Publications by authors named "V Erckmann"

Wendelstein 7-X, a superconducting optimized stellarator built in Greifswald/Germany, started its first plasmas with the last closed flux surface (LCFS) defined by 5 uncooled graphite limiters in December 2015. At the end of the 10 weeks long experimental campaign (OP1.1) more than 20 independent diagnostic systems were in operation, allowing detailed studies of many interesting plasma phenomena.

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Here we report the first measurements of the power levels of stray radiation in the vacuum vessel of Wendelstein 7-X using absolutely calibrated sniffer probes. The absolute calibration is achieved by using calibrated sources of stray radiation and the implicit measurement of the quality factor of the Wendelstein 7-X empty vacuum vessel. Normalized absolute calibration coefficients agree with the cross-calibration coefficients that are obtained by the direct measurements, indicating that the measured absolute calibration coefficients and stray radiation levels in the vessel are valid.

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A bolometric diagnostic system with features necessary for steady-state operation in the superconducting stellarator W7-X was designed. During a pulse length of 1800 s with an ECRH (electron cyclotron resonance heating) power of 10 MW, the components suffer not only from a large thermal load but also from stray radiation of the nonabsorbed isotropic microwaves. This paper gives an overview of the technical problems encountered during the design work and the solutions to individual problems to meet the special requirements in W7-X, e.

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The stellarator Wendelstein 7-X will allow for quasicontinuous operation with the duration only being limited to two 30 min discharges per day, at a continuous heating power of 10 MW electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) at 140 GHz, by the capacity of the cooling water reservoir. This will result in high thermal loads on all plasma facing components of 50-100 kW/m(2) from radiation alone and of up to about 500 kW/m(2) on components additionally exposed to convective loads. In high density scenarios toroidally varying ECRH stray radiation levels of 50-200 kW/m(2) need to be coped with, requiring careful material selection and different shielding and hardening techniques.

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