TJ-II:PelletFuelling

Experimental campaign

2017 Spring

Proposal title

Plasma Fuelling using the Pellet Injectore

Name and affiliation of proponent

K.J. McCarthy and Laboratorio Nacional de Fusióne

Details of contact person at LNF (if applicable)

kieran.mccarthy@ciemat.es

Description of the activity, including motivation/objectives and experience of the proponent (typically one-two pages)

Since the start of pellet injector operation, 0.66, 0.76 and 1 mm (the latter for NBI only) diameter pellets (containing ≤8x1018, ≤1.6x1019, and ≤4x1019 H particles, respectively) have been successfully injected into ECRH, ECRH & NBI, and NBI-only heated plasmas created using the 100_44_64 configuration. Although the result has been significantly increased electron densities, it is found that fuelling efficiency (deposited particles/injected particles) varies from ~30% in ECRH plasmas to ~80% for high-density NBI-heated plasmas. In all cases, pellet ablation is monitored across the plasma radius using photodiodes, and a fast camera. Furthermore, using multiple Thomson Scattering profiles, it has been possible to study particle diffusion, deposition and confinement. However, fast radial drift that leads to large particle losses, and hence low efficiency, remains to be evaluated. In the first instance, it is intended to broaden the current pellet database by performing injections into a broad range of magnetic configurations in order to assess fuelling efficiency, as well as pellet penetration, ablation processes, particle drift and diffusion, plus the possible role of magnetic islands and magnetic well/hill. In parallel, is intended to determine if it is possible to increase fuelling efficiency by firstly injecting a small pellet to pre-cool the outer plasma core and then injecting a fuelling pellet (here Δt ≤ 1 ms). The TJ-II pellet injector is unique for undertaking this study as up to 4 pellets can be injected simultaneously.

If applicable, International or National funding project or entity

MEC ENE2013-48679-R EUROFUSION: WP17.S1.A4.T.1 and WP17.S1.A4.T.2

Description of required resources

Required resources:

• Number of plasma discharges or days of operation: 4 days
• Essential diagnostic systems: Pellet Injector, fast camera, Thomson scattering, interferometer, HIBPs
• Type of plasmas (heating configuration): 100_24_58 to 100_54_66
• Specific requirements on wall conditioning if any: good plasma control
• External users: need a local computer account for data access: yes/no
• Any external equipment to be integrated? Provide description and integration needs:

Preferred dates and degree of flexibility

Preferred dates: (format dd-mm-yyyy) Impracticable dates (14-02-2017 to 16-02-2017)

References

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