Exploration of Spherical Torus Physics in the NSTX Device
Authors: M. Ono, S. Kaye, M. Peng, G. Barnes, W. Blanchard, M. Carter, J. Chrzanowski, L. Dudek, R. Ewig, D. Gates, R. Hatcher, R. Majeski, T. Jarboe, S. Jardin, D. Johnson, M. Kalish, R. Kaita, C. Kessel, H. Kugel, B. McCormack, R. Maingi, J. Manickam, J. Menard, D. Mueller, B. Nelson, B. Nelson, C. Neumeyer, G. Oliaro, F. Paolletti, R. Parsells, E. Perry, N. Pomphrey, S. Ramakrishnan, R. Raman, G. Rewoldt, J. Robinson, A.L. Roquemore, P. Ryan, S. Sabbagh, D. Swain, E. Synakowski, M. Viola, M. Williams, J.R. Wilson, and the NSTX Team
Date of PPPL Report: November 1998
Published in: Nucl. Fusion 40 (March 2000) 557-561.
The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is being built at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory to test the fusion physics principles for the Spherical Torus (ST) concept at the MA level. The NSTX nominal plasma parameters are R0 = 85 cm, a = 67 cm, R/a is greater than or equal to 1.26, BT = 3 kG, Ip = 1 MA, q95 = 14, elongation k £ 2.2, triangularity d £ 0.5, and plasma pulse length of up to 5 sec. The plasma heating/current drive (CD) tools are High Harmonic Fast Wave (HHFW) (6 MW, 5 sec), Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) (5 MW, 80 keV, 5 sec), and Coaxial Helicity Injection (CHI). Theoretical calculations predict that NSTX should provide exciting possibilities for exploring a number of important new physics regimes including very high plasma beta, naturally high plasma elongation, high bootstrap current fraction, absolute magnetic well, and high pressure driven sheared flow. In addition, the NSTX program plans to explore fully noninductive plasma start-up, as well as a dispersive scrape-off layer for heat and particle flux handling.