AIP Advances (Jan 2019)
Stabilization of tearing modes by modulated electron cyclotron current drive
Abstract
The influence of modulated-ECCD on m/n=2/1 resistive tearing mode is investigated by a three-dimensional toroidal and non-reduced MHD code CLT. It is found that, after applying a modulated-ECCD, tearing mode instabilities are suppressed and magnetic islands are gradually reduced to a low level, then the width of the magnetic islands exhibit periodic oscillation with the time scale of ECCD modulation frequency. The minimum width of magnetic islands decreases with the decrease of ECCD modulation frequency and increases with the increase of the buildup time of the driven current.