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22nd Symposium on Fusion Technology (SOFT 2002), Helsinki, 2002-09-09 to 2002-09-13
Abstract:
The research on divertors for stellarators is at the beginning. Extensive studies are being prepared on large helical device (LHD) and W7-X. W7-AS is now being operated with an open island divertor (ID) which serves as a test bed for the W7-X divertor. The divertor enables access to a new NBI-heated, high-density operating regime with improved confinement properties. This regime––the high-density H-mode (HDH)––displays no evident mode activity, is extant above a threshold density and characterized by flat density profiles, high-energy- and low-impurity-confinement times and edge-localized radiation. Impurity accumulation, normally associated with ELM-free H-modes, is avoided. Quasi-steady-state discharges with ne up to 4×10²⁰ m⁻³, edge radiation levels up to 90% and plasma partial detachment at the divertor targets can be simultaneously realized. The accessibility to other improved confinement modes in W7-AS (conventional H-mode and OC-mode) is not restricted by the divertor. The results provide a promising basis for future experiments, in particular on W7-X, and recommend the ID as a serious candidate for solving the plasma exhaust problem in stellarators.
