title: Convective cells and blob control in a simple magnetized plasma.
abstract: Blob control by creating convective cells using biased electrodes is demonstrated in simple magnetized toroidal plasmas. A two-dimensional array of electrodes is installed on a metal limiter to obtain different biasing schemes. Detailed two-dimensional measurements across the magnetic field reveal the formation of a convective cell, which shows a high degree of uniformity along the magnetic field. Depending on the biasing scheme, radial and vertical blob velocities can be varied significantly. A high level of cross-field currents limits the achievable potential variations to values well below the applied bias voltage. Furthermore, the strongest potential variations are not induced along the biased flux tube, but at a position shifted in the direction of plasma flows.
authors.affiliation: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas, Association Euratom-Confédération Suisse, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Theiler
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Furno
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Loizu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fasoli