Direct Measurements of the Electron Energy Flux versus Electron Temperature Gradient in Tokamak Discharges

摘要

Electron thermal transport is one of the most complex processes in fusion plasmas. It is generally described by a simple thermal diffusivity in transport analyses of discharges, but there is evidence of critical gradient effects with moderate stiffness. By analyzing periodic perturbations to an equilibrium, one canmeasure the variations in electron energy flux and electron temperature gradient over the perturbation cycle, obtaining the flux as a function of gradient over the range of parameters generated by the perturbation. Although time-dependent transport analysis is very sensitive to noise in the input data, averaging over many cycles of a periodic perturbation can provide data of sufficient quality. The analyses presented here are based on the ECE temperature data with high spatial and temporal resolution and full profile coverage on DIII-D for sawteeth and modulated ECH heating.