Scaling of density peaking in H-mode plasmas based on a combined database of AUG and JET observations

Abstract

For the first time, scalings for density peaking in tokamaks are obtained from a database consisting of observations from two devices, ASDEX Upgrade and JET. The investigation relies on an inversion method for the interferometer signals which grants consistent reconstructions despite differences in interferometer geometries. By combining observations from these devices, correlations between physics parameters investigated for their role in determining density peaking are reduced. Multiple regression analyses show that in the combined database collisionality is the most relevant parameter. The particle source provided by neutral beam injection provides a contribution to the peaking, which, although not negligible, is not large enough to explain the whole observed variation of density peaking. The device size, introduced as an alias for possible systematic differences between the devices not captured by the regression parameters, is found to play only a small role in regressions which include collisionality. Device size becomes relevant in scalings which exclude collisionality and include the ratio of the density to the Greenwald density limit. This indicates that density peaking is more likely to be a function of collisionality rather than of the fraction of the density limit. All the scalings which include collisionality in the regression variables predict a peaked density profile for the ITER standard scenario.