Deuterium--tritium plasmas in novel regimes in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor
Experiments in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) [Phys. Plasmas {bold 2}, 2176 (1995)] have explored several novel regimes of improved tokamak confinement in deuterium{endash}tritium (D--T) plasmas, including plasmas with reduced or reversed magnetic shear in the core and high-current plasmas with increased shear in the outer region (high l{sub i}). New techniques have also been developed to enhance the confinement in these regimes by modifying the plasma-limiter interaction through {ital in situ} deposition of lithium. In reversed-shear plasmas, transitions to enhanced confinement have been observed at plasma currents up to 2.2 MA (q{sub a}{approx}4.3), accompanied by the formation of internal transport barriers, where large radial gradients develop in the temperature and density profiles. Experiments have been performed to elucidate the mechanism of the barrier formation and its relationship with the magnetic configuration and with the heating characteristics. The increased stability of high-current, high-l{sub i} plasmas produced by rapid expansion of the minor cross section, coupled with improvement in the confinement by lithium deposition has enabled the achievement of high fusion power, up to 8.7 MW, with D--T neutral beam heating. The physics of fusion alpha-particle confinement has been investigated in these regimes, including the interactions of the alphas with endogenous plasma instabilities and externally applied waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies. In D--T plasmas with q{sub 0}{gt}1 and weak magnetic shear in the central region, a toroidal Alfvn eigenmode instability driven purely by the alpha particles has been observed for the first time. The interactions of energetic ions with ion Bernstein waves produced by mode conversion from fast waves in mixed-species plasmas have been studied as a possible mechanism for transferring the energy of the alphas to fuel ions. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}
- Research Organization:
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76CH03073
- OSTI ID:
- 662004
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-961102--
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 4; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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