10^20
m^-2 and run several shots to reach that
low a density if possible. If it is reached within 7 shots, we may
program 0.4 x 10^20 m^2 to end the density scan.
The next 10 shots will be dedicated to an elongation scan by decreasing
the elongation quickly for a few shots down to kappa = 1.1 or so if
possible, checking the mode number to see if it remains the same shot to
shot. If the mode remains constant, we fill in the elongation scan with
intermediate values and f possible, we may also increase kappa to 1.8.
If the ICRF is heating and can drive a fast ion tail, we will attempt
some ICRF discharges with 2.5 MW to look first for unstable TAEs then
reduce the power shot to shot in 0.5 MW steps for five shots.
If ICRF is not heating well, we will do phase and frequency scans of the
active MHD for previously identified good shots.

Physics Operators Plans
Entered: Mar 8 2006 04:31:19:253PM
Author: Robert Granetz
Engineering setup for Thursday 09 Mar 2006

MP 404a: Alfven Eigenmode damping

Session leader: J. Snipes, A. Fasoli
Physics operator: R. Granetz

Overnight ECDC in deuterium, and bake at 60 C.
 
Run begins at 09:00 and ends at 17:00.

Power systems as on 1050615011.

A-coil configuration: normal [+Dtop -Dbot -Jtop +Jbot] and enabled.

Gas Setup:
   fill B-Top            with  6 psi D2  Hybrid enabled  (PG4)
   fill B-side lower     with  1 psi Ar + 2 psi Ne  Hybrid DISABLED (PG1)
  leave B-side upper     as is           Hybrid DISABLED (PG2)
   fill B-main (C-side)  with 40 psi D2  Hybrid enabled  (PG3)
No NINJA for this run.

Enable the following gate valves and shutters, assuming no vacuum problems:
  ECE, VUV, Z-bolo shutters
 
Torvac setup: Gate valves open

Key diagnostics: PCI, Mirnov coils (appropriate fast sampling windows)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ICRF Setup: J in run-on by 08:30.  ICRF will be allowed to condition near
            the end of the discharge from say 1.3 to 1.5 s to see if good
            heating can be obtained for later use toward the end of the
            run.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run plan: Begin with segment 2 from shot 1050615011 a near double null
          inner wall limited plasma with Ip = 0.8 MA except change the TF
          to be constant at 5.4 T out to 1.5 s.  The first 10 shots will be
          a density scan starting at nl04 = 1 x 10^20 m^-2 and then
          increase the density to 1.2 x 10^20 m^-2, then 1.4 x 10^20 m^-2.
          If successful, we may go on to 1.6 x 10^20 m^-2.  Then, we will
          program 0.5 x 10^20 m^-2 and run several shots to reach that low
          a density if possible.  If it is reached within 7 shots, we may
          program 0.4 x 10^20 m^2 to end the density scan.  The next 10
          shots will be dedicated to an elongation scan by decreasing the
          elongation quickly for a few shots down to kappa = 1.1 or so if
          possible, checking the mode number to see if it remains the same
          shot to shot.  If the mode remains constant, we fill in the
          elongation scan with intermediate values and if possible, we may
          also increase kappa to 1.8.  If the ICRF is heating and can drive
          a fast ion tail, we will attempt some ICRF discharges with 2.5 MW
          to look first for unstable TAEs then reduce the power shot to
          shot in 0.5 MW steps for five shots.  If ICRF is not heating
          well, we will do phase and frequency scans of the active MHD for
          previously identified good shots.


Session Leader Summaries
Entered: Mar 9 2006 08:26:25:630PM
Author: Joseph Snipes
The run had a slow start first because there were problems yesterday with the gas fueling valve and so tests of
the gas fueling started the run. Then, there was a TF scanner test. Then, the first plasma attempt failed to
have gas for some reason. Then, it turned out that liquid nitrogen was dripping on the TCI and disturbing the
measurement. So, we had about a 2 hour delay to fix the TCI. Finally, we got a plasma on shot 5. The active
MHD amplifiers worked well and a number of AE resonances were found. The first few plasma shots were taken at
the wrong frequency due to an inadvertent voltage divider in parallel with a filter on the VCO input. After
that was resolved, we managed to scan density from nl04 = 1.5 x 10^20 m^-2 down to 0.75 x 10^20 m^-2. Then, we
varied elongation from kappa = 1.6 down to kappa = 1.2 and then filled in several points in between. Since the
ICRF was not yet conditioned, there were no attempts to use ICRF. Time also did not permit changing the
antenna phase or doing more of a resonant q scan. The damping rates were found in the 2 - 3% range and n
numbers between 3 and 10 were also estimated, though there was some difficulty getting clearly defined n numbers.
Further analysis is required to determine if a clear scaling of the TAE damping rate with density or
elongation can be determined for a particular n number. Overall, despite the long delays, we still managed to
get some TAE damping results. We showed that the changes made to the cabling and amplifiers significantly
improved the performance. Of the 14 plasmas produced, 11 of them will probably provide useful damping
measurements.

Physics Operator Summaries
Entered: Mar 9 2006 05:04:26:910PM
Author: Robert Granetz
Physics operator summary for Thursday 09 Mar 2006:

MP 404a: Alfven Eigenmode damping

Session leaders: J. Snipes, A. Fasoli
Physics operator: R. Granetz

We got the density scan done and did much of the elongation scan.  There
was a very long delay at the beginning of the day to get the TCI
interferometer working after a lot of LN2 liquid and vapor at H-port bottom
badly affected the optics.  (We really needed the TCI, both for the density
scan and for the active TAE frequency feedback, and so we couldn't switch
to z-meter control.)  There were also numerous cell accesses to fix things
on the active MHD system.  There were a number of fizzles and duds, which I
think is because we're still early in the campaign and the machine still
needs more conditioning.  Once we got the first plasma (on shot 5), the
startup reliability was 14 out of 20.

Scorecard: 14 plasmas
            4 duds (gas system failed on one shot)
            4 fizzles
            1 gas system tests
            1 TF scanner tests
            0 power supply tests
            0 MDSplus cycle tests
           --------------
    Total: 24 shot cycles

Session Leader Comments
Mar 9 2006 09:46:25:160AM1060309001Joseph SnipesShot 1: Begin with standard conditions to look for TAE resonances with a near double null inner wall limited
plasma with Ip = 0.8 MA, BT = 5.4 T, and nl04 = 1 x 10^20 m^-2. Both active MHD antennas turned on. There seems
to be a problem with the T_ABK pick-up coils that they have very low signal compared to test shots yesterday.
No plasma gas test.
Mar 9 2006 09:47:07:427AM1060309002Joseph SnipesChecked pick-up coil cables at the feedthroughs and at the rack and they all seem to be connected properly.
Mar 9 2006 09:47:56:100AM1060309003Joseph SnipesWaiting for plasma . . .
Mar 9 2006 11:27:01:100AM1060309004Joseph SnipesWaiting for plasma . . .
Mar 9 2006 01:31:46:287PM1060309005Joseph SnipesGood shot with TAE frequency for q ~ 3 and nl04 = 1.2 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 01:36:04:210PM1060309006Joseph SnipesGood shot with TAE frequency for q ~ 3 and nl04 = 1.3 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 01:15:07:927PM1060309008Joseph SnipesThe RC filter that Jason installed on the VCO input to the amplifier controller divided the voltage by about
a factor of two meaning that the frequency we are driving is about a factor of 2 too low. So, the previous
shots were effectively at q=3 rather than q=1.5.
Mar 9 2006 01:36:52:520PM1060309008Joseph SnipesGood shot with TAE frequency for q ~ 3 and nl04 = 1.5 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 01:38:35:473PM1060309009Joseph SnipesThe RC filter was removed and the noise on the VCO increased substantially, though the frequency is now
correct for q=1.5 and nl04 = 1.5 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 01:52:16:053PM1060309010Joseph SnipesThe RC filter was put back in place but the signal to the Aurora12 was removed. Good shot, but the frequency
sweep is still noisy, so the filter did not do anything. This is a good plasma at q=1.5 and
nl04 = 1.3 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 02:17:50:363PM1060309012Joseph SnipesGood shot with q=1.5 and nl04 = 1.0 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 02:29:53:973PM1060309013Joseph SnipesReduced the constant multiplier from 1.0 to 0.9 on the f_TAE calculation in DPCS to center the frequency sweep
on the EFIT calculated TAE frequency. Good shot at q=1.5 and nl04 = 0.9 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 02:55:56:613PM1060309014Joseph SnipesIncreased the constant multiplier from 0.9 to 0.94 on the f_TAE calculation in DPCS to center the frequency sweep
on the EFIT calculated TAE frequency. Good shot at q=1.5 and nl04 = 0.8 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 03:07:12:660PM1060309015Joseph SnipesDecreased the constant multiplier from 0.94 to 0.9 on the f_TAE calculation in DPCS to center the frequency sweep
on the EFIT calculated TAE frequency. Good shot at q=1.5 and nl04 = 0.75 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 03:19:42:833PM1060309016Joseph SnipesDecreased the constant multiplier from 0.94 to 0.9 on the f_TAE calculation in DPCS to center the frequency sweep
on the EFIT calculated TAE frequency. Good shot at q=1.5 and nl04 = 0.78 x 10^20 m^-2. The density increased
rather than decreased for that shot. Try changing the shape instead.
Mar 9 2006 03:48:56:693PM1060309017Joseph SnipesChanged elongation to 1.2. Disrupted after 1.5 s. nl04 = 1.2 x 10^20 m^-2 though I asked for 0.9 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 03:53:25:537PM1060309018Joseph SnipesGood shot at kappa = 1.2 until 1.2 s, then with a sweep in elongation up and down. nl04 = 0,9 x 10^20 m^-2 as
requested.
Mar 9 2006 03:59:18:787PM1060309019Joseph SnipesFizzle!
Mar 9 2006 04:25:38:520PM1060309020Joseph SnipesGood shot with kappa = 1.34 and nl04 = 0.9 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 04:41:56:380PM1060309022Joseph SnipesGood shot with kappa = 1.45 and nl04 = 0.9 x 10^20 m^-2.
Mar 9 2006 05:03:27:647PM1060309024Joseph SnipesDud!

Physics Operator Comments
Mar 9 2006 08:49:12:100AMRobert GranetzI had Bill Cochran set the TF invert time to 3.8 s and the fizzle delay for
the TF to 2.5 s
Mar 9 2006 09:17:41:630AMRobert GranetzThe first shot will be a gas-only test of the new PG3 fueling valve
that replaced the one that was malfunctioning yesterday.
Mar 9 2006 09:03:57:240AM1060309001Robert GranetzShot 01 -- Test of new PG3 gas valve. Looks like it's working well. Big improvement
over yesterday.

Next shot: go for plasma (after a short cell access for Joe to check on something with
the active MHD system).
Mar 9 2006 09:17:24:443AM1060309001Robert GranetzCorrection...the next shot will be another no-power shot to check out a problem
with the TF scanner readings.
Mar 9 2006 09:24:58:897AM1060309002Robert GranetzShot 02 -- Test for TF scanner readings (no power)

Next shot: plasma
Mar 9 2006 09:37:17:270AM1060309003Robert GranetzShot 03 -- Dud. No gas signals got to the PLC. Really strange, because shots 1 and 2
had normal gas. Apparently one of those rare random glitches with the gas
system.

Next shot: try for plasma again.
Mar 9 2006 10:44:27:193AM1060309003Robert GranetzWe're having a long delay while the interferometer problems are fixed. The
problem is that a large amount of LN2 liquid and vapor was pouring all over
the H-port area.
Mar 9 2006 11:31:24:100AM1060309004Robert GranetzShot 04 -- Dud. Got gas this time.

Next shot: add 3 ms to pre-fill puff (to 24 ms), subtract 0.3 mT from Br0, add -10 amps to IC_EF4
Mar 9 2006 11:52:41:100AM1060309005Robert GranetzShot 05 -- Plasma. Good shot. Made it most of the way into rampdown. nl_04=1.2e20 m-2.
H/(H+D)=6% !! Can it really be that good? Inboard-limited, nearly double null.

Next shot: Start density scan...raise nl_04 to 1.4 by programming the demand to be 1.2, based
on this shot (05). Also decrease pre-fill pulse by 1 ms.
Mar 9 2006 12:22:57:613PM1060309006Robert GranetzShot 06 -- Plasma. Good shot. nl_04=1.3e20 m-2. H/(H+D)=6-7%. There were
some hard x-rays early on. Startup bounced out.

Nest shot: raise nl_04 programming to 1.4e20 m-2. Add 2 ms to prefill.
Mar 9 2006 12:32:19:583PM1060309007Robert GranetzShot 07 -- Fizzle. Gas pressure looks high.

Next shot: take the 2 ms back off the pre-fill.
Mar 9 2006 01:01:29:817PM1060309008Robert GranetzShot 08 -- Plasma. Good shot. nl_04=1.56e20 m-2. Lots of hard x-rays early
in the shot.

Next shot: repeat, no changes
Mar 9 2006 01:34:23:113PM1060309009Robert GranetzShot 09 -- Plasma. Good shot. nl_04=1.5e20 m-2. No hard x-rays.
Good startup.

Next shot: reduce nl_04 by 0.2e20 m-2
Mar 9 2006 01:48:34:053PM1060309010Robert GranetzShot 10 -- Plasma. Good shot. nl_04=1.3e20 m-2.

Next shot: Reduce nl_04 another 0.2e20 m-2. Also turn off the density hard
after t=1.5 s to try and avoid the late rampdown disruption.
Mar 9 2006 02:02:32:583PM1060309011Robert GranetzShot 11 -- Dud. Gas and fields look fine.

Next shot: substract 1 ms from pre-fill, add 0.1 mT to Br0, add 5 amps to IC_EF4
Mar 9 2006 02:14:07:770PM1060309012Robert GranetzShot 12 -- Plasma. Good shot. nl_04=1.0e20 m-2. Got a little farther in
the rampdown. Good startup.

Next shot: Lower nl_04 to 0.8e20 m-2.
Mar 9 2006 02:30:39:397PM1060309013Robert GranetzShot 13 -- Plasma. Good shot. nl_04=0.9e20 m-2. Current ramped all the way down, no
doubt because the density was lower. Beautiful startup.

Next shot: Reduce nl_04 to 0.6e20 m-2
Mar 9 2006 03:09:58:600PM1060309014Robert GranetzShot 14 -- Plasma. Good shot. nl_04=0.75e20 m-2, which is a little higher than we
wanted.

Next shot: decrease pg3 pregrammed voltage to zero and hope for lower density.
Mar 9 2006 03:11:29:647PM1060309015Robert GranetzShot 15 -- Plasma. Good shot. Density is still higher than the 0.6e20 m-2 that we want.
Beautiful startup.

Next shot: Repeat with no changes.
Mar 9 2006 03:26:30:100PM1060309016Robert GranetzShot 16 -- Plasma. Good shot. nl_04=0.8e20 m-2. Density refuses to drop. Had
a little ICRF from J-port.

Next shot: Try for low elongation by reducing CLEARIN to -6.0 cm (from -2.0 cm).
Also set nl_04 to 0.9e20 m-2.
Mar 9 2006 04:21:24:130PM1060309017Robert GranetzShot 17 -- Plasma. Good shot. Elongation=1.2 until around t=1.2 s, and then the EF2's
get to zero, and the OH2's hit their rail. This causes some loss of control
and the plasma touches the outboard limiter late in the flattop.

Next shot: After t=1.1 s increase the elongation to try and prevent touching the
outboard limiter. Also reduce nl_04 to 0.7e20 m-2.
Mar 9 2006 03:56:55:600PM1060309018Robert GranetzShot 18 -- Plasma. Good shot. nl_04=0.9e20 m-2. Kappa=1.2 until t=1.1 s, and then
it re-elongates and stays under control. Perfect.

Next shot: Set CLEARIN to -4 cm to shoot for an elongation of 1.4. I've extended the
flattop of the elongation out to t=1.35 s, since it won't be pushing the
power supplies as hard. Also adjust the density programming.
Mar 9 2006 04:02:26:410PM1060309019Robert GranetzShot 19 -- Fizzle. Got to 60 kA before it died. Didn't seem to hit anything.

Next shot: subtract 0.1 mT from Br0 for palliative reasons.
Mar 9 2006 04:17:40:460PM1060309020Robert GranetzShot 20 -- Plasma. Good shot. nl_04=0.9e20 m-2. Elongation=1.34 until around t=1.3 s

Next shot: Increase elongation to around 1.45 by setting CLEARIN to -3.0 cm. Tweak gas
programming as well.
Mar 9 2006 04:27:20:647PM1060309021Robert GranetzShot 21 -- Fizzle.

Next shot: subtract 0.2 mT from Br0.
Mar 9 2006 04:44:33:147PM1060309022Robert GranetzShot 22 -- Plasma. Good shot. nl_04=0.9e20 m-2. Kappa=1.45. Bad startup, lots of
hard x-rays.

Next shot: Set CLEARIN to -1 cm to try for the highest elongation of the day. Also
add 1 ms to pre-fill.
Mar 9 2006 04:56:51:677PM1060309023Robert GranetzShot 23 -- Fizzle. I think the startup was killed by high carbon levels. I think the
machine still needs some more cleanup.

Next shot: On Joe's suggestion, subtract 0.2 mT from Br0.
Mar 9 2006 05:04:22:507PM1060309024Robert GranetzShot 24 -- Dud. (Startup changes were Joe's call)

Engineering Operator Comments
ShotTimeTypeStatusComment
108:58:58:070AMTestOkGas Test Shot
209:18:02:647AMTestOkTF Scanner Test Shot
309:27:35:990AMPlasmaOk
411:25:13:037AMPlasmaOk
511:38:31:600AMPlasmaOk
612:14:10:770PMPlasmaOk
712:26:49:600PMPlasmaOk
812:40:18:007PMPlasmaOk
901:14:38:303PMPlasmaOk
1001:40:44:333PMPlasmaOk
1101:56:42:817PMPlasmaOk
1202:09:32:710PMPlasmaOk
1302:22:25:007PMPlasmaOk
1402:46:48:833PMPlasmaOk
1503:02:33:740PMPlasmaOk
1603:15:19:803PMPlasmaOk
1703:28:09:083PMPlasmaOk
1803:41:29:757PMPlasmaOk
1903:57:18:910PMPlasmaOk
2004:10:08:397PMPlasmaOk
2104:23:39:100PMPlasmaOk
2204:36:14:897PMPlasmaOk
2304:48:51:910PMPlasmaOk
2405:01:34:460PMPlasmaOk