EFDA-JET-PR(13)55

Tungsten Transport in JET H-mode Plasmas in Hybrid Scenario, Experimental Observations and Modelling

The behaviour of tungsten in the core of hybrid scenario plasmas in JET with the ITER-like wall is analyzed and modelled with a combination of neoclassical and gyrokinetic codes. In these discharges, good confinement conditions can be maintained only for the first 2 - 3 seconds of the high power phase. Later W accumulation is regularly observed, often accompanied by the onset of magnetohydrodynamical activity, in particular neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs), both of which have detrimental effects on the global energy confinement. The dynamics of the accumulation process is examined, taking into consideration the concurrent evolution of the background plasma profiles, and the possible onset of NTMs. Two time slices of a representative discharge, before and during the accumulation process, are analysed with two indipendent methods, in order to reconstruct the W density distribution over the poloidal cross-section. The same time slices are modelled, computing both neoclassical and turbulent transport components and consistently including the impact of centrifugal effects, which can be significant in these plasmas, and strongly enhanceW neoclassical transport. The modelling closely reproduces the observations and identifies inward neoclassical convection due to the density peaking of the bulk plasma in the central region as the main cause of the accumulation. The analysis of a large set of discharges provides clear indications that this effect is generic in this scenario. The unfavorable impact of the onset of NTMs on the W behaviour, observed in several discharges, is suggested to be a consequence of a detrimental combination of the effects of neoclassical transport and of the appearance of an island.
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EFDP13055 3.63 Mb