Extension of operation regimes and investigation of three-dimensional current-less plasmas in the Large Helical Device

The Large Helical Device (LHD) has shown the advantages of heliotron plasma for fusion reactor from operational point of view not only such as disruption free and steady state operation, but also as high density and stable high beta operation. Since the last Fusion Energy Conference in Daejon in 2010 (Yamada, 2011 Nucl. Fusion 51 094021), physical understanding as well as parameter improvement of net-current free helical plasmas has progressed successively. The current efforts are focused on optimization of plasma edge condition to extend the operation regime towards higher ion temperature and more stable high density. In LHD a part of open helical divertors are being modified to the baffle-structured closed ones to aim at active control of the edge plasma. It has been demonstrated that the neutral pressure in the closed helical divertor was more than 10 times higher than that in the open helical divertor. The central ion temperature has exceeded 7 keV. This high-Ti plasma was obtained by a carbon pellet injection and the kinetic-energy confinement was improved by a factor of 1.5. Transport analysis of the high-Ti plasmas has shown that the ion-thermal conductivity and the viscosity reduced after the pellet injection. Study of physics in 3-D geometry is highlighted in the topics of the response to Resonant Magnetic Perturbation such as ELM mitigation and divertor detachment. Novel approaches of non-local and non-diffusive transport have also been advanced. In this paper, highlighted results in these two years are overviewed. (author)