Advances in fast 2D camera data handling and analysis on NSTX

摘要

The use of fast 2D cameras on NSTX continues to grow. There are 6 cameras with the capability of taking up to 1 -2 gigabytes (GBs) of data apiece during each plasma shot on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). Efficient storage and retrieval of this data remains a challenge. Performance comparisons are presented for reading data stored in MDSplus, using both compressed data and segmented records, and direct access I/O with different read sizes. Encouragingly, fast 2D camera data provides considerable insight into plasma complexities, such as small-scale turbulence and particle transport. The last part of this paper is an example of more recent uses: dual cameras looking at the same region of the plasma from different angles, which can provide trajectories of incandescent particles in 3D. A laboratory simulation of the 3D trajectories is presented, as well as corresponding data from NSTX plasma where glowing dust particles can be followed.