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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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