High performance H mode plasmas at densities above the Greenwald limit

Densities of up to 40% above the Greenwald limit are reproducibly achieved in high confinement (H-ITER89P = 2) ELMing H mode discharges. Simultaneous gas fuelling and divertor pumping were used to obtain these results. Confinement of these discharges, similar to moderate density H mode, is characterized by a stiff temperature profile, and is therefore sensitive to the density profile. A particle transport model is presented that explains the roles of divertor pumping and geometry for access to high densities. The energy loss per ELM at high density is a factor of five lower than the predictions of an earlier scaling, based on data from lower density discharges.