Energy and particle confinement in ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor)

Conference · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:6399628

Uckan, N A ^[1]; Yushmanov, P N; Mukhovatov, V S; Parail, V V; Putvinskii, S ^[2]; Takizuka, T; Tsunematsu, T; Yoshino, R ^[3]; Borrass, K; Engelmann, F; Kardaun, O; Lackner, K ^[4]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
2. Gosudarstvennyj Komitet po Ispol'zovaniyu Atomnoj Ehnergii SSSR, Moscow (USSR). Inst. Atomnoj Ehnergii
3. Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokyo (Japan)
4. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik,

ITER will require a level of energy ({tau}{sub E}) and particle ({tau}{sub p}) confinement sufficient for reaching ignition and extended burn of DT plasmas, with steady-state, high-Q (Q = P{sub fusion}/P{sub aux} = 5P{sub {alpha}}/P{sub aux}) operation as an ultimate goal. This translates into a required confinement capability of T{sub i}(0)n{sub DT}(0){tau}{sub E} {approximately}4--8 {times} 10{sup 21} keV{center dot}s/m{sup 3} for Q {approximately}5--{infinity} (where T{sub i}(0) is the central ion temperature, n{sub DT}(0) is the central DT fuel ion density, {tau}{sub E} is the global energy confinement time). In addition, {tau}{sub p} {sup He}/{tau}{sub E} < 10 is required to ensure that the thermal {alpha}-particle (He) accumulation (n{sub He}/n{sub e}) is less than 10% (where {tau}{sub p}{sup He} is the global thermal alpha particle containment time). Furthermore, the tritium fuel burnup fraction under nominal burn conditions must be greater than 1.5%. While the ITER Tn{tau}{sub E} requirement is about ten times the highest value achieved in JET (3), the extrapolation in plasma physics parameters is less. If {beta} (ratio of plasma kinetic pressure to magnetic pressure), {nu}* (collisionality), and {rho}/a (ratio of the ion gyroradius to the plasma minor radius) are taken as the relevant dimensionless parameters to characterize the plasma, the extrapolation from present JET performance to ITER is a factor {le}2. The ITER concept is based on the expectation that H-mode confinement can be achieved for long pulse. This paper covers the energy and particle confinement issues for ITER. 15 refs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6399628
• Report Number(s): IAEA-CN-53/F-3-1; CONF-901025--12; ON: DE91001623
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700101* -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research-- Confinement
Heating
&amp; Production
ALPHA PARTICLES
CHARGED PARTICLES
CLOSED PLASMA DEVICES
CONFINEMENT
CONFINEMENT TIME
H-MODE PLASMA CONFINEMENT
ITER TOKAMAK
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
TOKAMAK DEVICES