Electron cyclotron resonance heating is one of the additional heating systems that is going to be installed at the future high-field tokamak COMPASS Upgrade in Prague. Experimental scenarios cover a wide range of operational parameters, thus the designed heating system has to be exceptionally versatile. The simulations of wave propagation in plasma have been performed using the TORBEAM code. The obtained results yield important information about density limitations and other constraints of ECRH at COMPASS Upgrade, which are necessary for the subsequent design phase. A brief description of intended experimental scenarios is provided together with simulations of the influence of ECRH on COMPASS Upgrade plasma. Efforts should be made to prevent high-density discharges in H-mode plasma. If the high densities can be prevented, the 105/140 GHz frequency heating system provides sufficient heating in most experimental scenarios. The utilization of 170 GHz would be beneficial for intermediate magnetic field scenarios as well. In the future, the potential upgrade towards the 200+ GHz systems would help to tackle the problems with natural H-mode density.
This paper explores the use of electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) to heat the plasma in the future high-field tokamak COMPASS Upgrade. Simulations show that ECRH can provide sufficient heating in most scenarios, but high-density discharges in H-mode plasma may be challenging. Upgrading to higher frequency systems could help address this issue.