SHAFRANOV SHIFT IN THE LOW ASPECT RATIO HELIOTRON TORSATRON COMPACT HELICAL SYSTEM

The MHD equilibrium properties of neutral beam heated plasmas have been experimentally investigated in the Compact Helical System (CHS) - a low aspect ratio (A(p) approximately 5) heliotron/torsatron. This configuration is characterized by a strong breaking of helical symmetry. The radial profiles measured by various diagnostics have shown a significant Shafranov shift due to the plasma pressure. The deviation of the magnetic axis from its vacuum position has become as large as 50% of the minor radius. When the three-dimensional equilibrium code VMEC is used to reconstruct the equilibrium from the experimental data, the result is in good agreement with the experimentally observed Shafronov shift as well as with the diamagnetic pressure in plasmas with <beta> less-than-or-equal-to 1.2% and beta(0) less-than-or-equal-to 3.3%. This beta value corresponds to half of the conventional equilibrium beta limit defined by the Shafranov shift reaching a value of half of the minor radius. Although tangential neutral beam injection causes pressure anisotropies, p parallel-to/p perpendicular-to less-than-or-equal-to 3, the description of the equilibrium assuming isotropic pressure is consistent with the experiment.