Title: Status of Spherical Torus Research - Contributing to a Bright Fusion Energy Sciences Future
1Status of Spherical Torus Research -
Contributing to a Bright Fusion Energy Sciences
Future
Columbia U Comp-X General Atomics INEL Johns
Hopkins U LANL LLNL Lodestar MIT Nova
Photonics NYU ORNL PPPL PSI SNL UC Davis UC
Irvine UCLA UCSD U Maryland U New Mexico U
Rochester U Washington U Wisconsin Culham Sci
Ctr Hiroshima U HIST Kyushu Tokai U Niigata
U Tsukuba U U Tokyo JAERI Ioffe
Inst TRINITI KBSI KAIST ENEA, Frascati CEA,
Cadarache IPP, Jülich IPP, Garching U Quebec
Martin Peng Oak Ridge National Laboratory _at_
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory For the
CDX-U, HIT-II, NSTX Pegasus Teams Fusion
Power Associates Annual Meeting and
Symposium Forum on the Future of
Fusion November 20 - 22, 2003 Washington, D.C.
2Spherical Torus Research Has Made Large Progress
and Some Exciting Projections
- Why Spherical Torus (ST)?
- Major scientific goals of ST program
- Address primary fusion science issues
- Enable cost-effective steps to attractive fusion
energy - Establish physics basis for Performance Extension
Test - National and international collaboration
3ST Research Can Address Extended Parameter Space
in Support of Fusion Energy Science Goal
Plasma Science of Extended Parameter Space ? Goal Optimize Fusion DEMO Development Steps
Stable high bT, b0 bootstrap current fraction ? Lowered magnetic field and device costs
Effective wave-energetic particle-plasma interactions ? Efficient fusion a particle, neutral beam, RF heating
Reduced turbulence ? Smaller unit size for sustained fusion burn
Dispersed plasma fluxes ? Survivable plasma facing components
Solenoid-free startup sustainment ? Simplified smaller design, reduced operating cost
Attractive sustained burning plasma properties ? Steady state fusion power source
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7Lower Limit of Aspect Ratio (A) Challenges and
Strengthens Toroidal Plasma Understanding
- Test MHD theory
- Strong plasma shaping self fields (vertical
elongation ? 3, Bp/Bt 1) - Very high bT ( 40), bN fBootstrap
- Understand turbulence effects
- Small plasma size relative to gyro-radius
(a/ri3050) - Large plasma flow (MA Vrotation/VA ? 0.3)
- Large flow shearing rate (?ExB ? 106/s)
- Explore energetic particle modes
- Supra-Alfvénic fast ions (Vfast/VA 45)
- High dielectric constant (e wpe2/wce2 50)
- Extend understanding of edge
- Large mirror ratio in edge B field (fT ? 1)
- Strong field line expansion
ST scientific goals are exciting!
A R/a ? 1.1
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13Barrier Formation and Expansion in NSTX H-Mode
Has Potential to Improve Confinement Further
Transport Barrier region where ?i ?iNC and ?e
gtgt ?i
1.5x
Already good confinement
1.0x
0.5x
Columbia U, Culham, ORNL, PPPL
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25Spherical Torus Research Is Contributing to a
Bright Fusion Energy Sciences Future
- Addresses extended parameter space in support of
fusion energy sciences goals - Contributes to broad Innovative Confinement
Concept portfolio - Has made rapid progress in achieving ST
scientific goals - Aims to enable cost-effective steps to attractive
fusion energy - Aims to establish in 5 years physics basis for
Performance Extension Test - Carries out active national and international
collaborations