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Dependence of divertor turbulence on plasma density and current in TCV

C. Wüthrich, C. Theiler, D.S. Oliveira, Y.S. Wang, Richard Ducker, G. Durr-Legoupil-Nicoud, B.P. Duval, D. Galassi, T. Golfinopolus, K. Lee, N. Offeddu, C.K. Tsui, the TCV team

2024Nuclear Fusion10 citationsDOIOpen Access PDF

Abstract

Abstract To reliably predict the distribution of heat and particle fluxes at the target plates of tokamaks, a comprehensive understanding of turbulence throughout the entire Scrape-Off-Layer (SOL) is imperative. This study examines divertor turbulence systematically across a broad parameter range on the TCV tokamak, including variations in magnetic field direction, plasma current <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>I</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">p</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>∈</mml:mo> <mml:mo stretchy="false">[</mml:mo> <mml:mn>140</mml:mn> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:mn>320</mml:mn> <mml:mo stretchy="false">]</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> kA, edge safety factor <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>q</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>95</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>∈</mml:mo> <mml:mo stretchy="false">[</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2.6</mml:mn> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:mn>4.7</mml:mn> <mml:mo stretchy="false">]</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> and Greenwald fraction <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>f</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">G</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>∈</mml:mo> <mml:mo stretchy="false">[</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.18</mml:mn> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.6</mml:mn> <mml:mo stretchy="false">]</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . The TCV X-point Gas Puff Imaging (GPI) system is used to measure 2D filament properties in the inner and outer divertor region. The fluctuation levels in the divertor are found to strongly increase with density (to 80% over most of the SOL) while remaining insensitive to <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>I</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">p</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . The previously identified divertor-localized filaments (DLF), located on the bad curvature side of the outer divertor leg, are found to be a common feature on TCV, while no filaments are observed in the PFR. DLFs are present over most of the parameter space and in both field directions. However, they are absent, or appear only closer to the target, for sufficiently large <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Λ</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>div</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>≳</mml:mo> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> or <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>q</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>95</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>≳</mml:mo> <mml:mn>3.7</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . Across both <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>I</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">p</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>f</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">G</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> scans, some clear trends with <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Λ</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>div</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> are found for divertor filament sizes and velocities, and with target fall-off lengths of density and heat flux profiles at the outer target. This study provides important experimental insights to turbulent transport in the divertor also for comparison with self-consistent, turbulence simulations and extrapolation to future reactor conditions.

Topics & Concepts

DivertorPlasmaTurbulenceCurrent (fluid)PhysicsAtomic physicsTokamakNuclear physicsMechanicsThermodynamicsMagnetic confinement fusion researchFusion materials and technologiesSuperconducting Materials and Applications
Dependence of divertor turbulence on plasma density and current in TCV | Litcius