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(EXP3/10) Observation and Control of Resistive Wall Modes

   
E. J. Strait , M. S. Chu , L. L. Lao , R. J. La Haye , J. T. Scoville , T. S. Taylor , A. D. Turnbull , M. Walker , and the DIII-D Team 
General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-9784, U.S.A.
 
A. Garofalo , J. Bialek , G. A. Navratil , S. Sabbagh 
Columbia University, New York, New York, U.S.A.
 
E. Fredrickson , M. Okabayashi 
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A.
 
E. A. Lazarus 
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.
 
M. E. Austin 
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
 
G. McKee 
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
 
B. W. Rice 
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, U.S.A.

Abstract
Two approaches to achieving long-time scale stabilization of the ideal kink mode  with a real, finite conductivity wall are considered: plasma rotation and active feedback control. DIII-D  experiments have demonstrated stabilization of the resistive wall mode  (RWM) by sustaining beta greater than the no-wall limit for up to 200 ms, much longer than the wall penetration time of a few ms. These plasmas are typically terminated by an m=3, n=1 mode as the plasma rotation slows below a few kHz. Recent temperature profile data shows an ideal MHD mode structure, as expected for the resistive wall mode at beta above the no-wall limit. The critical rotation rate for stabilization is in qualitative agreement with recent theories for dissipative stabilization in the absence of magnetic islands. However, drag by small-amplitude RWMs or damping of stable RWMs may contribute to an observed slowing of rotation at high beta, rendering rotational stabilization more difficult. An initial open-loop active control experiment, using non-axisymmetric external coils and a new array of saddle loop detectors, has yielded encouraging results, delaying the onset of the RWM.

 

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IAEA 1999