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A key issue for steady-state tokamak operation is to determine the edge conditions that are compatible both with good core confinement and with the power handling and plasma exhaust capabilities of the plasma facing components (PFCs) and divertor systems. A quantitative response to this open question will provide a robust scientific basis for reliable extrapolation of present regimes to an ITER compatible steady-state scenario. In this context, the JET programme addressing steady-state operation is focused on the development of non-inductive, high confinement plasmas with the constraints imposed by the PFCs. A new beryllium main chamber wall and tungsten divertor together with an upgrade of the heating/fuelling capability are currently in preparation at JET. Operation at higher power with this ITER-like wall will impose new constraints on non-inductive scenarios. Recent experiments have focused on the preparation for this new phase of JET operation. In this paper, progress in the development of advanced tokamak (AT) scenarios at JET is reviewed keeping this long-term objective in mind. The approach has consisted of addressing various critical issues separately during the 2006-2007 campaigns with a view to full scenario integration when the JET upgrades are complete. Regimes with internal transport barriers (ITBs) have been developed at q95 [?] 5 and high triangularity, d (relevant to the ITER steady-state demonstration) by applying more than 30 MW of additional heating power reaching bN [?] 2 at Bo [?] 3.1 T. Operating at higher d has allowed the edge pedestal and core densities to be increased pushing the ion temperature closer to that of the electrons. Although not yet fully integrated into a performance enhancing ITB scenario, Neon seeding has been successfully explored to increase the radiated power fraction (up to 60%), providing significant reduction of target tile power fluxes (and hence temperatures) and mitigation of edge localized mode (ELM) activity. At reduced toroidal magnetic field strength, high bN regimes have been achieved and q-profile optimization investigated for use in steady-state scenarios. Values of bN above the ''no-wall magnetohydrodynamic limit'' (bN [?] 3.0) have been sustained for a resistive current diffusion time in high-d configurations (at 1.2 MA/1.8 T). In this scenario, ELM activity has been mitigated by applying magnetic perturbations using error field correction coils to provide ergodization of the magnetic field at the plasma edge. In a highly shaped, quasi-double null X-point configuration, ITBs have been generated on the ion heat transport channel and combined with ''grassy'' ELMs with [?]30 MW of applied heating power (at 1.2 MA/2.7 T, q95 [?] 7). Advanced algorithms and system identification procedures have been developed with a view to developing simultaneously temperature and q-profile control in real-time. These techniques have so far been applied to the control of the q-profile evolution in JET AT scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 2006 experimental campaign, progress has been made on JET to operate non-inductive scenarios at higher applied powers (31 MW) and density (nl [?] 4 × 1019 m[?]3), with ITER-relevant safety factor (q95 [?] 5) and plasma shaping, taking advantage of the new divertor capabilities. The extrapolation of the performance using transport modelling benchmarked on the experimental database indicates that the foreseen power upgrade ([?]45 MW) will allow the development of non-inductive scenarios where the bootstrap current is maximized together with the fusion yield and not, as in present-day experiments, at its expense. The tools for the long-term JET programme are the new ITER-like ICRH antenna ([?]15 MW), an upgrade of the NB power (35 MW/20 s or 17.5 MW/40 s), a new ITER-like first wall, a new pellet injector for edge localized mode control together with improved diagnostic and control capability. Operation with the new wall will set new constraints on non-inductive scenarios that are already addressed experimentally and in the modelling. The fusion performance and driven current that could be reached at high density and power have been estimated using either 0D or 1-1/2D validated transport models. In the high power case (45 MW), the calculations indicate the potential for the operational space of the non-inductive regime to be extended in terms of current ([?]2.5 MA) and density (nl > 5 × 1019 m[?]3), with high bN (bN > 3.0) and a fraction of the bootstrap current within 60-70% at high toroidal field ([?]3.5 T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In hybrid plasma operation in JET with its ITER-like wall (JET-ILW) it is found that n  >  1 tearing activity can significantly enhance the rate of on-axis peaking of high-Z impurities, which in turn significantly degrades discharge performance. Core n  =  1 instabilities can be beneficial in removing impurities from the plasma core (e.g. sawteeth or fishbones), but can conversely also degrade core confinement (particularly in combination with simultaneous n  =  3 activity). The nature of magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in JET hybrid discharges, with both its previous carbon wall and subsequent JET-ILW, is surveyed statistically and the character of the instabilities is examined. Possible qualitative models for how the n  >  1 islands can enhance the on-axis impurity transport accumulation processes are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]