Overview of physics results from MAST upgrade towards core-pedestal-exhaust integration

Abstract Recent results from MAST Upgrade are presented, emphasising understanding the capabilities of this new device and deepening understanding of key physics issues for the operation of ITER and the design of future fusion power plants. The impact of MHD instabilities on fast ion confinement have been studied, including the first observation of fast ion losses correlated with Compressional and Global Alfvén Eigenmodes. High-performance plasma scenarios have been developed by tailoring the early plasma current ramp phase to avoid internal reconnection events, resulting in a more monotonic q profile with low central shear. The impact of m / n = 3/2, 2/1 and 1/1 modes on thermal plasma confinement and rotation profiles has been quantified, and scenarios optimised to avoid them have transiently reached values of normalised beta approaching 4.2. In pedestal and ELM physics, a maximum pedestal top temperature of ∼350 eV has been achieved, exceeding the value achieved on MAST at similar heating power. Mitigation of type-I ELMs with n = 1 RMPs has been observed. Studies of plasma exhaust have concentrated on comparing conventional and Super-X divertor configurations, while X-point target, X-divertor and snowflake configurations have been developed and studied in parallel. In L-mode discharges, the separatrix density required to detach the outer divertors is approximately a factor 2 lower in the Super-X than the conventional configuration, in agreement with simulations. Detailed analysis of spectroscopy data from studies of the Super-X configuration reveal the importance of including plasma-molecule interactions and D 2 Fulcher band emission to properly quantify the rates of ionisation, plasma-molecule interactions and volumetric recombination processes governing divertor detachment. In H-mode with conventional and Super-X configurations, the outer divertors are attached in the former and detached in the latter with no impact on core or pedestal confinement.

Authors

D. Brida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8647-7058)
O. Myatra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1469-2429)
T.H. Osborne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2641-4597)
David E. Wilkins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3385-8981)
S. Gee
T. Gheorghiu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4254-9790)
M. Dreval (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0482-0981)
S. Henderson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8886-1256)
M. Dunne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5259-9970)
N. Thomas-Davies
G. McArdle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0888-0105)
B. Kool (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1636-7400)
Y. Kazakov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6316-5441)
M. Simmonds
I. Cziegler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1040-8918)
C. Bowman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0813-2206)
C. Michael (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1804-870X)
N. Bulmer
B. Sieglin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9480-4434)
S. Mordijck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8537-4383)
Olivier Bachmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2952-3465)
C. Piron (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4441-9781)
B. Patel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0121-1187)
S. Mazzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6491-8759)
K.J. Gibson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9321-5091)
D. Morbey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6207-9832)
F. Federici
M. H. Wood
R. Sarwar
H. Anand (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9632-5680)
C.M. Roach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5856-0287)
A. D. R. Phelps (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1100-1012)
R. G. L. Vann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3105-2546)
Lena Howlett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8105-8180)
A.G. McLean (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0697-4397)
C. Tame
Matthew A. Stott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0452-391X)
K. Imada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8128-2438)
J. W. Hughes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4802-4944)
H. Vernon Wong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0923-9141)
H. R. Wilson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3333-7470)
M. Tobin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2276-6448)
D. King (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5128-5083)
J. Edmond
L. Frassinetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9546-4494)
D. C. Speirs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5705-6126)
Jeremy D. Lore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9192-465X)
Gijs Derks (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3420-0388)
V. H. Hall-Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6009-3649)
Sajidah Ahmed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7732-5765)
R. Seath
B. R. Barrett
J. Harrison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2906-5097)
A. Nelson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9612-1936)
J. Bryant
P. K. Browning (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7089-5562)
P. Ryan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7133-6156)
Ioannis Katramados
G. M. Staebler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1944-1733)
B. Lipschultz
Yueqiang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8192-8411)
P. Richardson
R. Scannell
K. G. McClements (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5162-509X)
J. Measures
K. Ronald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8585-0746)
Kirsty McKay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1822-7994)
D.S. Gahle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4434-7626)
A. Thornton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7155-230X)
L. A. Kogan
Don M. Payne
M. Faitsch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9809-7490)
Peng Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1853-0726)
W. Boeglin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9932-9161)
Paul Jepson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1419-9981)
S.A. Sabbagh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1077-8118)
F. Militello (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8034-4756)
Patrik Ollus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2558-1457)
B. Lomanowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2226-2004)
O. Sauter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0099-6675)
Mark E. Robson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3109-1692)
S. P. Marsden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1175-7329)
Geoffrey Cunningham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2254-2455)
P. D. Stevenson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2645-2569)
Hana El-Haroun
M. Vallar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1792-6702)
A.W. Leonard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9356-1074)
G.M. Voss
R. Hussain
V. Soukhanovskii (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5519-0145)
N. Osborne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6079-9550)
L. J. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0806-168X)
A. Kirk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5746-6595)
John P. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8354-4980)
H. Reimerdes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9726-1519)
Catherine McKnight
Peter Saunders (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9299-0299)
Darren Beckett
J.W. Berkery (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8062-3210)
Matthew Lees (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1422-0154)
M. O’Mullane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2160-4546)
C. Cowley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7065-8922)
N. Lonigro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8581-0384)
James W. Bradley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8833-0180)
C. Theiler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3926-1374)
S. Elmore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0589-9513)
E. Parr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6204-4461)
M. Kochan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9616-5828)
J. Bennett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8651-7083)
J. Lovell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9565-3466)
R. King
C. Paz-Soldan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5069-4934)
M. Bernert
David McConville (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9831-9076)
A. R. Field (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0671-9668)
M. Knölker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8468-8767)
E. Viezzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6419-6848)
B.P. Duval (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7783-129X)
L. Garzotti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3796-9814)
J. McClenaghan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4735-0991)
M. Kotschenreuther (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6327-877X)
Juan Riquezes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2661-5110)
S. Gibson
L. Appel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9259-6240)
D. Brunetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8650-3271)
G. Prechel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6339-6055)
James Oliver (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7302-085X)
N. Fedorczak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7123-7433)
S. M. Mahajan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0652-9258)
D. A. Baver (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2340-0176)
B. F. McMillan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1509-2940)
Y. Andrew (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0094-3503)
S. C. Dixon
R. M. Harrison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9565-5269)
A. Ash
C.H. Vincent (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7227-409X)
S. Saarelma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6838-2194)
V. Zamkovska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8437-4576)
M. Barnes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0177-1689)
C. J. Hickling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0348-6926)
B. Hnat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6498-2953)
A. McShee
R.S. Doyle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4771-4081)
Christopher Ham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9190-8310)
W. Fuller
Y. Damizia
F. Felici (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7585-376X)
L. Piron (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7928-4661)
K. Verhaegh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0500-2764)
A. Aboutaleb (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0337-3686)
T. Wijkamp (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3110-8682)
N. A. Crocker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2379-5814)
M. Coy
R. Proudfoot
T. L. Rhodes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8311-4892)
J. Galdón-Quiroga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7415-1894)
Craig Stroud (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9725-5880)
D. A. Ryan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7735-3598)
S. Wiesen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3696-5475)
Y. Enters
Zhipeng Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8330-0070)
Philippe Jacquet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7919-1206)
Michael L. Fitzgerald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2346-9250)
T. Wilson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4343-834X)
L. Velarde (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3986-1583)
I.E. Day
R. Sharma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1181-1426)
J. F. Rivero-Rodríguez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5074-0267)
G. Liddiard
F. Maiden
M. Warr
B. Kandan
N. Mehay
M. Aljunid
C. Man-Friel
P. McKnight
T. Schuett
J. Stobbs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0649-5698)
T. Eagles
D. Greenhouse
D. Moulton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8439-9551)
B. Pritchard
M. Williams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5448-4213)
I. Fitzgerald
R. Stephen
Anna C. Carruthers
Bryan R. Parry
J. Buchanan
M. Cecconello
R. Martin
W Wehner
F. Mansfield
Paul M. Bryant
R. McAdams
S. Allan
J. Clark
T. Da Assuncao
P. Davies
M. Price
J. Ashton
E. Rose
R. Fitzpatrick
C. Giroud
M. Nicassio

Institutions

National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (IT)
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SG)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
University of Padua (IT)
University of Liverpool (GB)
University of California, Los Angeles (US)
William & Mary (US)
Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)
University of Strathclyde (GB)
Durham University (GB)
Florida International University (US)
University of California, Irvine (US)
Williams (United States) (US)
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (US)
Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology (UA)
University of Manchester (GB)
University of Warwick (GB)
University of Oxford (GB)
Culham Science Centre (GB)
CEA Cadarache (FR)
Fusion (United States) (US)
Plasma Technology (United States) (US)
Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (DE)
Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (NL)
Fusion Academy (US)
Dublin City University (IE)
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (GB)
Imperial College London (GB)
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH)
University of York (GB)
General Atomics (United States) (US)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO)
Columbia University (US)
Universidad de Sevilla (ES)
Eindhoven University of Technology (NL)
The University of Texas at Austin (US)
KTH Royal Institute of Technology (SE)
Aalto University (FI)

Publication Details

Journal: Nuclear Fusion
Published: 2024-08-29
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ad6011
Citations: 28
Primary Topic: Magnetic confinement fusion research
Type: article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact: 18.47

Funders

EUROfusion
European Commission
Euratom Research and Training Programme
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Overview of physics results from MAST upgrade towards core-pedestal-exhaust integration

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Funders

Overview of physics results from MAST upgrade towards core-pedestal-exhaust integration

Overview of physics results from MAST upgrade towards core-pedestal-exhaust integration

Abstract

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