1,722,009 research outputs found
Modification of SOL profiles and fluctuations with line-average density and divertor flux expansion in TCV
Full text linkA set of Ohmic density ramp experiments addressing the role of parallel connection length in modifying scrape off layer (SOL) properties has been performed on the TCV tokamak. The parallel connection length has been modified by varying the poloidal flux expansion fx. It will be shown that this modification does not influence neither the detachment density threshold, nor the development of a flat SOL density profile which instead depends strongly on the increase of the core line average density. The modification of the SOL upstream profile, with the appearance of what is generally called a density shoulder, has been related to the properties of filamentary blobs. Blob size increases with density, without any dependence on the parallel connection length both in the near and far SOL. The increase of the density decay length, corresponding to a profile flattening, has been related to the variation of the divertor normalized collisionality Λdiv (Myra et al 2006 Phys. Plasmas 13 112502, Carralero et al, ASDEX Upgrade Team, JET Contributors and EUROfusion MST1 Team 2015 Phys. Rev. Let. 115 215002), showing that in TCV the increase of Λdiv is not sufficient to guarantee the SOL upstream profile flattening
Modification of SOL profiles and fluctuations with line-average density and divertor flux expansion in TCV
No full textA set of Ohmic density ramp experiments addressing the role of parallel connection length in modifying scrape off layer (SOL) properties has been performed on the TCV tokamak. The parallel connection length has been modified by varying the poloidal flux expansion fx. It will be shown that this modification does not influence neither the detachment density threshold, nor the development of a flat SOL density profile which instead depends strongly on the increase of the core line average density. The modification of the SOL upstream profile, with the appearance of what is generally called a density shoulder, has been related to the properties of filamentary blobs. Blob size increases with density, without any dependence on the parallel connection length both in the near and far SOL. The increase of the density decay length, corresponding to a profile flattening, has been related to the variation of the divertor normalized collisionality Lambda(div) (Myra et al 2006 Phys. Plasmas 13 112502, Carralero et al, ASDEX Upgrade Team, JET Contributors and EUROfusion MST1 Team 2015 Phys. Rev. Let. 115 215002), showing that in TCV the increase of Lambda(div) is not sufficient to guarantee the SOL upstream profile flattening.SP
Divertor power load studies for attached L-mode single-null plasmas in TCV
Full text linkThis paper investigates the power loads at the inner and outer divertor targets of attached, Ohmic L-mode, deuterium plasmas in the TCV tokamak, in various experimental situations using an Infrared thermography system. The study comprises variations of the outer divertor leg length and target flux expansion, the plasma current and a reversal of the magnetic field direction. The direct impact of the divertor magnetic geometry on scrape-off layer (SOL) transport-parameterised by the SOL power fall-off length lambda(q,u,) the divertor spreading factor S-u and the in-out power asymmetry-is reported for constant core properties. The in-out power asymmetry increases, either with the divertor leg length, or the target flux expansion. The SOL width lambda(q,u) scales positively with divertor leg length, with a strength that depends on the field direction and differs between the inner and outer divertor. This implies a parametric dependence of lambda(q,u) that is not explicitly included in current multi-machine scaling laws. The divertor spreading factor at the target S = S(u)f(x), where f(x) is the target flux expansion, appears unaffected by changes in the divertor geometry and in the plasma current, is independent of the magnetic field direction and is similar between inner and outer divertor. Possible interpretations of these observations using an ad-hoc analytical purely conductive model for the SOL, by ion drifts or by asymmetric turbulent cross-field transport in the divertor are presented. The observed values of lambda(q,u) are related to existing L-mode and H-mode scaling laws and to similar studies in other tokamaks. Finally, potential implications of these findings for future larger fusion machines are discussed.SP
Runaway electron synchrotron radiation in a vertically translated plasma
Full text linkSynchrotron radiation observed from runaway electrons (REs) in tokamaks depends upon the position and size of the RE beam, the RE energy and pitch distributions, as well as the location of the observer. We show experimental synchrotron images of a vertically moving RE beam sweeping past the detector in the Tokamak a Configuration Variable (TCV) tokamak and compare it with predictions from the synthetic synchrotron diagnosticSoft. This experimental validation lends confidence to the theory underlying the synthetic diagnostics which are used for benchmarking theoretical models of and probing runaway dynamics. We present a comparison of synchrotron measurements in TCV with predictions of kinetic theory for runaway dynamics in uniform magnetic fields. We find that to explain the detected synchrotron emission, significant non-collisional pitch angle scattering as well as radial transport of REs would be needed. Such effects could be caused by the presence of magnetic perturbations, which should be further investigated in future TCV experiments.SP
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Divertor power load predictions based on machine learning
Full text linkMachine learning based data-driven approaches to thermal load prediction on the divertor targets of ASDEX upgrade (AUG) are presented. After selecting time averaged data from almost six years of operation of AUG and applying basic physics-motivated cuts to the data we find that we are able to train machine learning models to predict a scalar quantifying the steady state thermal loads on the outer divertor target given scalar operational parameters. With both random forest and neural network based models we manage to achieve decent agreement between the model predictions and the observed values from experiments. Furthermore, we investigate the dependencies of the models and observe that the models manage to extract trends expected from previous physics analyses
Results from recent detachment experiments in alternative divertor configurations on TCV
Full text linkDivertor detachment is explored on the TCV tokamak in alternative magnetic geometries. Starting from typical TCV single-null shapes, the poloidal flux expansion at the outer strikepoint is varied by a factor of 10 to investigate the X-divertor characteristics, and the total flux expansion is varied by 70% to study the properties of the super-X divertor. The effect of an additional X-point near the target is investigated in X-point target divertors. Detachment of the outer target is studied in these plasmas during Ohmic density ramps and with the ion ∇B drift away from the primary X-point. The detachment threshold, depth of detachment, and the stability of the radiation location are investigated using target measurements from the wall-embedded Langmuir probes and two-dimensional CIII line emissivity profiles across the divertor region, obtained from inverted, toroidally-integrated camera data. It is found that increasing poloidal flux expansion results in a deeper detachment for a given line-averaged density and a reduction in the radiation location sensitivity to core density, while no large effect on the detachment threshold is observed. The total flux expansion, contrary to expectations, does not show a significant influence on any detachment characteristics in these experiments. In X-point target geometries, no evidence is found for a reduced detachment threshold despite a 2-3 fold increase in connection length. A reduced radiation location sensitivity to core plasma density in the vicinity of the target X-point is suggested by the measurements
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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