Physics Design of the National Spherical Torus Experiment

• Published in: Fusion technology 1999-07, Vol.36 (1), p.16-37
• Main Authors: Kaye, Stanley M., Ono, Masayuki, Peng, Yueng-Kay Martin, Batchelor, Donald B., Carter, Mark D., Choe, Wonho, Goldston, Robert, Hwang, Yong-Seok, Jaeger, E. Fred, Jarboe, Thomas R., Jardin, Stephen, Johnson, David, Kaita, Robert, Kessel, Charles, Kugel, Henry, Maingi, Rajesh, Majeski, Richard, Manickam, Janhardan, Menard, Jonathan, Mikkelsen, David R., Orvis, David J., Nelson, Brian A., Paoletti, Franco, Pomphrey, Neil, Rewoldt, Gregory, Sabbagh, Steven, Strickler, Dennis J., Synakowski, Edmund, Wilson, James R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; CONFINEMENT; Controled nuclear fusion plants; DESIGN; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; FLEXIBILITY; Fusion reactors; HEATING; Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy; Magnetic confinement and equilibrium; MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS; PHYSICS; Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges; Physics of plasmas and electric discharges; STABILITY; Stellarators, spheromaks, compact tori, bumpy tori, and other toroidal confinement devices; Stellarators, torsatrons, heliacs, bumpy tori, and other toroidal confinement devices; Tokamaks
• ISSN: 0748-1896
• DOI: 10.13182/FST99-A88

The mission of the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is to prove the principles of spherical torus physics by producing high-β t plasmas that are noninductively sustained and whose current profiles are in steady state. The NSTX will be one of the first ultralow-aspect-ratio tori (R/a ≤ 1.3) to operate at high power (P input up to 11 MW) to produce high-β t (25 to 40%), low-collisionality, high-bootstrap-fraction (≤70%) discharges. Both radio-frequency and neutral beam heating and current drive will be employed. Built into the NSTX is sufficient configurational flexibility to study a range of operating space and the resulting dependences of the confinement, micro- and magnetohydrodynamic stability, and particle- and power-handling properties. NSTX research will be carried out by a nationally based science team.