From: irby@PSFC.MIT.EDU
Subject: Alcator C-Mod Weekly Highlights
Newsgroups: sci.physics.plasma
Organization: MIT

Alcator C-Mod Weekly Highlights
April 11, 2003


We continue preparations for plasma operation. Work proceeded on ICRF
and Lower Hybrid Systems. The flywheel reassembly is complete, and the
alternator is also being prepared for operation.


Operations
----------

The 120C bake and ECDC will continue through the weekend as we prepare
the vacuum vessel for operation. Reassembly of the flywheel was
completed on Friday and work has began on commissioning alternator
drive and control electronics.


Lower Hybrid Project
--------------------

At MIT, work continued on testing and bringing on-line lower hybrid
klystron hardware. At PPPL, the final stages of work on the LHCD
launcher project are being completed. Checkout of the launcher front
end assembly is continuing in preparation for shipment to MIT.
Installation of diagnostic cabling on the rear standard waveguide
assembly is also progressing well.


ICRF Systems
------------

We continue preparations for plasma operations. The J-Port
transmission line components are nearly installed in the cell.
The D and E-Port antennas and rf systems are ready for operation.

We continue the design effort on the the fast ferrite tuners. Quotes
are being requested for the ferrite material for the first tuner.


Travel and Visits
-----------------

Catherine Fiore, Martin Greenwald, Dmitri Mossessian and John Rice
traveled to Madison, Wis last week for the US-EU Transport Task Force
Workshop. C-Mod results attracted significant interest. Other
highlights included a number of talks on intermittent or "blobby"
transport in the plasma edge and on theoretical and experimental
results concerning particle transport in the plasma core. Martha
Redi, PPPL, presented work on gyrokinetic microstability calculations
for the C-Mod off-axis RF ITB experiment at both the TTF and the APS
April meeting in Philadelphia, PA. Talks and a poster presented at the
TTF on C-Mod physics included:

"Gyrokinetic Calculations of Microturbulence and Transport on NSTX
and Alcator-CMOD H-modes", M. Redi, R. Bell, D. Gates, B. LeBlanc,
J. Menard, D. Mikkelsen, (PPPL, Princeton Univ.), C. Fiore,
P. Bonoli, D. Ernst, J. Rice, S. Wukitch (PSFC, MIT), W. Dorland
(U. Maryland), J. Candy, R. Waltz (General Atomics), C. Bourdelle
(Association Euratom-CEA, France)

"Progress in Alcator C-Mod Internal Transport Barrier Studies",
C.L. Fiore, P.T. Bonoli, A.E. Hubbard, E.S. Marmar, J.E. Rice,
S.J. Wukitch, M. Redi, A. Lynn, P. Phillips

"Observations of Momentum Transport in Alcator C-Mod Plasma with No
Momentum Input", J.E. Rice, W.D. Lee, E.S. Marmar, P.T. Bonoli,
M. Greenwald, I.H. Hutchinson, S.J. Wukitch

"The National Fusion Collaboratory", M. Greenwald

"Local Dimensionless Identity Method as a Tool for Studying H-mode
Pedestal", D. Mossessian, J. W. Hughes, M. Greenwald, B. LaBombard,
MIT, G. P. Maddison. P. J. Lomas, EURATOM/UKAEA, R. J. Groebner,
T. H.Osborne, General Atomics, R. A. Moyer, University of
California, San Diego

"Turbulence in the Outboard and Inboard Scrape-Off-Layers of Alcator
C-Mod",J.L. Terry, MIT, S.J. Zweben, PPPL, K. Hallatschek, Max
Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching, Germany,
B. LaBombard, MIT, B.N. Rogers, Dartmouth University, Hanover, NH,
D.P. Stotler, PPPL, B. Veto, MIT


Amanda Hubbard attended the April APS meeting in Philadelphia and
gave an invited talk entitled "Physics Issues of Edge Transport
Barriers in Magnetically Confined Fusion Experiments".

Joe Snipes gave a talk on the Zeff and Triangularity Dependence of the
H-mode Threshold in the International H-mode Threshold Database at the
ITPA Confinement Database Meeting, which was held from April 8-11 in
St. Petersburg, Russia. Ed Doyle, UCLA, presented for John Rice a
talk on ITB's in C-Mod at the ITPA Transport and ITB Meeting, which
was also being held this week.

Jim Irby visited PPPL on Thursday to attend a meeting on the NSTX
toroidal field flag joint redesign. He also had discussions with Doug
Loesser, Stefano Bernabei, and Nevell Greenough on the status of the
lower hybrid launcher. Bill Beck and Bob Childs were at PPPL on
Wednesday also discussing the launcher status and preparations for
shipment of the launcher to MIT.