[en] This work is motivated by the growing demand for auxiliary heating on small and large machines worldwide. Numerous present and planned RF experiments (EBW, Lower Hybrid, ICRF, and ECH) are increasingly complex systems. The operational challenges are indicative of a need for components of real-time control that can be implemented with a moderate amount of effort in a time- and cost-effective fashion. Such a system will improve experimental efficiency, enhance experimental quality, and expedite technological advancements. The modular architecture of this control-suite serves multiple purposes. It facilitates construction on various scales from single to multiple controller systems. It enables expandability of control from basic to complex via the addition of modules with varying functionalities. It simplifies the control implementation process by reducing layers of software and electronic development. While conceived with fusion applications in mind, this suite has the potential to serve a broad range of scientific and industrial applications. During the Phase-I research effort we established the overall feasibility of this modular control-suite concept. We developed the fundamental modules needed to implement open-loop active-control and demonstrated their use on a microwave power deposition experiment

[en] Broadband potential fluctuations and electrostatic fluctuation induced particle flux have been measured in the core of a medium size tokamak plasma for the first time. Density fluctuations and wave numbers were simultaneously measured. Measurements indicate that radial electrostatic fluctuation induced particle flux in the core region, at the normalized radii of 0.17<ρ<0.38, due to modes with wave numbers less than 4 cm^-1 is small in magnitude, is likely directed inward, and cannot account for particle flux predicted by the continuity equation and particle source codes. Estimates of electrostatic energy flux are also significantly less than values predicted via power balance analysis. Asymmetries in coherent density and potential fluctuation levels on closed flux surfaces are evident. Relative fluctuation levels tilde n/n and tilde φ tend to increase with radius, and the fluctuations are Boltzmann-like in the region 0.17≤ρ≤0.38. The direction of mode propagation is in the electron diamagnetic drift direction. Corresponding phase velocities, v_ph∼3.5x10⁵ cm/s, are similar to drift wave velocities

[en] Heavy ion beam probes have been installed on a variety of toroidal devices, but the first and only application on a reversed field pinch is the diagnostic on the Madison Symmetric Torus. Simultaneous measurements of spatially localized equilibrium potential and fluctuations of density and potential, previously inaccessible in the core of the reversed field pinch (RFP), are now attainable. These measurements reflect the unique strength of the heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) diagnostic. They will help determine the characteristics and evolution of electrostatic fluctuations and their role in transport, and determine the relation of the interior electric field and flows. Many aspects of the RFP present original challenges to HIBP operation and inference of plasma quantities. The magnetic field contributes to a number of the issues: the comparable magnitudes of the toroidal and poloidal fields and edge reversal result in highly three-dimensional beam trajectories; partial generation of the magnetic field by plasma current cause it and hence the beam trajectories to vary with time; and temporal topology and amplitude changes are common. Associated complications include strong ultraviolet radiation and elevated particle losses that can alter functionality of the electrostatic systems and generate noise on the detectors. These complexities have necessitated the development of new operation and data analysis techniques: the implementation of primary and secondary beamlines, adoption of alternative beam steering methods, development of higher precision electrostatic system models, refinement of trajectory calculations and sample volume modeling, establishment of stray particle and noise reduction methods, and formulation of alternative data analysis techniques. These innovative methods and the knowledge gained with this system are likely to translate to future HIBP operation on large scale stellarators and tokamaks.

[en] Secondary electrons emitted when an ion beam impacts a detector can amplify the ion beam signal, but also introduce errors if electrons from one detector propagate to another. A potassium ion beam and a detector comprised of ten impact wires, four split-plates, and a pair of biased electrodes were used to demonstrate that a low-voltage, positive electrode can be used to maintain the beneficial amplification effect while greatly reducing the error introduced from the electrons traveling between detector elements.

[en] A magnetic field mapping technique via heavy ion beam trajectory imaging is being developed on the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed field pinch. This paper describes the computational tools created to model camera images of the light emitted from a simulated ion beam, reconstruct a three-dimensional trajectory, and estimate the accuracy of the reconstruction. First, a computer model is used to create images of the torus interior from any candidate camera location. It is used to explore the visual field of the camera and thus to guide camera parameters and placement. Second, it is shown that a three-dimensional ion beam trajectory can be recovered from a pair of perspectively projected trajectory images. The reconstruction considers effects due to finite beam size, nonuniform beam current density, and image background noise. Third, it is demonstrated that the trajectory reconstructed from camera images can help compute magnetic field profiles, and might be used as an additional constraint to an equilibrium reconstruction code, such as MSTFit

[en] In an axisymmetric plasma, the conservation of canonical angular momentum constrains heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) trajectories such that measurement of the toroidal velocity component of secondary ions provides a localized determination of the poloidal flux at the volume where they originated. We have developed a prototype detector which is designed to determine the beam angle in one dimension through the detection of ion current landing on two parallel planes of detecting elements. A set of apertures creates a pattern of ion current on wires in the first plane and solid metal plates behind them; the relative amounts detected by the wires and plates determine the angle which beam ions enter the detector, which is used to infer the toroidal velocity component. The design evolved from a series of simulations within which we modeled ion beam velocity changes due to equilibrium and fluctuating magnetic fields, along with the ion beam profile and velocity dispersion, and studied how these and characteristics such as the size, cross section, and spacing of the detector elements affect performance.

[en] The plasma potential is measured in TEXT-Upgrade tokamak by injection and detection of high energy heavy ions (thallium, and cesium with a single charge) using a 2 MeV accelerator and a parallel plate energy analyzer. The change in beam energy, as it crosses the plasma, gives the local plasma potential at the measurement volume. Recent results of high energy beam operations are presented

[en] In this paper, a technique called 'excitelet' is presented for the imaging of damage in structures using the correlation of the signals measured at elements of piezoceramic arrays with dispersed versions of the excitation signal. This approach is presented as an extension of classical imaging techniques and takes advantage of the chirplet-based matching pursuit algorithm. The applicability for sparse and compact arrays is investigated experimentally on an aluminum plate and comparison with the existing embedded ultrasonic structural radar (EUSR) algorithm is performed for A0 and S0 modes for three frequency ranges of interest. Significant improvement of imaging quality is demonstrated with respect to imaging techniques using time-of-flight (ToF) and group velocity considerations for both sparse and compact piezoceramic array arrangements

[en] Operation of a heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) on a reversed field pinch is unique from other toroidal applications because the magnetic field is more temporal and largely produced by plasma current. Improved confinement, produced through the transient application of a poloidal electric field which leads to a reduction of dynamo activity, exhibits gradual changes in equilibrium plasma quantities. A consequence of this is sweeping of the HIBP trajectories by the dynamic magnetic field, resulting in motion of the sample volume. In addition, the plasma potential evolves with the magnetic equilibrium. Measurement of the potential as a function of time is thus a combination of temporal changes of the equilibrium and motion of the sample volume. A frequent additional complication is a nonideal balance of ion current on the detectors resulting from changes in the beam trajectory (magnetic field) and energy (plasma potential). This necessitates use of data selection criteria. Nevertheless, the HIBP on the Madison Symmetric Torus has acquired measurements as a function of time throughout improved confinement. A technique developed to infer the potential in the improved confinement reversed field pinch from HIBP data in light of the time varying plasma equilibrium will be discussed.

[en] The plasma potential is measured in TEXT-upgrade tokamak by injection and detection of high energy heavy ions (thallium and cesium with a single charge) using a 2 MeV accelerator and a parallel plate energy analyzer. The change in beam energy, as it crosses the plasma, gives the local plasma potential at the measurement volume. Recent results of high energy beam operations are presented