Fast 2-D Camera Control, Data Acquisition, and Database Techniques for Edge Studies on NSTX
Authors: W.M. Davis, M. K. Ko, R.J. Maqueda, A.L. Roquemore, F. Scotti, S.J. Zweben
Abstract:
Fast 2-D cameras examine a variety of important aspects of the plasma edge and in-vessel
components on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). Four Phantom and two
Miro visible-light cameras manufactured by Vision Research are used on NSTX for edge
studies. Each camera can take several gigabytes (GBs) of data during each plasma pulse.
Timely access to this amount of data can itself be a challenge, but analysing all this data using
manual frame-by-frame examination is not practical. This paper describes image analysis,
database techniques, and visualization methods used to organize the fast camera data and to
facilitate physics insights from it. An example is presented of analysing and characterizing the
size, movement and dynamics of coherent plasma structures (typically referred to as "blobs")
near the plasma edge. Software tools that generate statistics of blob speed, shape, amplitude,
size, and orientation are described. The characteristics of emitted blobs affect plasma
confinement and heat loads on plasma facing components, and are thus of particular interest to
future machines like ITER.
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Submitted to: Fusion Engineering and Design (May 2013)
Presented at: 9th IAEA Technical Meeting (IAEA-TM) on "Control, Data Acquisition, and Remote Participation for Fusion Research" in Hefei, China, (May 6-10, 2013)
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Download PPPL-4877 (pdf 701 KB 8 pp)
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