Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Electron cyclotron plasma startup in the GDT experiment. / Yakovlev, D. V.; Shalashov, A. G.; Gospodchikov, E. D. et al.
In: Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 57, No. 1, 016033, 01.01.2017.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Electron cyclotron plasma startup in the GDT experiment
AU - Yakovlev, D. V.
AU - Shalashov, A. G.
AU - Gospodchikov, E. D.
AU - Solomakhin, A. L.
AU - Savkin, V. Ya
AU - Bagryansky, P. A.
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - We report on a new plasma startup scenario in the gas dynamic trap (GDT) magnetic mirror device. The primary 5 MW neutral beam injection (NBI) plasma heating system fires into a sufficiently dense plasma target ('seed plasma'), which is commonly supplied by an arc plasma generator. In the reported experiments, a different approach to seed plasma generation is explored. One of the channels of the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) heating system is used to ionize the neutral gas and build up the density of plasma to a level suitable for NBI capture. After a short transition of approximately 1 ms the discharge becomes essentially similar to a standard one initiated by the plasma gun. This paper presents the discharge scenario and experimental data on the seed plasma evolution during ECRH, along with the dependencies on incident microwave power, magnetic configuration and pressure of a neutral gas. The characteristics of the consequent high-power NBI discharge are studied and differences from the conventional scenario are discussed. A theoretical model describing the ECR breakdown and the seed plasma accumulation in a large-scale mirror trap is developed on the basis of the GDT experiment.
AB - We report on a new plasma startup scenario in the gas dynamic trap (GDT) magnetic mirror device. The primary 5 MW neutral beam injection (NBI) plasma heating system fires into a sufficiently dense plasma target ('seed plasma'), which is commonly supplied by an arc plasma generator. In the reported experiments, a different approach to seed plasma generation is explored. One of the channels of the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) heating system is used to ionize the neutral gas and build up the density of plasma to a level suitable for NBI capture. After a short transition of approximately 1 ms the discharge becomes essentially similar to a standard one initiated by the plasma gun. This paper presents the discharge scenario and experimental data on the seed plasma evolution during ECRH, along with the dependencies on incident microwave power, magnetic configuration and pressure of a neutral gas. The characteristics of the consequent high-power NBI discharge are studied and differences from the conventional scenario are discussed. A theoretical model describing the ECR breakdown and the seed plasma accumulation in a large-scale mirror trap is developed on the basis of the GDT experiment.
KW - discharge startup
KW - electron cyclotron resonance heating
KW - magnetic mirror
KW - neutral beam heating
KW - plasma confinement
KW - LOSSES
KW - MONOCHROMATIC RADIATION
KW - MAGNETIC TRAPS
KW - MIRROR
KW - CENTRAL CELL
KW - INJECTION
KW - CONFINEMENT
KW - COEFFICIENTS
KW - GAS
KW - SYSTEMS
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85009742508&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/0029-5515/57/1/016033
DO - 10.1088/0029-5515/57/1/016033
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85009742508
VL - 57
JO - Nuclear Fusion
JF - Nuclear Fusion
SN - 0029-5515
IS - 1
M1 - 016033
ER -
ID: 10315935