Progress Toward Attractive Stellarators

Conference · Wed Jan 05 04:00:00 EST 2011

OSTI ID:1001680

Neilson, G H; Brown, T G; Gates, D A; Lu, K P; Zarnstorff, M C; Boozer, A H; Harris, J H; Meneghini, O; Mynick, H E; Pomphrey, N; Reiman, A H; Xanthopoulos, P

The quasi-axisymmetric stellarator (QAS) concept offers a promising path to a more compact stellarator reactor, closer in linear dimensions to tokamak reactors than previous stellarator designs. Concept improvements are needed, however, to make it more maintainable and more compatible with high plant availability. Using the ARIES-CS design as a starting point, compact stellarator designs with improved maintenance characteristics have been developed. While the ARIES-CS features a through-the-port maintenance scheme, we have investigated configuration changes to enable a sector-maintenance approach, as envisioned for example in ARIES AT. Three approaches are reported. The first is to make tradeoffs within the QAS design space, giving greater emphasis to maintainability criteria. The second approach is to improve the optimization tools to more accurately and efficiently target the physics properties of importance. The third is to employ a hybrid coil topology, so that the plasma shaping functions of the main coils are shared more optimally, either with passive conductors made of high-temperature superconductor or with local compensation coils, allowing the main coils to become simpler. Optimization tools are being improved to test these approaches.

• Research Organization: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• OSTI ID: 1001680
• Report Number(s): PPPL-4589
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
AVAILABILITY
CONFIGURATION
DESIGN
DIMENSIONS
IAEA
MAINTENANCE
OPTIMIZATION
PHYSICS
PLASMA
STELLARATORS
SUPERCONDUCTORS
Stellarators
TARGETS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
TOPOLOGY