newsletter
newsletter
Vol 2002 / 4
December 5, 2002

E UROPEAN F USION DEVELOPEMENT AGREEMENTNew EFDA Leadership in 2003
Issued by the EFDA
Close Support Unit
Garching

Contents

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Interview: The
European ITER Sites
page 2/3
ITER Negotiations in
Canada and Japan
page 4
UKAEA: Workshop for
Industry
page 5Fusion in Europe
page 6/7
JET: Real Time Feedback
Control
page 8/9
FP6 Launch
page 10
Events: SOFT,“Couldn’t be without it!”page 11
Questions & Answers
page 12

http://www.efda.org

Departing EFDA Leader will Continue to Support ITER through Active Research“With December 31, 2002 I am leaving EFDA to return to my research position with the MaxPlanck Institut für Plasmaphysik in Garching. Dr. Jérôme Pamela, EFDA Associate Leader for JET,
will fill, ad interim, also the EFDA Leader’s position, until the nomination of a definitive successor.
When I joined EFDA it was primarily with one mission in mind: to advocate the construction of
ITER at all levels, including also that of our own community. Shortly after the start of my tenure, adramatic thing happened (without my involvement, except perhaps through the magic powers ofwishful thinking): a proposal for a European site was brought forward by CEA. This changed things
dramatically within our community, and of course the second EU site proposal by Spain further
enhanced the feeling of confidence now prevailing. I think enthusiasm for ITER is now a highly
infective state of mind, which – as the colleagues who were with me in Snowmass can testify –has by now swept also over the US community and seems to spread rapidly into China, South
Korea, India, etc. For the next phase, physics in the work for ITER will step behind technology andproject management skills and also legal and diplomatic capabilities.
Physics will come back to central stage, once ITER will start operating. ITER is foremost afacility for experiments on burning plasmas. But even in the technology oriented language of reactor studies, the plasma is the central and most complex subsystem of a fusion reactor, and its functioning will be the contribution of us physicists.
If I can use this occasion
to leave one grain (or rock?)of wisdom with our community, I would make the following
statement:
It is misleading to think of
ITER as one experiment,
whose success hinges on
the attainment of a precise
set of parameters. ITER is
rather a facility, which cancover a broad operating
space, and the phase space
where it will pursue and findsuccess is very large. It is
instructive to look at the frequently quoted graph of theProf. K. LacknerProf. A. Bradshaw
Director of IPP
triple product nTτ vs. years,
not for the quantum jumps,
which accompanied each newdevice, but for the big progress we have made on each given device (take the JET and JT60-U points,
as prime examples) by learning (and sometimes luck).
I will now return to active research at IPP. We have, by now, a quite solid knowledge at leastof the standard operating regime of tokamaks and how it extrapolates from one device to the other.
We know much less about the detailed physics behind it. Searching for the latter promises to give
us clues for further performance improvements, and – to be honest – is also big fun.
I plan to get a share of this fun.
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all EFDA Newsletter readers !”Prof. Dr. Karl Lackner, EFDA Leader

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

page 2ITER
In September 2002 theInstitute for Plasma Physics (IPP) at Garching(Germany) invited Prof.
Dr. Carlos Alejaldre fromCIEMAT (Spain) and Dr.
Jean Jacquinot from
CEA (France) to present
their proposed European
ITER sites Vandellós andCadarache.

“The main thing is that ITER is built and that this happens in Europe!”
EFDA Newsletter (E.N.): Imagine you had to direct an advertising film, which presents
Vandellòs or Cadarache as the favorite ITER site. What, in your opinion, would be thebest title for such a film?
Carlos Alejaldre: I guess it could be “Fusion is the origin of the sun and Vandellòs is where
the sun is”, something like that…
Jean Jacquinot: What about “An energy option for next generations at Cadarache”?

You can find their presentations on:

E.N.: To introduce your film you have to present the greatest strength and the weakest pointof your ITER site. What would you say?

“Vandellòs ITER site”

Alejaldre: What is quite unique at Vandellòs is the combination of a very good industrial
infrastructure and an excellent tourist infrastructure. In the surrounding areas there are
already three nuclear power stations and one of the most important petrochemical sites inSouthern Europe. Most nuclear industries are not really situated in attractive places. But
at Vandellòs there is also a beautiful beach and industry and tourism are aware that they
depend on each other, so they take care for the evironment of course…

.

http://www-fusion.ciemat.es/
fusion/iter/ITER-eng.html.

“Cadarache - a
European Site for ITER”

http://www.efda.org

Jacquinot: A big advantage of the Cadarache site is the fact that there is already a huge
support for nuclear and high technology activities. Plasma science exists on-site running aworld size lab with Tore Supra operating - this is something that doesn’t exist in any of theother sites. I think that all sites satisfy the minimum demands for ITER, but only
Cadarache offers industrial and scientific support adequate to the task of running ITER.
E.N.: …and the weakest point?
Alejaldre: Maybe the fact that CIEMAT is in Madrid and not right at the site. But we are an
institution that is used to run in a decentralized way. We are not such a strong and large
institution, but we can deliver important support and the advantage for the ITER project inSpain would be that we would totally depend on the international character of the project.
Jacquinot: (laughs) A weak point at Cadarache….?
E.N.: One weak point could be that CEA is a very strong partner. Of course this may be seen
as an advantage for ITER, but some people may be afraid that in France ITER would not
maintain its international character!
Jacquinot: Well, the ILE, which is the ITER Legal
Entity, will be regulated by a treaty. As they will
have their own rules regulating ITER, they will befree to go for tender for services at CEA, but thiswill be their own decision. So I think CEA will justbe one of the European contributors to ITER. To
use our scientific experience in this context is ahuge opportunity for all the ITER partners. ITER
will be just like JET is in Culham: it will have its
own budget for equipment and be totally separated
from the other activities in that area.
E.N.: For your film you have to cast a person whoplays a credible ITER director. Who in your opinion
would be best suited to this role: an individual
who comes from fusion or from industry?

Dr. Jean Jacquinot

Alejaldre: In principle for the top position I would choose a member of the fusion community.
In this position you must fight strongly for fusion, so you have to believe strongly in thisproject. But around this person there should be a good collection of high level managers,

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

page 3

Interview
and of course there industrial experience would be relevant. But for the director – somepeople say it would be difficult to find somebody intelligent enough to run ITER and stupid
enough to accept the job (laughs).
Jacquinot: I would say, the main selection criterium is that he or she fits the job description.
We need a highly motivated person, who is intellectually very able. He or she could in theend fit much better than any of the specialists.
E.N.: You will also have to explain to the audience of your film, what happens to the otherprojects, TJ-II and Tore Supra, when ITER is built. ITER is a tokamak and TJ-II a stellarator – has CIEMAT been converted to the tokamak principle?
Alejaldre: What people don’t know is that we will put a helical coil into ITER, when it comesto Spain! (laughs) No, we believe in fusion and clearly the next step is a tokamak like
ITER. But there is no conflict between ITER and TJ-II – tokamaks and stellarators are likefirst cousins, much of the physics is common, and the stellarator can deliver a lot of important results for the tokamak. When ITER comes, the European research on fusion isstrengthened, but this has nothing to do with the local research. They could exist next toeach other, maybe not TJ-II but TJ-III – or an upgrade of TJ-II.

Prof. Dr. Carlos Alejaldreis the director of theEuratom-Association CIEMAT (Centro deInvestigationes
Energéticas,
Medioambientales yTechnológicas) in Madrid(Spain).

For more information on
CIEMAT see:
http://www.ciemat.es/eng/

Dr. Jean Jacquinot is the
Head of the Euratom-CEA
Association at Cadarache(France).

E.N.: What about the CEA tokamak Tore Supra?
Jacquinot: I think this is a question of money. If ITER comes to Cadarache, ITER becomesthe absolute priority of the French Association. So if the money for the ITER project iswhat it is now, clearly Tore Supra will be progressively phased down. If Europe takes
fusion more seriously and increases the budget during the 7th Framework Programme, it
is possible that Tore Supra might be able to continue operation. France has alreadyincreased its budget, because Tore Supra has worked in a very satisfactory manner withnew world records of energy coupled to plasmas to contribute to the ITER studies. We will
have to see and review the situation. But if we should have to make sacrifices, it should
not be on ITER.

For more information on
CEA Cadarache see:
http://www-cad.cea.fr/

E.N.: If ITER comes to your country would this be the same for you as for a film producer
winning the Oscar for his lifework?
Alejaldre: It’s not really the same, but Spain has experienced atremendous economic growth in the last decade and thecountry needs to be given a qualitative push. As a large
technological institution ITER could be the driver that pushes
Spain to a higher technological level. This is why it has
become so important for me to convince people to support
Spain. In Spain ITER will be the project! But in the end theimportant thing is that ITER comes to Europe.
Jacquinot: In some ways yes: ITER will be much bigger thanour other projects, both in terms of scope and also in international prestige. But I would also say the main thing is that
ITER will be built and that this happens in Europe. Of course
it would be a great satisfaction for my Association if it is built
in France. In any case I think that there will be a satisfying
role for each of the ITER parties in this new step of fusion
towards the future.
Prof. Dr. Carlos Alejaldre

E.N.: So good luck for both of your sites and thank-you for this interview!
Interview: Doris Lutz-Lanzinger

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

page 4ITER
Canada's formal bid tohost the ITER project isbased on the Claringtonsite. It is located in theprovince of Ontario near
the city of Toronto.

If you would like to learn
more about Clarington
and ITER Canada see:
http://www.itercanada.com

The Japanese
Government decided topropose Rokkasho-murain the Aomori Prefecture,situated in the northernpart of the main island, as
an ITER site.

You can find more information on Rokkasho-mura on:
http://www.pref.aomori.jp/iter/index.html

5th Negotiations Meeting, Canada: Successful Launch of Site Assessment Process
Momentum towards construction of the ITER fusion project increased as delegations
from Canada, the European Union, Japan and the Russian Federation met from September
17 - 18 in Toronto to negotiate the implementation of the project.
A notable accomplishment in the framework of the Negotiations was the start of theprocess for candidate site assessment as a group of international experts began theassessment of Canada’s proposed site at Clarington.
Agreement on arrangements for the transitional phase towards the possible joint im-plementation of ITER in 2003 was also significant. These arrangements would continue under
the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), represented at the
Negotiations meeting by Dr. R.E.H.Clark.
Significant progress was made on an extensive range of issues, including matters suchas the implementing treaty (the Joint Implementation Agreement) and organizational structure. The delegations agreed that the current CTA International Team Leader, Dr. R. Aymar,
would be nominated as Interim Project Leader on commencement of the ITER Transitional
Arrangements.
Over the next few months, the negotiators and technical experts have a full schedule of meetings with aview to finalizing the Joint Assessment of Specific Sites
by early next year and completing the drafting of the
Joint Implementation Agreement by mid-2003.

6th Negotiations Meeting, Japan: Assessment Completed for Two of Four Potential
ITER Sites
At their Sixth Negotiations meeting on October 29 - 30 in Rokkasho-mura the delegations continued to progress towards implementation of the project. M. Kimura, the Governorof Aomori Prefecture, emphasized that Aomori would like to host ITER and contribute to theinternational community through the promotion of the project.
Further progress was made in many areas, including the implementing treaty (the Joint
Implementation Agreement), procurement allocation and the intellectual property rights thatwould accrue to participants in the project. The Negotiators agreed that the internationalorganization responsible for implementing the project would be known as the ITERInternational Fusion Energy Organization. Furthermore the Negotiators were reported on
the ongoing process of the Joint Assessment of Specific Sites (JASS). The JASS ad-hoc
group has so far completed assessments of the Clarington and Rokkasho-mura sites. The
final two site assessments – at Cadarache (France) and at Vandellòs (Spain) – will be heldin December. The JASS report will be finalized by early 2003 and drafting of the Agreement
should be completed by mid-2003.
The next Negotiations meetings will be held in Barcelona (Spain) on December 9-10,
2002 and in St.Petersburg (RF) on February 18-19, 2003.

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

page 5ITER & the Associations
ITER Awareness Workshop for Industry
An international workshop was hosted on 22 October in the Baylis Conference Centre,
Slough by UKAEA Culham Division's Fusion and Industry team. With the decision onwhether and where to build ITER expected within a year, the Euratom-UKAEA Association
brought together the ITER Director and senior ITER project managers from across Europe
to brief over 70 UK companies on the technology associated with ITER and business
opportunities arising from its construction and operation. The workshop was attended byover 120 delegates and some 25 companies also exhibited.
In the lead up to the workshop UKAEA had researched the UK market for companies
with the skills and technology experience needed to bid for ITER contracts. The seminar
was the first opportunity for many companies to learn about the scale of ITER, the projecttechnologies and timescale as well as meeting ITER design engineers.

Technology transfer fromfusion research is bringing
tangible benefits to many
UK and European companies. You would like to findout how your company
can tap into the skills andtechnologies of fusion
research to make a realdifference to your productdevelopment, quality
systems and ultimately
competitive edge?

Please see:
http://www.fusion.org.uk/industry/index.html

The day started with an overview of ITER by Dr. R. Aymar and a presentation by Dr. J.P. Rager (European Commission) on European involvement in ITER. Two technical presentations were made before lunch: Dr. N. Mitchell (ITER Joint Work Site Naka) on magnets, cryogenic systems and magnet power supplies and Dr. D. Campbell (EFDA-CSU
Garching) on heating and current drive, diagnostics and control. After lunch further technical talks were given by Dr. D. Murdoch (EFDA-CSU Garching) on tritium systems and civilengineering, Dr. R. Tivey (ITER Joint Work Site Garching) on in vessel components andmaterials assessment and Dr. D. Maisonnier (EFDA-CSU Garching) on remote handling,
hot cells and decommissioning. The day ended with presentations on opportunities forindustry, the first by Dr. A. Chevalier from NNC (UK) on industrial involvement in fusion andthe EFET industry grouping and the last by Dr. R. Freeman of the Diamond Synchotron Light
Source, an example of a major new facility which is just starting its construction phase.
Delegates were also given plenty of time to chat informally to the speakers and to network in the exhibition area. They were invited to submit their companies’ details into an UK
expertise directory being
set up by the UKAEA
Fusion and Industry Team.
R. Aymar and J.-P.
Rager welcomed the initiative taken by the UKAEA
Fusion and Industry. "ITER
construction will be characterised by the awarding ofvery large complex contracts, worth over 100 million Euros, but also smaller
conventional contracts will
also be awarded particularly involving SMEs. We
believe industry has a far
greater role to play in ITER
construction than earlier
projects and are delighted
to see there is such interest from UK companies."

From left to right: C. Forty (UKAEA), R. Aymar (ITER), J.P. Rager (EU Commission)

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

page 6

Fusion in Europe
The Institute for Plasma
Physics in Jülich has
been successfully working
in the field of plasma wallinteraction since the midseventies. In 1982 thefusion experiment TEXTOR
started operation. It was
especially constructed forextensive interdisciplinary
investigations in the fieldof plasma and nuclear
physics, material and surface research, as well as
plasma chemistry.

Commissioner Busquin visits TEXTOR

On September 10, 2002 Philippe Busquin (fourth fromleft), EU Commissioner for Research, visited TEXTOR,
together with (from left to right) Prof. U. Samm
(Division Manager IPP Jülich), MdB D. Nietan (German
Member of Parliament) and Prof. R. Weynants (Division
Manager Ecole Royale Militaire/KMS Belgium). Mr
Busquin was especially interested in hydrogen technology and promised further EU support for FZJ on
this subject.

For more information on
Forschungszentrum Jülich
please see
http://www.fz-juelich.de/ipp

Some like it hot: torus of TEXTOR, inspected byCommissioner Busquin and during an experiment. Since
March 2001 TEXTOR has been modified by adding a“Dynamic Ergodic Divertor” (DED). You can follow thesteps of this modification on
http://www.fz-juelich.de/ipp/aktuelles/
On December 6, 2002 TEXTOR will officially re-open.
The new DED coil has already been successfully tested
at the beginning of October.

Dr. Volker Philipps (54)has been working at the
Forschungszentrum Jülich
for 25 years in the field ofplasma-wall interaction.
He studied physics at the
University of Marburg(Germany) and did his
doctorate degree at theTechnical University of
Aachen (RWTH,
Germany) in the field ofsolid-state physics.

FZ Jülich Provides a New European Team Research Leader
Dr. V. Philipps from the Institute for Plasma Physics at the Forschungszentrum Jülich
(FZJ) has recently been appointed by EFDA to be the leader of the new task force for“Plasma-Wall Interaction” until the end of 2004. The setting up of this joint European teamdemonstrates the importance for ITER of the research on the interactions between the plasma and the vacuum vessel wall in fusion devices. Research on plasma-wall interactions has
always been one of TEXTOR’s major activities, and one in which FZ Jülich has gained international recognition.
(Please see also page 7)

page 7

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

Fusion in Europe
New European Task Force on Plasma-Wall Interaction (PWI) Created by EFDA
The European Task Force is motivated by the large extension of the plasma duty cycle,
i.e. pulse length, expected in ITER compared with present devices. This requires essential
knowledge to be acquired for the operation of ITER with respect to the expectations of theplasma-facing components lifetime (divertor and main chamber) and the tritium inventorybuild-up rates. In more detail, the Task Force’s topics of research are: erosion behaviour
and impurity source location in tokamaks, transport and re-deposition of eroded material,
fuel recycling, retention and removal, transient heat loads, erosion and re-deposition modelling, plasma edge physics processes related to material erosion and re-deposition (suchas radial and parallel plasma flows) and their modelling, and development and test of diagnostics relevant to the previous topics.
Present experiments indicate that the use of carbon fibre composites as armour material for the divertor target area in ITER may result in unacceptable long-term tritium retention. The goal of the Task Force is to concentrate and co-ordinate European research in the
PWI area on these topics and to offer scientific and technological concepts for a solution to
the expected problems in this area for ITER operation. These concepts should be based on
an improved understanding of the physical processes involved, which will provide the basis
for better predictions of the relative importance of these processes in ITER discharges. An
important task is to extrapolate the current knowledge, mainly from devices with a full carbon wall, to the ITER-like choice of wall materials in the foreseen starting configuration(beryllium in the main chamber, tungsten at the divertor baffles, and carbon in the lower
divertor region). A parallel strategy which will be followed is to evaluate the concept of a fully
metallic first wall in ITER and to provide the scientific basis for this alternative choice.
The Task Force will takeadvantage of the positive experience obtained at JET operated
under EFDA, with the creation of
Task
Forcesthat
have
European-wide membership.
The Task Force will also try to
improve the efficiency of work bysynergies, which are expectedfrom the expansion of the workfrom individual efforts towards
the co-ordinated operation of all
European devices. Naturally, anessential ingredient for its success is the commitment andclose co-operation of all
European Associations and all
Association scientists are invited
to contribute to it.

The Task Force has
European-wide membership and contact persons
at the following institutions:
CEA-Cadarache(T. Loarer), CIEMAT(F. Tabares), CNR-Milano(F. Ghezzi), CRPPLausanne (R. A. Pitts),
EFDA-CSU Garching(A. Peacock), ENEAFrascati (G. Maddaluno),
FOM (N. Lopes-Cardozo),
FZ-Jülich (P. Mertens),
FZ-Karlsruhe (I. Landman),
IPP-Garching (A. Kallenbach), IST-Lisbon(J. Carvalho-Soares),
ITER-IT (G. Federici),
Jozef Stefan InsitituteLjubljana (I. Cadez),
NRG-Petten (J.G. van derLaan), Royal Institute ofTechnology Stockholm-VR(M. Rubel), TEKES(J. Likonen), UKAEA(G. Counsell)

Task Force Leaders Team,
from right to left: V. Philipps (Task Force Leader, FZ-Jülich),
A. Loarte (Deputy, EFDA-CSU) andJ. Roth (Deputy, IPP Garching)

As a first step, the Task
Force work programme has been formulated in a meeting with contact persons from theEuropean Associations held in Augsburg (Germany) on the 14th and 15th November. This
meeting has served to define the individual contributions of the different Associations to thevarious research topics of the Task Force. The Task Force will work in close co-operation
with the JET Task Forces E and FT, which co-ordinate the European research at JET in thisfield.

More information on the
EU-PWI Task Force:
http://www.efda-taskforcepwi.org/

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

page 8

JET - Advanced Scenarios
Safety factor “q”:
Number of turns the helicalmagnetic field lines in atokamak make around the
major circumference per
single turn round the minor
circumference. This has noconnection with the ordinary sense of “safety” butrelates to plasma stability.

Real-time Feedback Control of the Pressure and Current Density Profiles
The development of steady state operational regimes with improved confinement andstability is known as “advanced tokamak” research. In JET advanced tokamak researchmainly focuses on plasmas with internal transport barriers (ITBs), generated by modifications of the current density profile in the plasma core.
New
realtime measurements and feedback control algorithms
have been developed and implemented to
q-profilesuccessfully control the ITB dynamics andthe current density profile in highly noninductive regimes. Global confinement
Jplasmaparameters, ion or electron temperapressuretures, density and safety factor profiles (q-profiles) can now be calcuPressure
Internal Transport
lated in real-time. The real time
Barrier
control of stationary ITBs in fullcurrent drive operation represents
Jplasmaa major milestone towards the
Jbootstrap
definition and viability of steady+state tokamak. The JET real time
Jextbootstrap
control experiments pave the way toα pressure
long steady-state ITB operation in
1c
3.51
02
preparation of the ITER 'advanced' tokaGJ
mak scenario.

Non-inductive current:
Toroidal plasma current not
driven by the transformer.
It can be generated by the
injection of waves in thetoroidal direction in theplasma of a tokamak. It
can also be selfgenerated
by the pressure gradientsin the plasma: this is theso-called “bootstrap” effect.

Active control

1.8MA / 3.4T

Pulse No:
53697

Fig. 1 Current density, pressure and self-generated bootstrap current are strongly coupled on steady state operation with full noninductive current drive.

3.0
2.0
Ip (MA)
1.0
0
15

PLHCD (MW)Improvement of the tokamak concept, i.e. confinement andstability, is a crucial challenge that could lead to operating thedevice in a high-performance continuous mode. In a steadystate tokamak reactor, like in a foreseen 'advanced scenario'
for ITER, the plasma current will be entirely sustained by noninductive means and the self-generated bootstrap current must
provide a significant fraction of the plasma current. The noninductive currents, pressure profiles, confinement and safety
factor profiles (q) are strongly coupled in steady state operation
with high fusion performance, as illustrated in Fig. 1.
Modification of the safety factor profile will affect the confinement and core pressure (e.g. the formation of core transportbarriers), and variation of the core pressure will modify the selfgenerated bootstrap current that in turns influences the safety
factor profile. Maintaining the required high confinement level insteady state will therefore require active control of the plasma
profiles.

MW

10

PNBI

PICRH

5
0

(RNT) ref = 0.9x1016s-1
0.8

1016neutron/s

0Norm. Te gradient (x10-2)

6(ρTe*)ref=2.5x10-2420JG01.554-3c

0.8
Vs(V)
0
2

4

6

8
Time (s)1012Fig. 2 Time evolution of the main plasma parameters of adischarge with combined feedback control of the normalised
electron temperature gradient (ρΤe*) and neutron yield (RNT)
using ICRH and NBI powers.

In JET non-inductive quasi-stationary operation has
been achieved in high fusion performance discharges with alarge bootstrap current fraction, with a well developed ITB
affecting both ions and electrons thermal confinement. In thoseexperiments, simultaneous feedback control of the electron
temperature gradient and of the neutron yield has allowed an
ITB to be maintained with a pre-requested strength in quasisteady state for 7.5 seconds (Fig. 2).

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

page 9An Interfero-polarimeter
diagnostics is used todetermine the plasma
density and the current
density profile. This isachieved by measuring
the phase and polarisation shifts of two infrared
Laser beams: one probing
beam crossing the plasmaand one reference beam.

The actuators were the ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) and neutral beam
injection (NBI) power, respectively. One of the main conclusions of this first set of experiments is the role played by the pre-programmed Lower Hybrid Current Drive (LHCD), during the prelude and high power heating phases, in pre-forming and sustaining the safety
factor profile evolution, respectively. The transport reduction, observed also in other tokamak devices, is associated with localised turbulence suppression, which is related to theprecise shape of the q-profile. Moreover, a strong correlation has also been shown between
the creation of ITB and the appearance of integer-q magnetic surfaces at parti-cular locations. Active feedback control of the current density profile in addition to the pressure profile, is thus a key to reproducibly trigger an ITB and to maintain its quality and strength in a
steady state condition.
Previously real-time control of the q-profile had been performed through the internal
inductance parameter. Its control is not sufficient to maintain an optimised q-profile in ITB
discharges. Recent efforts have been made to provide a real-time identification of the q-profile and develop an algorithm, which allows its control. The algorithm uses as input the signals of magnetic and interfero-polarimeter diagnostics. The approach described in the previous paragraph to control the pressure profile is based on decoupled control loops for thecore pressure and maximum temperature gradient with devoted actuators (NBI and ICRH,
respectively). For the q-profile, a 'model-based' control scheme was followed, in whichmore information on the spatial structure of the system is taken into account. To validate this'model based' technique direct control of the safety factor profile has been attempted using
LHCD as the only actuator. The experiment was performed during an extended LHCD prelude phase. In atokamak like ITER, this phase would precede the application of the main additional heating power to create an
ITB once the desired optimised q-profile is obtained. The
plasma parameters were chosen in order to be close to
those needed for a purely non-inductive regime with the4available LH power, and thus have a larger flexibility for
obtaining the required q-profiles. The feedback control
qref
was performed on five points of the q-profile located at3
fixed normalised radii. The reference q-profile is reachedwithin 12s (Fig. 3).
To reach the pre-set reference q-profile the controller
minimises in the least square sense the difference
between the five target q-values and the real-time measurements. The successful and very recent experimentreported here should be considered as a 'proof of principle'. In the near future, this general 'model-based'
approach will be implemented to control high-pressure,high-bootstrap fraction, ITB discharges where pressure
and current density profiles are strongly (non-linearly)
coupled. In addition, a substantial effort is being devoted
to a better identification of the magnetic equilibrium bysolving the Grad-Shafranov equation in real time.

2

The sustainment and real time control of ITBs in fullcurrent drive operation with a significant fraction of bootstrap current represents a major milestone towards thedefinition and viability of steady state tokamak operation.
Real time measurements of the kinetic and magnetic profiles together with 'model-based' feedback control algorithms will be extensively used in future experimental
campaigns on JET to further increase the plasma fusion
performance.

0

Grad-Shafranov equation:
A differential equation
which describes the equilibrium of an axi-symmetricsystem such as a tokamak plasma.

Safety factor at r/a = 0.5

Without LHCD control
1

LHCD power (MW)3

JG02.513-2c

2
1
5

10
Time (s)15

Fig. 3: Real time control of the q-profile. Time evolution of the
LHCD power, measured and reference q-values at mid-radius of two
discharges with different pre-set reference q-values, qref (blue and redtime traces). A discharge without LHCD feedback control is presented
for comparison (green time trace).

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

page 10

EventsParticipants to the EFDA
Round Tables:“Benefits from ITER in
the European Union”

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Prof. K. Lackner (EFDA)
Dr. R. Andreani (EFDA)
Dr. P. Barabaschi (ITER)
Mr. A. Vallée(Framatome-ANP)
Dr. J. Jacquinot (CEA)
Dr. C. Alejaldre (CIEMAT)
Prof. W. d’Haeseleer(University of Leuven,
Belgium)“JET – a bridge to ITER”

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Dr. J. Pamela (JET)
Prof. C. Varandas (IST)Dr. P. Mantica (CNR)
Dr. T. Hender (UKAEA)
Prof. H. Zohm (IPP)
Mr. G. Caudron (MEP)
Mr. G. Adam (MEP)

FP6 Launch: EFDA Round Tables at the European Research Conference
A major conference was held by theEuropean Commission in Bruxelles from 11 to 13
November 2002 to mark the start of the EU's
Sixth Framework Programme for research, which
will cover the period from 2002 to 2006.
Approx. 9,000 visitors took part in this event,which was located in the Palais du Heysel.The
aim was to present the objectives and priorities of
the Framework Programme and to explain rules
for participation. At the same time the conference
was meant to create opportunities for a scientificdebate among the involved institutions.
The major features of this three-day event were as follows:••••

Conference sessions addressing all the main thematic priorities of the FP6;
Sessions providing guidance on how to participate in the Framework Programme;
A participants’ forum to present the most important topics to the visitors and to
stimulate discussions on the debated topics;
An exhibition, where interesting EU-sponsored research projects were on display
to complement the verbal project presentations.

EFDA took part to the event with a stand integrated into the EIROforum island where
also the other EIROforum partners (i.e. CERN, EMBL, ESA, ESO, ESRF, ILL) were also
represented.
The 45 m2 stand featured a series of posters addressing the main topic of fusion
research in the EU and its machines, an ITER corner on the current European site proposals for the “next step”, a small plasma experiment and a number of high-heat flux
components of Plansee to describe the current achievements in this field. On a plasma
screen the activities of the European fusion associations were also presented.

Dr. F. Casci (EFDA Garching, right) presenting the EFDA stand to a visitor

The stand was complemented by another contact point of the EU Commission in the Sustainable
Development area, where additional lectures werealso held, and by the Dutch Fusion Road Show,
which attracted a large audience at each of its performances.
Two round tables, one on ITER and one on
JET were held in the Participants’ forum to explain
the European interest in both these projects.
One of the highlights of the event was the signature of the EIROforum Charter by the DGs of
the seven organisations, together with the EU
Commissioner P. Busquin.
Interest in our fusion activities was large andthe visitors included MEPs, the press andresearch operators. Among the visitors of thestand, were the EU Commissioner Busquin and
the Minister of the Catalunia region, Mr. MasColell, who reiterated the interest of his region in
hosting ITER.

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EFDA Fusion Newsletter

EventsTop Experts in the World of Fusion Technology gathered in Helsinki
SOFT 2002 was officially opened by Dr. Sinikka Mönkäre, the Finnish Minister of Tradeand Industry, who repeated the support of her Government to this kind of research. Dr. J.P.
Rager (European Commission) presented the latest developments of the European Fusion
Programme, while Prof. W.D’Haeseleer of the University of Leuven provided an overview ofthe energy problems and the ability and timing of fusion penetration into this arena.
The presentations indicated that the Technology Programme for the “next step” activities clearly show that the fusion community is now ready for ITER. Only the construction ofthis device would allow further progress in this field of knowledge. At the same time, the longterm fusion programme had made progress in the field of materials. In this case theInternational Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) would be the additional useful stepto prepare for demonstration and commercial fusion power reactors. The participation ofindustry to the conference and to the exhibition showed its interest in fusion research, andhow the work carried out in this area has exerted a beneficial influence on the developmentof technologies used in daily life. The presentation of the four candidate sites for ITER –Cadarache (France), Vandellòs (Spain), Clarington (Canada) and Rokkasho-mura (Japan)- was followed by the audience with great interest and showed the commitment of the fourcandidate countries to provide an excellent site.
On the last day the SOFT flag was passed on to the “Consorzio RFX” which will organize the 2004 conference in Venice. The hope of everybody is that SOFT 2004 will be thefirst one of the ITER era.

The 2002 edition of the
Symposium of Fusion
Technology (SOFT) from
9 to 13 September has
been organized by the
Euratom-Tekes
Association, in co-operation with VTT (TechnicalResearch Center of
Finland), Fortum andPrizzTech at the Marina
Congress Center in
Helsinki (Finland).
A warm and sunny weather
welcomed the over 400
participants who gathered
here to review the statusof fusion technology andprepare the strategy forthe forthcoming years
which should lead us
toward ITER.
For more information see:
http://www.vtt.fi/val/soft2002/“Couldn’t be without it”: Science for Next Generation “Internauts”
The two winners of
the Italian webcast from asecondary school in
Modena, were offered by
EFDA a trip to Oxford(UK) for a visit to the JET
tokamak located on the
Culham site. During theEnglish Webcast a live
connection to JET gave
the possibility to Dr. J.
Pamela, the Associate
EFDA leader, to explain
the role of EFDA. Dr. J.
Silver, a guest from
Culham, explained how
his invention in the field ofhealth, water glasses,
could help people in the developing countries to solve the problem of manufacturing spectacles for correcting eyesight.
“Internauts” from all over the world were also invited to find out what modern Europeans
can’t live without and how vital fundamental science research has been in the creation ofmodern technology. For entertainment, for example, the personal computer is a clear winneras the device was considered most essential by all Europeans. This hit parade of technological marvels is the result of this year’s phone and online survey conducted by the SciTech…couldn’t be without it! Team. The live event showed the fascinating opportunities thatlie ahead in the world of research.

To see the results andthe recorded webcasts,
just click at the address:
http://www.cern.ch/sci-tech

For more information on
EIROFORUM see:
http://www.eiroforum.org

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

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Questions & Answers
The recommended main
steps in the European
strategy for the development of fusion are:
ITER –

the “next step”

DEMO - the demonstration reactor

What is the difference between a machine like JET and ITER?
The JET tokamak, in operation since 1983, has provided important results whichgive a high degree of confidence in the feasibility of magnetic fusion reactor physics.
JET, for instance, has proven the principle of plasma self-heating by fusion reactions.
However, in steady state only about 18% of the total power needed to maintain the plasma at the required temperatures was provided by these reactions, the rest was suppliedexternally. In ITER, as in future fusion power plants, self-heating of the plasma will be
the dominating effect.
ITER’s aim is to confirm and optimise the physics of the future reactor and todemonstrate the technological feasibility of magnetic fusion power. Key technologies,
such as the tritium fuel cycle and remote handling, will be extensively used in ITER, andit will be of paramount importance to demonstrate the viability of such techniques withan adequate degree of reliability.
Will all ITER parties have t he same rights to use the machine for their research
purposes?
Negotiations among the current participants (i.e. Canada, the EU, Japan and theRussian Federation) started in 2001 towards an agreement for the joint implementationof ITER. Other countries (i.e. USA and China) are considering joining. All the countries,
which provide the financial support for the construction and operation of the machine,
will have a role in the use of ITER. All the knowledge derived by the exploitation of theexperiments will be shared among them. Bilateral agreements with other countries
could be used for their participation in ITER experiments.
Industry has helped the laboratories to build the current fusion devices and todevelop the technology for fusion research. Did industry itself benefit from thisrelationship?
The benefit achieved by industry in its co-operation with the fusion laboratories is twofold.
The direct advantage is due to the know-how accumulated on the topic while working
together with fusion experts, both physicists and engineers. This has allowed industry
to increase its knowledge in all critical aspects linked to the design of fusion device components. The second, indirect, benefit originates from the spin-offs, which inevitably
derive from working in a high-technology environment. New materials, techniques andprocedures, developed while working on fusion, have been used also for solving problems in other areas and have had a positive influence in the development of other kindsof components and products. Examples include advances in superconducting technology, fabrication processes, and measurement techniques.

EFDA Close Support Unit - Garching
Boltzmannstr. 2
D-85748 Garching / Munich - Germany
phone: +49-89-3299-4237
fax: +49-89-3299-4197
e-mail: federico.casci@efda.org
editors: Federico Casci, Doris Lutz-Lanzinger
graphic design: Karen Jens

PROTO - the prototype
power station

TIMETABLE.
.

JET
16 MW/2s Fusion
Power in 1997

.
.
..
.

Q (Fusion power /Power in): 0.65

ITER
500 MW/400s Fusion
Power in 2015
Q: >10DEMO / PROTO
2 GW/steadyFusion Power in 2030 –2040
Q: 20 - 50

For more information
see our EFDA website:
http://www.efda.org

and additionally
http://www.jet.efda.org
http://www.iter.org© K.Lackner (EFDA Leader) 2002.
This internal newsletter or parts of it may not be reproduced without permission. Text,
pictures and layout, except where noted, courtesy of the EFDA Parties. Courtesy of
pictures: page 4: ITER, page 10: ESO and European Commission.
The EFDA Parties are the European Commission and the Associates of the European
Fusion Programme which is co-ordinated and managed by the Commission.
Neither the Commission, the Associates nor anyone acting on their behalf is responsible for any damage resulting from the use of information contained in this publication