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(TH3/2) Influence of the Plasma Edge on Tokamak Performance

H. R. Wilson, J. W. Connor, A. R. Field, S. J. Fielding, R. J. Hastie, R. L. Miller1 and J. B. Taylor

EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB UK
1 General Atomics San Diego CA 92186-5608 USA

Abstract.  A number of edge plasma physics phenomena are considered to determine tokamak performance: transport barrier, edge magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities, plasma flow. These phenomena are thought to be causally related: a spontaneous increase in the plasma flow (actually, its radial variation) suppresses heat and particle fluxes at the plasma edge, to form a transport barrier; the edge pressure gradient steepens until limited by MHD instabilities, resulting in a temperature pedestal at the top of the steep gradient region; a number of core transport models predict enhanced confinement for higher values of the temperature pedestal. This paper examines these phenomena and their interaction.

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IAEA 2001