MHD stability limits in the TCV tokamak

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities can limit the performance and degrade the confinement of tokamak plasmas. The Tokamak à Configuration Variable (TCV), unique for its capability to produce a variety of poloidal plasma shapes, has been used to analyse various instabilities and compare their behaviour with theoretical predictions. These instabilities are perturbations of the magnetic field which usually extend to the plasma edge where they can be detected with magnetic pick-up coils as magnetic fluctuations. A spatially dense set of magnetic probes, installed inside the TCV vacuum vessel, allows for a fast observation of these fluctuations. The structure and temporal evolution of coherent modes is extracted using several numerical methods. In addition to the setup of the magnetic diagnostic and the implementation of analysis methods, the subject matter of this thesis focuses on four instabilities which impose local and global stability limits. Al1 of these instabilities are relevant for the operation of a fusion reactor and a profound understanding of their behaviour is required in order to optimise the performance of such a reactor. Sawteeth, which are central relaxation oscillations common to most standard tokamak scenarios, have a significant effect on central plasma parameters. In TCV, systematic scans of the plasma shape have revealed a strong dependence of their behaviour on elongation κ, and triangularity δ, with high κ and low δ leading to shorter sawteeth with smaller crashes. This shape dependence is increased by applying central electron cyclotron heating (ECH), which increases or decreases the sawtooth period, depending on the plasma shape. The response to additional heating power is determined by the role of ideal or resistive MHD in triggering the sawtooth crash. For plasma shapes where additional heating and consequently, a faster increase of the central pressure shortens the sawteeth, the low experimental limit of the pressure gradient within the q = 1 surface is consistent with ideal MHD predictions. The observed decrease of this limit with elongation is also in qualitative agreement with ideal MHD theory. Edge localised modes (ELMs), occurring in TCV Ohmic high-confinement mode discharges, were observed to be preceded by coherent magnetic oscillations. The precursors prior to small ELMs, believed to be of type III, and prior to larger ELMs, previously referred to as TCV large ELMs, show the same characteristics, which allows for an identification of both ELMs to be of type III according to the usual classification scheme. The detected poloidal and toroidal mode structures are consistent with a resonant flux surface close to the plasma edge. Unlike conventional MHD modes, these precursors start at a random toroidal location and then grow in amplitude and toroidal extent until they encompass the whole toroidal circumference. Thus, the asymmetry causing and maintaining the toroidal localisation of the ELM precursor, must be int