To dee or not to dee: costs and benefits of altering the triangularity of a steady-state DEMO-like reactor

Schwartz, Jacob A.; Nelson, Andrew Oakleigh; Kolemen, Egemen

doi:10.1088/1741-4326/ac62f6

To dee or not to dee: costs and benefits of altering the triangularity of a steady-state DEMO-like reactor

Journal Article · Mon May 09 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Nuclear Fusion

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ac62f6· OSTI ID:1869945

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Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)

Shaping a tokamak plasma to have a negative triangularity may allow operation in an edge-localized mode-free L-mode regime and with a larger strike-point radius, ameliorating divertor power-handling requirements. However, the shaping has a potential drawback in the form of a lower no-wall ideal beta limit, found using the MHD codes CHEASE and DCON. Using the new fusion systems code FAROES, we construct a steady-state DEMO2 reactor model. This model is essentially zero-dimensional and neglects variations in physical mechanisms like turbulence, confinement, and radiative power limits, which could have a substantial impact on the conclusions deduced herein. Keeping its shape otherwise constant, we alter the triangularity and compute the effects on the levelized cost of energy (LCOE). If the tokamak is limited to a fixed B field, then unless other means to increase performance (such as reduced turbulence, improved current drive efficiency or higher density operation) can be leveraged, a negative-triangularity reactor is strongly disfavored in the model due to lower β_N limits at negative triangularity, which leads to tripling of the LCOE. However, if the reactor is constrained by divertor heat fluxes and not by magnet engineering, then a negative-triangularity reactor with higher B₀ could be favorable: we find a class of solutions at negative triangularity with lower peak heat flux and lower LCOE than those of the equivalent positive triangularity reactors.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-09CH11466

OSTI ID:: 1869945

Journal Information:: Nuclear Fusion, Journal Name: Nuclear Fusion Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 62; ISSN 0029-5515

Publisher:: IOP ScienceCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited By (1)

To dee or not to dee: costs and benefits of altering the triangularity of a steady-state DEMO-like reactor Schwartz, Jacob; Nelson, A.; Kolemen, Egemen Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States) https://doi.org/10.11578/1888268	dataset	January 2022

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To dee or not to dee: costs and benefits of altering the triangularity of a steady-state DEMO-like reactor

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To dee or not to dee: costs and benefits of altering the triangularity of a steady-state DEMO-like reactor

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