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Neutral Beam Current Drive (NBCD) is considered as a highly attractive mechanism for a steady state regime in such contemporary projects as a tokamak based Fusion Neutron Source (FNS) or a DEMO type thermonuclear reactor. In this report numerical calculations of NBCD with a Monte Carlo code NUBEAM are complemented by a semi-analytical treatment of fast ion velocity distribution function. Spectral distributions of fast ions injected with neutral beams to FNS plasma are obtained for DEMO-FNS and a Spherical Tokamak Neutron Source FNS-ST. A detailed comparison of NUBEAM and semi-analytical approaches is presented on the basis of ASTRA transport code provided equilibrium data for different plasma regimes. The applicability of the semi-analytical approach is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutral particle fluxes measured by neutral particle analyzers can provide information about the ion temperature as well as the non-Maxwellian anisotropic ion distribution tails from neutral beam injection and ion cyclotron radio frequency heating. In the case of multidirectional diagnostics employing high resolution atomic energy spectrometers, the neutral atomic flux source is not localized in contrast to pellet charge exchange or diagnostic neutral beam methods. The correct interpretation of such measurements from plasma in a complex toroidally asymmetric geometry, like that of LHD, requires careful numerical modeling of the neutral flux formation. Previously a measured neutral flux calculation scheme was developed and was used for the LHD geometry and a suitable analytic expression for ionization cross sections σs(z)(E,ne,Te,Zeff) of impurities was formulated by Janev et al. [Nucl. Fusion 29, 2125 (1989)]. In this paper, the attenuation of fast particles by impurities is incorporated into the neutral flux calculation scheme and the influence of impurities on the calculated neutral flux spectra is shown. Finally, the behavior of the calculated and experimental suprathermal particle distributions is compared for pure hydrogen and for argon impurity seeded plasmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time-of-flight-type neutral particle analyzer has an ability of horizontal scanning from 40 to 100° of the pitch angle. The information from the spatially resolved energy spectrum gives not only the ion temperature but also the information of the particle confinement and the electric field in plasmas. We have been studying the energy distributions at various magnetic configurations in the neutral beam injection (NBI) plasma. The spatially resolved energy spectra can be observed during long discharges of the NBI plasma by continuous scanning of the neutral particle analyzer. The shape of spectra is almost similar from 44° to 53°. However, the spectra from 55° are strongly varied. They reflect the injection pitch angle of the beam. The pitch angle scanning experiment during the long discharge of NBI plasma has also been made under the reversal of the magnetic field direction. NBI2 becomes counter injected with the reversal. We can easily observe the difference between co- and counter injections of NBI. During the electron cyclotron heating in the low-density plasma for the formation of the internal thermal barrier, large neutral particle increase or decease can be observed. The degree of the increase/decrease depends on the energy and the density. The reason for the variation of the particle flux is that the orbit of the trapped particle changes due to the electric field formed by the strong electron cyclotron heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]