From:
irby@PSFC.MIT.EDU
Reply-To: IRBY@PSFC.MIT.EDU
Subject: Alcator C-Mod
Weekly Highlights
Newsgroups: sci.physics.plasma
Organization:
MIT
Alcator C-Mod Weekly Highlights
September 15, 2003
Work continued on Lower
Hybrid and ICRF system last week.
Reassembly
of the alternator is scheduled to be completed this
week. The C-Mod
Ideas Forum was
held last week at MIT.
Ideas Forum
-----------
The
C-Mod Ideas Forum was held on September 10, 11, and 12 to aid in
planning
the FY04 C-Mod operating campaign. The
purpose of the Forum
was to provide an opportunity for presentation of
specific ideas
appropriate for experiments during the campaign. The Forum
was open to
all interested parties, including current and potential
future
collaborators. The agenda
of the Forum and links to the ninety-eight
presentations can be found
at
http://www.psfc.mit.edu/people/terry/Ideas_Forum_2003/forum_agenda.html
Ideas
were submitted by personnel from PPPL, U. Texas, U. of
Wisconsin,
IPP-Garching, LANL, GA, RFX, LLNL, ORNL, CRPP, and MIT.
Follow-on meetings
of the Topical Science and Integrated Thrust
Groups, in the coming few
weeks, will determine initial prioritization
as the next step leading to
mini-proposal generation and run-time
allocations.
Operations
----------
NSTAR
opened our primary 13.8 kV breaker last week for annual
maintenance. During this time, in preparations for plasma
operations,
we performed inspections and maintenance on much of the
hi-yard
equipment, including vacuum breakers and instrumentation.
Completion
of all C-Mod vacuum work is expected by the end of this
week, after which
a final pumpdown and leak check will be performed.
Cool down, bake, and
ECDC activities will then follow, with first
plasma operation expected in
early October.
Alternator
----------
GE
repeated the DC stepped voltage test to 28 kV on the alternator
stator
last Monday. This test was followed by
a hi-pot proof test to
36.7 kV.
All stator windings passed these tests with excellent I/V
characteristics. As a final test of the stator windings, an
AC hi-pot
to 21.6 kV RMS (a factor of 1.5 above the working voltage) was
done by
GE on Wednesday. The
results were again very positive and GE has
recommended the alternator be
returned to service. AC hi-pots
are
considered to be the most probative tests of the stator windings
and
an excellent predictor of safe in-service operation.
With
the concurrence of DoE OFES and the MIT Vice-President for
Research, we
have instructed GE to proceed with reassembly, which has
now begun. GE is using a two shift schedule and expects
to be
finished by the end of this week.
Installation of the drive motor,
instrumentation, and other support
hardware by C-Mod personnel will
require one additional week.
ICRF
Systems
------------
General maintenance of transmitters,
control electronics, and switch
gear continued. Preparations of the control system instrumentation
for 50
MHz operation began. Reassembly of
transmission line
components in the C-Mod cell continued.
Lower
Hybrid Systems
--------------------
The modified PLC and
operator interfaces have been installed and
tested on the LH system. Some
programming bugs were located and
corrected. Measurements of the PLC analog inputs will be made and
calibration
factors will be determined.
The Lower Hybrid Forward Wave Guides
have now been reassembled at
PPPL.
Loss measurements have been performed, and the losses are
acceptable. The upper FWG will be brought to MIT on
Monday for
high-power RF tests; Nevell Greenough (PPPL) will participate
in the
testing. Both MIT and PPPL
are continuing to refine and compare
finite element analysis
mechanical/thermal models of the coupler.
Measurements of the coefficient
of thermal expansion of both the
ceramic and titanium coupler materials
have been started, and the
results and differences in measurement
techniques are being discussed.
Coupon tests of braze materials are
underway, and final preparations
are being made to remove the
"old" ceramic windows from the existing
coupler which is
expected to take place next week.
Travel and Visits
-----------------
Martin
Greenwald attended the 18th International Conference on
Numerical
Simulation in Plasmas to deliver a review talk titled
"Beyond
Benchmarking - How Experiments and Simulations Can Work
Together in Plasma
Physics". This review talk may be
found at
http://www.psfc.mit.edu/people/g/icnsp03-talk.pdf
Several
collaborators from PPPL were at MIT last week.
Stefano
Bernabei came to attend the C-Mod Ideas Forum on 9/11 and
Stewart
Zweben visited from 9/8-12, also participating in the Ideas
Forum.
Gerd Schilling was at MIT from 9/9-12 for the Ideas Forum and
Lower
Hybrid program discussions.
Martha Redi was at MIT on Sept 5, 8, and
9 to meet with Catherine
Fiore, Steve Wukitch and others for
discussions about the RF ITB
gyrokinetic simulation work and Ohmic
H-mode ITB data for upcoming
publications and conferences.
Bill Rowan, U. Texas, also visited last week for the Ideas
Forum.
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