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(ICP/01) Exploration of Spherical Torus Physics in the NSTX Device

(This paper was rapporteured in lecture EX4/1)

M. Ono, S. Kaye, M. Peng, G. Barnes, W. Blanchard, M. Carter¹, J. Chrzanowski, L. Dudek, R. Ewig², D. Gates, R. Hatcher, R. Majeski, T. Jarboe², S. Jardin, D. Johnson, M. Kalish, R. Kaita, C. Kessel, H. Kugel, B. McCormack, R. Maingi¹, J. Manickam, J. Menard, D. Mueller, B. Nelson¹, B. Nelson², C. Neumeyer, G. Oliaro, F. Paolletti³, R. Parsells, E. Perry, N. Pomphrey, S. Ramakrishnan, R. Raman², G. Rewoldt, J. Robinson, A. L. Roquemore, P. Ryan¹, S. Sabbagh², D. Swain¹, E. J. Synakowski, M. Viola, M. Williams, J. R. Wilson, and the NSTX Team

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08543, USA
¹ Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
² University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
³ Columbia University, New York, N.Y., USA

Abstract.  The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is being built at PPPL to test the fusion physics principles for the ST concept at the MA level. The NSTX nominal plasma parameters are R₀ = 85cm, a = 67cm, R/a $\geq$ 1.26, B_T = 3kG, I_p = 1MA, q₉₅ = 14, elongation $\kappa$ $\leq$ 2.2, triangularity $\delta$ $\leq$ 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 non- inductive plasma start-up as well as a dispersive scrape-off layer for heat and particle flux handling.

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