Search

Significant progress has been made on ASDEX Upgrade during the last two years in the basic understanding of transport, in the extension of the improved H-mode in parameter space and towards an integrated operating scenario and in the development of control methods for major performance limiting instabilities. The important features were the understanding of particle transport and the control of impurity accumulation based on it, the satisfactory operation with predominantly tungsten-clad walls, the improved H-mode operation over density ranges and for temperature ratios covering (non-simultaneously) the ITER requirements on ν*, n/nGW and Te/Ti, the ELM frequency control by pellet injection and the optimization of NTM suppression by DC-ECCD through variation of the launching angle. From these experiments an integrated scenario has emerged which extrapolates to a 50% improvement in n T τ or a 30% reduction of the required current when compared with the ITER base-line assumptions, with moderately peaked electron and controllable high-Z density profiles.

Low-energy deuterium (D) plasma exposure on tungsten (W), which is an important material for ITER, results in blister formation on the surface. Blister formation increases both micron-sized dust production and D retention. Blister formation depends greatly on surface pre-treatment. Deuterium plasma exposure on mirror-finished powder metallurgy W at 500 K for 3 h forms a blister with a diameter of a few hundred micrometres on the surface. Blister formations on the mechanically-polished and helium-pre-exposed surfaces are drastically suppressed. Deuterium retention is also reduced on both the mechanically-polished surface and the helium-pre-exposed surface compared with that on the mirror-finished surface. The suppressive effect of blister formation on the mechanically-polished surface is maintained for 50 h. The size of blisters and D retention on mirror-finished surface exposed for 50 h increases by some degrees (500 µm, 7 × 1020 m−2) compared with that on mirror-finished surface exposed for 3 h (200 µm, 5 × 1020 m−2), but is not proportional to the exposure time. The saturation level of D retention even on blister-rich surfaces seems to be lower than an order of 1021 D2 m−2.

Low-energy (1021m-2s-1) hydrogen plasma exposures were performed on cold-worked powder metallurgy tungsten (PM-W), recrystallized cold-worked PM-W and hot-worked PM-W. Large blisters with a diameter of approximately 100–200 µm were observed only on the surface of cold-worked PM-W. The blister formation mechanism has not been clarified thus far. PM-W has a consisting of 1-µm-thick layers, which is formed by press-roll processing. A detailed observation of the cross section of those blisters shows for the first time that the blisters are formed by cleaving the upper layer along the stratified layer. These experimental results indicate that the manufacturing process of tungsten material is one of the key factors for blister formation on the tungsten surface.