Bootstrap current compensation with electron-cyclotron waves in 3D reactor-size configurations

In magnetic confinement devices, the inhomogeneity of the confining magnetic field along a magnetic field line generates the trapping of particles (with low ratio of parallel to perpendicular velocities) within local magnetic wells. One of the consequences of the trapped particles is the generation of a current, known as the bootstrap current (BC), whose direction depends on the nature of the magnetic trapping. The BC provides an extra contribution to the poloidal component of the confining magnetic field. The variation of the poloidal component produces the alteration of the winding of the magnetic field lines around the flux surfaces quantified by the rotational transform ι. When ι reaches low rational values, it can trigger the generation of ideal MHD instabilities. Therefore, the BC may be responsible for the destabilisation of the configuration. This thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part, we present a self-consistent method to calculate the BC and assess its effect on equilibrium and stability in general 3D configurations. This procedure is applied to two reactor-size prototypes (both with plasma volumes ∼ 1000m3): a quasi-axisymmetric (QAS) system and a quasi helically symmetric (QHS) system with magnetic structures that develop BC in opposite directions. The BC increases with the plasma pressure, therefore its relevance is enhanced when dealing with reactor-level scenarios. The behaviour of both prototypes at reactor level values of β ≡ (kinetic plasma pressure)/(magnetic pressure) is assessed, as well as its alteration of the equilibrium and stability. In the QAS prototype, BC-consistent equilibria have been computed up to β = 6.7% and the configuration is shown to be stable up to β = 6.4%. Convergence of self-consistent BC calculations for the QHS case is achieved only up to β = 3.5%, but the configuration is unstable for β ≥ 0.6%. The relevance of symmetry breaking modes of the Fourier expansion of the confining magnetic field on the generation of BC is studied for each prototype. This proves the close relationship between magnetic structure and BC. Having established the potentially dangerous implication of the BC, principally, in reactor prototypes, a method to compensate its harmful effects is proposed in the second part of the thesis. It consists of the modelling of the current driven by externally launched ECWs within the plasma to compensate the effects of the BC. This method is flexible enough to allow the identification of the appropriate scenarios in which to generate the required CD depending on the nature of the confining magnetic field and the specific plasma parameters of the configuration. Both the BC and the CD calculations are included in a self-consistent scheme which leads to the computation of a stable BC+CD-consistent MHD equilibrium. This procedure is applied in this thesis to simulate the required CD to stabilise the QAS and QHS prototypes introduced in the first part. The estimation of the input power required and the effect of the driven current on the final equilibrium of the system is performed for several relevant scenarios and wave polarisations providing various options of stabilising driven currents. Several scenarios have been devised for each prototype in order to drive current at the appropriate location and with the desired direction. Different polarisations and launching conditions have been employed to this purpose. In particular, a HFS launched X2 ECW with an input power of 1.5MW has been shown to drive sufficient current to maintain the rotational transform below the critical value 2/3 at β = 6.4% for the QAS reactor. Correspondingly, in the QHS reactor, an X3-mode ECW of 100KW was sufficient to drive the current required to push the rotational transform below unity near the magnetic axis at β = 3%. Thus, stabilisation of BC-driven instabilities with externally launched ECWs has been achieved for both contrasting configurations. The method proposed in this thesis allows also the utilisation of EBW in the generation of CD. The possible advantages of EBCD for compensation studies are described as well as their possible application to the two prototypes under consideration. The BC+CD procedure is particularly interesting to investigate new magnetic geometries as potential candidates for fusion reactors. With this numerical tool, it is possible to assess the implications of their consistent BC when operating at reactor level. It also allows to quantify how much power would be required to maintain the system MHD stable in these circumstances. Nevertheless, this method is flexible enough to be applicable to any configuration.

A Far-Infrared Polarimeter Diagnostic for the Measurement of the Poloidal Magnetic Field in the TCV Tokamak

Information about the poloidal field inside the plasma and about the current density profile is essential for the understanding of the behavior of tokamak plasmas. The poloidal field outside the plasma edge is easily measured by a set of magnetic coils, whereas measurements of the magnetic field distribution inside the plasma requires dedicated and often complex diagnostic systems. One of the methods is polarimetry using beams of electromagnetic waves traversing the plasma. It makes use of the fact that the magnetic field modifies the refractive index of the plasma and as a consequence affects the state of polarization of the passing waves. Specifically, Faraday rotation refers to the case of a linearly polarized wave propagating parallel to a magnetic field. In this case, the rotation of the polarization vector is proportional to the product of electron density and parallel magnetic field component. This thesis is devoted to the design of a specific polarimeter system and its implementation on the TCV tokamak. The conceptual design took into account the particular requirements of the TCV experiments and its experimental program with particular interest in measurements of current density profiles in low-density, EC-heated plasmas. Aiming at optimum performance of the polarimeter in this parameter range, the FIR laser wavelength of 432.5 µm was chosen. Since TCV is already equipped with an interferometer (at 214 µm) for measurements of the line-integrated density along 14 chords, the polarimeter was built as a separate instrument. The number of 10 spatial channels to cover the plasma diameter was found as a compromise between desired spatial resolution, access constraints and cost. The measurement of the Faraday rotation angle is based on a method suggested by Dodel and Kunz [1], which uses optical beams with rotating linear polarization. In this case, the Faraday rotation angle is retrieved from a phase measurement comparing the modulated signals from the probe detectors with that from a reference detector and to first order is insensitive to amplitude variations of the signals. Waveguide detectors based on Schottky barrier diodes are used as detectors for their sensitivity and large electrical bandwidth. Signal processing and analysis is performed in two branches : a) using specifically built analog electronic phase detectors followed by slow (250 kHz) ADCs b) using fast (5 MHz) ADCs and numeric signal processing on a mainframe computer. The thesis covers the description of the design and the various components of the polarimeter, presents initial tests and an evaluation of its performance based on simulations using real plasma configurations of TCV. The analysis of specific tests with the system installed on TCV revealed the presence of perturbations leading to parasitic contributions to the measured phase angles. The results of first measurements of the Faraday rotation angle for different plasma conditions on TCV are presented. Comparing the measured Faraday rotation angles with the results of calculations showed qualitative agreement, in particular the effects of an increase in electron density and of the reversal of the current direction were clearly seen. The system is also capable to detect a radial displacement of the magnetic axis of the plasma, as was demonstrated by comparing measurements from two specific plasma configurations. However, the absolute values still show significant deviations from the expected ones based on calculations. The discrepancies increase with increasing Faraday angle and depend on the direction of the plasma current. At high electron densities beam refraction becomes a problem and may lead to significant errors in the measurements and eventually to complete loss of the signal in several channels. In its present status, the polarimeter cannot yet provide results that are suitable to reconstruct the poloidal field or the current density profile of the plasma. Tentative explanations for this problem are given, but further specific tests are necessary to confirm them. Even in its present state, the polarimeter may be used to detect transient relative changes in the profiles of electron density and current. This was demonstrated by a series of experiments in plasmas with sawtooth activity. Comparing the signals from the polarimeter with those from other multi-chord diagnostics (interferometer and soft X-ray detectors) clearly revealed correlations but also specific differences. These experimental studies showed that the Far-Infrared Polarimetry still requires further improvements, but has potential to become a valuable diagnostic capable of directly measuring the current density profile in the TCV tokamak.

EPFL2011

Bootstrap current destabilization of ideal MHD modes in three-dimensional reactor configurations

Wilfred Anthony Cooper

In current-free stellarators, the parallel current density is normally too weak to drive global external kink modes. However, at finite values of beta, the bootstrap current (BC) can provide sufficient free energy to trigger this class of mode in some stellarator systems. The effect of the BC in the collisionless 1/nu regime has been investigated in several different types of stellarator reactor systems all with a volume V similar to 1000 m(3). In quasiaxisymmetric and quasihelically symmetric stellarators, the BC is large at, finite beta and this can cause low order resonances to move into and emerge out of the plasma which in turn can destabilize global internal and external kink modes. In a six-field period system with poloidally closed contours of the magnetic field strength B, the BC is small and decreases the rotational transform only slightly. As a result, only intermediate to high n modes can become weakly destabilized. Furthermore, it is demonstrated in this system that the contours of the second adiabatic invariant J(parallel to) close poloidally for all trapped particles at finite beta* similar to 6%. This condition leads to the loss of a very small fraction of the collisionless alpha-particle orbits. In Sphellamak configurations with peaked toroidal currents required to generate nearly isodynamic maximum-B confining field structures, the BC accounts only for a small fraction of the total current. The loss of a-particles born within the inner quarter of the plasma volume is negligible while about 1/3 of those born at half volume escape the device within a slowing down time.

2002

Model-based optimization of magnetic control in the TCV tokamak: design and experiments

Federico Pesamosca

Thermonuclear controlled fusion is a promising answer to the current energy and climate issues, providing a safe carbon-free source of energy which is virtually inexhaustible. In magnetic confinement thermonuclear fusion based on tokamak reactors, hydrogen fuel in the state of plasma is confined using a system of external and self-generated magnetic fields. This thesis contributes to the development of magnetic confinement fusion research by applying techniques derived from control engineering to designing magnetic controllers for tokamak plasmas. Specifically, a new design for feedback control of plasma shape and position in the TCV tokamak is provided, and its efficacy is studied in dedicated simulations and experiments.Elongated plasmas lead to improved plasma performance in tokamaks, which is key to sustaining fusion conditions in reactors. The required magnetic field for shaping the plasma column however results in an unstable equilibrium that makes feedback control of the vertical plasma position mandatory. Active stabilization of the axisymmetric plasma vertical instability is a standard feature of elongated tokamaks and will be a fundamental feature in the ITER magnetic control system, since a loss of vertical control and the subsequent plasma disruption can lead to unacceptable heat loads on the plasma facing components.The TCV tokamak is the ideal benchmark for investigating the effect of plasma shaping on tokamak physics and performance, with its system of 16 independently powered poloidal field coils and a vessel with an elongated cross section. Shape and position control are coupled problems in TCV as they share the same poloidal field coils as actuators, requiring a multivariable approach to designing magnetic controllers.In this thesis, controller design for TCV is based on a model for the coupled plasma-vessel-coils electromagnetic dynamics: the RZIp model. In this axisymmetric model, the plasma current distribution is fixed but is free to move radially and vertically in the poloidal plane of a toroidal reference frame. An extension to this model is suggested, relaxing the assumption of rigid displacement in the radial direction to include plasma shape deformation and leading to a semi-rigid RZIp model which better fits numerical equilibria.An improvement to the existing algorithm for shape and position control in TCV is then proposed. In this new approach, tuning of the plasma position controller, in charge of vertical stabilization, can be performed independently of the shape controller, which itself acts on a stable system. Static decoupling is achieved and the shape controller is designed on the basis of an improved model for the plasma deformation, which includes the plasma contribution to the static magnetic flux perturbation. Simulations in closed loop with the RZIp model are provided to evaluate several optimized schemes.Finally, the vertical controller is optimized including the plasma dynamics as part of the controller design. Structured H-infinity, extending classical H-infinity to fixed-structure control systems, is applied to obtain a controller using all available coils for position control, and in particular a coil combination optimized for vertical stabilization. Closed-loop performance improvement is demonstrated in dedicated TCV experiments, confirming the simulation results and paving the way for the routine integration of the optimized position and shape controller in TCV discharges.

EPFL2021

A Far-Infrared Polarimeter Diagnostic for the Measurement of the Poloidal Magnetic Field in the TCV Tokamak

EPFL2011

Model-based optimization of magnetic control in the TCV tokamak: design and experiments

Federico Pesamosca

EPFL2021