• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.72-80
• /
• 2010

It is very important to predict and analyze the change of voltage and current distribution of current strap, abnormal voltage distribution of transmission line and resonance phenomenon by coupling between current straps for more stable operation of ICRF system. In this study, to understand those phenomena by coupling, 8-port coupled transmission line model is completed by appling S-parameter measured in the prototype KSTAR ICRF antenna to the model. The determined self-inductance, mutual-inductance and capacitance of antenna straps are shown to be lower than that calculated from 2D approximate model due to finite length of strap. The coupled transmission line model of current strap will be utilized to the operation of ICRF system of KSTAR in the future.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.41 no.6
• /
• pp.807-812
• /
• 2009

An ICRF discharge cleaning and a fast wave electron heating experiment were performed. For automated operation and providing the diagnostics of the ICRF system, the ICRF local network was designed and implemented. This internal network provides monitoring, RF protection, remote control, and RF diagnostics. All the functions of the control system were realized by customized DSP units. The DSP units were tied by a local network in parallel. Owing to the distributed feature of the control system, the ICRF local control system is quite flexible to maintain. Developing the subsystem is a more effective approach compared to developing a large controller that governs the entire system. During the first experimental campaign of the KSTAR tokamak, the control system operated as expected without any major problems that would affect the tokamak operation. The transmitter was protected from harmful over-voltage events through reliable operation of the system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2011.08a
• /
• pp.317-317
• /
• 2011

Enhanced ICRF (Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequency) ion heating of H-mode D(H) plasma will be tried in 2011 KSTAR experimental campaign. Minority heating is a main ion heating scheme in the ICRF. Its efficiency increases as the hydrogen minority ratio increases in deuterium plasmas. And it should be sustained at a lower level than the critical minority ratio. Consequently, it is important to elevate the critical ratio to maximize ion heating and it is possible by increasing the ion temperature or parallel wave number (k${\parallel}$) of the antenna. Increasing the k${\parallel}$ is not a good approach since the coupling efficiency decreases exponentially with regard to k${\parallel}$ as well. So the remaining method is to increase ion temperature by using NB (Neutral Beam). Ion heating fraction of NB increases as the electron temperature increases. Therefore, we will try to heat electron by using ECH together with NB ion heating before ICRF power injection. The ICRF heating efficiency will be compared with respect to several NB+ECH+ICRF heating combinations through several diagnostics such as XICS (Xray Imaging Crystal Spectroscopy), CES (Charge Exchange Spectroscopy) and neutron measurement. The theoretical background and the experimental results will be presented in more detail in the conference.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 1997.05b
• /
• pp.583-588
• /
• 1997

For the efficient current drive, the structure of ICRF wave propagation and absorption in a tokamak plasma should be first investigated. In this paper, two dimensional study on FWCD as well as ICRF minority ion heating for the KSTAR [Korea Superconducting Tok Amak Research] [1] plasma was performed using the full wave code of TORIC [2]. The ICRF wave propagation and absorption structures, the competitive power absorption between electrons and ions and the coupling of antenna/plasma are investigated.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.1
• /
• pp.207-219
• /
• 2022

The suppression of high-intensity blob structures in the scrape-off layer (SOL) by ion-cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) power, leading to a decrease in the turbulent fluctuation level, is observed first in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) experiment. This suppression effect from ICRF power injection is global in the whole SOL at EAST, i.e. blob structures both in the regions that are magnetically connected to the active ICRF launcher and in the regions that are not connected to the active ICRF launcher could be suppressed by ICRF power. However, more ICRF power is required to reach the full blob structure suppression effect in the regions that are magnetically unconnected to the active launcher than in the regions that are magnetically connected to the active launcher. Studies show that a possible reason for the blob suppression could be the enhanced E_r × B shear flow in the SOL, which is supported by the shaper radial gradient in the floating potential profiles sensed by the divertor probe arrays with increasing ICRF power. The local RF wave power unabsorbed by the core plasma is responsible for the modification of potential profiles in the SOL regions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2011.02a
• /
• pp.218-218
• /
• 2011

Tokamak 플라즈마는 ICRF 영역에서 외곽 플라즈마 부근에 CUT-OFF밀도가 있으며, 이보다 낮은 밀도에서는 ICRF 전파가 투과하지 못하는 전파 장벽이 존재하게 된다. 이때 전달되는 효율은 안테나 부하저항으로 알 수 있으며, 이는 전파장벽이 낮을수록 큰 값을 갖는다. 따라서, 전파장벽은 에너지 전달 효율을 급격히 떨어뜨리므로 전파 장벽의 특성을 분석하고 이를 낮추는게 매우 중요하다. CUT-OFF 밀도는 자기장, k_par, 구동주파수, 플라즈마 밀도에 의존하게 되고, 측정한 밀도 분포를 통해 전파장벽의 구간을 안다면,이를 이용하여 안테나의 부하저항과의 의존성을 알 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 이러한 외곽 플라즈마 밀도 분포를 얻기 위해 토카막의 언저리 영역에서 플라즈마에 간섭없이 $10^{18}{\sim}10^{19}m^{-3}$의 플라즈마 밀도를 진단할 수 있는 9GHz~30GHz의 microwave를 사용하는 반사계를 설계하였으며,플라즈마 변수와 ICRF 운전 변수에 따른 부하저항의 계산결과와 반사계 시스템 설계에 대한 내용이 발표될 것이다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 2003.10a
• /
• pp.243.1-243.1
• /
• 2003

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.314-324
• /
• 2006

The vacuum characteristics of the KSTAR ICRF antenna were experimentally investigated. The fabricated antenna was installed in the RF Test Chamber(RFTC) which has a vacuum system with an effective pumping speed of 1015 l/s. The time variations of RFTC pressure, total gas load and ultimate pressure were measured before the RF test. RF conditioning effect was studied by repeating RF pulses at low power level. A time variation of the RFTC pressure was measured during a RF power was applied to the antenna. Threshold pressure at which a RF breakdown occurs was investigated. Whenever the pressure was higher than $10^{-4}$ mbar, the RF breakdown occurred. During a long pulse testing, the temperature of the antenna and RFTC pressure were measured to investigate long pulse limitation of the maximum available voltage without any cooling, which were compared with testing results with a water cooling of the antenna.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2010.08a
• /
• pp.296-296
• /
• 2010

ICRF 시스템을 이용한 방전세정인 ICWC(Ion Cyclotron Wall Cleaning)는 ITER와 DEMO 같은 초전도 자석을 이용하는 토카막에서 토카막 shot 중간에 자장을 낮추지 않고 바로 방전 세정을 할 수 있는 방법이다. 토카막에서 방전세정은 탄소나 산소 화합물과 같은 불순물을 제거하여 방사에 의한 플라즈마 냉각을 막고 토카막 초기 start-up시 진공 챔버 벽면으로부터 의도하지 않은 연료주입을 제거하는 역할을 한다. 본 연구에서는 ICWC 방전 세정 최적화를 위해 플라즈마의 불순물 제거 특성을 수소 유량의 크기와 ICRF 펄스의 duty ratio를 바꿔가면서 관찰하였다. ICRF 전력은 44.2 MHz에서 20-50 kW 가 입사되었으며 자장은 3 T에서 고정되었다. 운전압력은 $10^{-4}$ mbar 정도이다. 헬륨의 유량을 400 sccm으로 고정한 후 수소의 유량을 40 sccm에서 160 sccm까지 증가시켜가면서 제거율을 관측하였다. 그 결과 수소 유량의 증가에 따라 제거율이 증가하는 불순물과 오히려 감소하는 불순물이 있음이 관측되었다. 제거율이 증가되는 불순물 group은 charge-to-mass ratio가 26, 28, 40, 44이고 감소하는 불순물 group은 18, 20, 32 이다. 펄스의 duty ratio를 1/9(on/off) 초에서 5/5(on/off) 초로 증가시킴에 따라 제거율이 증가하는 불순물과 감소하는 불순물이 또한 나타났는데 수소 유량 실험과 그 group에 차이가 없었다. 이러한 실험결과는 수소 유량의 증가나 펄스 길이의 증가에 따라 가스의 종류에 관계없이 모두 증가하거나 감소할 것이라는 예측과는 다른 결과로서 이것에 대한 명료한 해석이 필요하다. 왜냐하면 위와 같은 운전조건에서 효율적인 불순물 제거를 위해서는 불순물 제거 운전 방법이 불순물의 종류에 따라 모두 달라져야 하기 때문이다. 본 연구에서는 이러한 특성을 불순물의 dissociation 에너지 관점에서 해석을 시도하였다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.2
• /
• pp.595-602
• /
• 2023

The EAST ICRF system operating space has been extended in power and phase control with a low-level RF system for the new double-strap antenna. Then the multi-step power and periodic phase scanning experiment were conducted in L-mode plasma, respectively. In the power scanning experiment, the stored energy, radiation power, plasma impedance and the antenna's temperature all have positive responses during the short ramp-ups of P_L;ICRF. The core ion temperature increased from 1 keV to 1.5 keV and the core heating area expanded from |Z| ≤ 5 cm to |Z| ≤ 10 cm during the injection of ICRF waves. In the phasing scanning experiment, in addition to the same conclusions as the previous relatively phasing scanning experiment, the superposition effect of the fluctuation of stored energy, radiation power and neutron yield caused by phasing change with dual antenna, resulting in the amplitude and phase shift, was also observed. The active control of RF output facilitates the precise control of plasma profiles and greatly benefits future experimental exploration.