Electron Bernstein waves are a mode of oscillation in a plasma, thought a candidate for providing radiofrequency heating and non-inductive current drive in spherical tokamaks. Previous studies of these modes have relied on neglecting or simplifying the contribution made by relativistic effects. This work presents fully relativistic numerical results that show the mode's dispersion relation for a wide range of parameters. Relativistic effects are shown to shift the location of the resonance as in previous studies, but the effects beyond this are shown to matter only in high temperature (10-20keV) plasmas. At these higher temperatures however, the fully relativistic model differs markedly. The assumption that the mode is electrostatic is looked at, and found to be inadequate for describing fully the electron Bernstein modes dispersion relation. Simple estimates that neglect toroidal effects show current drive efficiency is expected to be an order of magnitude higher than that for conventional electron cyclotron current drive using the O or X modes. It is shown for a number of model tokamaks that heating the center of the plasma and driving current using EBWs is impossible launching from the outside due to strong damping of the wave at higher cyclotron harmonics. Results from a code based on a more complicated semi-analytic model of current drive, that includes toroidal effects and calculates the average current drive over the magnetic surface, confirm the higher expected current drive efficiency, and the code is shown to give good agreement with a Fokker-Planck code. The higher values of perpendicular refractive index associated with the EBWs are shown to mitigate the deleterious effects of trapping on current drive efficiency to a small extent. The details of the magnetic field are found to be unimportant to the calculation beyond determing where the wave is absorbed. The codes written to produce these results are outlined before each set of results. The last of these is considerably faster than conventional Fokker-Planck codes and a useful tool in studying electron cyclotron current drive in the future.

Le succès de la fusion nucléaire par confinement magnétique repose sur un confinement efficace des particules alpha, qui sont des ions hautement énergétiques produits par les réactions de fusion. De telles particules peuvent exciter des instabilités dans le domaine de fréquence des modes d'Alfvén (AEs) qui dégradent leur confinement et risquent d'endommager l'enceinte à vide de réacteurs futurs. Afin de développer des diagnostiques et moyens de contrôle, une meilleure compréhension des comportements linéaire et non-linéaire des interactions résonantes entre ondes plasma et particules énergétiques, qui constitue le but de cette thèse, est requise. Dans le cas d'une résonance unique et isolée, la description de la déstabilisation des AEs par des ions énergétiques est homothétique au problème de Berk-Breizman (BB), qui est une extension du problème classique de l'instabilité faisceau, incluant un amortissement externe vers un plasma thermique, et des collisions. Un code semi-Lagrangien, COBBLES, est développé pour résoudre le problème aux valeurs initiales de BB selon deux approches, perturbative (delta f) et auto-cohérente (full-f). Deux modèles de collisions sont considérés, à savoir un modèle de Krook, et un modèle qui inclue la friction dynamique et la diffusion dans l'espace des vitesses. Le comportement non-linéaire de ces instabilités dans des conditions correspondantes aux expériences est catégorisé en régimes stable, périodique, chaotique, et de balayage en fréquence (sifflet), selon le taux d'amortissement externe et la fréquence de collision. On montre que le régime chaotique déborde dans une région linéairement stable, et l'on propose un mécanisme qui résout le paradoxe que constitue l'existence de telles instabilités sous-critiques. On développe et valide des lois analytiques et semi-empiriques régissant les caractéristiques non-linéaires de sifflet, telles que la vitesse de balayage, la durée de vie, et l'asymétrie. Des simulations de longue durée démontrent l'existence d'un régime de sifflets quasi-périodiques. Bien que ce régime existe quel que soit l'un des deux modèles de collision, la friction et la diffusion sont essentielles pour reproduire l'alternance entre sifflets et périodes de repos, telle qu'observée expérimentalement. Grâce à ces découvertes, on développe une nouvelle méthode pour analyser des paramètres cinétiques fondamentaux du plasma, tels que le taux de croissance linéaire et le taux d'amortissement externe. Cette méthode, qui consiste à faire correspondre les simulations de COBBLES avec des expériences d'AEs qui présentent des sifflets quasi-périodiques, ne requiert aucun diagnostique interne. Cette approche est appliquée à des AEs induits par la toroidicité (TAEs) sur les machines JT-60 Upgrade et Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak. On obtient des estimations de paramètres cinétiques locaux qui suggèrent l'existence de TAEs relativement loin de la stabilité marginale. Les résultats sont validés en recouvrant la croissance et décroissance de l'amplitude des perturbations mesurées, et en estimant les fréquences de collision à partir des données expérimentales d'équilibre.

The SABR fusion-fission hybrid concept for a fast burner reactor, which combines the IFR-PRISM fast reactor technology and the ITER tokamak physics and fusion technology, is adapted for a fusion-fission hybrid reactor, designated SABrR. SABrR is a sodium-cooled 3000 MWth reactor fueled with U-Pu-10Zr. For the chosen fuel and core geometry, two configurations of neutron reflector and tritium breeding structures are investigated: one which emphasizes a high tritium production rate and the other which emphasizes a high fissile production rate. Neutronics calculations are performed using the ERANOS 2.0 code package, which was developed in order to model the Phenix and SuperPhenix reactors. Both configurations are capable of producing fissile breeding ratios of about 1.3 while producing enough tritium to remain tritium-self-sufficient throughout the burnup cycle; in addition, the major factors which limit metal fuel residence time, fuel burnup and radiation damage to the cladding material, are modest.

Les réacteurs à fusion thermonucléaire sont une des solutions à moyen - long terme pour transiter vers un monde dominé par des énergies décarbonées. Les réactions de fusion requièrent des températures si extrêmes que le plasma d'isotopes d'hydrogène doit être confiné magnétiquement dans une forme torique. Le maintien d'un tel niveau élevé de confinement des particules et de l'énergie reste un problème clé. Les réacteurs devraient opérer dans un régime de confinement avancé, le mode H, dans lequel le transport turbulent est réduit par la présence d'une barrière de transport dans le plasma de bord. Ce régime est observé dans toutes les machines actuelles mais demeure en partie incompris. Dans cette thèse, plusieurs mécanismes impliqués dans la transition vers le mode H sont étudiés. Pour cela, plusieurs outils de simulation numériques sont utilisés avec une complexité croissante. Des mécanismes de base, supposés jouer un rôle dans le développement des barrières de transport et impacter la turbulence, sont détaillés et analysés avec des modèles simples. En allant vers des modèles plus complexes, la pertinence de cette physique pour le mode H est discutée au regard des observations expérimentales. La géométrie magnétique et notamment le cisaillement magnétique sont en particulier désignés comme étant des acteurs clés. / Thermonuclear fusion reactors are one of the mid to long term solutions to transit towards a world dominated by carbon-free energy. Extreme temperatures are required for fusion reactions and the plasma of hydrogen isotopes must be magnetically confined in a torus shape. Sustaining such high level of particle and energy confinements is a key issue. Reactors are expected to operate in a high confinement regime - the H-mode - in which turbulent transport is reduced by the presence of a transport barrier in the edge plasma. This regime is observed in all current devices but remains largely miss-understood. In this thesis, we investigate several mechanisms involved in the transition towards H-mode. For that purpose, we use a range of numerical simulation tools of increasing complexity. Using simple models, we first highlight and analyze basic mechanisms likely to play a role in the on-set of transport barriers and in their impact on turbulence. Moving progressively to more complex models, we discuss the relevance of these physics in explaining experimental observations. The magnetic geometry and especially the magnetic shear are pointed out as key players.

Thesis (Sc. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Marcel P. J. Gaudreau. / Sc.D.

This thesis presents an improved feedback system on HBT-EP and suppression of the fast rotating kink mode using this system. HBT-EP is an experimental tokamak at Columbia University designed to study the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities in confined fusion. The most damaging instabilities are global long wavelength kink modes, which break the toroidal symmetry of the magnetic structure and lead to plasma disruption and termination. When a tokamak is surrounded by a close fitting conducting wall, then the single helicity linear dispersion relation of the kink instability has two ominating branches: one is the "slow mode", rotating at the time scale of wall time, known as resistive wall mode (RWM), the other is the fast mode, that becomes unstable near the ideal wall stability limit. Both instabilities are required to be controlled by the feedback system in HBT-EP. In this thesis, improvements have been made upon the previous GPU-based system to enhance the feedback performance and obtain clear evidence of the feedback suppression effect. Specifically, a new algorithm is implemented that maintains an accurate phase shift between the applied perturbation and the unstable mode. This prevents the excitation of the slow kink mode observed in previous studies and results in high gain suppression for fast mode control at all frequency for the first time. When the system is turned off, suppression is lost and the fast mode is observed to grow back. The feedback performance is tested with several wall configurations including the presence of ferritic material. This provides the first comparison of feedback control between the ferritic and stainless wall. The effect of plasma rotation on feedback control is tested by applying a static voltage on a bias probe. As the mode rotation being slowed by the radial current flow, a higher gain on the kink mode is required to achieve feedback suppression. The change in plasma rotation also modifies the plasma response to the external perturbation. The optimal phase shift for suppression changes with the modified response and these observations are consistent with the predictions of the single helicity model.

O objetivo do presente estudo é a procura de evidências da presença de modos GAM nas descargas do tokamak TCABR, em distintos regimes de operação. As descargas selecionadas foram classicadas segundo a maneira de obter a melhora no connamento do plasma. Nós zemos essa procura nas descargas ôhmicas com incremento espontâneo da densidade do plasma, em descargas onde o plasma foi perturbado externamente pela injeção de ondas de Alfvén e pela alteração do campo elétrico radial via eletrodo de bias. Por causa da natureza eletrostática da oscilação GAM, nas descargas selecionadas foi relevante a presença das sondas eletrostáticas (conhecidas também como sondas de Langmuir). As bobinas de Mirnov foram importantes para identicar as oscilaçes MHD. Diversos métodos de análise espectral e estatístico foram usados na análise dos sinais experimentais como ajuda para identicar os modos GAM. Os métodos usados foram: correlação, espectro de auto-potência, espectro de potência cruzado, coerência e densidade espectral em número de onda e frequência. Para as bobinas de Mirnov, só o espectro de autopot ência foi usado. Os resultados da análise realizada nas descargas com crescimento espontâneo da densidade e nas descargas aquecidas com ondas de Alfvén, não mostram nenhuma presença de GAMs. Nessas descargas somente ocorreu um pequeno incremento na correlação que foi causado pela atividade MHD. Para as descargas com bias, a análise mostra a presença de um modo de f 40KHz, modo que não se observa nas bobinas de Mirnov e que tem simetria poloidal e toroidal. / The goal of the present study is to search for evidences of the presence of GAM modes in plasmas discharges of the TCABR tokamak at dierent operational regimes. The selected discharges were classied according to the way used to obtain plasma improvement of connement. We perform this search in pure ohmic discharges with a spontaneous increment of the plasma density and in discharges where the plasma was externally perturbed by the injection of Alfvén waves and by electrostatic edge biasing. Given the electrostatic nature of the GAM oscillation, in the selected discharges were relevant the presence of electrostatic probes (also known as Langmuir probes). The signals from Mirnov coils was important too, for identify the MHD oscillations. Several statistical and spectral methods were used to analyze the experimental signals in order to helps the identication of the GAM modes, correlation, auto-power spectra, cross-power spectra, coherence and spectral density in wave number and frequency (S(k; f)). For the Mirnov coil just auto-power spectra was used. The results of the analysis performed on the discharges with spontaneous increase of density and for those with Alfvén heating did not show any presence of GAMs. There was just an few increment of the correlation but it was due to the MHD activity. For the discharges with edge biasing, the analysis shows the presence of a f 40kHz mode that was not present in the Mirnov coil and that has toroidal and poloidal symmetry.

O tokamak é um dos mais promissores modelos de reatores de fusão. O mesmo consiste em um sistema de confinamento magnético de forma toroidal, onde coexistem um campo magnético toroidal gerado por bobinas externas e um campo poloidal gerado por uma corrente que percorre o plasma confinado, formando um campo resultante helicoidal. A operação do tokamak é sujeita a várias perturbações e instabilidades. Os modos tearing neoclássicos (NTM) são perturbações perigosas que interferem na estrutura magnética do plasma, pela formação de estruturas chamadas ilhas magnéticas. Acredita-se que os NTM’s são gerados por uma queda na corrente de bootstrap dentro das ilhas magnéticas, onde o perfil de pressão fica achatado. Isso ocorre em superfícies de fluxo onde o fator de segurança é racional, que assim, pode ser escrito como q = m/n, onde o número poloidal m e o número toroidal n são ambos inteiros. O controle desses modos é essencial para a operação dos futuros reatores de fusão. Um dos métodos considerados para esse controle é a geração de calor e corrente localizada na região da ilha, usando ondas do tipo de cíclotron eletrônica, em um processo chamado electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD). Estudamos características importantes sobre a eficiência do processo, via um modelo simplificado do tokamak e da estrutura da ilha, acoplado a um tratamento auto-consistente da interação da ondas com o plasma no tokamak e, consequentemente, geração de corrente, considerando a existência de uma corrente inicial gerada por um transformador (loop voltage), e levando em conta efeitos de transporte radial de partículas e a existência de efeitos indutivos. Todos esses efeitos formam uma equação de Fokker-Planck para evolução temporal da função de distribuição eletrônica, que é resolvida numericamente. O formalismo também inclui uma descrição auto-consistente da largura da ilha magnética, como função da corrente no plasma, atraves de uma equação chamada equação de Rutherford modificada. O formalismo inclui também efeitos clássicos relacionados a um pulo da derivada do logarítmo do campo magnético radial, e dados basicamente pelo gradiente da corrente de equilíbrio e efeitos neoclássicos relacionados a perturbações na corrente de bootstrap. Os resultados são obtidos na análise numérica para diversos parâmetros iniciais e para ondas de cíclotron, e mostram que a largura das ilhas é reduzida pela geração de corrente gerada pelas ondas, o que confirma o ECCD como um bom método para estabilização dos NTM. / The tokamak is one of the most promising models for a fusion reactor. It consists in a system of magnetic confinement of toroidal form, in which coexist a toroidal magnetic field generated by a system of external coils and a poloidal magnetic field generated by the current in the confined plasma, forming a helicoidal magnetic field. The operation of a tokamak is subject to the occurrence of perturbations and instabilities. Neoclassical tearing modes (NTM) are dangerous perturbations which interfere in the magnetic structure of the plasma, by formation of structures known as magnetic islands. It is believed that the NTM are driven by a lack of the bootstrap current inside the magnetic island where the pressure profile is flattened. This occurs in flux surfaces with rational safety factor, which can be writen as q = m/n, where the poloidal number m and the toroidal number n are both integers. The control of these modes is essential to the operation of future fusion reactors. One of the methods considered for control is the heating and generation of current in the island location, using electron cyclotron (EC) waves, in a process known as electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD). We study important features related to the efficiency of such method by the use of a simplified model for a tokamak and for the structure of magnetic islands, coupled to a self-consistent treatment of the interaction of EC waves with the plasma in the tokamak and the consequent current generation, considering the occurrence of a loop voltage in the tokamak and taking into account radial transport of particles and the existence of induced effects. All of these effects are included in a general Fokker-Plank equation for the evolution of the electron distribution function, which is numerically solved. The formalism also includes a self-consistent description of the width of the magnetic islands, as a function of the current in the plasma, through the so-called modified Rutherford equation. The formalism includes classical effects are given by the jump in the logarithmic derivative of the radial magnetic field and driven mainly by the equilibrium current gradient, and neoclassical effects related to the effect of the perturbed bootstrap current. The results obtained in our numerical analyses, for several parameters associated to EC waves, show that the width of the islands can be substantially reduced by the EC generated currents, which seems to confirm ECCD as a promising method for NTM stabilization.

Neste trabalho foi feito um estudo do perfil tomográfico da emissão da linha do átomo de hidrogênio, H-alfa (?=656,28 nm) no plasma do TCABR, um tokamak de porte médio em operação no Laboratório de Física de Plasmas do Instituto de Física da Universidade de São Paulo. Nosso trabalho centrou-se no estudo dos efeitos da introdução de um eletrodo polarizado na borda do plasma no tokamak TCABR. O eletrodo pode ser introduzido até 1,5 cm para dentro da coluna do plasma, sem causar disrupturas para polarização positiva de 0 até +350V, e situado no plano equatorial do tokamak. Perfis tomográficos de H-alfa com e sem polarização foram medidos. A comparação dos perfis mostra um aumento da densidade de linha na posição central, quando a emissividade H-alfa diminui. A análise dos perfis tomográficos de H-alfa, tempo de confinamento das partículas e também do estudo de reciclagem das partículas neutras, indica que o plasma entra no regime de alto confinamento (modo-H). Cálculos de turbulência e de transporte na borda do plasma (SOL), feitos medindo o potencial flutuante e a corrente de saturação de íons, mostram uma diminuição forte no espectro de potência e de transporte. Também foram feitos estudos do novo regime de descargas com elétrons fugitivos (\"runaway electron\"), descoberto no tokamak TCABR. As características distintivas deste regime são um plasma de baixa temperatura fracamente ionizado, destacado do limitador devido a processos de recombinação, e instabilidade de relaxação com fortes picos de emissão H-alfa correlacionados com instabilidade dente de serra da densidade eletrônica de linha. No presente trabalho fazemos a descrição das condições experimentais para a geração destas descargas. A produção dos elétrons fugitivos é analisada; mostrando que a geração de elétrons fugitivos somente pode ser explicada pelo mecanismo de avalanche. A confirmação de baixa temperatura do plasma é obtida de uma análise do perfil tomográfico da emissão H-alfa. Esta emissão não pode ser explicada por excitação de elétrons no plasma. A recombinação, de outro lado, dá uma explicação plausível para a dependência temporal da emissão, em particular para alta densidade de partículas neutras. / A study of the tomography profile of the emission of the line of Hydrogen, atomic H-alpha line (?=656.28 nm), was carried out in TCABR, a medium-size tokamak in operation at the Laboratory of Plasma Physics of the Institute of Physics of the University of São Paulo. Our work focuses on the study of the effects of due to the introduction of a biased electrode in the plasma edge of the TCABR tokamak. The electrode could be introduced up to 1.5 cm inside the plasma, without plasma disruptions for positive voltages from 0 to +350V, and was located on the equatorial plane of the plasma column. Tomography profiles of H-alpha with and without bias were measured. Comparison of the profiles shows an increase of the central line-averaged density, while the emissivity of the line H-alpha decreases. The analysis of the tomography profiles of H-alpha, time of confinement of particles and also the study of recycling of the neutral particles, indicate that the confined plasma enters the H-mode regime. Calculations of turbulence and transport at the Scrape-Off-Layer, using measured floating potentials and ion saturation currents, show a strong decrease in the power spectra and transport. The H-alpha tomography was also employed to study the new regime of runaway discharges that has been discovered in the TCABR tokamak. The distinctive features of this regime are weakly ionized low-temperature plasma detached from the limiter due to the recombination process, and a relaxation instability with strong spikes of H-alpha emission correlated with sawtooth relaxation of the line density. In the present thesis we report experimental data on conditions for generation of these discharges. The runaway electron production is analyzed; show that generation of runaway electrons can only be explained by the runaway avalanche mechanism. The confirmation of low plasma temperature is a obtained from an analysis of the tomography profile of H-alpha emission. This emission cannot be explained by excitation by plasma electrons. Recombination, on the other hand, gives a rather plausible explanation for the time dependency of the emission, in particular at high neutral densities.

Understanding of plasma confinement modes is an essential component in development of a fusion reactor. Plasma confinement directly relates to performance of a fusion reactor in terms of energy replacement time requirements on other design parameters. Although a variety of levels of confinement have been achieved under different operating conditions in tokamaks, tokamak confinement is generally identified as being either Low (L-mode--poor confinement) or High (H-mode--good confinement) In operation of a tokamak experiment, the plasma confinement condition generally changes from L-mode to H-mode over a few hundred milliseconds, sometimes quite sharply. Such a difference in transition period seems to be largely due to operating conditions of the plasma. Comparison of experimental data exhibits various distinctions between confinement modes. One noteworthy distinction between confinement modes is development of steep density and temperature gradients of electrons and ions in the plasma edge region of High confinement, H-modes, relative to Low-confinement, L-modes. The fundamental reason for the change for L-mode to H-mode is not understood. Previous studies have suggested i) the development of reduced diffusive transport coefficients that require a steepening of the gradients in a localized region in the edge plasma, the "transport barrier" in H-mode confinement ii) the radial force balance between pressure gradient forces and electromagnetic (radial electric field and VxB) forces require radial particle fluxes to satisfy a pinch-diffusion relation. A recent study suggests that the major difference between L-mode and H-mode are associated with the electromagnetic forces in the "pinch velocity" and the pressure gradient, not in the diffusion coefficients that multiplies the pressure gradient. The research will examine in detail the time evolution of the radial force balance and the particle and energy transport during the L-H transition. For the analysis, DIII-D shot #118897 is selected for transition between L- and H-mode confinements. Plasma conditions in L-mode, near the L-H transition and following the transition are selected for analysis of various parameter profiles. The initial analysis will be based on the four principal equations for plasma: particle balance, momentum balance, force balance and heat conduction. Based on these equations, specific equations have been derived: toroidal and radial momentum balances, diffusion coefficient, pinch velocity and heat conduction relation for calculation of parameters. The analysis of these equations, using the measured data, will establish how various terms in the radial force balance (radial electric field, VXB (electromagnetic) force, and pressure gradient) and the diffusive transport coefficients evolve over the confinement mode transition.