Realization of minute-long steady-state H-mode discharges on EAST

Abstract

In the 2016 EAST experimental campaign, a steady-state long-pulse H-mode discharge with an ITER-like tungsten divertor lasting longer than one minute has been obtained using only RF heating and current drive, through an integrated control of the wall conditioning, plasma configuration, divertor heat flux, particle exhaust, impurity management, and effective coupling of multiple RF heating and current drive sources at high injected power. The plasma current (Ip ∼ 0.45 MA) was fully-noninductively driven (Vloop < 0.0 V) by a combination of ∼2.5 MW LHW, ∼0.4 MW ECH and ∼0.8 MW ICRF. This result demonstrates the progress of physics and technology studies on EAST, and will benefit the physics basis for steady state operation of ITER and CFETR.