Transport analysis of lower hybrid current drive plasmas in ASDEX

A transport code has been developed which comprises lower hybrid (LH) wave propagation, absorption, plasma heating, current drive, MHD induced transport and anomalous electron heat conductivity. This code was applied to a set of ASDEX discharges covering a wide range of LH experiments. Suppression of sawteeth and m=1 oscillations with subsequent strong peaking of the electron temperature profile and the dependence of the confinement time on power and density are described self-consistently in the simulation. In MHD stable LHCD plasmas with high central electron temperatures and peaked Te(r) profiles, the electrons heat conductivity in the central plasma region approaches the magnitude of neoclassical values