Steady state heat exhaust in Tore Supra: operational safety and edge parameters

Long pulse operation imposes severe constraints on plasma facing components. Tore Supra pioneers this operation mode, with a large area high heat flux limiter technologically representative of next step experiments divertor targets. The failure mode of the individual elements are described, along with the strategies employed to reduce the occurrence of accidents. Two are developed: the knowledge of the heat flux in the scrape off layer and particularly the ability to predict the power density on the component’s surface, and the feed back control of edge diagnostics. Emphasis is set on infrared thermography which delivers 2D + time data, particularly useful for the prevention of accidents. This diagnostic is sensitive to the growth of carbonaceous deposits, which are highly non-uniform in Tore Supra as is presented in the paper.